The UK - How bad has it really become?

Slaphead

Slaphead

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OK, as you lot are predominantly UK residents I thought I'd pitch the question here. I'm due to pop back to the UK at the start of next month. I haven't been back for about 5 years now (I am a Brit by the way), and to be frank from what I've heard others say in Switzerland, I'm not looking forward to it.

First off, if the UK press is to be believed then it would seem that the place is going down the toilet fast - Alright I'm old enough and wise enough to take the newspapers with a pinch of salt. However, the stories that I hear from people who have been to, more specifically, England over the last couple of years have come back with a good share of horror stories.

I'm not just talking British ex-pats, although they tend to be the most vocal when it comes to complaining about the UK, but also Americans, Swiss, German, Dutch friends of mine have come back with stories about wallets, bags, phones being stolen, even a cashpoint mugging in one case. General comments from these people would indicate that the place is filthy, generally unmaintained, and crime ridden.

Funny thing is I never really hear bad stories from people visiting other places in the world, but I do hear them very frequently from visitors to the UK. OK I would imagine the majority of these stories are based on experiences in London, as when a foreigner thinks of going to the UK invariably it's London that they're thinking about, but even so I don't remember London being that bad - mind you it's 20 years since I lived there.

I personally can't believe that the place has gone downhill so much since I moved abroad. So please people, put the record straight.
 
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tourists go to touristy places and get mugged? There is no surprise there! It happens in every big city around the world. London, to me as a Londoner by birth and having lived here all of my life, feels as safe as it ever was. If you know how to behave and where not to go it is fine. So don't worry, the country is ok really!

Now lets wait for the nay-sayers and the 'Britain's gone to the dogs' brigade all claiming they would leave at the drop of a hat!
 
If first started travelling up to London on the train 25 years ago. To me, it seems generally cleaner and less run down that it did then. The trains are certainly better - class 165/166 DMUs on the Chiltern line vs the the older diesel locos (class 37 perhaps?) and BR MkI carriages with the slam shut doors that were impossible to open from the inside. In terms of the people and atmosphere I find it unchanged.

Now it's not like Bristol, where the centre of the city has undergone massive regeneration in the last 20 years and is completely changed, so many of a the drab concrete jungle block buildings are gone and modern ones have sprung up in their place.

Over the last decade I've visited a number of European cities and don't find London any worse than any of them.
 
I would be surprised if you would notice much difference now to when you last visited 5 years ago, the media just seems determined to make everyone here feel miserable about the UK.
It has its faults like anywhere but it's my home and I love it here.
 
I agree that you probably wouldnt find much difference to when you last visited. I am a firm believer of you can always find trouble if you go looking for it, any city, anywhere in the world has places that are best avoided if you dont know where you are wandering into. I spent the weekend in London a few weeks ago & had no problem walking around with my camera out, even after dark.

I would put this down to the papers picking up on the odd story & scare mongering to create news.

Come over & enjoy your visit back I say.
 
menthel said:
Now lets wait for the nay-sayers and the 'Britain's gone to the dogs' brigade all claiming they would leave at the drop of a hat!
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Sadly, I don't particularly like what Britain has become - And so yes, I am one of the 'Britain's gont to the dogs' brigade, and yes I have left!!

I don't think that the crime is any worse in UK than anywhere else. There are lots of lovely places and there are a few bits of it that I do miss. Ultimately though it was the philosophy of the UK that got me down, and made me dislike so much more about the country than I liked. I guess as a visitor, you won't really see that though. It just got me down, living it day in day out.

Is life better away from it? .............. You bet :D
 
Call me an old cynic, but I too think the country is going down the plug hole.

At the risk of going in to Victor Meldrew mode, things like crap customer service, queues, shoddy workmanship, lack of pride, lack of neighbourlyness, jobsworths, overcrowded streets, overcrowded roads, the time it takes to clear up after a motorway prang, reliance on the financial sector to generate wealth in this country....... I could go on :bang:

I would leave if it wasnt for not then being able to see my two daughters :(
 
swag72 said:
Sadly, I don't particularly like what Britain has become - And so yes, I am one of the 'Britain's gont to the dogs' brigade, and yes I have left!!

I don't think that the crime is any worse in UK than anywhere else. There are lots of lovely places and there are a few bits of it that I do miss. Ultimately though it was the philosophy of the UK that got me down, and made me dislike so much more about the country than I liked. I guess as a visitor, you won't really see that though. It just got me down, living it day in day out.

Is life better away from it? .............. You bet :D
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I just don't read the papers! Mind you I am a civil servant so it's best to avoid them, otherwise I would just be distracted from all of that sitting on my arse, raking in money whilst doing no work. Or the working my butt off having made a conscious decision to work for the government and not to earn as much as in would in the private sector!;)
 
nigpd said:
Call me an old cynic, but I too think the country is going down the plug hole.

At the risk of going in to Victor Meldrew mode, things like crap customer service, queues, shoddy workmanship, lack of pride, lack of neighbourlyness, jobsworths, overcrowded streets, overcrowded roads, the time it takes to clear up after a motorway prang, reliance on the financial sector to generate wealth in this country....... I could go on :bang:

I would leave if it wasnt for not then being able to see my two daughters :(
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Sounds like nothing has changed to me! I may be relatively young but I am old enough to remember the british car industry and its truely dreadful products!
 
I thinks this news story sums it all up really.

Three children sought after shooting 5 year old girl and shopkeeper. Youths sped off on bicycles !...:eek:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12917073

This country went to the dogs 5-10 years ago.
Its now politically incorrect to be patriotic and proud of our English heritage or be a Christian or voice any critism of any minority group .

I live in the country thank god but in London you are hard pressed to spot a caucasion anywhere. (got to be careful how I put this into print as I am of a generation that was free to speak my mind without fear of arrest, losing my job, or being ostrazied.so it is easy for me to make a slip up). I find it really depressing to see so many areas completly taken over by foreign cultures who have no interest in Great Britain whatsoever other than what they can milk out of the country.

This is a very depressing thread . I try not to watch the news and haven't bought a newspaper in over 8 years. Sticking my head in the sand ? you bet!... it seems the 'news' is all about celebrities ...some gobby tart with no personality or talent is worshipped like a godess ? whilst charity workers and carers are considered worthless.

What kind of culture is it that doesn't value its family life and marriage ,honesty and integrity ? patience and kindness ? courage, humility and hard working? All the virtues that I was brought up to cherish and value.

What kind of people have we become that step over our elderly as they fall in the street or drive off and leave road traffic victims lying in the street dying. Its nothing that I want to be a part of
 
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These sort of threads always make me laugh.

Might need to get the Daily Mail to sponsor this thread.
 
earleybird said:
I thinks this news story sums it all up really.

Three children sought after shooting 5 year old girl and shopkeeper. Youths sped off on bicycles !...:eek:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-12917073

This country went to the dogs 5-10 years ago.
Its now politically incorrect to be patriotic and proud of our Englesh heritage or be a Christian or voice any critism of any minority group .

I live in the country thank god but in London you are hard pressed to spot a caucasion anywhere. (got to be careful how I put this into print as I am of a generation that was free to speak my mind without fear of arrest, losing my job, or being ostrazied.so it is easy for me to make a slip up)
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Its really not difficult to spot a white face in London. If you mean in certain areas, it may be true but what does it matter? If you could attribute an actual negative to this then please do so. We have a long history of immigration in this country, with marginalisation and 'ghettos' forming of the poor, new immigrant populations. However, these change and you will find that new and different immigrants fill their places when they move on. Looking at an area I know very well (Tooting) it has a long history- the Irish, those from the carribean, indians, pakistanis, bangladeshis and now somalis and people from other african nations as well as eastern europeans. Each has moved on to different areas as their position in society has changed.

Don't worry about being English. Its only when certain people confuse it with being bigoted that the problems arise, ie those of the EDL. I am happily English (well, a tiny bit welsh too- so excuse the immigrant in me!) and went studies at a place called St George's and wore a hockey kit with a St George's cross on it. I will have a nice pint of ale on St George's day too.

So, cheer up, have a pint of ale and think about the good things in this country rather than the negaives that are stuffed down our throat by the press! :)
 
I lived in South Africa for 30 years and only came back once for a visit, more than 20 years ago, until my wife persuaded me to return in 2009. The country has changed quite a lot, and more so in the big cities, IMO.

The social/racial (immigration?) changes don't really concern me very much. I've spent most of my adult life in Africa anyway, and countries do change. They're not time capsules of what things used to be like.

I'm a lot more troubled by the sense of overwhelming state snooping, meddling and the erosion of individual rights.
 
For some things we are much better, other things have gone down the pan, depends on where you look.

I live just outside Cambridge. On a downside, taffic is worse, there are a lot of new housing developments compared to 10-20-30 years ago. But Cambridge is still a beautiful city with good shops. Parking is silly money and there are lots of silly rules and regualtions (plus too many jobsworths) but in day to day life I would not say it is any worse.
 
Has it changed in the last 10 years - yes - some for the good, some for the worse.

All things change, problem is you only hear the bad stuff.

I work in central London, havent been mugged (oopps, thats tempting fate) despite carrying round a D3x and 70-200 quite often (sold it a couple of years ago), and i'm not big and scary.

I'm often out late or really early too.

There's probably more gun crime and knifings nowadays, in the past they just used to beat each other to death.

But its not as bad as some (Daily mail readers) will have you believe.
 
been back in the UK for the last 12 years, Thnigs have changed but i think people are reluctant to change and when they want the old ways that pretty much points those people out.

I dont like change as the next but sometimes change is good. Finding it hard at the moment to accept my own comment but example of change, In the 60's the eyesores that represented social housing are being slowly torn down or updated. Sheffield has had a massive financial boost to bring it back into the modern age. thats change for the good as it makes the city more attractive to investors. Granted it happened jsut before the recession and there are a few white elephants around.

Bad areas are having a social turn around. Jobs are on the up there is more money to be earnt and spent!

Having said that for many years i lived in Africa (was actually born their too) If it was financially viable for me and my family i would be on the next plane outta here and on a beach with a bar with the sand in my toes.
 
earleybird said:
I live in the country thank god but in London you are hard pressed to spot a caucasion anywhere.
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Seriously, when was the last time you braved the sunshine and left that cave of yours? You can't spot a caucasian in London? That can't be described as anything other than absolute ignorance. 2006 estimates put as good as 70% of London's 7.5m population as white, with the recent census we can expect a more accurate and up to date figure.

But really, and this is more to the point, who gives a flying monkey what skin colour the people in this country are. You think different ethnicities is sending the country to the dogs; I think the worst thing about this country is the large number of people that share your attitude!
 
Having spent most of my adult life living abroad I can honestly say I absolutely love living in England.

Its a beautiful, diverse country, with friendly people. I love it here.

You could look at the bigger picture and say the recession is having a bad effect on the quality of life but hey, what country isn't struggling at the moment?

I am British and proud of where I come from.
 
earleybird said:
I thinks this news story sums it all up really.

I live in the country thank god but in London you are hard pressed to spot a caucasion anywhere. (got to be careful how I put this into print as I am of a generation that was free to speak my mind without fear of arrest, losing my job, or being ostrazied.so it is easy for me to make a slip up). I find it really depressing to see so many areas completly taken over by foreign cultures who have no interest in Great Britain whatsoever other than what they can milk out of the country.
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Views like this make this thread depressing...
 
earleybird said:
I live in the country thank god but in London you are hard pressed to spot a caucasion anywhere.
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Really? I'm in London right now and I can tell you that you're talking rubbish. Perhaps the caucasion populated area of the countryside you're living in is skewing your memory?
 
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I'm happy with things atm but i do live in the best part of the country and wouldn't even want to visit London again, nevermind live there :gag:
 
At least you are not likely to get legally mugged.

I heard of a group leaving the airport, were followed by the police and once on the motorway were pulled over and fined on the spot, I believe around £300ish for the rear seat passengers not wearing a seatbelt, no warning and no choice, if you don't have the money they escort you to bank/cashpoint.

Motorist really get a hammering - zero tolerance for drink and nearly every roundabout has police on it from about 6.30 am during morning "rush" hour and again from about 5pm.

Speed traps - no visible warning just a car with a camera either hidden in the headlight or fractionally more visible in the front grill. Again on the spot fines.

This is a country that really needs tourist money but is doing its best to make them wish they had never visited - part of Andalucia, Spain.

UK - no question about it, would choose to live here every time.
 
I'm from North Wales, and from a relatively poor area, not so much of an issue with crime and people's behaviour. I also have family from Liverpool, so I've even often found myself walking around some of the "rough" estates alone in the evening, and not had much of an issue.

For university I moved to Manchester, and I have lived in and around Mosside and Longsight, two of the supposedly roughest areas in the UK, and have found myself walking around alone at night and not had one issue in over 6 years. Now there are some issues in Manchester, mainly caused by the stereotypical Rusholme inhabitant, and the southerner students.
 
I left Newcastle 10 years ago to live in Guernsey, when I was up there I just got on with my daily life, life was what it was, you just survived and got along the best you could.

I visited about once a year for a week at the most to see family, that was for the first 5 years now I donot bother, I donot recognise the place, it has changed so much, ok for the good in the centre with all its new arty building yes it looks pretty, but i could hardly wait to get to get back here.

Guernsey is like britain 20 years ago or more, crime is very little, if you forget to lock the doors who cares, its safe for your kids to be out and about.

I think its all in the place you live, if you live there and never move away you change with the place and see and live it for what it is, its not till you move away that you realise what it was like, when you go back.

spike
 
Nothing wrong with the country.... It's the people who live in it and its politics.
 
Well if you smoke, I think you might be in for a wee treat ;)

I wish I could say we have the same tax for tourists "using" motorways as the Swiss do :razz:
 
There are times when I absolutely love Urban Dictionary:

1. Caucasion


How dumb people (usually posting in online personals) spell "caucasian". Usually, white men or women trying to exclude nonwhites. The term is often misspelled because these people think it's unlikely that "asian" to be contained inside a term meaning "white people".
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everywhere i have been has its highs and its lows. I haven't lived in the uk for more than a couple of months for ten years. I think that there is a slight degradation in the quality of life, and a lot of people seem more disenchanted with the uk than 10-15 years ago.
However, despite always coming back to the uk to visit, i find myself making the most of my time there, and have seen and enjoyed more of the uk in brief visits, than i did when i lived there.
People will always find something to down on. But it is entirely what you make of it. That goes for everywhere imo, you can go to the best places in the world and see the worst of it, if thats how your mindset is!
 
The Uk's still a great place. Fabulous countryside, architecture, wildlife and when the sun shines . . . nowhere better.
A different story for Jo public though. Manners and respect have changed for the worse and the ideal place for seeing examples of poor behaviour is . . . anywhere the brits are abroad :D
 
Slaphead said:
I personally can't believe that the place has gone downhill so much since I moved abroad. So please people, put the record straight.
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It's a wonderful place. The streets are paved with gold, teenagers are respectful, jobs are plentiful and there's no crime.

You're only being fed the bad stuff to discourage you from joining our wonderful utopia.


:lol:
 
mercedes said:
.....and the ideal place for seeing examples of poor behaviour is . . . anywhere the brits are abroad :D
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Some of us know how to behave.

I left 20 months ago and have absolutely no regrets....how sad is that?

Bob
 
earleybird said:
I thinks this news story sums it all up really.

This country went to the dogs 5-10 years ago.
Its now politically incorrect to be patriotic and proud of our English heritage or be a Christian or voice any critism of any minority group .

I live in the country thank god but in London you are hard pressed to spot a caucasion anywhere. (got to be careful how I put this into print as I am of a generation that was free to speak my mind without fear of arrest, losing my job, or being ostrazied.so it is easy for me to make a slip up). I find it really depressing to see so many areas completly taken over by foreign cultures who have no interest in Great Britain whatsoever other than what they can milk out of the country.
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Your post reminds me of this guy - http://www.youtube.com/user/bs09b2s#p/a/u/1/kjuNuqIev8M

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/user/bs09b2s#p/a/u/1/kjuNuqIev8M[/YOUTUBE]
 
SpikeK6 said:
Guernsey is like britain 20 years ago or more, crime is very little, if you forget to lock the doors who cares, its safe for your kids to be out and about.
spike
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oh dear i think if every villan in England were to read that muggings would soar briefly followed by a huge overbooking of easy jet flights, headed straight for Guernsey.
 
One things for certain you'll pay more tax than you did before you left, food has risen dramatically as has the price of fuel 1.34 litre here :( not many jobs, unemployment nearing 2.5m and the moon surface for roads !
If you're rich don't worry be happy :)
 
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