Why do the British hate their country so much?!

[hbtcanadian]

I have lived in the Uk for 10 years and if I had a crystal ball I would not have moved here all those years ago. The biggest draw for me back home is family. After ten years in the UK I still do not feel as part of this country. I do not find the brits welcoming at all. I have made few friends which is a surprise to the friends and family back home. I am a friendly happy person who finds it hard to find the same here. Don't get me wrong I have surface friends and acquaitances but nothing substantial. I sometimes put it down to the British class system which is alive and well. I live in small town or should I say village England and perhaps in the city it would be better. England has changed vastly in the last 10 years and has more of the commercial products that Canada and the states have. But remember it is a socialist country not democratic. You do not have the same freedoms here as home. I would live here on a trial basis for at least a year to get a feel for the country. It is an expensive country to live in but that can be subjective.
When defending Canada as I do on almost daily basis, I believe what comes across is how proud I am to be Canadian!

[stephaniefaith]

i am british, and i do not feel the warmth of being back home in the uk. I was an expat in germany for 10 years. i suppose this is why i find it easier relating to people outside of my country? i am in love with canada, and although i love toronto, i find the people there, too, a little snotty.

[stephaniefaith]

my gorgeous man is from new brunswick, totally different attitude!

[WestCoastBound]

"Plus, why is the TTC so run down and dirty? The London tube system is pristine and taken by the richest of the rich."

OMG - are you serious?!
The London Underground is truely overused, ancient, a clostrophobic sauna in summer, and a smoky infirmary in the winter. Rush hours are intollerable with people fainting and elbow in faces, and weekends are impossible with maintenance closures.

No one who can afford otherwise, rides the underground. Certainly the 'rich' do not!

Have you actually been on the underground?

But, see it for yourself, if you must.

-WCB

[iancanton]

England has changed vastly in the last 10 years and has more of the commercial products that Canada and the states have. But remember it is a socialist country not democratic. You do not have the same freedoms here as home.

while sympathising with ur being stuck in an unfriendly place (and a lot of people say this about a lot of southern england), i think u lose a lot of credibility by putting in those last two sentences. compared with canada, how is england socialist or undemocratic and what freedoms do u not have that canadian residents do?

ian.

[rbgwynne]

Well, you are all starting to worry me but I will have to make my own determination in time.

I am newly arrived in the UK to settle here with my family. I am coming from Victoria BC and it is without question one of the nicest cities in Canada. However, British Columbia is an endless landscape of rocks and trees and after 40 years I've seen enough of that.

I've done my budget calculations and cost of living actually seems to be on par as long as you are not in London and accept that housing is different.

The big problem for me in Victoria is the limited job market for senior IT professionals, the outrageous house prices, and low wages. You need household income over 90K just to own a house and stay fed!

Our plan is to stay in the UK as long as we enjoy it and take advantage of the travel opportunities from being so close to Europe.

All I have to do now is find a job. Hopefully in Norfolk

Cheers everyone!

[Steven]

i am british, and i do not feel the warmth of being back home in the uk. I was an expat in germany for 10 years. i suppose this is why i find it easier relating to people outside of my country? i am in love with canada, and although i love toronto, i find the people there, too, a little snotty.

Toronto yes, at least in parts, out west though it's different.

[Steven]

I think that England used to be like this. From what my boyfriend (who is English) tells me, today's England is very different from that of 10 years ago.

People were nicer in the 1970s for sure, because there were less of them, but the economy was in the toilet.

The UK actually has pretty tough immigration laws, the snag is that if you are from the EU you can move in under the freedom of movement of labour, and if you're from a Commonwealth country there are ways of getting in temporarily. So either a lot of those stay illegally or get married in arranged marriages, etc. The Govt. is trying to crack down on arranged marriages to immigrants.

So it went from being crowded to being really crowded.

From a social standpoint the UK went downhill from about the mid-1980s, imo. You only have to look at all the stupid laws on the books, CCTV everywhere, you have to be 18 to buy a knife (which only sounds sensible to people who don't work in a trade and have apprentices), stop and search zones, bans on "realistic imitation firearms", they even banned "samurai" swords recently, removal of the right to remain silent, extended detention periods, speed cameras and so on.

All of those laws have come in since 1984. Every single one. And it's all because there are too many people living too close together so they get on each other's nerves.

Like I said somewhere else on here, the real problem to me has always been that there aren't enough controls on alcohol. A lot of people don't seem to realize that it's entirely lawful for minors to possess alcohol and consume it. They can't buy it, but they can possess it and consume it except in certain public places and on licensed premises.

It's entirely lawful to have an open container in a car as well.

Crackers. If everyone under the age of 18 was completely banned from possessing alcohol and consumption was banned in public places absolutely except a few designated areas a lot of the problems in towns would go away and all these other stupid laws like ASBOs would never have come about.