Why do some people who live in the UK always complain about it?

Question

I know it's not perfect, but nowhere is. I complained too until I spent many years living outside the UK, mostly in developing countries, and (trite as this sounds) learned to appreciate all that we have.

My question is - Just what do you think is so bad about living in the UK?

Answer 1

Nothing its great!

I was an aid worker in a Romanian orphanage. I lived there for only three months and it changed my life!

We are so lucky! We have all the freshest food we can eat and we don t have to Que up for stale bread for a day or shop keepers do not stand in an empty shop with nothing to sell because its their job. Romania was not quite past communism when I was there.

When I got home I would find myself gazing into shop windows thinking 'wow look at all that stuff and I can reach out and just buy it. Eggs for goodness sake and milk that's safe to drink'

We are lucky but if you have never seen a third world country you don't know how spoilt you are. I have seen a few and its really sad and it makes you grateful.

Answer 2

Very true.
Taxes are high but the quality of life is too, no one has ever got the need to starve or not get health care, education is free until you're 18, if people are willing to work then there are jobs etc. Nowhere is perfect but I have been to so many countries all over the world and UK is the best to its inhabitants by far.

As for the wheather, I am from London but living in USA at the moment. It hasnt rained for 4 months and last night it nearly did! I was so excited that I sat outside for a while reading in the hope it would start. The damp cool air and the smell of rain reminded me of home and I truely miss the rain.

IF YOU DONT START ENJOYING THE RAIN THEN YOU WILL HAVE A VERY MISERABLE LIFE IN THE UK.

Answer 3

I have lived in UK for over 30 years. I wasn't born here. I loved it when I first came over. I still love it but I think a lot of people are moaning because let's face it, if you are a taxpayer, a houseowner, a car owner and has a family you would know why. I pay huge sums of money on taxes not just income tax but also council tax and I see money wasted on a war that we shouldn't have been involved in, services gone downhill like my rubbish bins not emptied, tv licences going up and we keep getting repeat programs, road tax, petrol, congestion charge all going up every few months.....not to mention the cost of living going higher by the minute. We cannot be compared to a developing country. UK is one of the richest and most advanced countries in the world we should be a good role model. The problem is we do not have a good government. Every party elected rely on big companies like pharmaceutical for their revenues. We will never have a clean, honest government that really cares for the citizens.

Answer 4

I appreciate all the good qualities living in the UK brings, but if I was only to pick one thing, I'd say the one bad thing in the UK is...the cost of living.
This of course affects the wider UK community and has helped create, for example, more social problems in the UK then necessary, and has seen a big loss of jobs to Third world countries and beyond.

Answer 5

Tell me about it.

About 60 seconds ago my partner (A Kiwi) related a story or meeting some English people who wanted to know why she would want to be over here. my Comments are not repeatable in this forum.

Like you, I find the attitude very frustration and reflects a media induced negativity. The UK is actually a pretty cool place to live; we're relatively safe, we can earn a living, have access to the basic (and not so basic) essentials, The public transport system rocks (Compared a massive percentage of other countries, we have decent healthcare, decent TV - the list goes on.

Answer 6

You're right it's not perfect, not by a long shot. But I left the Netherlands behind to live here - and though my home country has good living standards etc, emigrating to the UK made me a much happier man.

Let people complain all they want too, it's what makes indigenous Brits so cute ;o)

Answer 7

Political Correctness.......... being taxed through the roof........ Police have completely lost the plot (see today's story on BBC News website about the man being threatened for being arrested over his Garden Gnome)......... TV dominated by complete cr*p such as:
- Big Brother
- Love Island
- Pop Idol
- X factor
- I'm a celebrity, get me out of here
- Eastenders
- Coronation Street

Streets over run with "Chavs", "Lager Louts" + tarted-up shopping trolleys (e.g. Vauxhall Corsa, Citroen Saxo, etc) with cr*p music playing on the hi-fi system too loudly, being driven so badly you think the driver must be either blind, mad or dead.

Impossible to go anywhere for a p*ss when out & about in town 'cos councils keep closing down all the bloody toilets in order to save money, when they're usually in so bad a state it seems like it's not like they spend any money cleaning them in the first place (or that could just be in Scarborough Borough Council's area).

Manufacturers either shutting down, or relocating to India & China where it's cheaper.

The Health Service is in a right pickle because they've been pissing money up the wall on management brought in to "cost cut", but instead driving up costs by employing more management / admin staff in order to find ways of cutting costs.

Public Transport costs a bloody fortune..... round here it costs about £1.20 for a 1.8mile bus trip into town (was 80p a few years ago)..... while Intercity Train journeys (.e.g Newcastle to London) cost more than a flight to New York....... and most usually run late and / or break down.

Answer 8

okay firstly your right!
But i do complain myself, and i live in the U.K
Its cos it makes people depressed, nobody cares about anyone else here except themselves, whereas in developing countries they appriciate the people they are with, not what they have or how well they do in life.
i cant remember the name of that guy that travelled the world years ago and found that living as an escamow is the best way of life, they appreciate and get to know each other....

Answer 9

Ah, well that is the complexity of old British charm... we moan about it, quite simply, because we can & whilst we shall remain here having a grumble about the weather, the tax & so on, you will find no shortage of British citizens being thoroughly indignant at the thought of someone who is not Britsh making the same complaints. It is a typical British thing to have a moan... it makes us feel better, now, time for tea & biscuits.

Answer 10

Compared to living in Germany it is lovely most of the German people I met when I lived there for several years were OK but the German system is so full of bull it makes living in the country so un pleasant even for German citizens it seemed to me the only ex pats I met that enjoyed living there were ex army people who stayed in Germany when they finished their time I suppose its because they don't mind being told what to do I came back about 3 years ago for to many reasons to go into but I am A lot happier back in the U.K !!!!!!!!!!