I hate the UK

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Ever since around 1979 when Margaret Thatcher got elected as Prime Minister this country has been on a downward spiral.

Things that have happened and continue to do so:

- House prices rising beyond the means of most people to afford them
- Landlords abusing tenants' rights
- A lot of taxpayers' money spent on maintaining the Royal Family
- Public services being privatised and made more expensive yet offering a worse service. For example trains and buses are sometimes unusable now because they're so overcrowded or unreliable
- An uncontrolled and persistent spread of anti-social behaviour and gang crime
- An inflexible and cruel legal system with regards to drugs
- Media obsession with scapegoating people receiving welfare benefits

All of these things have made me depressed for 15 years, on top of the Asperger's syndrome issues. I probably would have had a hard life anyway but I think If I had been born in Germany I would be much happier today. They have a more balanced media and their political system has proportional representation and so my views would be more represented there (I personally would vote the Green Party who have quite a few seats in Germany but can only get 1 here). Their legal system is more nuanced and doesn't always see prison as the answer.

Most people in Germany have more money after tax than people in the UK yet they have a better quality of life too. There's less crime and house prices are reasonable. There are some downsides to Germany I'll admit - the food is too meaty and unhealthy and they don't have stunning beaches or mountains like us. They also have less interesting rock and pop bands and theatre productions. Their TV stations are worse too. When you think of it though on a day to day basis what most of us want is a peaceful, wealthy, free life.

In the UK I feel constantly harassed by the media, by people on the street and everywhere who believe their lies and by the corrupt politicians who get away with being hopeless here because our electoral system is so rigged and unfair.

I'd like to move to Germany even though my ancestors escaped from around there because they were Jewish. I myself look Jewish in my skin colour and facial appearance but I have faced a few public racist assaults here and attacks on Jewish graves in the UK have become common recently too. In Germany at least they have, following WWII, a very strict law against any anti-Semitic behaviour.

I get the feeling Germany messed up big time around the time Hitler was elected but in the aftermath of the second world war it seems they learned more than the UK. Because we won I think there's an arrogance about most people here, they can't see that maybe we are the ones who are wrong now.

When I watch videos on YouTube of people walking around German cities and towns I notice people there walk more slowly and are more relaxed. I've seen TV shows about Germany that show bars and there isn't widespread violence and aggression like I see here in the UK. That's even though alcohol there can be considerably cheaper.

I don't know if I could move over though. Since I've never worked and may never be able to, and since I don't speak a word of German, and since we're going through Brexit now, it's hard to know if there would be any chance.

I am from the UK too. I also find the way things are going sometimes to be a concern but overall I think most people are kind hearted and loving, and to me that is the most important thing. I don't care for nationalism, flag waving etc, it's a replacement for a personality for some people.

My main are of concern is the written media here. I don't think people in other countries know how they are allowed to behave until they come here, and when they do their jaws hit the floor. They don't even have to try and cleverly cover up their agendas, they are allowed to simply wage a war of hatred on certain people or groups of society. They are so full of hatred and negativity and desperately trying to shape society that way.

While I agree (I started senior school in '79 and almost went to prison when I refused to pay Thatcher's poll tax), I do think that where you live in the UK makes a difference. Down here, things are taken a little more slowly and it's far more relaxed. Unfortunately, you have to pay through the nose for it. We have far too many second-home owners who leave their properties empty for the majority of the year, house prices do not reflect average pay and my county contains some of the most poverty stricken areas in the UK (I live in the middle of one). Still, like you say, we do have our beaches

you should come and live here in Egypt, it's a paradise especially for aspies - sarcasm -
you can get arrested just for walking in the wrong place at the wrong time

anyway , why not try learning German as a start ?

and you should also think about who these things that you hate affects you personally

I feel hate is too strong a word now. I regret using that word. However I do feel intense disappointment and dismay with how things are.

I'm on a seaside town in the North West of England and for this region it's one of the nicest places to live. Yet still at least 50% of people I come across anywhere are blunt, rude and unhappy.

Usually when I call the Samaritans I prefer the southerners to talk to, they seem more gentle and civilized. However I can't reconcile that with them tending to vote Conservative and not seeming bothered that large areas of the north of England (and Wales too) are wastelands.

I've lived surrounded by terrible poverty a few times. So when I went on a holiday last year to Dorchester in Dorset I was awestruck by how pristine everything was. The roads were well maintained and everywhere looked clean. Hardly any of the high street shops were boarded up. It was like nowhere I've ever lived. Part of me wanted to move there but another part felt I would never feel at ease with such people because I'd feel guilty living in such comfort knowing people I had lived with in other places were still in awful discomfort.

I also don't have the best manners even though I aspire to. I've picked up some of the harshness of the environments I've lived in.

That's what makes me so uneasy about the UK, it's the way people accept the inequality. I like that Germany has made an effort to create a unified society. I would miss the sense of humour, diverse food and my lovely mother though if I left here.

I think this country is mad, basically, and I probably am too.

before Margaret Thatcher, we had 3 day weeks and mass power cuts, housing was s**t. Yes the uk has its problems but % of people are way better off in the last 20 years then they have ever been.

If that's true why are one third of people in the council area I live in on antidepressants?

And why are children starting to self harm under the age of 10?

I live in Yorkshire and have worked in London and I feel the south are more rude then the north, us yorkshire people from what i have seen are very welcoming.

Last edited by Dave_T on 16 Apr 2017, 2:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Down side to the fast pace of modern society. The UK have a problem with mental health , this is true.

Same deal in Australia and it's all down hill from here.

Money/profit before people-Greed.

The 3 day weeks and frequent power cuts were only a problem in the early 70s due to strike action from unions protesting against the actions of the Conservative government in power at that time. That all stopped once Edward Heath was booted out of Downing Street. As for housing, it was far easier and cheaper to buy property than it is now. Even London was affordable for most people!

Going back to the topic of this thread, I do share the concerns that the OP has of the way the UK has been heading in recent years but I wouldn't go as far as to say that I hate the country. I think most people here are decent and tolerant even if the vote for Brexit was misguided. I live in London and I would say that I have benefitted from the opportunities that brings. We also have at least some form of proportional representation for London mayoral elections so the electoral system is fairer than the rest of England and more in line with what Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have for their devolved administrations.

As for moving to Germany for a better quality of life, I can see why you might think that. I went to Nuremberg last year and thought it was a pretty nice city. Not too big but still somewhere where there is lots to see and do and Munich is only an hour away by train. I'm sure Germany has its problems (I certainly saw some pretty run down parts of Nuremberg during my stay) but I do think their way of life is more enlightened and forward thinking than where the UK is heading for the most part (Scotland, London and a few other areas being exceptions).

London is incredibly different to the rest of the south, it's like its own country with its own culture.

As for the original topic, Brexit and the rest of the mess has lowered my opinion significantly.

I only visited once, before Thatcher. It was very soon before or early in her tenure, and London was the first big city I'd ever seen. I took to the tube, the street food, buying a pint with lunch at age 14, like i was born to it. The homeless people bothered me a lot; some images stay with me. The punks seemed happy enough. I'd like to go back, despite the constant surveillance present now.

However, is probably rather visit Wales for various reasons. I've wandered endlessly around Swansea on Google maps.

My family are from Pendeen, though I am born and raised in Berkshire. Spent a lot of time down in Cornwall in my life, would love to live down there but jobs are too scarce for me.

My husband lived in the UK from 1971-1978.

Thatcher was an upgrade from that mess.

I love England, but I don't like the economy.

I don't like the way standard flats or houses are so expensive. The government doesn't make it easy for young people to move out of their parents home and have a small place of their own. You'd thought the government would want to encourage independance for young adults.
My brother is early 30's and still lives at home, and it is causing him depression. He works full-time as well, but he still wouldn't be able to afford a flat on his own to rent.

Also these days there are going to be less council houses because they want you to buy your home, but I wouldn't ever want to buy my home. You can't really rely on your job these days, and if you lose your job and you have a mortgage, things can be very scary. In council, you can get financial help so it's more secure to be in council.