f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Far easier just to read the Daily Mail, blame the whole issue on the immigrants and write posts in here full of lies probably because you can't actually work out the real issues for yourself or even when they are put on a plate for you!

RA Dunk's post about nails it on the head IMO!

jef

iTrader: (13)

agree with the man from oz - my family live there, both have income 90k each, and there house is around 300k not far from sydney

wages are up on the same positions here, as is house price, but not by much imo.

anyway i cant beleive people could think this is the worst place to live? theres lots of extreme poverty and degridation across europe, where public facilities are poor to non existant.

we enjoy a very good standard of living here (as a hole) lots of activities on offer, free or not.

yes there are parts that are sh*t holes, we have mass unemployment/drug abusde and a terrible benfit set up - but most enjoy the chance to get them selves out of that if they can be bothered.

thats a generic statement so please no quoting out of context if it can be helped - thankyou please!

ive been worse places than inner city glasgow, and also a lot better in europe

tony de wonderful

That's not quite true. After they got rid of howard the offshore solution went too. Those boatpeople who blew up their boat off WA (and killed 2?) All got residency almost straight away. Anyway it's not just asylum seekers but loads via legal routes. Just got to wander around Perth CBT.

TelBoy

Sorry but i had to laugh at the irony here

EddScott

Story is just utter bollox anyway.

A survey of 2000 disgruntled, bored, middle aged Britons think France and Spain would be a better place to live than the UK.

Shock!


Love to see the same 2000 surveyed again after they've emigrated to France and Spain, absolutely hate it and come back within 3 years saying they wish they never moved.


I quite like it here. Everyone speaks roughly the same language, I understand the monetary system, everyone drives on the proper side of the road, the water won't give me dysentery and there aren't insects the size of my fist full of disease.

What more do you want?

jef

iTrader: (13)

lol thanks

nice to know im held in such high regard

Cannon Fodder

iTrader: (100)

I was going to be flippant and say North Korea, but we don't want to live in a Police state do we?

As a rule I don't think there is any such thing a strong European governement perhaps Germany might be the exception to the rule. But they seem to be in a bit of a pickle themselves with so many members of their own party threatening to rebel in the upcoming vote over the financial recovery package being considered in order to bolster the struggling Euro states.

Now if you look at Belgium they seem to be doing very well with a hung Parliament, it would seem that no government is the best government.

TelBoy

Well ok, expand the playing field, who has a strong (and yes democratic) government, globally?

tony de wonderful

I don't think anyone is blaming immigrants, but its the biggest demographic shift since the Norman Conquest. I don't like it....it's too much....it's changed society too much.

f1_fan

iTrader: (9)

Oh yes they are (not you btw).

Leslie

I am lucky enough to live in the West Country where in general peoples' attitudes are as they used to be all over the Uk, ie consideration for other people and a generally friendly and helpful attitude. I would not prefer to live where my roots are just to the south west of London. When we visit my sister we are always happy to get back home for that reason in the main.

This used to be a country where people used to very much more pleasant to each other wherever you went instead of the instant enmity one sees so often and the impression that it is so important to get one over everyone else. It is disappointing to see those attitudes and in that respect no one can say that modern attitudes to life in general have improved up country.

I have been lucky to have been round the world a few times and have seen so many of the places where one might imagine life to be so much better but after a while you begin to see that further fields are rarely greener.

I still much prefer to live in this country anyway and the only thing which could ruin that is what would happen if those political clowns eventually hand our country over to those who cant wait to get full control and which would be the end of any true democracy and effectively a police state. Especially when they decide that voting is just not necessary any more.

Les

davyboy

The West country has it's fair share of problems. High unemployment and the problems that brings, such as crime and drugs.

It's a lovely place though I don't disagree with that, but it does have it's problems.

Chip

A government could achieve a lot just by sticking to it's convictions. But no Gov in power during the last 20 years has done this.

TelBoy

It's fair share, it's convictions. You guys

Its fair share, its convictions.


Thing is, my point would be that i think it's unrealistic to expect any government in a democracy to do more than "guide" the ship rather than change course completely. Have there been any examples in recent history where this has happened? I can't think of any.

Chip

Tel,

Have you gone bananas , banana's or bannaners.

TelBoy

All three i think

subaruturbo_18

I saw this report in the Metro earlier, and one thing i noticed about how the countries compared was in every country except ours, diesel is cheaper, when compared to us where we have diesel at a more expensive price obviously!


Whats that about?

madscoob

iTrader: (3)

CLASS POST sadly so very true of our new found multicultural society in fact i bet if telephone conversations where listened to between here and somalia etc . you would here the words come on down to the land of plenty if you have nothing they will give you everything thier working people have and more besides

TelBoy

Here the words, there the words, everywhere the words words

nick172sport

iTrader: (6)

im working with a polish lad for 30 grand in poland you can get a decent house wages are 1k a month he says he is not staying in the uk long as its expensive living here

DisoDisp

iTrader: (1)

Hogwash...

The UK is downright cheap, I always find it amusing when people complain, oh London is so expensive, Paris is a rip off, this that and the other.

Lower taxes, higher incomes, cheaper food, cheaper rent, = more disposeable income.
Come visit us up here in Scandinavia for a few weeks and see what its all about, never mind trying to earn a living.

Taxed at abnormal levels, the most expensive food in Europe, among the most expensive cars in the world, etc etc.
2011 STi's asking price is just shy of €70,000 (Seventy Grand) its about half that in the UK.
Or about the price of a New GT-R over there. (Which is about €170,000 here BTW :P)

"Southern" (Relative to us lot) Europe is cheap, and seems to keep on getting cheaper the further south you get.
Spent the summer holidays in the South of Europe, Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, etc. and the divide just gets bigger every year.

Apparently countries ranked by cost of living in 2010. (seems pretty accurate from my experience)
Still, atleast I'm not living in Denmark, I'd be even poorer :P

JTaylor

I stayed in Silkeborg and Aarhus when in Denmark and the costs were staggering. Try £30 for a 4 pint pitcher and this was about 15 years ago! Having said that, the standard of living seemed incredibly high and it was a good place to be.

fatherpierre

It's made it different, I agree on that point. A point on which no one was asked about before allowing it to happen. Good old New Labour.

The fact we've had this mass influx would suggest it's a good place to come to.

I'd still rather live here than many European places I've been to, as a normal person in terms of earnings. Germany is the only place I would consider moving to at the moment in Euro terms; but they are finding out their errors in joining the dreaded currency.

RA Dunk

Ditto, I've worked in both Denmark and Norway and they really are superior countries to the UK, fair enough they pay higher taxes but at least they can see where their tax money is going, unlike here.

fatherpierre

My cousin live in Sweden. He says the same. High tax, but social care is A1 and scroungers aren't even a feature due to policy.

andythejock01wrx

Edited for accuracy.

I like the second bit btw.

tony de wonderful

How much is land and housing etc though?

TBH I find Scandinavian countries great places to live. They have a certain social ethos which we don't have....maybe it would be impossible with our massive Lumpenproletariat? Generally I find Scandinavian people to be more cultured that us Brits, much less materialistic too and enamored with our low culture stuff like x-factor. If GTR's and Ipads are more expensive then to bad. Much of the quality of living is hard to put a price on.

andythejock01wrx

To be fair I would suggest "mass immigration from 3rd world countries" has been going on long before 1997.

What New Labia did was go along with European Immigration, which they probably could have avoided without leaving the EU (which would be poplular I know! ). To my mind short term immigration from Poland etc has benefited the UK's economy and Joe Public as a whole.

andythejock01wrx

I was going out with a Danish lass about 7 yrs ago. She earned 100,000 GB punds pa, and paid 70% tax on that! Beer was £4.50 for a pint in Kobnhavn at the time by the way. Nice place and an excess of subtly attractive women!

fatherpierre

Come to London for a weekend. Start at Witechapel and finish your tour in Southwark and Lambeth. You'll see what I mean.


My post wasn't including the Euro open gates.