Back in Britain. My thoughts on England after 16 years abroad.

Going back to visit the UK always brings up a mixture of feelings. The country has definitely changed but so have I. It's always interesting to revisit old haunts and previous ideas we might hold.

These are my thoughts and feelings about Britain. If you live there how do you feel about the place?

Food for thought:

Why is Britain Poor?

#england #uk #culturaldifferences

[britingermany]

Good morning all. If you live in England or the UK how do you feel about it right now? If you've visited recently what were your impressions of it?

[HelenT-xvzm]

I am an old lady who cannot afford to travel, and therefore have to limit myself to an armchair view of the world. Having said that, I do keep up with things and have noticed that the entire world is experiencing growing pains. No place is as homogeneous as it used to be with good and bad results. There are twice as many people on this planet now as there were when I was a child. People’s problems remain more or less the same as they have always been: food, shelter, etc., and changes in technology throw in new issues.
The only control that we seem to have is over our own sphere of influence. We can strive to do the best we have with what we’ve got and spread as much kindness and good as we can within our own little world. It may not seem like much, but imagine the changes if everyone tried it? It gets easier the more you practice it, and when you fall down on it get back up and try again. None of us are perfect and we all have our own demons, but it is surprising how good it feels to approach life like that.

[stefanoorsini]

As an Italian who lived in rural England for 6 years, I can say it is impossible (to me) not to miss the British countryside. It does and will stay always in my heart

[ulli]

German here and I absolutely agree: English countryside has a unique beauty. The little villages with old houses and romantic gardens, the deep green pastures with grazing sheep and cattle, the soft hills and meadows abundant in wild flowers, it always give me a feeling of peace, harmony and wholeness.

[MICHAELCAMPBELL]

As an Irish person I love the English villages .
So historical and full of charm.
Don’t let them deteriorate like the cities.

[JmanAnimates]

"a poor country attached to a very rich city" that's sad.

[maverick]

I live in New Zealand, and I lived in the UK from 1997 to 2006. I can't believe that 68 million people are trying to live on an island the same size as my home country. When I last visited the UK in 2019, I couldn't get over the urban decay and the traffic congestion in many of the towns I visited.

[SCfrogfest]

I grew up in England in the 70s and 80s - in the mid 90s I left for Canada for a two year stint. Life happened and I did not return. I now live in Normandy France and have done so for 18 years. As a nature lover I 100% agree with the sense that there is a majesty to the English countryside that I’ve never experienced elsewhere. It’s steeped in magic and Arthurian legend - so atmospheric - very special indeed. As an expat I’m extremely nostalgic for England but am so disappointed when I visit which I do 3 or 4 times a year. It’s dirty, disheveled, and frankly sad. The roads are rammed with cars and drivers are impatient and bad tempered. So many people are overweight and/or apparently poorly educated. The cost of living is off the scale meaning “high” earners (relatively speaking from a European pov) actually live very modest lives. I could go on (and on) but suffice to say I struggle to recognize the England I knew growing up.

[Craicfox]

Britain’s decline over the last ten years is staggering. This is combined with a deliberate attempt to suppress any pride left in the country. It is all rather disappointing.

[BarryOLaith-me]

Your description of what you see mirrors mine exactly. My profession took me from Ireland to England in 1982. When I left Ireland it was a poor country with a lack of infrastructure, but I was happy there and I think most people love home. I enjoyed rural England but after a year went North to Scotland where I have been ever since. I love the landscapes of Scotland and the fact you can get away into the wilds for days. I made good friends. When I got to Scotland, I saw similar run-down towns and districts on the outskirts of Edinburgh. This got worse after Thatcher closed the coal mines and communities lost their income and their pride. I still see many deprived areas and major social and health problems have not improved. Nor has the infrastructure, much anyway. In contrast, when I go back to Ireland for a visit, the changes that have happened in the same time period are immense. This as you described, the infrastructure, the standard of living, the career opportunities, and societal attitudes. I don't understand why the same progression and improvements have not occurred here in the UK, and I would say there's actually been a decline. One reason I believe might be a factor is the generally poor education system. I was working with men some of whom could barely read and write, badly let down by the state. Their kids were no better off and were condemned to low paid jobs, each generation as poor as the last. People with money in Edinburgh send their kids to private schools and pay for a decent education.
I'vd spent a lot of time in Germany over the past 20 years. My wife is German. We've travelled a lot in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Switzerland. The atmosphere, the average level of prosperity, the quality of life, the infrastructure, the quality of housing, the good affordable food are all markedly better than here. It gives me no pleasure to say so. And as I get older, I don't want to live in a country where the earliest a doctor can phone me is in two weeks time and the earliest he or she can actually see me is after that, depending. Scotland is a beautiful country, and with good and very funny people, but like the rest of the UK, there is no progress for the past decades and actually it has gone downhill with no hope in sight. The UK is failing its people. I believe much of this is due to the feudal nature of land ownership and wealth, which is controlled by 5% of the population who mostly went to the same schools and are well-connected for the rest of their lives, as are their kids. There is a class structure here which keeps things that way which I have never come across anywhere else. There's the problem. The British are overdue a revolution.

[MP-mrrj]

Sat in Herefordshire as I write this, I’ve worked all over the country and Europe and to be honest I’m so grateful that I call this place home!
Herefordshire really is a hidden gem in the UK…

[pennymalvern]

Thankyou for this video, it's very interesting. I'm an 83 yr old Englishwoman. That word "pride" is such an important word. It doesn't matter what you've got, you can always 'improve' on it in 'some' way and feel pride about that! My two darling grannies in my childhood (each morning) swept their steps and paths outside. Front of house was important. I hate litter and don't understand lazy people who discard it. I've travelled a bit and had some nice holidays in the past, but there is something about my own country. England is where I always felt safer somehow (up until modern-day anyway!) At my school (1950s) we were taught to love and respect our country, so growing up it came so natural to feel "pride" and "patriotism" - two words that now, many 'label' you for! I love Englishmen, whether they're rich or poor, high-class or any other class, they will usually help you in a crisis. My husband is and always was a typical Englishman, reserved, inner-strength, but nobody ever got the better of him. No fuss, he just gets on with it. But I love the Welsh, Scots and Irish too - our islands are very precious. But England is my home - so English-folk please look after our unique countryside, and farmlands, and don't leave your litter! Things have changed SO much since my younger days, and I'm glad I was born when I was. But our long history, and walking in the countryside, canal and river walks, popping into a small village church, cliff edge-views on the English coast, visiting our cathedrals, watching county cricket on a summer's afternoon, and so much more, all serve to remind me that England is well worth preserving.

[thepenultimateninja]

I'm from England, but I moved to the US about 15 years ago.
Visiting the UK is a very bittersweet experience for me. It's lovely to see my family and friends, but heartbreaking to see the decline.
I think the change is more obvious when you see it in snapshots like I do. When you actually live there, the change is harder to recognize because it happens so gradually.
I'm from Birmingham, and it's almost like visiting a third-world country now. My family and friends all seem to be struggling to get by, and there seems to be an air of defeat or despair hanging over the place.

[davidmarkwort]

I left England in 1978, I returned in 2019 for a whole 5 days, 5 days too many. The place I visited was the place of my childhood, a place I had left behind in 1958. My impression was one of shock, it was empty, desolate and the people once vibrant and colourful were now grey and indifferent. My childhood memories were erased within 5 days.

[allanm]

I've lived in the USA for 43 years but was born and lived in the UK until I was 10. I go back from time to time and last summer I took the train from Victoria to see family in Kent. I was moved to tears of nostalgia from the sights and sounds of England. The train noise, the misty summer rain, the green fields and the unique beauty of the country side. A cup of tea and chocolate biscuits. I thought of the phrase you can take boy out of England but you can never take England out of the boy.

[tcxgzeu]

A Pole living in the SouthEast of UK since 2016. True. There is a lot of classist division, sadness and misery but equally I find so many positives : small businesses grit& spirit is second to none, history & nature appreciation lives on (NT/English Heritage are such a precious undertakings), poetry& story telling, folk music & dance (think morris), art (even amateur), comedy (stand ups !), sports, embracing queer community (how many countries in the world are so accommodating?), volunteering / charity culture, etc. I could go on... This is very much home here ❤ Investments are very much needed 📈

[beaker]

I’m English and have lived here all my life. For the last few years and as I approach retirement I love this country more and more. When I drive back home to Salisbury to visit family, the landscape with its gently rolling hills feels comfortable and familiar. There are more beautiful parts of the country but where I lived until I was nineteen, still feels like home.

[thetotaldepravity]

Where I live in northern England (I've been away for almost 30 years) all I see when I visit are towns closing down, streets of bookies, shops selling lottery tickets and cheap booze, gambling arcades, pawn shops, thrift shops, charity shops, closed down pubs, closed down business. It's like the government just left these towns alone. I live in a developing country, but man, even the poor here live so much better than the working class in England.

[disappointed]

I grew up in South Africa and when I was at school in 1967 the librarian trusted me to take one book every weekend from a large series of about 24 books in the reference section called 'Britain Beautiful'. The series has masses of black and white pictures of every shire/county in Britain. These pictures were imprinted on my memory for life. I moved to Germany many years ago. My parents were German and this gave me the opportunity to get a passport and live in Europe. I have lived in Europe for 21 years, 6 of them in Britain. Although I had been to the UK several times as a young man. It wasn't until my 6 year tenure that I experienced the British countryside and it didn't take long for the black and white memories to turn to colour, leaving me speechless at the beautiful vistas I was able to view. The beauty and natural splendour of the British countryside has a regal grandeur of colour that makes Britain completely unique. There are many places in and around Europe and even the world that are breathtaking, but for me Britain will always be one of a kind, which I fear could be lost given the situation and the influx of migrants who do not share the same core values as the British public. The absurd statement that the British countryside is not black enough is a sign that wokeism, political correctness and diversity have no regard for the traditions, values and continuity that bind a country together and will be lost if not curbed in time. Look at the state of the countries from which these diverse immigrants come, where the landscape isn't soiled with dirt and pollution. I know I will be accused of being racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, which is fine, but my words are true. I remember feeling so very English as I walked into the rural villages and realised that the history of the land must never be lost!

[eileenshanahan]

Thank you for your comments about Ireland. We have a shared culture of love of countryside and animals.