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OK, sorry, bad choice of words, TBH, I'm not exactly sure what the correct term is.
the gov't hasn't sold off the NHS as such, it has kind of "devolved" it.
This is why we have the "NHS trust" after our local healthcare provider.
each trust is essentially a private company, which has to make money.
Every aspect of the trust is tightly controlled by accountants, and number crunchers.
The UK isn't an awful place to live...in fact where I live it's quite alright. Can't seem to get a decent cup of tea anywhere else so that's got to count for something....
In recently lived in the UK for a few years and i think it's brilliant!
Weather: Cold but you just have to accept it. I loved the misty grey skies and crisp air, sitting in a cosy pub with friends, sleeping under a think woollen duvet.
Transport: You can go up and down the country on the trains, always a new town village or country side to discover whether it be in scotland, england or wales.
Culture: A bit ironic/dry british humor etc but you get used to it and become one of them! What's more you dont have to be 'positive!' and 'upbeat!' like in America. Having a bad day? you can just embrace the melancholy.
Price of living: Rentals/property buying is the main issue but once u are earning £££ you can work out a sensible monthly budget.
I think you should live and work there for year and see.
and remember the motto of travel "it's not wrong, it's just different!"
I'm Brit and moved to Seattle for work five years ago. My experience has been that the average standard of living in the US is noticeably higher than in the UK. I like that restaurants are a social center for Americans, rather than binge drinking in UK pubs that leads to trouble in our town centers late on Friday / Saturday nights. I venture to say that the stereotypical demeanor of the average southerner in the UK is more similar to that of the west coast and that a northerner is more like an east coast dweller.
Rimmel mascara, for example, I would buy in Canada for $5.99 CAD. Here in England I pay £6 for the identical item. So, at current conversion rates, I paid £3.56 for an item which UKers pay £6 for. The stuff is MADE in London – why should people here in the UK pay £6 !? I bought a Breville juicer in Canada for $75 - I just bought the identical one here for £79.
Two words: Unfortunately not.
The VAT here is 17.5% (tax where I lived in Canada was 13% - so a 4% difference).
A lot of people mention the weather in the UK as being crappy - I rather like the weather here. The UV index is lower for sure and I can live without the copious amounts of SNOW that buries so much of North America for months on end! I am happy to trade the snow for grey skies and lovely skin!
Last edited by sunshineleith; 01-22-2010 at 12:52 AM..
Two words: Unfortunately not.
The VAT here is 17.5% (tax where I lived in Canada was 13% - so a 4% difference).
A lot of people mention the weather in the UK as being crappy - I rather like the weather here. The UV index is lower for sure and I can live without the copious amounts of SNOW that buries so much of North America for months on end! I am happy to trade the snow for grey skies and lovely skin!
Two words: Unfortunately not.
The VAT here is 17.5% (tax where I lived in Canada was 13% - so a 4% difference).
A lot of people mention the weather in the UK as being crappy - I rather like the weather here. The UV index is lower for sure and I can live without the copious amounts of SNOW that buries so much of North America for months on end! I am happy to trade the snow for grey skies and lovely skin!
I would simply like more days where I can wear shorts, or even just jeans and tshirts. A wee bit less drizzle would be good. If we'd just have downpours a few days a week then sunshine the rest that would be great. It's the rain that makes things so green and the flowers and plants growing so well.
However, you can't plan to invite people for a BBQ until the day before as weather forecasts before that are useless.
One advantage to having constant cloud and drizzle is that when the sun does finally come out, the scenery takes my breath away.
A lot of people mention the weather in the UK as being crappy - I rather like the weather here. The UV index is lower for sure and I can live without the copious amounts of SNOW that buries so much of North America for months on end! I am happy to trade the snow for grey skies and lovely skin!
It's not just the grey skies. It's the cold summers (seriously, I sometimes wore my winter coat last summer!), the rain, the wind, the fog, the unpredictability, etc. Like yankinscotland says, I would just like to be able to a tshirt in the summer without also needing a cardigan, jacket or worse, a winter coat! Imagine that? Wearing my summer tops in... the summer! Honestly, the summers are so cold, when I was travelling to Jamaica this past September, I realized I didn't even have many summer tops and had to go on a mini shopping spree just for the vacation.
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