6 ms·

What's good/bad about living in the UK, from your perspective?

xchaotic 8y ago
it's not too hard to see the cons - poor, rainy weather, which can be depressing in itself. Old, mouldy houses with poor thermal insulation and generally high cost of living. Traffic in towns and cities. Uptight, insular, class based society that is not exactly welcoming to foreigners. Now if you swap UK with London, a lot of these cons go out of the window as your neighbour is probably also a migrant. You still get very high cost of living, very bad car traffic, but relatively decent public transport. Wages, given the cost of rent are not that impressive and the weather in London is a bit better than the rest of the UK, but could be better, of course.
- sandworm101 8y ago
  And, London = pollution. Things like weather and even an insular society can be circumvented or avoided. Nobody can escape unhealthy air. London isn't unique in this regard, but pollution is a factor when picking any of the larger European cities.
- joering2 8y ago
  Entire UK has very limited freedom and they do not stop to finding new ways to it even more. Guns are totally banned, only criminals have them. You also cannot and should not defend yourself because you can go to jail for hurting your oppressor. There is blanket ban on carrying knifes, and recently they pass a law that buying knives you need to show ID. Next on the list if you buy baseball bats or corkscrew, you also will need to have ID. Most cities require you to show ID to use internet. Don't have to mention biggest number of surveillance cameras per square inch and per capita. You really don't want to live or rise your children in such oppressionist country, trust me. Source: few friends living in UK for way too long.
  - coffeedoughnuts 8y ago
    > Most cities require you to show ID to use internet. Complete nonsense; aside from cities in the UK not having any powers to control a thing like that (they are no way near as devolved as big cities in the US, for example) there is no legal obligation to provide ID to access the internet. I think you might be referring to a recent proposal to legislate online activity through access cards; but that was a proposal that has no backing at the moment. Source: I'm writing this from an internet connection for which I have not shown any ID or registered in any way, and I live in a major UK city
    - simonbyrne 8y ago
      You technically don't even need to have your licence on you when driving (though you can be required to show it within 7 days).
  - detritus 8y ago
    It's rare that I ever want to downvote someone on HN, and can't anyway as I'm too n00b, but your post here? I'd love to. - I have friends with guns - they have licenses. Many farmers have shotguns. - You don't get arrested for acceptable self-defence - a pensioner killed a home-invader on his property recently and has not only not been arrested, has in fact been under police protection against retribution. - ID required to buy a knife? Sure, if you look like you're under 18 or a nutter. - Cities require ID to use use the internet? Wut? - Surveillance cameras... so? Do you think there are a pair of eyes on each one, beadily analysing every citizen's movements... or do you think they're more used in retrospect, to pick apart unwanted activity, after the event? Most CCTV is actually privately-owned - my local corner shop has an array of about 12 in there. Bulks up the average. - Oppressionist? Wut? Most such laws in this country aren't absolutist - they're generally guidance to live within - common sense writ in black and white for people who need that sort of thing. Most of us don't. Stop talking out of your arse.
  - pjc50 8y ago
    Guns are banned, which is a benefit, yet I was taught to shoot at school. The few cases of people being jailed for attacking their attackers have generally involved pursuing them, or otherwise continuing to attack when not actually in danger. There is no national ID system, although non-Brits have to have biometric residence permits.
  - pwm 8y ago
    I, for one, am perfectly fine with people not carrying weapons here. I’ve been living in the UK for 13 years and as long as i’m here i’d like the weapon situation to stay as-is.
  - SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
    Your points have been thoroughly debunked in sibling comments so no need to go over them again, I'm just wondering why your friends have chosen to live here "way too long" if the situation is as dire as you say it is?
chatmasta 8y ago
First, my (relatively privileged) perspective: - American citizen (double taxes, etc) - Self-employed software consultant working remotely for US clients - Not living in London - Live in a small town near Cambridge, where I commute via train to work in a coworking office A lot of the "good parts" are not specific to the UK, but to the lifestyle of a software consultant. So I'll leave those out. Also, it's worth noting that I've traveled and lived in many countries and cities. I've lived 3+ months in SF, NYC, Taipei, Seattle, Houston, and the UK. I've lived 1+ month in Budapest, Belgrade, Zagreb, and probably some others I'm forgetting. In the end, every place is really the same. Yes there are subtle differences, but you're still the same person with (hopefully) the same routine, etc. Especially when the language is the same, there are little to no major differences. Still, there are some subtleties so I will try to flesh some of those out. ----- THE GOOD PARTS of living in the UK: ----- - My girlfriend lives here (obviously the #1 benefit!) - The GBP/USD exchange rate has been trashed the last two years. Since I work primarily with US clients and receive payments in USD, this is good for me when transferring. Although it's been climbing back up. - I'm not surrounded by US politics everywhere I go, although it's still hard to avoid. - My US rates give me a lot of relative spending power in the UK (but also see cons) - UK.gov is actually a surprisingly helpful resource and really smoothens interactions with the government. Local government websites are another story. - English breakfasts - Banking is simpler than in the US, but regulations can be a pain, and often times it seems like something is "for your security" but it's just poorly thought out and implemented. - The trains are great, but also pretty expensive. - Cheap and fast mobile data plans. Reliable broadband. ----- THE BAD PARTS of living in the UK: ----- - The weather, except for 3-4 months in the summer. At least winters are mild, though. - Missing my friends, family etc. Missing New York. - Terrible, terrible wages in tech, typically half of US salaries even after adjustments. This isn't too much of a problem for me since I'm self-employed, but it does effectively take the option of employment off the table. Note that as a founder, this could be a benefit. - Council taxes, TV licensing, needing a license for tons of things, and generally over-bureaucratic systems in banking and government that cause more problems than they attempt to solve. Sometimes it feels like you need a full background check just to walk down the street. The amount of private data I had to give to landlords is astounding. - Massive surveillance, both online and offline, and especially on the motor ways. Few protections on freedom of speech. - Groceries and restaurants are typically more expensive than in the US. In general the cost of living is higher, but this is somewhat offset by my living in a small town. - No Chipotle. :( - Classism, racism and sexism amongst the ruling/elite class. This doesn't affect me directly but I've seen it second-hand for sure. - Very poor, uneducated population with astoundingly high rates of addiction to gambling, cigarettes and alcohol. [EDIT: Ok, this point is a bit unfair and hypocritical of me to paint with such a broad stroke. This criticism certainly does not apply to the entire population. However, where I live, in a rural area dominated by the horse racing industry, it definitely holds true. And I say this as someone who is friends with many people who fit this description. If I were a UK politician, I would eliminate gambling, raise the drinking and smoking age to 21 and require students to stay in school until age 18. This would solve a lot of problems IMO.] - Extremely narrow, dangerous roads. - Double taxation (this is a US issue and really not that big a deal, just more paperwork) - Antiquated drug laws akin to 1980-2000 in the USA.

it's not too hard to see the cons - poor, rainy weather, which can be depressing in itself. Old, mouldy houses with poor thermal insulation and generally high cost of living. Traffic in towns and cities. Uptight, insular, class based society that is not exactly welcoming to foreigners. Now if you swap UK with London, a lot of these cons go out of the window as your neighbour is probably also a migrant. You still get very high cost of living, very bad car traffic, but relatively decent public transport. Wages, given the cost of rent are not that impressive and the weather in London is a bit better than the rest of the UK, but could be better, of course.

sandworm101 8y ago
And, London = pollution. Things like weather and even an insular society can be circumvented or avoided. Nobody can escape unhealthy air. London isn't unique in this regard, but pollution is a factor when picking any of the larger European cities.
joering2 8y ago
Entire UK has very limited freedom and they do not stop to finding new ways to it even more. Guns are totally banned, only criminals have them. You also cannot and should not defend yourself because you can go to jail for hurting your oppressor. There is blanket ban on carrying knifes, and recently they pass a law that buying knives you need to show ID. Next on the list if you buy baseball bats or corkscrew, you also will need to have ID. Most cities require you to show ID to use internet. Don't have to mention biggest number of surveillance cameras per square inch and per capita. You really don't want to live or rise your children in such oppressionist country, trust me. Source: few friends living in UK for way too long.
- coffeedoughnuts 8y ago
  > Most cities require you to show ID to use internet. Complete nonsense; aside from cities in the UK not having any powers to control a thing like that (they are no way near as devolved as big cities in the US, for example) there is no legal obligation to provide ID to access the internet. I think you might be referring to a recent proposal to legislate online activity through access cards; but that was a proposal that has no backing at the moment. Source: I'm writing this from an internet connection for which I have not shown any ID or registered in any way, and I live in a major UK city
  - simonbyrne 8y ago
    You technically don't even need to have your licence on you when driving (though you can be required to show it within 7 days).
- detritus 8y ago
  It's rare that I ever want to downvote someone on HN, and can't anyway as I'm too n00b, but your post here? I'd love to. - I have friends with guns - they have licenses. Many farmers have shotguns. - You don't get arrested for acceptable self-defence - a pensioner killed a home-invader on his property recently and has not only not been arrested, has in fact been under police protection against retribution. - ID required to buy a knife? Sure, if you look like you're under 18 or a nutter. - Cities require ID to use use the internet? Wut? - Surveillance cameras... so? Do you think there are a pair of eyes on each one, beadily analysing every citizen's movements... or do you think they're more used in retrospect, to pick apart unwanted activity, after the event? Most CCTV is actually privately-owned - my local corner shop has an array of about 12 in there. Bulks up the average. - Oppressionist? Wut? Most such laws in this country aren't absolutist - they're generally guidance to live within - common sense writ in black and white for people who need that sort of thing. Most of us don't. Stop talking out of your arse.
- pjc50 8y ago
  Guns are banned, which is a benefit, yet I was taught to shoot at school. The few cases of people being jailed for attacking their attackers have generally involved pursuing them, or otherwise continuing to attack when not actually in danger. There is no national ID system, although non-Brits have to have biometric residence permits.
- pwm 8y ago
  I, for one, am perfectly fine with people not carrying weapons here. I’ve been living in the UK for 13 years and as long as i’m here i’d like the weapon situation to stay as-is.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  Your points have been thoroughly debunked in sibling comments so no need to go over them again, I'm just wondering why your friends have chosen to live here "way too long" if the situation is as dire as you say it is?

chatmasta 8y ago

First, my (relatively privileged) perspective: - American citizen (double taxes, etc) - Self-employed software consultant working remotely for US clients - Not living in London - Live in a small town near Cambridge, where I commute via train to work in a coworking office A lot of the "good parts" are not specific to the UK, but to the lifestyle of a software consultant. So I'll leave those out. Also, it's worth noting that I've traveled and lived in many countries and cities. I've lived 3+ months in SF, NYC, Taipei, Seattle, Houston, and the UK. I've lived 1+ month in Budapest, Belgrade, Zagreb, and probably some others I'm forgetting. In the end, every place is really the same. Yes there are subtle differences, but you're still the same person with (hopefully) the same routine, etc. Especially when the language is the same, there are little to no major differences. Still, there are some subtleties so I will try to flesh some of those out. ----- THE GOOD PARTS of living in the UK: ----- - My girlfriend lives here (obviously the #1 benefit!) - The GBP/USD exchange rate has been trashed the last two years. Since I work primarily with US clients and receive payments in USD, this is good for me when transferring. Although it's been climbing back up. - I'm not surrounded by US politics everywhere I go, although it's still hard to avoid. - My US rates give me a lot of relative spending power in the UK (but also see cons) - UK.gov is actually a surprisingly helpful resource and really smoothens interactions with the government. Local government websites are another story. - English breakfasts - Banking is simpler than in the US, but regulations can be a pain, and often times it seems like something is "for your security" but it's just poorly thought out and implemented. - The trains are great, but also pretty expensive. - Cheap and fast mobile data plans. Reliable broadband. ----- THE BAD PARTS of living in the UK: ----- - The weather, except for 3-4 months in the summer. At least winters are mild, though. - Missing my friends, family etc. Missing New York. - Terrible, terrible wages in tech, typically half of US salaries even after adjustments. This isn't too much of a problem for me since I'm self-employed, but it does effectively take the option of employment off the table. Note that as a founder, this could be a benefit. - Council taxes, TV licensing, needing a license for tons of things, and generally over-bureaucratic systems in banking and government that cause more problems than they attempt to solve. Sometimes it feels like you need a full background check just to walk down the street. The amount of private data I had to give to landlords is astounding. - Massive surveillance, both online and offline, and especially on the motor ways. Few protections on freedom of speech. - Groceries and restaurants are typically more expensive than in the US. In general the cost of living is higher, but this is somewhat offset by my living in a small town. - No Chipotle. :( - Classism, racism and sexism amongst the ruling/elite class. This doesn't affect me directly but I've seen it second-hand for sure. - Very poor, uneducated population with astoundingly high rates of addiction to gambling, cigarettes and alcohol. [EDIT: Ok, this point is a bit unfair and hypocritical of me to paint with such a broad stroke. This criticism certainly does not apply to the entire population. However, where I live, in a rural area dominated by the horse racing industry, it definitely holds true. And I say this as someone who is friends with many people who fit this description. If I were a UK politician, I would eliminate gambling, raise the drinking and smoking age to 21 and require students to stay in school until age 18. This would solve a lot of problems IMO.] - Extremely narrow, dangerous roads. - Double taxation (this is a US issue and really not that big a deal, just more paperwork) - Antiquated drug laws akin to 1980-2000 in the USA.