ive had it with this country

[JungleCat03]

Uk going downhill? You're having a laugh! Come visit brighton. The ultimate seaside location. SO much going for it.

You can go for a swim in the gorgeous brown water, only occasionally having to dodge used johnnies and greasy chip paper.

You can wander along the pristine beaches...golden warm sand is overated, give me a beach covered in pebbles and rocks anyday....

Visit the beautiful landmarks such as "the burnt-down pier." Marvel at the glorious blackened structure, left untouched since it was torched over a decade ago...

Best of all, you cannot beat a night out on the town laughing your head off, watching flushy dance uncoordinatedly with glow sticks. It's all about the glowsticks my friend...

I've been all round the world
From Bradford to Hearn Bay
It's panther, go panther, hit the panther, yo panther
And the rest can go and play
You can't touch this...

[tantrum]

We do indeed have a fine country. However it has become increasingly more costly to live here and to go around to see and really appreciate all that is around us.

I have been fortunate enough to travel the UK in my early years and have fond memories of York Minster (and stayed at the Royal York Hotel which used to be the station's hotel, am sure Tikay could give us more on this beautiful place.) Hadrians wall, the Peak district and Snowdonia as well as the Highlands of Scotland.

I live in Edinburgh, which, probably outside of London, is the dearest city in the UK. We pay the price for this due to the overwhelming demands of tourism. Every year the local council piles thousands into the festival and for great periods of this time I as a citizen can't even access my normal routes to visit family etc as so much is closed off due to festival activities. Whilst a lot of these activities are really good, it generally costs a fortune and everywhere around increases their prices.

Council tax increases are ridiculous, added to the fact that the facilities are forever decreasing - ie: our rubbish collection is soon to go to every 2 weeks and not weekly, no reduction in council tax though.

And this, IMO is only Scotland's 2nd city.....Glasgow's miles better as the slogan says. The city centre there is as good and as friendly as I've seen.

I don't think anyone here doubts the beauty we have at our doorstep, however it really is getting beyond a joke on the cost side. I for one, would never disagree with anyone wishing to move abroad and indeed know a few retired people who have done just that as they can't afford to live here.

Only my humble opinion

Good luck in all you do James and family.

Geo

Your post reflects the fact that in the latest survey on quality of life in the world Britain came 29th: the lowest of the 'old' EU country.....

[Royal Flush]

gl with that m8, but watch out with property developement over there, i hear the is a law something along the lines of even when you buy the land and develop it the previous owner can still take it back, not 100 percent about the actual law tho. definetly check it out before you buy any land

agreed, looked into it as well but scared off  by obscure  deeds etc.

agree with ur  sentiment tho sofa, got a place in portugal ready  for a not too far off day  hopefullty........

As long as you are buying in unoccupied Cyprus you are ok, just make sure you buy the trees on your land as well! (really)

[sofa----king]

gl with that m8, but watch out with property developement over there, i hear the is a law something along the lines of even when you buy the land and develop it the previous owner can still take it back, not 100 percent about the actual law tho. definetly check it out before you buy any land

agreed, looked into it as well but scared off  by obscure  deeds etc.

agree with ur  sentiment tho sofa, got a place in portugal ready  for a not too far off day  hopefullty........

As long as you are buying in unoccupied Cyprus you are ok, just make sure you buy the trees on your land as well! (really)

im not buyiny in the un-occupied area m8.,.,.,
it paralimni,kapparis,10 min from aiya napa(sp)
PROTARIS
the north is the dodgy place ghost towns ive heard.,.,.not going there

[lazaroonie]

We do indeed have a fine country. However it has become increasingly more costly to live here and to go around to see and really appreciate all that is around us.

I have been fortunate enough to travel the UK in my early years and have fond memories of York Minster (and stayed at the Royal York Hotel which used to be the station's hotel, am sure Tikay could give us more on this beautiful place.) Hadrians wall, the Peak district and Snowdonia as well as the Highlands of Scotland.

I live in Edinburgh, which, probably outside of London, is the dearest city in the UK. We pay the price for this due to the overwhelming demands of tourism. Every year the local council piles thousands into the festival and for great periods of this time I as a citizen can't even access my normal routes to visit family etc as so much is closed off due to festival activities. Whilst a lot of these activities are really good, it generally costs a fortune and everywhere around increases their prices.

Council tax increases are ridiculous, added to the fact that the facilities are forever decreasing - ie: our rubbish collection is soon to go to every 2 weeks and not weekly, no reduction in council tax though.

And this, IMO is only Scotland's 2nd city.....Glasgow's miles better as the slogan says. The city centre there is as good and as friendly as I've seen.

I don't think anyone here doubts the beauty we have at our doorstep, however it really is getting beyond a joke on the cost side. I for one, would never disagree with anyone wishing to move abroad and indeed know a few retired people who have done just that as they can't afford to live here.

Only my humble opinion

Good luck in all you do James and family.

Geo

Your post reflects the fact that in the latest survey on quality of life in the world Britain came 29th: the lowest of the 'old' EU country.....

yeah, thats why the UK is the biggest (by far) importer of "people" from other EU countries..cos its so shit to live here....

 

[sofa----king]

i only think other people from other countries come here is because our silly system lets them exploit our country to the maximum.,.,.,#
i wouldnt think that the uk would be thier first choice .,.,its just our country is to soft on some laws.,.,.

[bolt pp]

i only think other people from other countries come here is because our silly system lets them exploit our country to the maximum.,.,.,#
i wouldnt think that the uk would be thier first choice .,.,its just our country is to soft on some laws.,.,.

the systems being exploited, they report it in the news and the daily express every day but I'm willing to put up with that so that the people who have to come here get in.

what's a country anyway? we're all just lodgers, yes there are laws and treaty's and boarders and boundaries and states and governments but most of us couldn't even begin to comprehend the rape, torture, ethnic cleansing and persecution some of these immigrants go through so moaning about derisory sociological problems is a tad silly

[tikay]

i only think other people from other countries come here is because our silly system lets them exploit our country to the maximum.,.,.,#
i wouldnt think that the uk would be thier first choice .,.,its just our country is to soft on some laws.,.,.

Well I am delighted they come here. I don't know who would do the jobs in Hotels & Restaurants that they do so well, otherwise. Most London Hotels are wholly staffed by East Europeans, it seems. And they seem pretty good at Customer Service.

Live & let live.

[Royal Flush]

Exactly, the problem with this country does not come from Eastern European immigration, 99.9% of those that come here work very hard in poorly paid jobs (that the UK youth think are below them) in order to either build a life here or take the money back with them in a few years time and give their families a better life.

The benefit abusers are the lazy scummy Brits.

[Geo the Sarge]

i only think other people from other countries come here is because our silly system lets them exploit our country to the maximum.,.,.,#
i wouldnt think that the uk would be thier first choice .,.,its just our country is to soft on some laws.,.,.

Well I am delighted they come here. I don't know who would do the jobs in Hotels & Restaurants that they do so well, otherwise. Most London Hotels are wholly staffed by East Europeans, it seems. And they seem pretty good at Customer Service.

Live & let live.

Sofas post did not mention any nationality directly, and most posts I have seen have been complimentary towards the Eastern European work ethic. I myself have mentioned a couple of times that I have no problem with anyone coming here who are willing to put the effort in and agree 100% with you TK on the service provided by the Eastern Europeans, Edinburgh now has a huge Polish community now and they provide a great service.

With no racist intent meant, unfortunately we cannot say the same for "visitors" from another continent.

The UK is now beginning to suffer as places like France and Spain has suffered for some years now with an increase of immigrants from many African nations. Whilst trying to be careful and not tar all with the same brush, the majority of these people have no intention of working where possible and milk the lax system for all it's worth. Visit most cities and check out the illegal street traders, as abroad, they are predominantly from an African nation. I'm not talking about born in the UK to an African family here.

What further irritates me is the way in which we don't look after our own. A friend of mine, who completed 22 years service in the Army only 3 years ago, underwent a serious operation for emphazema (sp) and had about 3/4 of his lungs removed and has now been registered disabled and cannot work.

It has taken him some 8 months to get accomodation from the local council and during this time was continually offered "bed and breakfast" accommodation for him and his wife, despite awaiting this major op. At one stage they took this offer only to turn up to be told it was a male only hostel. In Edinburgh, most of these "bed and breakfast" places used by the council only accept cases from the council and are a disgrace. They are horrible, smelly places full of druggies and alcoholics. The owners merely supply disgusting rooms and basic meals whilst claiming high rates from the council.

My friend had to rely on the generosity of family and friends to be suitably accommodated during this time. Part of the support given by friends was to keep tabs and locate "available" suitable council accomodation which we would then highlight to the council only to be told they had already been allocated. On one occaision the accommodation was eventually occupied by an immigrant family. This was a 2 bedroom flat allocated to a family of seven!!

When talking to one social worker, he was told quite openly that he was low in "points." When asking how points were alocated he was given the following criteria for gaining extra points:

Amount of time deemed homeless

Are you caring for someone? - deemed no as he cannot care for himself and it was he who was making the application, if his wife wanted to make the application as the main tenant she would have to make a completely new application and start the procees from the beginning.

Do any of them have mental problems, alcohol or drug dependancy?

Are they from an ethnic minority group?

Answer to all of above were no, just an honest guy who has worked all his life and paid his Taxes and National Insurance.

A bit of a long one, which I make no apologies for and God forbid anyone else I know has to go through this.

P.S. If anyone is visiting Edinburgh, especially during the festival, feel free to give me a shout and I'll be able to show you it's not all bad (but it could be so much better) My knowledge of Edinburgh and all it's wee neuks and crannies is fairly good.

Geo

[Royal Flush]

What further irritates me is the way in which we don't look after our own.

What exactly constitutes "our own"

[Geo the Sarge]

Exactly, the problem with this country does not come from Eastern European immigration, 99.9% of those that come here work very hard in poorly paid jobs (that the UK youth think are below them) in order to either build a life here or take the money back with them in a few years time and give their families a better life.

The benefit abusers are the lazy scummy Brits.

It's funny that no-one had actually accused the Eastern Europeans and yet we had a couple of posts defending them.


When I refer to "our own" it's quite simple, someone who has worked and lived in Britain paying their taxes etc and have fallen on lesser times.

Geo.

[sofa----king]

I MUST JUST SAY THAT we are going for a better way of life,.,.,.,
this country really is getting worse and those of you who cant see it.,.,well,.,wait and see.,.,.,
ive just nicked this from another thread.,.,I THOUGHT IT WAS FUNNY
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=TheBernardManning

[marcro]

I agree that the quality of life is in decline over here.  My number one concern with living over here is health care.   The time it takes to get medical attention, and then the quality of this attention, has in my opinion become unacceptable.  Going private will shorten the wait period but it still leaves people suffering for too long.  The NHS has become bloated, full of bureaucracy and no longer works.  Fixing this will be a real challenge and I do empathise and sympathise with the good health care professionals that have to worki within this system.

[AndrewT]

I was reading something the other day which was about the sort of stuff that Geo was taking about - the welfare state and immigrants. The reason the welfare state works is that, even if you pay your taxes and NI your whole life, but never get ill or infirm or have to claim any benefits, you don't mind paying because a) you could have needed it and, importantly, b) if it's not being used to help you, it's being used to help someone just like you.

Now, in a mostly homogenous society (like, for example, the Nordic countries) this works very well, as virtually everyone is just like everyone else. And, indeed, the Nordic countries are well known for their high levels of taxation and social programmes.

In a country like the United States (which was, and continues to be, built upon immigrants), the welfare state is far less widespread. It is much more of a 'if you can't help yourself then tough' kind of society. As a result, the general population doesn't feel the same resentment towards people who are not like them because they don't feel as if they are funding them as taxation is lower.

Now consider this country. Reknowned throughout the world for its welfare state. A system which was born out of the aftermath of WW2, when everyone had been through the most terrible experience together. There wasn't a person in the country who hadn't been affected by the war - there was a tremendous sense of brotherhood in the population, even towards people you didn't know. Therefore the welfare state worked OK for the reasons outlined in my first paragraph.

The problem recently is that the welfare state is failing (mostly because of the rising number of pensioners and the fact that the ill now require expensive medical treatment, rather than just dying off like they used to). It's falling apart. People who have spent their whole lives 'paying into the system' are realising that they're not going to get helped in their old age. They see people like Geo's friend who are abandoned by the state. And yet when they open the newspapers, what do they read? HIV+ Africans coming into the country purely to get free treatment. Islamic preachers, who spent their lives railing against British culture, getting money through the benefits system.

Whilst these types of cases are (in monetary terms) very, very small (to the point of insignificance), they stick in the mind when someone feels as though the welfare state is letting them down. They see that the money is not being spent on 'people like us' but on 'others', who haven't made any contribution to the system. That's where the resentment comes from.

As Flushy said, most of the money taken 'dishonestly' from the system is by lazy, feckless Brits. But they're not the ones that make the pages of the Sun and the Daily Mail.