Great Britain

kingroon

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Yo.. Getting the nervous a bit about starting over in the UK in a coupla months' time, so when this article was featured in my Telegraph Expat Newsletter email, it seems quite timely.. Enjoy.. :cool:

Why there's no place quite like home: 30 reasons to stay in Britain

British citizens are starting new lives abroad at the rate of one every three minutes. With 385,000 people emigrating in the 12 months to July 2006, we're witnessing the biggest exodus for a generation - which has reignited the debate about what exactly is wrong with our country. Jim White confronts the naysayers with reminders of what is still great about Britain

1 There's never a problem getting a Polish plumber.

2 The walk from Solva to Whitesands Bay, round St David's Head in Pembrokeshire - probably the world's most scenic stroll.

3 Barbecuing in the rain.

4 Somewhere in virtually every British television schedule, there still lies a gem: Armando Iannucci's The Thick of It, Andrew Marr's A History of Modern Britain, David Attenborough's Planet Earth series…

5 London's revitalised Southbank. Art, architecture, design, culture and a big wheel all in one astonishing, two-mile-long strip. Try finding something to match that in Perth.

6 This summer, there has been no need to ring the neighbours to see if they'd remembered to water your garden while you were on holiday…

7…Or any worries about suffering from sunburn.

8…Or any fear of being snitched on for putting the sprinkler on your lawn at three in the morning (that's if the sprinkler hasn't rusted up under the swell).

9 Not having to spend four hours traipsing round town looking for a bar that might be showing the Rugby League cup final.

10 Teeing off at the first at Wentworth. Forget bungee jumping in New Zealand, hang-gliding in the Himalayas or croc-taming in Oz, there is no experience on Earth that gives an adrenalin rush quite like that. Absolutely terrifying.

11 You can't get a decent chicken tikka masala anywhere else.

12 Meeting up with an old mate in the pub, rather than sending an email to make an appointment to be at the computer at the same time so you can talk via Skype for five minutes before losing the link.

13 The rail journey from Plymouth to Penzance.

14 Where else can you pay £150 for the privilege of wading thigh-deep in sewage-laced mud before sitting in a sodden tent, unable to get to sleep at four in the morning because the bloke in the next door tent has decided to regale the world with his atonal version of Redemption Song? And do it every weekend, all summer long, anywhere from Loch Lomond, via Glastonbury, to the Isle of Wight?

15 Cheese-rolling in Gloucestershire, bog-snorkelling in Llanwrtyd Wells, barrel-burning in Lewes: no one does bonkers traditions like they do here.

16 Some of the best French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish and Thai restaurants in the world.

17 Here, you can walk on pavements where dog owners clear up after their mutts, unlike much of France, which is close to being buried under a rising brown drift.

18 The view from the top of Mount Snowdon.

19 Being able to watch great Shakespearian actors, who the rest of the world only get to see on the movie screen as they bolster their pensions in ropey Hollywood blockbusters, performing Shakespeare on stage. And doing it so well, it makes the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

20 Not having to pay to be stuck in a five-mile jam on the motorway.

21 Blackberries the size of ping-pong balls.

22 The announcements to passengers on First Great Western trains. Where else can you find anything to match the invention ("The delay was caused by the effects of sunshine on signals"), the self-righteousness ("We are held up behind a slow-running train operated by another operator") and the complete lack of self-awareness ("This is a special announcement for those passengers waiting for the special to London Paddington. This special train has been cancelled")?

23 Going for a swim in the sea without fear of being assaulted by anything larger than a passing condom.

24 Listening to The Archers omnibus on the radio while preparing Sunday lunch - rather than via the internet in your study at 11 o'clock at night.

25 The drive from Glasgow to Oban.

26 Never having to worry that you might catch a chill from the air conditioning on public transport.

27 The Edinburgh Festival: you don't often get to see Hungarian stilt walkers performing a comedy mime version of Macbeth in Puerto Banus.

28 A day at Lord's, the most civilised sporting venue in the world.

29 John Humphrys, the Matt cartoon, Sky Plus, Alan Green, Fighting Talk, Mark Radcliffe, Private Eye, Craig Brown, The Spectator, Chris Morris, Jeremy Paxman, and all those other media delights whose output we casually consume every day. Nowhere else in the world can begin to match strength like that.

30 Plus, at least here, unlike in the Dordogne and southern Spain, you're not surrounded the whole time by other bloody Brits.
 
tintin40":10uw55ra said:
I still think your mad coming back.

I'd have to say Matt I think you are mad too.

When you come to your senses and return to Australia you'll have to come riding in Tassie ;)
 
andrewl":29foxuv0 said:
tintin40":29foxuv0 said:
I still think your mad coming back.

I'd have to say Matt I think you are mad too.

Yeah I guess it might seem a bit loco to leave Warm Sunny Climes for Blighty, but 60-odd million peole couldn't all be wrong.. One of the major problems with this place is that my family and mates are so far away..

I've had a great almost-6 years over here, and I've done everything I came over here to do 1) Learn to surf 2) Get The Girl and 3) Get The Job.. I'm leaving with no regrets.. ;)

Ironically it's easier/cheaper to apply for Aussie residency [which I still haven't got..] from the UK, so who knows what the future holds..
 
kingroon":2zgxvx2c said:
Ironically it's easier/cheaper to apply for Aussie residency [which I still haven't got..] from the UK, so who knows what the future holds..

Well in 3-6 months time when you are saying "What was I thinking!!" as you are riding in the cold miserable grey weather, at least your task of getting back will be easier ;)

Maybe you could consider convincing the family to move to a nicer part of the world instead, that way you can retain the family, the girl, the job etc etc etc.
 
I think what is making us nervous is simply the commitment we have assigned ourselves.. I'm sure if we relaxed the expectations on ourselves and the UK, we'd probably have no trouble "adapting".. There is so much I'm looking forward to but so much I'll miss about here..

Funny, I was chatting with another Pommie couple and they said the move back was "inevitable"; they're moving back next year.
 
Heh, seems like the reverse of my situation. Met Aussie girl in England, spent about 18 months together there and then went back to Australia together... It's been 3 years so far and I don't see us moving back in the immediate future. :p
 
i lived in oz (warriewood, not too far from you) & have to say i hated it for sooo many reasons so i totally understand your wanting to come to UK. but not for any of those sligthly bizarre 30 reasons.

I think if you're a beach loving, full on summer loving (as theres no real seasons), then you'll love Oz. Oz is probabily a good place for SAD sufferers :LOL:
I'm none of those, which is probabily why i hated it so much :roll:
blondes & brunettes again ;)
 
After 4 months in france I am moving back to the UK too . My wife was too lonelly . :cry:
 
Admit it, You are moving back to save postage on bike parts :)

My sister wants to move back but is frightened by the cost of living over here, she doesn't think she could afford a house.
 
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