Who here as a Brit travelled, looked at the UK objectively, and love the place?

Posted by LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 103 comments

I am asking who loves the country. Not in a toxic way, but from objective evaluation?

I would say I do. I have been around the world, spent a lot of time in the Far East. Have wonderful friends there, married a Filipino even.

I loved the Philippines, I loved Nepal. I enjoyed my time in other Asian nations.

But for a home as it stands now, this country is a beautiful place to be.

Birdsong everywhere. Nature is protected in cities. Locals love wild life.
People hold the door open for you. Manners is good. Have lost wallets and other stuff in various cities from London to Grantham. Returned *every time*.
My partner is Asian. In spite of what we might see on social media pushing rage bait, he can walk down the street and it's the most normal thing in the world. The UK is a cultural melting pot of epic proportions. I can eat any cuisine I want, be in my gay marriage, and I am safe.
While police are stretched and often do not have a lot of resources, I am at very low risk of active deliberate harm by the police. They are generally impartial. I gave evidence in a major trial in the last few years to find most aspects of the legal process from police to both Def. And prosecution barristers impartial towards the accused and in my questioning on a moderately serious crime that was committed that resulted in accidental death.
Fall sick? The NHS is not perfect, but you won't lose your house or have a *private for profit* company refuse your child cancer treatment. Antibiotics and other key medicines easily available. The public themselves would ensure any attempts at removing this would be met with an appropriate response. I fell into this category. One moment working in healthcare, *loving* being at work so much. Saving for a house deposit. Next developed CFS ME when I got COVID, and can vary from good times where I can do stuff to bedridden if energy limits exceeded. Lost everything financially. Got housed by the council, a system I never thought I'd need. Not a perfect system, but I walk around this flat grateful for it.
Groceries are some of the cheapest in the world I have seen. I have seen developing countries (in the capital) with £200 a month nurse salaries where £8 was the cheapest price for three carrots and three potatoes due to corruption. If we solved the housing crisis, it would be great. I can batch cook for a tiny fraction of a minimum wage salary.
Some of the best green initiatives in the world though not the best. A lot of our energy is renewable.
Stable power grid and water, drinkable tap water. My emergency lighting preps have been used once in recent years. My emergency water preps have gone unused.
Stable politically. Not even close to being a failed state. Some of the best human rights in the world. Bad actors may abuse those laws, but those laws and cultural attitudes stop YOU getting tortured under police custody.

If we solved the housing crisis, the capitalistic response to housing that has commodified it to a dangerous degree, and worked on the social media sowing division and be able to take those negative tinted glasses off, we will be able to see far more good of this country. It's not fucked, it's not a hell hole (I have seen and been to places in the world id describe as this, the UK isn't it). I have seen kids eat out of trash. Family have seen with their own eyeballs people shot for being black in cold blood.

My partner came to the UK. Despite £4000+ every 2.5 years in immigration fees until he has ILR (of which, £2500 is an NHS contribution surcharge goes directly to the NHS), he loves the country and has become part of the cultural fabric of the UK. We ignore the Facebook ads telling him he is a leech, as the public on the street in large enough numbers are lovely to him and he has been welcomed into social groups of us Brits.

Some might not like the fact some can fake disability and claim benefits, but would you remove shops if 5% of customers steal? That's safety net may yet help you, we are all one popped blood vessel away, one stray immune cell away from needing it, or being homeless. No such thing as a middle class, if you must work to sustain that lifestyle, it can vanish in a moment in that case. This country while not perfect won't ruin you as much as many places would in this case.

A beautiful, nature loving country. It has it's flaws, but in it's current state if we worked together it can be a jewel. It already is, it just needs polishing. Part of the beautiful planet we call Earth.

So this is my reasoning. Why do you love this country?

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justanothergin@reddit

People love a good moan, and a lot of people are actually believing the crap the hear on the news when objectively things are not that bad here.

I grew up in Canada where housing costs 2x, groceries cost 2x, people are fake nice and actually passive aggressive as fuck, public transport sucks and whilst there is public health care it also sucks. Workplaces are Americanised so if you take more than one or two sick days you're getting sacked and you only get two weeks holiday per year. The UK is better by almost every metric, especially Scotland.

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Brave_Assumption6@reddit

Maybe the French side of Canada is nicer. You know the ones that have long been prejudiced by the Anglophones.

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Travels_Belly@reddit

The side French nicer? Are you sure? The French are known for many wonderful things but being nice is not amoung them.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

Now that's interesting to hear they was have at will employment like that too. Having never been to Canada I couldn't really pass a personal judgement, but the housing costs I found there was awful when I looked and heard from people living there.

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Travels_Belly@reddit

When I was young I used to really dislike, even hate the UK. I used to engage in debates but how shit it is. But as grew older, and travelled extensively I found my position changing radically. Now I would say I love the UK. I think the two big reasons why so many say the UK is shit here (apart from it's a national pass time so say everything is shit) is believing social media as a true reflection of reality and 100 percent they have no traveled. While I have been to many places and many of them are amazing it does give me a fresh perspective on how special the UK actually is.

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Ok-Spite-5454@reddit

I just would like to say, I'm Filipino too about to apply for ILR this year and subsequently a citizenship, because, as unfortunate as it is to say this as a Filipino, this country is just miles and miles better in terms of daily living.

The culture of really just minding your business is a luxury we do not have in the Philippines, the softness, the respect for personal space etc. No matter how much you think the government is shit, our government in the Philippine is even shitter, and just being here not having to deal with their shit is a gift in itself.

I cannot wait to officially be British, because I am living by the British culture and values I have been learning since moving here.

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Odd-Paramedic-3826@reddit

nowhere else on the planet is as green as britain. thats always what hits me when i come home, our island is mind bogglingly green

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Kate_Electro@reddit

9? The UK just removed the right to privacy of all trans people breaking article 8 of the Human rights act. The UK like a lot of the world is only great if you are white and straight and cis. I

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Digital_Palpitation@reddit

If you mean the bathroom thing, no they didn't.

I'm not saying the situation isn't stupid, but to say that they "removed the right to privacy" simply isn't true.

They've issued GUIDANCE based on a Supreme Court decision as to the legal definition of a woman (Whether that was a sensible decision isn't the point here as you're arguing privacy).

This guidance makes it clearer what would/wouldn't breach the law while still allowing for trans people to exist in public with the same ease as anyone else. So they have to have male, female, and unisex options, or in cases where there are only 1 or 2 existing bathrooms and it would be impractical to add more, they should make them unisex and self contained.

Gender recognition certificates are still valid. There's still no legal requirement to tell anyone what you've got going on in your pants.

Did this only go to the SC because of propaganda? For sure. Is it an invasion of privacy? Not really. In practice it just means some urinals get ripped out, there's a longer queue for the disabled toilets that are now the "everyone else" toilets, and the same people who caused this shit get to complain about how it takes longer to go to the bathroom now. So really this is more unfair to disabled people than anyone else, and I guess men lose their current unfair advantage, but that's assuming anything actually changes. For the past few years I've already been seeing a lot of places that have just made all their bathrooms unisex to avoid the drama. As far as I know that hasn't led to any assaults in these venues by anyone from either side of the bathroom argument, so it seems like a reasonably low effort solution to a non-issue.

There are many ways in which the government invades our privacy and allows foreign owned entities and governments to invade our privacy (like, have you ever wondered why a UK bank needs to know if you're a US Citizen for tax purposes? It's because the IRS told them to). But issuing guidance to try to enforce a highly controversial decision on a topic that is the centre of a ridiculous culture war as sanely as possible isn't an example of why the UK is bad, it's an example of why the UK is doing better than other places.

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ARobertNotABob@reddit

I'm in my 60s, I've travelled the globe a bit, and hope to more yet.

Coming home is as much a part of travelling as the travelling, but I've never had reason to consider anywhere else preferable to come home to.

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Sea_Worldliness_7525@reddit

I lived in London for a few years, then worked on Singapore for a few years before moving back to the midlands.

I do appreciate the people and the countryside, having a stable government, not much crime, good schools and health service, variety of weather and wildlife etc...

However, all of the above do seem to be getting worse!

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Specialist-Mud-6650@reddit

I think wildlife is getting better, actually. I see more deer and rarer birds every single time I'm out. I see things now that I never would have seen ten or fifteen years ago.

Also the government we have now is the best one we've had since... what, 2015? We had a decade of chaos and abject failure, it's pretty good now.

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Clear-Security-Risk@reddit

This may seem counter-intuitive, but seeing more deer is not always a great sign (source: me, a deer manager). They don't want to be around people. If they're getting into proximity of built up areas, it means there's population pressure pushing them there. This often means numbers are too high and forests are being grazed out. Nature is complex!

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Infamous-Use7820@reddit

Yeah, not sure if you'd agree, but I was under the impression we have a general deer overpopulation problem, owing to the fact we've extirpated all deer-predators (lynx, wolves, bears).

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Clear-Security-Risk@reddit

This is 100% correct. We need to shoot 10% of the standing population each year to keep the population stable. No other critter is applying necessary attrition. The cost of not doing this is ruined forests, crop damage, and more vehicle-deer collisions.

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Wonderful_Falcon_318@reddit

Selling the benefits of helping local wildlife and appreciating nature isn't actually that difficult, even for people living in council estates. Showing them what they live amongst is a great realisation for all.

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JoeyJoJoeJr_Shabadoo@reddit

Some species doing better and some doing worse, surely. Red kites, beavers and otters are success stories. Creatures we don't romanticise as much but are really important for the ecosystem, such as insects, might be doing a lot worse.

We have an overpopulation of deer, so seeing more of those isn't necessarily a good thing.

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Atheissimo@reddit

One thing that doesn't get talked about is how some species are in direct opposition to others. Badgers are booming, up 70% on 50 years ago, but they eat hedgehogs (as do foxes) so you're naturally going to see one decline as the other increases.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

A spiritualist do eat meat as my health deteriorated further without it. But one meat I love is venison. I do feel better about wild shot deer (and humans eating it seems to be apart of ecosystem balance here), rather than something raised in an inhumane slaughterhouse. Discovered the hard way my body wanted a full Omnivore diet despite every vitamin precaution and I had to accept that.

Eating deer doesn't seem to be as ecologically impactful. I don't often go for beef, though unless it is needed in a recipe.

Hedgehogs I have heard about and come to think of it, have seen far less of those.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

You know this is an interesting point. I am seeing more of insects that I hadn't seen many of for years such as ladybirds and other similar insects.

I notice when I go to grid watch the amount of fossil fuels we have used over the years I have observed has been dropping. Overall locals in an area try and respect wildlife. On this council estate it's very chill also, nice neighbours, wildlife around. The communal garden between two blocks of council flats is quite nice though its only recently I bought the bird bath back to service to give them water during the heat.

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merryman1@reddit

Yeah I feel this is a common misconception I don't think people are upset and angry about the UK just being perpetually shit or whatever. Its middle aged to younger folks who remember what things were like 20 or 30 years ago and don't understand why everything seems so shit now by comparison. Everything's a rip off, nothing works properly, loads of stuff is crumbling to bits and in need of some love.

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Publandlady@reddit

I love the absolute explosion of bright and light green during this time of year. It's borderline aggressive.

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Diddleymaz@reddit

Me!! The UK is truly blessed. Our climate is temperate. Our traditional way of life changes but endures. We have a King to cherish and his Queen and family who work hard for us.

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Brave_Assumption6@reddit

God save the King! I love our monarchy. Certainly a small nirvana inbetween the chaos.

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Psittacula2@reddit

Human language does not capture the essence of things so easily. UK is an enormous entity behind comprehension. A single binary tally of “great” vs “sucks” fits the human brain but not the reality.

Think of a sphere with a centre. Take major categories of the UK eg climate, people, culture, history, living quality index and so much more. Grow trees from these into smaller sub-categories. Give a score overall of 0-1 per branch but keep branching into micro topics per tree.

Cumulatively, you would have a visual idea of the complexity and the different weight per tree in total from positive to negative more or less (scoring could be more fine grain too).

Hence some things the UK is very good for. Other things it is bad for in many ways in both. To learn which is which is to then appreciate or enhance that which is good and to problem solve that which is bad.

Let’s take one simple top level view to contrast good and bad in one single category:

* UK is very liveable overal in climate, conditions, society, civic law abiding and so on.

* Carrying capacity of the UK is breached by too high a population which is massive problem at the same time as all the above.

Both realities coexist.

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OrganicPoet1823@reddit

The countryside in the UK is among the most beautiful in the world.

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Brave_Assumption6@reddit

Well yes and no. Yes if you like green hills. No if you like proper mountains and pass roads, or if you like forests. Germany easily beats Britain as far as those two are concerned.

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OrganicPoet1823@reddit

Yes for green hills it won’t beat Switzerland for mountains

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KP0776@reddit

Couldn’t agree more, I was cycling down the lanes by my house over the weekend, the sun was shining, the sky was blue, the hedgerows were in flower and it was just serenely perfect
(Also cycled past a couple in a car having a bit of afternoon delight, but that just added to the scene somehow 😂)

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Sharps43@reddit

Some places are absolutely beautiful. You have to exclude places like London, Manchester, Birmingham and the major cities though.

York, Bath, Lincoln, Carlisle, Macduff, all the different national trust sites, the Highlands, parts of the Green Belt, Cornwall, Devon etc are all beautiful and well worth visiting.

I find the issue with most brits is that they stay in their home town/city most of their lived and only travel to the beach (which is usually packed) and the occasional camper van holidays or holiday park. They just dont adventure much, or aren't interested in any of the historical aspect or natural beautiful of the UK. They on large also tend to go abroad for "sun and sea" and only ever place value on a destination for such weather conditions.

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ALWAYS-RED-1992@reddit

I moved to the UK in 2010 from Spain where I was raised, at the time I as an EU citizen could just spontaneously do that. I found the beauracracy even for someone with an intermediate at best (at the time) command of English to be WAYYY easier to deal with than Spain, I had my national insurance number within a week of renting my first flat and all it took for me to rent the flat was the first 2 weeks rent (£120 total) in cash and I applied for my NI number by post without having to get anything notarised or translated. A british person could move to Spain just as freely and easily back then, but it would have taken them 2 months and about 400eur in legal fees to prepare and translate the mess of paperwork it involved. I don't think anyone in the UK realises just how easy it is to do literally anything in the UK.

I naturalised in 2016 and it was super easy to fill in all of the forms and book the life in the UK test, which really speaking the questions while not that relevant were actually facinating to study for. I learned so much about british history and politics through that process.

I never, ever, was the victim of any form of racism even in the very rural village where we settled.

BUT 2010 was a very different world in the UK to 2025 when I left for good. The change in politics and the rising social issues have led to a really visible increase in crime, it's no longer possible to easily obtain rented accomodation in the UK, anywhere in the UK. And the NHS which until about 2023 was actually not that bad, suddenly fell off a cliff in terms of waiting times and standard of care. Two of my children had diagnoses missed and treatment delayed, and so I was left massivley out of pocket going private.

The groceries and cost of living is actually pretty damn cheap in the UK, our food shopping costs noticeably more in Morocco for near enough the exact same stuff.. but cigarettes are 10x cheaper. Riddle me that lol.

2010-2025 were some of the happiest years of my life, I miss the simplicity of life in rural England, I miss the scenery that even after 15 years makes me breathless, I miss the beaches and endless cliffs.

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Lanokia@reddit

Lived in France, Belgium, USA and UK. UK the longest.

All three others have a lot of positives (90s USA) but UK is great. We do ourselves down too much with little experience of alternatives.

IMO

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Desafinado777@reddit

When I go away, the best part is coming home.

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tmr89@reddit

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duke_of_germany_5@reddit

I felt this heavily when i left for poland, it was raining when i came back and felt joy

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MountainOk5299@reddit

Same.

The other place I would consider living for any period of time would be Finland.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

I remember being in the Philippines once, excited to get a good sausage roll at a shell garage. My partner saw my excitement as the pastry looked great. Until I bit into it and discovered an American style tinned cheese hot dog inside the pastry. It's a moment we laugh about to this day. If there as ever a dopamine receptor getting edged and then ditched of it's sweet sweet dopamine, that moment was it. Replaced by cortisol, horror and PTSD 😆

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MenthoL809@reddit

Yep.

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TooMuchBrightness@reddit

Massively appreciate the uk when I returned from living in the states for 5 years. British and Europeans here think that America is a much better place to live (they have no idea!). Lots of people couldn’t understand why we would come back. I just love so much about it because it’s home and a huge part of my identity, you don’t know this until you leave.

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darybrain@reddit

It is commonplace for anyone, regardless of where they live, to take their local area and nation for granted but be amazed when travelling somewhere else. Sort of — the grass is always greener — although that could also be because someone is ignoring the hosepipe ban.

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MrBread0451@reddit

The time I truly realised I loved the UK was when I was younger looking at a map of Pangea and tracing where the UK started, I think about that sometimes, it's nice not to just see it as a UK shaped mass of green with a history of genocide and colonialism surrounded by other masses of green that hate us.

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Karazhan@reddit

I am very fortunate to live in the countryside. The nearest supermarket is a 15 min drive away and when we go that route I'm always breath taken by the greenery and the seaside.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

Sounds amazing. I would love to live more rural, but health needs and the fact I have a secured tenancy here would mean I only gave that up for something equally as secure such as outright ownership, as it's more secure than a mortgage and with my warbling health that can one day see me on a camping trip but the next bedridden needing assistance from others if it flares, I sadly couldn't do that just yet.

Maybe if someone is able to treat the ME and autoimmune issues beyond the treatment I found with NADH that my GP endorsed now that gave me more than I had before, that could become an option in future.

I am fortunate that my mental health is so damn good, I love life ❤️ but you are living a dream that I may yet live if my writing makes it big 😆

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Karazhan@reddit

Rooting for you! That sounds like a rough time, and to be honest the nearest hospital is a 40 min drive so definitely wouldn't be convenient from the sounds of it. But you never know how things will go, so sending all the good vibes on over. ♥

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Wonderful_Falcon_318@reddit

I travelled a lot and feel as though I am done. Fortunate to live in one of the best parts of the UK imo. What I missed/appreciate is the green everywhere, birdsong and public footpaths.

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Version2dnb@reddit

Yep, 30 countries down and everytime I come back I realise how good we have it here, all things considered. I know it’s far from perfect but it’s much closer to that than most other places.

I’ve loved every country I’ve travelled to but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

When people talk about leaving the UK for good and for a better life, I silently question whether they’ve actually experienced other places or are they just dreaming that things will magically change by moving place. Who am I to say if they’re right but I sure know what I’ll be doing

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Tequilasquirrel@reddit

It’s interesting too because I feel like a lot of the people that moan about the U.K. have never experienced a lot of travel or life anywhere but the U.K. and the ones that do, often tend to feel like you and op. Whereas it seems the opposite with Americans, they think American is the greatest country in the world until they visit Europe and realise it’s not that great after all. I’m a Brit and I’ve also lived in other countries and agree with you and op by the way.

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Version2dnb@reddit

Haha funny you say that, I’ve jsut come back from 2 months travelling across the USA. I wound never in a million years live there. It’s a developing county dressed up as a developed country. The cities are great (mostly) but rural is fucked. Food is poor and lifestyle is so capitalist that I struggle to understand how anyone likes to live as a walking, talking product to a company.

It’s a wonderful place to visit and has some amazing people, scenery, culture but living there, no chance.

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Tequilasquirrel@reddit

That’s funny that you have recently been there! That’s a pretty fair assessment and the Americans living here seem to also agree. My friend has just gone back for a few weeks to visit and see family and I said to them, you’d not be able to go on nearly 3 weeks paid leave if you still lived there and they replied, “reason 350 why I’d never live there again”

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Version2dnb@reddit

Oh man it was a great trip. Drove 5000 miles in a RAM Bighorn across the whole of the Deep South, Texas, New Mexico and down into California. 9 states in total. Was incredible. But, I could never live there. Politics is fucked, the food is so outrageously unhealthy, the medical care is poor and insanely expensive and everyone and everything is attempting to sell you something you most likely don’t need.

It’s funny, I prefer the hassle I got at the base of the pyramids than capitalist America. At least in Egypt you know you’re being ripped off, America is the same it’s just well hidden or, even worse, built into the system to shill your for every cent.

I digress, I love the world and its quirks. I love the differences and the way different cultures approach the beauty of being human. That’s why I love travel. But I do think that being from the UK is a good life.

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Coyltonian@reddit

I’d agree apart from point 6. Sure there may be the odd spot where groceries are more expensive (especially for certain items) but I think other than Switzerland (and prolly Oz) there are few places where an average shop is dearer. Now value-wise there can be massive fluctuations (and obviously PPP and income in different places affect things), but just in raw payment terms groceries here are not cheap.

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Silver_SnakeNZ@reddit

British groceries are definitely cheap compared to wages and especially minimum wages. If you take a look at this list for example: https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp?title=2025&displayColumn=3

Sure there's plenty of countries with cheaper groceries in absolute terms but that's kinda irrelevant to the locals - what matters is how much you can buy with what you earn and the UK is definitely one of the better ones for that.

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reditcyclist@reddit

You haven't visited North American supermarkets then.

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Coyltonian@reddit

I have quite a bit, though not in last 4 (or maybe 5) years.

And they are generally far cheaper (no nowhere near as much as when we were getting $2+ to the £ in the late 80s early 90s though).

The quality available is generally nowhere near as good, but the prices are still slightly cheaper overall.

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reditcyclist@reddit

Not my experience in New York state 2yrs ago. Everything felt a lot lot more expensive than London. The NYC itself was just crazy prices.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

I think that one has a very subjective and variable yardstick so I'd be inclined to agree with your point.

We batch cook from fresh and find we can cook for as little as £1.50 to £2 per meal. Tesco Coco pops being 95 pence. But other stuff like prepackaged is expensive.

I guess this depends on what you are eating, etc. The rice we buy here is definitely cheaper than the Philippines but more expensive than Nepal. But compared to local salaries which is what I measure by, it's quite good based on the above.

Some food in Asian angiosperms my have cheaper raw grocery coat, but if the salaries are far smaller for the average joe, it is more expensive in a relative sense.

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Coyltonian@reddit

Yeah, like I said it isn’t quite as cut and dry as converting the price tag and comparing, but even just looking at other western nations with similar income levels it isn’t great.

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Equal-Passion-5760@reddit

My only complaint is with pub culture, I am happy that I was born here but I wish pub culture would disappear

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Direct-Key-8859@reddit

The UK is a nice place to live with a good qualirly of life.

However after living abroad and travelling I have come to really hate the culture, attitude and mindset of the average Brit.

Compared to other cultures we are lazy, rude amd very entitled.

I think if you magically replaced every Brit with a German I think in 10 years we would have the best country ever.

We holf ourselfs back

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Snoo-84389@reddit

A very well written set of points that are mostly based on your own lived experiences. It won't stop the haters n whingers doing their hating n whinging, but well said 😀

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sushi_collector12@reddit

Guess anyone who has any valid criticisms of this country is a hater and whinger then. Chill out.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

Thank you :) yeah I don't worry too much about that, when you know the light is there and have the eyes open to see it, you can enjoy it.

And basically yeah it is, based on evaluation of my lived experiences and those I have connected with mirror it. My aunt sees it the same way as me :)

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Snoo-84389@reddit

Your first point is about birdsong. Following a comment / recommendation on Reddit I've recently downloaded the Merlin birdsong app and over the BH Weekend the missus and i had it running several times when sat in the garden and it identifies multiple different birds from the briefiest little burst of their song!

Recommended 😀

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pseudo-cineast@reddit

Thanks for mentioning the app. Just downloaded and looking forward to using it on my travels.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

Ahhh thanks for the tip :) Blue tits are my all time favourite bird ❤️

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Last-Seaworthiness68@reddit

I like living here very much for the most part. In the summer, on a nice day, there’s nowhere better. However my partner is French and should a certain party win in 2029 we will be leaving.

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Equal-Passion-5760@reddit

I like the country and am happy with the institutions we have such as the nhs but I don’t like the culture in my local area which is rural, so many drunk, loud, obnoxious and rude people about, when I go visit the local urban towns the culture definitely seems to be nicer

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7777cloudstrife@reddit

God bless the UK

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Unicronium@reddit

It's the changing of the season for me. That and our countryside just looks so much different. I love the thatched cottages, the hedgerows and our woods & forests. I love that we are surrounded by the sea. And i love the architecture. It's true lots of other countries have some of these features but we have them all.

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OmegaJordan1@reddit

Only time my love to be back home took a knock was when I came back from a 2 week trip to Japan with my bro last year. Don't want to sound like one of those sad people that obsess about Japan, but man, arriving back in London, getting the train and then seeing Greggs, McDonalds and Starbucks in a taxi on the way home made me feel like absolute shit.

Their meal deals and ready meals are Michelin level quality compared to ours. Plus the strength of the pound over there was a massive bonus.

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quarky_uk@reddit

I have lived in a few countries. They all have problems, and I do sometimes wonder what would have happened if I had stayed in some of those other ones, but I generally like the UK, and it has given me some great opportunities.

Just wish dickheads would pick up their rubbish.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

Yeah me and hubby often pick up litter when out, that could do with improvement.

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GustappyTony@reddit

I find it difficult to love this country admittedly, I've moved around a lot since I was young, so I don't feel I have a real connection to it anymore. It can also often feel depressing to see how bad our biodiversity is and the worsening effects of climate change on a country that isn't ready for or adapted to it.

With that said, I take a lot of pride in what we have access to in this country, even if its not the cheapest it could be or even the most efficient. I'm glad I can use public transport to get around the entire country with little hassle. I'm proud of the NHS, which even when the government doesn't handle it properly, will still treat me without charging me a penny. I take great pride in the tap water too! So long as its from up north anyway, as I am not a fan of the hard water that is common place in the south.

Most of all I take pride in the diversity of this country, of the sports that bring us together, of the various takeaways we all love and share, and the fact that everyone knows what big tesco means. I love that without fail everyone will defend our plugs to the death because they really are the best in the world. I think as well just being part of a generation that consistently feels far more accepting is really nice, which might not be unique to here, but generally I find that even those who are the least bit interested can still be respectful towards others. Its not to say millenials or gen z are perfect mind you, but on the whole it feels more supportive. People are more open about mental health and social issues, they're more accepting of those who have different backgrounds or orientations. Even those I meet who don't have much clue about LGBTQ+ stuff, will more than likely not really bat an eye about it.

Although I might be able to see myself living somewhere else in my life, I do think this will be home for me one way or another. For as much as I might complain about it, I will still make it my entire personality that I'm from Yorkshire, and you best bet that I'm gonna be so obnoxious about that fact.

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hurrdurrswit@reddit

Born and raised in London, after university happened to have lived and worked in the US, Dubai, Singapore, and Switzerland the last 15 years. Always enjoy coming back to the uk for a week or two over xmas or summer. Seeing social media it gives the idea that the uk is overrun with zombie hordes of knife dwelling boat people or something. For all of what you have described and more i think the uk is incredible

Some things have certainly declined over the years, for example, high street everywhere seem to be declining and struggling, some more homeless and antisocial behaviour too. None of that negates the great things about the uk. Also acknowledge some things are location specific, i grew up in the ‘london banana’ and acknowledge things may have declined considerably elsewhere in the country.

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Geepandjagger@reddit

I don't think anyone would say that the UK was worse than many Asian countries if any. The floor standard of living is always going to be much higher than those countries but the problem is people are getting farther and farther away from what used to be considered mediocrity in this country. I love the UK but I now have to question myself about simple every day activities like buying two beers instead of one or even about going out at all and the related expenses which is not where anyone wants to be. It's great to have what we have and we should appreciate it but we also shouldn't be comparing ourselves to Nepal. If having a functioning health service and stable electricity is something to be proud of in a developed country that is really sad don't you think.

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AlucardVTep3s@reddit

Was speaking to a South Sudanese taxi driver and he said it all boiled down to the fact we have a functioning and pretty fair system. You pay the taxes and you get services in return, if your home is robbed then you can file a complaint and know it will be investigated, you get into a car accident and you know police will be on the scene to help you rather than beat and extort you.

The functioning state part is taken for granted highly I think, an innocent farmer in Sudan wouldn’t be able to live like one in the UK, even with the same profession.

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BumblebeeNo6356@reddit

One major thing I missed when traveling was the grass (not the smoking kind) in the UK. A lot countries have quite prickly grass and it’s not nice to chill out on.

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Success_With_Lettuce@reddit

I'm an FSE for a major serospace company, I work mainly military.

UK is fantastic - I hardly ever have an abroud holiday.

I love the UK. We have it so, so good.

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ShineAtom@reddit

I may not have travelled the world although I've spent a great deal of time in France.

I've been so fortunate to have met people from all over the world and all over the UK. I've worked with them, been friends with them, studied with them, played music with them, all of that and more. I've lived and worked all over the UK (well a great deal of it: regrettably less in the north of England and so far never been to Ireland) as well. To have been able to do this, to see this beautiful country, has been a privilege.

We get things wrong certainly but so do all countries. We have what is really a pretty good public sector without which many would struggle: the NHS, social care, education, benefits system, social housing (need more of this though) and so on.

Yes I'm very happy to live in this country and hope I will continue to feel this way. I do worry about the future and how things will be for those younger than me (most of the population). Although having just watched Race Across the World and seen the two young men who won, the brother and sister and the two cousins who also took part, it gives me hope for the youth!

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Immorals1@reddit

Yep. We have it great here, but perspective comes from experience and actually seeing other countries outside of resorts

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

Yeah, and this is where I made random friends online and stayed with them in homestay scenarios. One such friend I met on Reddit on an old account :)

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KP0776@reddit

I had the potential of moving to New Zealand, after visiting, but I came back and realised absolutely how much I love this country, especially the countryside (I live in Shropshire), the lanes in the summer, the Oak trees, wild flowers, the birds (although the birds in NZ were one of my favourite things), I love how old the towns are here, how I can travel barely any distance and find a stone circle, or an ancient burial chamber, or a church surrounded by Yew trees older than Christianity, I love that my ancestors are from this land and I realised I have so much more to discover and learn from this country and that’s why I chose to stay 💛🌳

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Crudeprimate@reddit

This is a wonderful account of the authors appreciation of many things which I, and probably others too, often overlook.

We love a grumble in the UK. Many of us hold and aspire to an ideal of some perfect time when “the country was great”, which I think sometimes robs us of the opportunity to enjoy what we have.

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GooseyDuckDuck@reddit

The beauty of travel is seeing something different, that's not to say I don't visit other parts of the UK - but I can see the UK any day of the week, I can't in reality do that with the Far East.

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Sparkson109@reddit

The moment you tried calling what is happening in the world online rage bait like 1m+ people didn’t just have a far right march in London (where i was called a racial slur on the way to see a friend mind you) let’s me know exactly the type of person you are.

I can see why you’re so happy

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idontlikemondays321@reddit

This isn’t an exciting one but I like how we interact.
Some other countries feel too in your face and some feel quite cold and starey. I feel like we are friendly without being overbearing. Obviously I feel like this because this is what’s normal to me

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Milam1996@reddit

Apart from wildlife, we rank very high for basically any positive metric you can use to measure anything.

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OrangeTractorMan@reddit

I like this country because it's the culture and society I was raised in. I feel at home here, I love the weather's diversity, I love that if I hit rock bottom here that we have good social protections, but equally we have a lot of freedom.

It's a great country.

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TheAviator27@reddit

Considering the comparisons you're giving, I can believe it. Comparing with the rest of Europe however? lmao no.

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mg118118118@reddit

100% for me it’s the infrastructure and unspoken social contracts we have here that promote order (less chaos like in Asia)

Sense of Community is something that stands out for me in other countries, but then when you come back you realise this is your responsibility rather than something that just exists, you need to find or create your community.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

I like your point there on community responsibility because I loved Asian community, but here I have had no issue making friends, connecting with my neighbours, and have a strong social network in the UK. I have a local and extended community and love it.

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most_crispy_owl@reddit

The pubs being in historic buildings. I was just driving around Tuscany and I did crave the pub. When the weather is good I think the English countryside beats the Italian.

There doesn't seem to be an equivalent of a pub over there. Yes they have wine bars and coffee shops, but the aesthetic isn't there. Plasticy

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okaycompuperskills@reddit

Yeah this is what patriotism means to me. I subjectively but genuinely believe we’re the greatest country in the world. I’m including pubs and our cuisine on top of your list tho. Also just how fucking funny people are here.

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Greedy_Highlight3009@reddit

The comedy is definitely one of a kind and very few places compare.

I will give the Germans and Eastern Europeans credit though they are a great time

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tortellinipigletini@reddit

Without being nationalistic, I love the UK, I've travelled everywhere and can't see myself living anywehre else. Do I wish we had more interesting natural beauty yes. Is it expensive, yes. Does it have a lot of problems yes. But I think it measures up well.

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LightWorkerBoy-144@reddit (OP)

I think this is it, it measures up well. The small size is a sad disadvantage as it's a popular destination without the physical space to meet demand AND stay food secure with it's own farmland in the process.

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spoo4brains@reddit

I think there is an incredible array of natural beauty in the UK if you travel around a bit. I visited the Rockies in Canada years ago, and I wasn't nearly as impressed as I am every time I visit Scotland.

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Greedy_Highlight3009@reddit

I’ve been to a lot of places across Europe, a couple in America and a couple in the Middle East and can happily say as much I’ve enjoyed all of them none have made me want to live there opposed to the UK (Maybe Germany is the closest)

I have not done Asia yet so maybe I’m yet to experience true greatness

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Due-Presentation4344@reddit

Travelled the East Coast of Australia, North and South of NZ, a bit of Thailand. Spent over a year in Aus and loved it.

I've been to Singapore, Egypt, the US (Vegas, NYC, San Diego, Denver) and most of Europe.

I'd move to Australia tomorrow. The weather is great, culture isn't dissimilar to the UK, unfortunately it's so far away and me +the wife couldn't bear taking our children away from their grandparents.

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sesameprawntoast50@reddit

I love this country. Sure there are plenty of flaws, but whose homes don't have flaws? At the end of the day this is my home, and will always be my home.

Sure I don't like central London and Birmingham and the big cities, because I in general am not a fan of such places. But these places are far away from most other places that exist in the uk which people tend to ignore.

-NHS - I know it sometimes feels daunting and there have been many complaints. But to be honest the harsh reality is that other countries are also facing the same issue regarding healthcare. We just have to hope for things to get better. Also might I add at the end of the day the riskiest procedures in the UK are done through the NHS not private hospitals. Private hospitals don't have the facilities which the NHS has for major life threatening issues. The population is also on the rise and therefore it's definitely getting harder for the NHS to allocate resources. But my point with healthcare is that even in private hospitals, your care can go down to shambles. All I know is myself, my family and people around me those whom I personally know have gotten their care, though there were some complaints here and there. We as a society should work towards bettering the NHS instead of bashing it.

I do love this country, I can't have a 100% guarantee of happiness if I shift to Dubai. I can't a 100% guarantee at happiness if I stay in the UK either, but it is what it is in every country you go to. Instead of bashing this country, we need to work towards bettering it. That's all I can say.

P.S. I am aware some people have had an immensely difficult time in this country, and I am not dismissing their problems at all, I am just stating that no country is perfect.

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