OT: Don't you just love us.....

gtvlusso

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/se ... ife-europe

Right, due to it being officially cr*p in this country, I'm off......

rick_chasey

Hehe. Was going to post this, but figured, you know, dirty foreigner posting it wouldn't go down too well.

UN says Britain is the worst place in the developed world to bring up your kids too.

Makes sense to me.

_Brun_

So, uSwitch produce a survey and the results just happen to be those most likely to be regurgitated by the media.

If Britain is so crap what are all these foreigns doing over here?

rick_chasey

_Brun_ wrote:

If Britain is so crap what are all these foreigns doing over here?

Yerr, ged rid of 'em, dirty bastards.

rjsterry

I know I was accused of being a grumpy old git yesterday, but seriously...

Nobody does misery and feeling hard done by quite like the British.

Cheer (TF) up!

Also, uSwitch has a vested interest in convincing us that everything is too expensive.

rubertoe

I'm off to france...

notsoblue

"Cutting back where possible to help combat our high living costs will go some way to improving our quality of life"

What better way to help cut back than to use uSwitch.

I think part of the reason why we're more unhappy than the rest of Europe is because we're constantly being told that aspects of our life are sh1t by companies who apparently have the solution to making it better and are more than willing to sell it to us.

veronese68

I think my quality of life is excellent. I have a nice house (admittedly small) in a good area, I get on well with my neighbours (all off to the pub up the road tomorrow), I have a job, I have 2 great kids and a lovely wife.
The other way of looking at it is: The house is too small and property prices are way too high, too many people and not enough space, my wife is out of work due to government cut backs hitting local councils, the kids need new shoes and clothes, etc, etc, etc...
It's got more to do with your general outlook. I do struggle at times but try to stay positive.
I love going to Italy on holiday, but don't want to live there.

gtvlusso

Well, I am far more skint at the moment than I have ever been. But I guess we have all gotta pay back for the good times. I am a bit sick of the rising cost a fuel and food - especially when the companies involved then announce record profits and regulator does sweet FA.

I am also about to enter round one of the bun fight to send my daughter to the school 30 seconds from my front door; about 120 yards. My daughter is 18 months old, but we have to register with the school early as the catchment are has gone down to 100 yards around the school - they are taking 60 pupils this term, 35 of which live outside the catchment, but their is a sibling rule which gives them priority on places. Another 10 of which, so my wife has found out, are from families that own flats in the area, but do not actually live in the area.

Fills me with dread what my little girl is being brought up into.....

Also just found out that all 3 of my pensions are worth FA again......

So, in a way the demographic may be correct......You can't always have what you want, but a few more days leave at work would be a big bonus for me.....Throw the dog a bone!

UndercoverElephant

To be fair to uSwitch, they send me a crate of wine every year for switching my electricity and gas through them.

I won't hear a bad word about them.

rick_chasey

It's not the first time it's been said:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... reece.html (november 2010)

http://www.visabureau.com/australia/new ... ralia.aspx (July '08 )

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/oct/1 ... ife-survey
(October 09)

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/ ... index.html ( September 07)

rjsterry

gtvlusso wrote:

Well, I am far more skint at the moment than I have ever been. But I guess we have all gotta pay back for the good times. I am a bit sick of the rising cost a fuel and food - especially when the companies involved then announce record profits and regulator does sweet FA.

I am also about to enter round one of the bun fight to send my daughter to the school 30 seconds from my front door; about 120 yards. My daughter is 18 months old, but we have to register with the school early as the catchment are has gone down to 100 yards around the school - they are taking 60 pupils this term, 35 of which live outside the catchment, but their is a sibling rule which gives them priority on places. Another 10 of which, so my wife has found out, are from families that own flats in the area, but do not actually live in the area.

Fills me with dread what my little girl is being brought up into.....

Also just found out that all 3 of my pensions are worth FA again......

So, in a way the demographic may be correct......You can't always have what you want, but a few more days leave at work would be a big bonus for me.....Throw the dog a bone!

Provision of enough school places is a problem, but then we have managed to time a small baby boom to coincide with cutbacks in government spending (BTW, that does sound particularly mental for north Bristol - even in outer London, we are only applying for my 2-year-old's pre-school at the moment). Having said that, there are degrees of skint. It feels odd to be on a decent salary, but still have nowt spare at the end of each month, but I could be living on some ghost town, half-finished development in Spain (bet the sunshine really helps there) or Ireland. Or I could be a public employee in Greece. Yes, it's not as cushy as 2007, but that's hardly surprising.

BTW, is your loft insulated? That'll save you far more than uSwitch.

rick_chasey

rjsterry wrote:

Provision of enough school places is a problem, but then we have managed to time a small baby boom to coincide with cutbacks in government spending .

As has the rest of Europe...

notsoblue

Its a matter of perception and attitude though isn't it.

UndercoverElephant

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

rick_chasey

notsoblue wrote:

Its a matter of perception and attitude though isn't it.

Some things are quite discreet and measurable.

rjsterry

Rick Chasey wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Provision of enough school places is a problem, but then we have managed to time a small baby boom to coincide with cutbacks in government spending .

As has the rest of Europe...

What else is there to do when the economic sky is falling in?

Torvid

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

Sounds great got any Jobs going up there?

UndercoverElephant

Torvid wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

Sounds great got any Jobs going up there?

http://www.s1jobs.com/jobs/Edinburgh/

Wallace1492

UndercoverElephant wrote:

Torvid wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

Sounds great got any Jobs going up there?

http://www.s1jobs.com/jobs/Edinburgh/

NOTHING TO SEE HERE>>>> MOVE ON!!

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

So how is Mr Salmond paying for all this?

Visiting my cousin and his family near St Andrews (Ceres to be precise), it did seem a very nice place to live, but then there's a lot of money washing around St Andrews. Anstruther was pretty too, but I'm not sure Scotland has a monopoly on beautiful countryside, quaint fishing villages and the benefits of low population density.

Oh, and just to borrow this from the other thread.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8427306/Alex-Saberi-photographs-the-wildlife-and-change-of-seasons-in-Richmond-Park.html

notsoblue

Rick Chasey wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

Its a matter of perception and attitude though isn't it.

Some things are quite discreet and measurable.

Such as? Not disagreeing with you.

veronese68

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

Not me. I'm happy. Like I said it's all about how you look at things. My wife however is quite down at the moment. Could be redundancy, could be due to being married to an insufferable pr1ck.

rick_chasey

notsoblue wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

notsoblue wrote:

Its a matter of perception and attitude though isn't it.

Some things are quite discreet and measurable.

Such as? Not disagreeing with you.

An example:

HDI

gtvlusso

rjsterry wrote:

gtvlusso wrote:

Well, I am far more skint at the moment than I have ever been. But I guess we have all gotta pay back for the good times. I am a bit sick of the rising cost a fuel and food - especially when the companies involved then announce record profits and regulator does sweet FA.

I am also about to enter round one of the bun fight to send my daughter to the school 30 seconds from my front door; about 120 yards. My daughter is 18 months old, but we have to register with the school early as the catchment are has gone down to 100 yards around the school - they are taking 60 pupils this term, 35 of which live outside the catchment, but their is a sibling rule which gives them priority on places. Another 10 of which, so my wife has found out, are from families that own flats in the area, but do not actually live in the area.

Fills me with dread what my little girl is being brought up into.....

Also just found out that all 3 of my pensions are worth FA again......

So, in a way the demographic may be correct......You can't always have what you want, but a few more days leave at work would be a big bonus for me.....Throw the dog a bone!

Provision of enough school places is a problem, but then we have managed to time a small baby boom to coincide with cutbacks in government spending (BTW, that does sound particularly mental for north Bristol - even in outer London, we are only applying for my 2-year-old's pre-school at the moment). Having said that, there are degrees of skint. It feels odd to be on a decent salary, but still have nowt spare at the end of each month, but I could be living on some ghost town, half-finished development in Spain (bet the sunshine really helps there) or Ireland. Or I could be a public employee in Greece. Yes, it's not as cushy as 2007, but that's hardly surprising.

BTW, is your loft insulated? That'll save you far more than uSwitch.

I think it is more a combination of things - If one thing could be better, then I think I would be more satisfied.

E.g. - bit more holiday and I would be cool with the rest of it. Or knowing that someone is pushing the fuel bills issue. I do feel ripped off in the UK and it seems to be proved factually. Although we have a big population compared to France for example - so, our community costs will naturally be higher - accepted.

I am more than happy to pay my share, but I am getting sick of my energy bill jumping 18% year in, year out - and the company that provides said energy announces record profits.

The whole school thing is a farce, they should never have implemented the league tables measure, it has made schoolling such a big fight now. People who *could* afford a choice of school - private education - decided to simply buy an asset flat and rent it out where there was a good school and send the kids there - smart move, but it f*cked the rest of us royally!

I believe that we have become an incredibly selfish society. I am part of the Mercedes Owners club, I can tell you that a fair portion of those guys don't pay tax in the UK, yet are quite happy to live here - these are people who are company directors and so on. Not massively overpaid, but earning enough to make it viable. My own salary is not too bad and has been supporting a family quite easily - ultimately, I am in a reasonable position, but some of my friends and family are really struggling and it hurts to see this.

Perhaps the new UK citizen condition is; happy to live here, as long as I don't have to pay for living here.

Must admit that I am applying for transfers to Canada....

rjsterry

Veronese68 wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

Not me. I'm happy. Like I said it's all about how you look at things. My wife however is quite down at the moment. Could be redundancy, could be due to being married to an insufferable pr1ck.

...who just sits there grinning to himself

Another happy London dweller here (Bristolian immigrant of 10 years if that makes any difference). This may have something to do with having finally finished (sort of) two and a half years of doing up the wreck of a house we bought, and littl'un no. 2 being due any day now. It's been a bit grimmer over the last 2 years for various reasons, but things are definitely looking up

NGale

I think I have a right to be a grumpy sod today and hate this country for the fetted s**t pit that it is seeing as I have no job as of today and will be handed my notice within the next 5 working days

rjsterry

NGale wrote:

I think I have a right to be a grumpy sod today and hate this country for the fetted s**t pit that it is seeing as I have no job as of today and will be handed my notice within the next 5 working days

Aw feck, that's crappy news. Best of luck finding something.

gtvlusso

NGale wrote:

I think I have a right to be a grumpy sod today and hate this country for the fetted s**t pit that it is seeing as I have no job as of today and will be handed my notice within the next 5 working days

Thats bad news - sorry to hear it.

is there much about where you are, beautiful area that it is?

UndercoverElephant

rjsterry wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

So how is Mr Salmond paying for all this?

Visiting my cousin and his family near St Andrews (Ceres to be precise), it did seem a very nice place to live, but then there's a lot of money washing around St Andrews. Anstruther was pretty too, but I'm not sure Scotland has a monopoly on beautiful countryside, quaint fishing villages and the benefits of low population density.

Oh, and just to borrow this from the other thread.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8427306/Alex-Saberi-photographs-the-wildlife-and-change-of-seasons-in-Richmond-Park.html

Those are lovely photographs, but I could find plenty which show a different side of London...

As for paying for it: Scotland is one of the richest areas of the UK, Edinburgh itself has the third highest GDP per head of population of any European city (after London and Zurich). And the lower population density really takes the sting out of the cost of living.

rjsterry

UndercoverElephant wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

UndercoverElephant wrote:

I don't know why they lump Scotland in with the rest of the UK. My quality of life is excellent. I live 500 yards from a beautiful, sandy beach, the local council is well-run and efficient, the schools and hospitals round here are brilliant. House prices are better than down south, and wages aren't too far off.

I reckon it's all you Londoners who bring down the average. Miserable gits.

So how is Mr Salmond paying for all this?

Visiting my cousin and his family near St Andrews (Ceres to be precise), it did seem a very nice place to live, but then there's a lot of money washing around St Andrews. Anstruther was pretty too, but I'm not sure Scotland has a monopoly on beautiful countryside, quaint fishing villages and the benefits of low population density.

Oh, and just to borrow this from the other thread.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8427306/Alex-Saberi-photographs-the-wildlife-and-change-of-seasons-in-Richmond-Park.html

Those are lovely photographs, but I could find plenty which show a different side of London...

As for paying for it: Scotland is one of the richest areas of the UK, Edinburgh itself has the third highest GDP per head of population of any European city (after London and Zurich). And the lower population density really takes the sting out of the cost of living.

And likewise crappy bits of Glasgow or Edinburgh.