Living in the United Kingdom

pottssteve

Fellow Cyclists,

Bear with me.....

In 2003 I left to UK to live and work overseas and, with the exception of the odd week or two, haven't been back since.

I am currently back in Hong Kong. However, much has changed since I was last here - it's a lot more crowded, prices have risen, and the standard of driving has got even worse, judging by the 5 or 6 times I was nearly killed during this morning's ride. Therefore, I may well not renew my current contract and will look for a move at the end of 2015.

Current possible locations I quite fancy include Switzerland, southern Germany or Luxembourg. Denmark also stands an outside chance. However, the missus quite fancies going back to the UK as she has family on the south coast.

My questions are, therefore:

1. Does anyone have experience of the places mentioned on my list, and if so, would they recommend them as nice places to live?
2. How god-awful is the UK these days? Is it all illegal immigrants, road rage and 9 hour waits in A and E, or are there still some things to recommend Old Blightly?

Cheers in advance,
Steve

PerformingMonkey

pottssteve wrote:

However, much has changed since I was last here - it's a lot more crowded, prices have risen, and the standard of driving has got even worse, judging by the 5 or 6 times I was nearly killed during this morning's ride.

You have accurately described the South Coast of England...

pottssteve

PerformingMonkey wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

However, much has changed since I was last here - it's a lot more crowded, prices have risen, and the standard of driving has got even worse, judging by the 5 or 6 times I was nearly killed during this morning's ride.

You have accurately described the South Coast of England...

Oh dear! I lived in Sussex by the sea for most of the 1990s and it was bad enough then.....That's probably where we would end up if we came back as Mrs Steve can't abide the north......

nicklouse

in 2015 will they let you back in?

I would go for Luxembourg.

bernithebiker

We lived in Geneva for 4 years, which I would rate 2/10 on the lively / fun scale. If I then said that Gva is probably the funkiest city in Switzerland, you then get an idea of the rest of the place.

Fine if you want to settle down to a quiet, orderly life, not so good if you're gregarious and sociable.

Make sure you get paid in CHF or it will be horrifically expensive.

+ side = very beautiful, great for outdoor sports.

pottssteve

nicklouse wrote:

in 2015 will they let you back in?

I would go for Luxembourg.

No problem, I will just take Polish nationality and they will have no choice....

Bernie - I quite fancy Geneva (though I think I would need at least 125,000CHF to make it worthwhile). I am not interested in fun or meeting people - I do love a ride in the mountains, though. Lac Leman is certainly a possibility...

arthur_scrimshaw

pottssteve wrote:

PerformingMonkey wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

However, much has changed since I was last here - it's a lot more crowded, prices have risen, and the standard of driving has got even worse, judging by the 5 or 6 times I was nearly killed during this morning's ride.

You have accurately described the South Coast of England...

Oh dear! I lived in Sussex by the sea for most of the 1990s and it was bad enough then.....That's probably where we would end up if we came back as Mrs Steve can't abide the north......

I live in West Sussex, it's expensive, crowded and getting worse. Maybe further West - Dorset, Devon might be nicer.

bernithebiker

pottssteve wrote:

nicklouse wrote:

in 2015 will they let you back in?

I would go for Luxembourg.

No problem, I will just take Polish nationality and they will have no choice....

Bernie - I quite fancy Geneva (though I think I would need at least 125,000CHF to make it worthwhile). I am not interested in fun or meeting people - I do love a ride in the mountains, though. Lac Leman is certainly a possibility...

Yep, I would say that's about the minimum you'd needed, especially as housing is very expensive and hard to find.

Winters are long and cold, and often very grey; you have to get above 1000m to get into blue sky. But often big jams leaving Gva for the Alps on a Friday evening.....

Excellent links from the airport though, and you can do your shopping in France and save some wedge (but watch out getting it past the border, they have all sorts of limits (eg. 500g butter!)

veronese68

pottssteve wrote:

...Bear with me.....

In 2003 I left to UK to live and work overseas and, with the exception of the odd week or two, haven't been back since.
2. How god-awful is the UK these days? Is it all illegal immigrants...

Always makes me laugh when ex-pats complain about immigration, even if they are joking. :roll:

pottssteve

Veronese68 wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

...Bear with me.....

In 2003 I left to UK to live and work overseas and, with the exception of the odd week or two, haven't been back since.
2. How god-awful is the UK these days? Is it all illegal immigrants...

Always makes me laugh when ex-pats complain about immigration, even if they are joking. :roll:

I get most of my UK news from the Daily Mail, so that's what I think goes on these days......

I'm legal, mind....

BelgianBeerGeek

Arthur Scrimshaw wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

PerformingMonkey wrote:

pottssteve wrote:

However, much has changed since I was last here - it's a lot more crowded, prices have risen, and the standard of driving has got even worse, judging by the 5 or 6 times I was nearly killed during this morning's ride.

You have accurately described the South Coast of England...

Oh dear! I lived in Sussex by the sea for most of the 1990s and it was bad enough then.....That's probably where we would end up if we came back as Mrs Steve can't abide the north......

I live in West Sussex, it's expensive, crowded and getting worse. Maybe further West - Dorset, Devon might be nicer.

+ 1 to the above. The south coast is OK once you get far enough west, avoid the rest. The way things are heading it will be concreted over soon - the plans for housebuilding are mental.

schlepcycling

Another vote for Switzerland although this time for Zurich where I lived for a number of years, nice compact city, great public transport, clean and I found the drivers to be very considerate, like anywhere else in Switzerland it's pricey.

pottssteve

schlepcycling wrote:

Another vote for Switzerland although this time for Zurich where I lived for a number of years, nice compact city, great public transport, clean and I found the drivers to be very considerate, like anywhere else in Switzerland it's pricey.

Thanks, schlep. I have a couple of former colleagues who live and work there and they seem quite happy. It's certainly somewhere I'm considering.

KnightOfTheLongTights

pottssteve wrote:

Bernie - I quite fancy Geneva (though I think I would need at least 125,000CHF to make it worthwhile). I am not interested in fun or meeting people - I do love a ride in the mountains, though. Lac Leman is certainly a possibility...

Lausanne is a great town in my opinion. Beautiful, well-situated and plenty going on.

t4tomo

if you have a social life, you'll find switzerland, germany and Lux quite dull compared to Hong Kong. Southern germany would be my pick from those, I quite like the Bavarians, beer and sausages. Also pretty close to the alps for skiing & cycling.

I'm back in HK, then onto Vietnam, for a work trip next week - looking forward to it.

vinnymarsden

I have no issue with anyone wanting to live anywhere....but it seems a bit rich to criticise the UK for being full of foreigners...then going and being the exact same thing in someone else's country!!!

The UK has got some really bad points, but just how many people go abroad to live for years...and at some point decide to return to dear old blight...I personally know at least 2 families who wrote off the UK and went to Oz, only to return before long!

I don't like everything that goes on here...but being totally honest...where in the civilised world is really a whole lot better??
!
And clearly if the OPs Daily Mail comment isn't a joke...then he will steer well clear of home!!!

BelgianBeerGeek

t4tomo wrote:

if you have a social life, you'll find switzerland, germany and Lux quite dull compared to Hong Kong. Southern germany would be my pick from those, I quite like the Bavarians, beer and sausages. Also pretty close to the alps for skiing & cycling.

I'm back in HK, then onto Vietnam, for a work trip next week - looking forward to it.

I dunno, the Germans can have their moments of fun, in my experience when they let their hair down they really go for it. Bavaria is of course pretty good, the other side of Germany is pretty nice too. Freiburg sells itself as one of Germany's most cycling-friendly cities.