...not at the moment. As a proud Englishman I don’t enjoy feeling negative about my country but I have to be honest about the way I feel about being here right now. I am purely basing this on my ‘enjoyment’ of living here.
Some things (big generalisations) I don't like about living in England
- Poor weather; lack of distinct seasons. We now have Winter and Spring only. Average temperature is 9c.
- Poor service in shops, hotels, pubs, banks and from utility companies.
- Too much traffic on most motorways and in most towns/cities (Milton Keynes being the main exception).
- Property, cars, food, clothes, parking, fuel, hotels and restaurants are too expensive.
- Taxes are too high and there is a lack of visibility on the specific distribution of our money.
- Lack of respect; too often people I don’t know in shops call me mate. I’m shocked these days if people call me Sir or if a banker calls me by my name. Children over the last ten years have become even more distant from adults with poor levels of respect and politeness. I blame the parents and unfortunately the last generation of poorly brought up children are now teachers with poor social standards and the downward spiral continues.
- Complete lack of leadership on what being British means from political and business leaders. If you aren’t from this country and want to live here you should do so with respect to the customs and culture of Great Britain. While you should be able to continue to respect your religious beliefs and enjoy elements of your own culture, that makes you the person you are, you should respect the overall culture of this country and accept that you should adopt the culture here or leave.
- The welfare state should be a safety net for those that can’t work or are in need of health care but not a haven for spongers.
- Most new build homes are small, poorly built and of ubiquitous design.
Some things I love about living in England
- Generally this remains a safe country both in terms of crime and lack of natural disasters.
- My team Manchester United winning the Premier League
- Some architecture is superb in places like Oxford
- Beautiful rolling hills and villages
- The best of Britishness - Wills & Kate
Agree or disagree with me? I’d like to know. Tell me honestly and don’t hold back! If you live in a different country what is good and bad about where you live.
*I am in favour of the union of the United Kingdom but as I have only ever lived in England I can’t comment on living in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
Recently updated but originally published 26 Feb 2010.
After over 20 years at Manchester United, in fact a few weeks more than Sir Alex Ferguson himself, Gary Neville played alongside his classmates from 1992 in his testimonial match at Old Trafford. Pictured left to right: Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt, David Beckham, brother Phil Neville and Paul Scholes.
