A Hard Rain´s Gonna Fall ...

Only speaking for myself, and despite Britain's faults I'd not choose to live anywhere else.
It's clear (even from the crappy eurovision song contest) that we are unpopular across europe.
But It'll do for me.. despite hard or soft rain.

 

I think there maybe better places to live than England but I'm not sure where they are, I think there are a lot of worse places.
Most people who leave England seem to do so because of the weather, which is something I could possibly like, I've always hated our weather, but I dont see that as a reason, in itself, to actully leave.
I think there are better places to live in England, than, where I live, but I cant afford to move, or do I think its worth it.

Having relatives in Australia I find mud slinging by expats pretty boring.

 

I'm no apologist for electric cars Just as Giri clings to his woodburner, I'll defend my Quiksilver to the last! But the memory of children being individually chauffeured to schools in damned great 4x4s lingers. It's taking off here now Also vivid memories of families with licence-aged kids juggling their 4 or 5 cars on a driveway designed for 2 max. As for flights, I coudn't agree more about the hypocrisy of world leaders jetting off to exotic climes to pontificate about how their subjects can be milked in the name of saving the planet! But let's face it, low-cost flights revolutionised popular travel. People have got used to taking a plane like they used to take a bus. It's going to be nigh-on impossible to reverse that. As an e.g., the thousands of Brit ex-pats or second-home owners wringing their hands about the demise of the ozone layer, Covid etc. but also doing everything in their power to break the rules and flit between countries as usual, or have their families do the same. Double standards!

 

We have extreme weather in summer and winter and I happen to enjoy the beginning of each season and the anticipation of and planning for the next.

We keep getting fingers pointed at us as though were big time polluters even though we are not. I'd love to see how someone could afford to heat a home here with just renewable energy as is being suggested by warmer countries. My furnace runs on natural gas which is much cleaner than any wood burning device.

According to some sources there are 8,953 trees per Canadian in this country which I believe would have a mitigating factor in regards to our carbon emissions. Probably brings them down to what is necessary to live.

Some countries fall far below our per capita tree count. Spain has 245 per capita, Portugal 301, Germany 107, France 182, Belgium 47, Maldives <1, and wow, look at the Falklands 63,385!

Between the trees and the fact we have zero coal power plants in my province, I think we're just fine. Quebec next door to us has loads of people using wood stoves all winter, day and night, to save money which is pretty filthy but then again, I have always thought of them as being the ashtray of Canada.

Like most here, I like my country and even though I want to to see many other countries, I have no desire to leave.

 

JR says "...we are unpopular across europe."
I´m not sure you need to feel that way, the British government has obviously made itself unpopular, if not the object of derision, but I find that on the personal level I am still appraised by my demeanour rather than my nationality.
Might that be because Europe is not insular?
In a similar way, the British are encouraged to mistrust the Russians, when with a little more cooperation, the British people and the Russian people could find much to unite them.
AND THAT WOULD NEVER DO.
The more England feels estranged from its neighbours, the more it empowers those whose agenda is against the English interests. I know too much of England´s history to feel any vestige of national pride, but I love the North, the Yorkshire Dales, the Lakes and the Morecambe bay area, and I have family there.
I left the RAF because I realised I was contributing to brutal warfare.
I left England for the same reason.

 

How did this become a thread about justifying nationality or country of birth or residence? Each to their own At least in this day and age, we've got the choice. I've known people who emigrated to Australia, decided they didn't like it and returned to UK. That's a massive upheaval, but it's not worth spending your life being miserable, wherever you live!

 

@Giri you've got to be joking about Russia The country doesn't have a government, it is just an entire region controlled by organized crime masquerading as a government.

And Miami is fast becoming another area controlled by this mob.

Sometimes being insular is a good thing.

 

Hi Shiney, I didn´t feel comfortable in England, (by which I mean my Yorkshire village) the approaching referendum gave rise to some racism, which rather soured the atmosphere.
If I made a contribution it was twenty-odd years of architectural ironwork which will be there long after I have popped my clogs, and several years of charity work.
Other things pulled me to Spain - friends, the climate, (social and meteorological), and quite frankly, a total ignorance of the political climate I was encountering. Most refreshing I´m afraid.
I watch the ensuing debacle, and try, yes, I do try, to remember that other´s opinions are equally valid as my own.

 

Lori, I respect your right to an opinion, and I have a different one which is no more valid than yours. Respectfully, I hope that´s OK.
Giri.

 

During my career i met a lot of people from all over.. Polish (some are now firm friends) Germans, Hungarians, Bulgarians, Romanians, Latvians, Iranians etc etc.
All really great people. I'm convinced there's good and bad wherever you go.
We English have a fair number of louts that haven't done us proud over the years.
As gardeners i guess we all rely on our respective weather to nurture the plants that we tend.
(It must be a challenge in Canada at times) I really enjoy sowing seeds indoors during freezing January and watching them pop up a few weeks later.
Hard rain may be coming but best not dwell on it too much

 

I agree JR, good and bad wherever we go -- one thing I´ve noticed is that people with a few stamps in their passport often have a broader perspective on the world.
I also agree that a positive attitude is advisable, especially for those who try to keep a keen eye on developments.
I am concerned, (and this is the nub of my thread) that people with emotional difficulties in England are going to be labelled "Mentally ill" and turned into a "Revenue Stream" for a privatised National Health Service, but I shall watch from afar with a glass of beer in my hand, and count my blessings.

 

Having lived in four countries in Europe I do sometimes compare the pros and cons. Europe is a fascinating plot of land, the differences not just between societies, but most importantly, the mindset of the different nations is truly unique. Take a train from Prague to Dresden and you can see when you have crossed the border just by looking at the back yards of the houses. (Sings in different language will also give a hint )

I keep telling this story to my foreign friends and always get a reaction on how differently it would have been in their country.

I was sitting in a bus waiting to go home after a day's shopping. The bus was hot and extremely full with people and their shopping plus two babies in prams. Just when we were about to start a lad using a wheelchair appeared. It was one of those big, electric things and the lad wasn't very dextrous in handling it.

The driver got out, pulled the ramp and the other passengers started to make room for the chair. It took around fifteen minutes to shuffle seats, fold prams, hand assorted bags and babies around but eventually we made it.

The bus started and we all chattered amicably about football, weather and whether the tower of mixed shopping will collapse in the first turning crushing the passengers below into smithereens. Despite being very inconvenienced and late, the experience was just something a bit unusual and funny to talk about at home.

If this had happened in Finland, most people would have stared out of windows to try to avoid getting involved, and the delay would have spoiled their day. Vodka bottles would have been grabbed as soon as possible to drown the sorrows, preferably alone, crying and angry. Inconveniencing others is a mortal sin up there.

It's the mindset of people here that is so unique and great. The kindness, politeness and humour gloss over the weather, politics and beans on toast (mostly). I am privileged having been able to choose to live here.

 

Well said. We British are some of the best at queuing too.
In Italy and Spain they love a horn.
Whilst we sit on congested roads fuming quietly, some of our continental friends will keep blasting horns even though it makes no difference to the hold up.
It's a funny old world.