doogie Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 If it gets to the stage where the value of their house in the UK is less than their mortgage then they will simply let the bank reposess it and they will stay in Spain. Most of the Brits here are disillusioned with the UK and would not care at all about abandoning it.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> That sounds like a recipe for disaster. If a bank repossesses a property, they will sell it (for whatever they can get for it in a buyers' market), but contrary to what many people believe, they won't write off the outstanding balance. They will keep chasing the mortgage-holder until they get the rest of their money, even if it means turfing them out of their Spanish property. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
van hoogstraten Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 I left 2 years ago. Things that p1ssed me off The traffic The rain Tony Blair and his incompetent government The pensions & education mess engineered completely by the aforementioned govt Compensation Culture British Television - has turned to absolute garbage over the past 10 years Tabloid newspapers Obsession with Celebrity Manchester United the landed gentry the house of lords the fact that the uK is in denial about the criminality of its population (handwringers complain that we lock up more criminals per head than the rest of Europe.........thats probably because we have more criminals per head than the rest of Europe) The fact that everything goes wrong - the millenium dome, the railways, numerous IT fiascos Things that frightened me Living in London after what happened to Damilola Taylor, Ive got 2 young kids, and nobody seemed to make any serious attempt to catch the culprits. I dont want'my kids growing up in a city like that Peoples reaction after that horsey sloan diana died The rise of the chav The free and easy attitude to drugs, especially cocaine & crack, which have swamped London. That very few people seem bothered about ID cards and the vast amount of spying that goes on via security cameras. Things that worried me The rise of the right & uncontrolled immigration The state of the UK economy, which is seemingly based on people going to shops to buy foreign made goods using borrowed money that they really have no idea how they are ever going to pay back Potential for terrorism because of all the disaffected nutters running around London in particular 2 years on, things seem to be getting even worse. I feel sorry for my friends and relatives I left behind Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Crazy88s Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 "The U.S. is a culture vacuum."gee- where does Britain - and the world - get xx% of its films, music, art shows and theatre productions from? That's a pretty ignorant and sweeping statement from someone who travels there - presumably you are excluding major cities from that comment? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes that was a 'sweeping generalisaion'. I have spent over 3 years there, been to cities on both seaboards - guess what they are the same. Only slightly more cultured than the 'Meat and Potato' towns in between. (A U.S. citizen quoted me this) The core people are however great and I love Americans,I would have to my Daughter was born there and is one, and I am proud to be standing with them, even if most of my countrymen are too short sigted to see what is happening, but this is tottaly off topic. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zzg113 Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 neo-Imperialistic American global cultural hegemony. What passes for a "culture" in America is none other than the worship of Mammon, an intellectual vacuum. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
fdk Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 A couple I know bought a house back in 1998 in SE London and spent an amount equivalent to about 75% of the purchase price doing in up. Over the past few years however, the area they live in has gone from 'pleasant' to Chav/Goth infested, and they now wish their 'designer sleek & stylish interior catalogue blueprint' home could be transported to a 'much nicer area'. But they just can't afford to move now because they've MEWed so much to invest in their current prop - and now they're stuck. In the current social climate, it pays to stay mobile/flexible. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zzg113 Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 my heart bleeds. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
doogie Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 A couple I know bought a house back in 1998 in SE London and spent an amount equivalent to about 75% of the purchase price doing in up.Over the past few years however, the area they live in has gone from 'pleasant' to Chav/Goth infested, and they now wish their 'designer sleek & stylish interior catalogue blueprint' home could be transported to a 'much nicer area'. But they just can't afford to move now because they've MEWed so much to invest in their current prop - and now they're stuck. In the current social climate, it pays to stay mobile/flexible. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> No doubt the area is 'up-and-coming' Quote Link to post Share on other sites
chandellina Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 not to harp but I'll take U.S. literature and art over its British counterparts any day ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
miche Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 Oz is great if you can get a good job and handle large spiders Houses were massive in Melbourne and most people were ex-pats. Problem is there are so many Brits out there now. You are regarded as a Pom whether you come from UK or Ireland! Oz looks after their own people first when it comes to jobs. Healthcare isnt that expensive but Dental charges are huge! There is also a huge rise in Fast food outlets - I couldn't believe how many fat people there were.... in some ways very American. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zzg113 Posted October 11, 2004 Report Share Posted October 11, 2004 US "literature"? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? This from a country that invented the phrase "pulp fiction". Quote Link to post Share on other sites
okonu Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 gwailo - (gweilo?) You work for AVSECO? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vivaldo Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 I'd go to 1) Italy, 2) Poland, 3)Hungary 4)France. Poland seems pretty good on the whole - anyone else thought of Poland, if so, where? (though I know they have restictions on foreigners buying property there). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rootsnall Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 I'd go to 1) Italy, 2) Poland, 3)Hungary 4)France.Poland seems pretty good on the whole - anyone else thought of Poland, if so, where? (though I know they have restictions on foreigners buying property there). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I've lived overseas for approx 10 years and I'm now happily back in the UK ! I'm afraid to say except for the weather most of the places in the world where you can earn a decent living have pretty much the same problems as the UK and often not as many good points as good old blighty. The crazy property prices are pretty much a worldwide happening at the moment and in Australia are even more crazy. Its my guess that any slump ( when it comes ) will be US driven and be a worldwide event. Infact the UK may be a good place to be if times get tough ! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
weezer Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 One of the reasons I moved back to the UK was to buy a house ! Should have looked at the prices a bit more carefully before hand I think. Moving abroad isn't all its cracked up to be. For a start you will never get away from the fact you're now seen as a foreigner. Doesn't matter if your skin is the same colour as the locals, you're an immigrant and many local people will have problems with that. You will also have to speak the local language very well, even if English is well spoken it doesn't mean the locals will want to speak it all the time. Some things will not be as good as Britain, it may be the authorties, health care perhaps, these things will annoy you. There are some things I liked about not living in the UK, mainly the fact you're not surrounded by media culture as much. Its easy to ignore another countries celebrities and politics. Some things are also better, prices, transport and health care mainly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zzg113 Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 I've lived overseas for approx 10 years Rootsnall, could you give a short itinerary of the countries/places this comprised of? Agree with you re: the Australian property bubble, it's like the UK on steroids (mainly because of a crazy tax system which is like rocket fuel to the bubble). Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Justice Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 No, my point was would people living in the Uk serious consider leaving to move abroad to a better (and often cheaper) quality of life? Just throwing a question into the forum for a change. No they will all stay here and help pay off the massive debt the government has accumulated, I think it’s stands at about £20k for every working man, once this debt has been paid back they will retire on the pension they are currently paying into via national insurance, trouble is no one told them that all the Lawyers, MP’s, Police pensions will come out first and they can not use a calculator. Tiss so nice to be a farmer Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mickeydee Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 I plan to emigrate to Sydney next year as I'm totally fed up with this country. Someone mentioned earlier about buying a house in Oz. I think I am right in saying that you cannot buy a house until you have full residency - a visa is no good. I figure that if I cannot afford a house in the UK I might as well go somewhere fantastic and not be able to afford one there instead but live a far better life. I have been told it's very difficult to return to the UK though once you've gone because of the differences in the cost of living/salaries. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gtr London FTB Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 I plan to emigrate to Sydney next year as I'm totally fed up with this country. Someone mentioned earlier about buying a house in Oz. I think I am right in saying that you cannot buy a house until you have full residency - a visa is no good. I figure that if I cannot afford a house in the UK I might as well go somewhere fantastic and not be able to afford one there instead but live a far better life. I have been told it's very difficult to return to the UK though once you've gone because of the differences in the cost of living/salaries.<{POST_SNAPBACK}> Have you been to Sydney? It ain't that fantastic you know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkG Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 It ain't that fantastic you know! Better than London, IMHO. Not that I'm a big fan of Australia (though I do want to go back for a couple of months sometime to see the parts I missed before), but if I was given a choice between those two cities, I'd take Sydney. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Gtr London FTB Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 (edited) Better than London, IMHO.Not that I'm a big fan of Australia (though I do want to go back for a couple of months sometime to see the parts I missed before), but if I was given a choice between those two cities, I'd take Sydney. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> The people of Sydney are far more pretentious than the people of LA...let alone London. You couldn't pay me to live there. The harbour is the only redeeming feature, but 99.9% of the population couldn't live anywhere near it, instead they are forced to live in excruciatingly ugly & bland suburbs at best or gang warzones at worst. Edited May 13, 2005 by Gtr London FTB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
since the beginning Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 US "literature"? Isn't that a contradiction in terms? This from a country that invented the phrase "pulp fiction".<{POST_SNAPBACK}> I agree with alot of your views on America ZZG but when it comes to Modern Litrature (20th Century) you can't knock it - vastly superior to most British writing. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MarkG Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 instead they are forced to live in excruciatingly ugly & bland suburbs at best or gang warzones at worst. And how is that worse than London? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
George Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 quebec. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Vivaldo Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Why Sydney? Adelaide is far nicer. South Australia is fantastic! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
laurejon Posted May 13, 2005 Report Share Posted May 13, 2005 Yep sydney is crap, who would want to commute on this everyday. WHEN YOU CAN TRAVEL LIKE THIS AND COME HOME TO THIS Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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