Why Is Everyone So Miserable?

[laurejon]

I disagree everyone I meet is happy and enjoying life.

Maybe you work in the North of England in public services, along with the other 60% of the population up there.

I would guess the Soviet Regime were also happy when they had their grip on hard working russian familes.

Still like all things it comes to an end, and thank god we are nearly there now!!!!

[eightiesgirly]

Big mortgage bill, big gas bill, big car bill, keepy uppy jonesey neighbours, high taxes, got no money, more miserable down south 'coz the bills are bigger.Simple

[Guest_ringledman_*]

QUOTE

I disagree everyone I meet is happy and enjoying life.

Maybe you work in the North of England in public services, along with the other 60% of the population up there.

I would guess the Soviet Regime were also happy when they had their grip on hard working russian familes.

Still like all things it comes to an end, and thank god we are nearly there now!!!!

C*ckhead.

Private Sector. Booming Industry and far better off than down South where the cost of living is some 40% more but salaries are only 10-20% more.

[MarkG]

If people behave like this during a period of Gordons excellent economy, what the heck would happen in a bad recession?

I strongly suspect that the next recession here will see mass riots in the streets. Just another reason not to buy a house and become chained to the UK... the rioters will probably burn it down anyway.

[nest]

Just been watching the free DVD with today`s Mail with another six to follow.

The Darling Buds Of May

Perfek. What a lovely life, wished I was Charlie.

yes I think there are a lot of sad things going on in todays world.

I have this morning been out to a pikey, gypsey, traveller, (call them what you want) site, looking for one of the number of stolen dogs that have been stolen for ransoms.

Dogs being stolen, what next? Heartbreak for owners, kids etc etc.

What has happended to this world you cant even have a dog without fear of it been stolen.

Old girl has had her little mongrel taken, she has not got a pot, her only companion after the death of her husband. Life revolved around her little mate.

Who has brought these heartless crooks into the world, Darling Buds of May ! Distant Memory I fear.

[Dubai]

We've been out of the UK for several years now, going back once a year for a "holiday". Last time was early this year to pack up the house we sold.

We've noticed a real change. People generally do look more agitated, less friendly, and there's a sort of festering anger in the air.

I don't know what's causing it, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was a control thing. Things seem far more controlled than I remember them being. Can't do this, can't do that, must do so and so. It's everywhere. You just can't relax anymore. And people go along with it, which is the weird thing. There doesn't seem to be any spontaneity any more.

And we've noticed a real decline in the telly! It's total dross mainly, and the standards are really dropping. F words all over the place! And you'd think everyone in the country was having an affair if you watch the soaps.

Maybe I'm wrong, and it is just because everyone is skint compared to say 10 years ago.

One thing's for sure, we'd think long and hard before we went back.

[eightiesgirly]

I think a lot of folk are genuinelely dissatiafied. I think there is so much emphasis on money and status, status usually being measured by how much money you have. This messes up the value system, at one time status was meaured on your reputation as a member of society or your intelligence. Now eveyone want's to be respected and that's normal, but today unless your rich,famous or both very little respect comes your way. I'm a housewife, a role I feel is sadly under appreciated these days. I have pride in what I do for various reasons, however when I am asked what I do and I tell people they almost sneer. The next statement is what they do,what they've got and how qualified they are. People don't have confidence in themselves anymore. Sucess has to be openly displayed with material goods and affluence, even if that's done with debt.I think this is one of the driving reasons behind hpi, it has allowed access to a lot of borrowing and saying how much your house is worth is a really good affluence brag. Just my thoughts.

[EmpiricalBear]

There have been many studies that have found that people's happiness is related to their wealth relative to their contemporaries. People who go and live in poor socities are generally happier. My guess is a combination of TV, celeb culture, billionaire non-doms, etc. make everyone feel relatively poor, and thus makes them miserable.

I think that you 'have it in one' with this.

The problem with this cultural 'trap' is that I really can't see a way out of it. Maybe a recession, once the initial social unrest had 'burnt' itself out would actually be a kind of 'detox'. I can't tell.

Maybe all societies, inevitably, have to go through an upheaval every few decades or centuries.

[ChinaReader]

The Darling Buds Of May

Perfek. What a lovely life, wished I was Charlie.

If your avatar's a fair representation, you're about the same age as Mr Douglas... so don't give up hope

[winkie]

Maybe if people could buy places like this for £55K, they would have a little more to shoot for.

Oh hang on, they could buy it... a couple of months learning French, bobs yer uncle. A mate and I are seriously considering it.

Go for it, why would you ever regret it?

Sit on it, and enjoy it, you never know when you might really need it.

[winkie]

I think a lot of folk are genuinelely dissatiafied. I think there is so much emphasis on money and status, status usually being measured by how much money you have. This messes up the value system, at one time status was meaured on your reputation as a member of society or your intelligence. Now eveyone want's to be respected and that's normal, but today unless your rich,famous or both very little respect comes your way. I'm a housewife, a role I feel is sadly under appreciated these days. I have pride in what I do for various reasons, however when I am asked what I do and I tell people they almost sneer. The next statement is what they do,what they've got and how qualified they are. People don't have confidence in themselves anymore. Sucess has to be openly displayed with material goods and affluence, even if that's done with debt.I think this is one of the driving reasons behind hpi, it has allowed access to a lot of borrowing and saying how much your house is worth is a really good affluence brag. Just my thoughts.

So sad that this country has got to a state that people are judged on their material possesions, paid for or otherwise. Drive an old banger who cares what others think, if it is bashed or dented so be it, no worries, gets you froma to b.

[Te Mata]

So sad that this country has got to a state that people are judged on their material possesions, paid for or otherwise. Drive an old banger who cares what others think, if it is bashed or dented so be it, no worries, gets you froma to b.

I think this crap is afflicting most Anglo countries, with the possible exception being Canada.

Certainly here in Oz all is precisely how you folk are describing it as it is in the UK.

I've held the view as expressed by 2MeterBear for quite some time:

1/ Economic calamity

2/ Obliteration of the hocked up posers

3/ Mucho pain for folk and civil unrest

3/ A gradual return to communal cooperation and support

4/ Normality restored

Could take some years though.

Program on commercial telly here during next week addressing the HPI problem... one of those round table forum types show with ersatz experts (i.e. VIs) Should be "enlightening" (not)

[TeddyBear]

I've been feeling pretty down this week as I feel I'm living in fraud/scam UK.

• This week I had a call from my credit card company, my details had been stolen.
  
• I listed something on ebay and got the usual scam offers of - can I send you cheque for large amount, you take your bit and send me the rest.
  
• I am fighting a tfl parking fine that is not valid and found out that their "operative" lied on their report.
  
• I had a hospital appointment which I only found out about through a timely phone call as they hadn't sent a letter, I'm pretty sure this is a deliberate policy to reduce waiting lists by making a no show my fault.
  
• I watched the whistleblower documentary about the banks.
  
• Someone on the tube asked me for money "because their wallet had been stolen"
  
• I watched Brown's budget and talk of extending tax credits system that is riddled with fraud.
  

[Backseat Economist]

I think a lot of folk are genuinelely dissatiafied. I think there is so much emphasis on money and status, status usually being measured by how much money you have. This messes up the value system, at one time status was meaured on your reputation as a member of society or your intelligence. Now eveyone want's to be respected and that's normal, but today unless your rich,famous or both very little respect comes your way. I'm a housewife, a role I feel is sadly under appreciated these days. I have pride in what I do for various reasons, however when I am asked what I do and I tell people they almost sneer. The next statement is what they do,what they've got and how qualified they are. People don't have confidence in themselves anymore. Sucess has to be openly displayed with material goods and affluence, even if that's done with debt.I think this is one of the driving reasons behind hpi, it has allowed access to a lot of borrowing and saying how much your house is worth is a really good affluence brag. Just my thoughts.

It's weird - I walk to work everyday, takes about half an hour or so, get to walk along the river and then through the Cumberland Basin, which is a beautiful stretch of closed water just off the centre of Bristol. By the time I get to work, I've fully woken up, or, by the time I've got home, have switched off ready to go and do some fitness, swimming, whatever. A few things to note - no one talks, everyone just walks and is either tuned into their i-pod or speaking on the phone - even couples are doing separate things rather than chatting to each other. Everyones' rushing, no one seems to stroll or amble. It's all power walking. Everyones' late, pressured, rushed for time, got up late whatever. Secondly, no ones' smiling or even bothering to look around at what's going on - everyone just seems a bit, well, glum, as if their walking under a cloud. Those people who are in cars going past everyone - well, their going slower than us, because their all in queues, especially if it's raining and windy. They also seem in a bit of a pickle, talking away with bluetooth, or idly sitting drumming their fingers on the steering wheel, looking impatient etc etc. Everyone appears miserable, stressed, dissatisfied. Even back around 2000/01, it wasn't like this - things were definitely easier, you could feel/sense it.

People are more miserable now because their exposed to more marketing/advertising PR, VI spin and have been sucked into the vortex of wanting more not less, being happy with who you are - what's important has been lost. :angry: I was talking to a friend of a friend last week, and she was saying that when she gets home from work as a pharmacist, she goes to cookery class, then, later in the evening does salsa, and then has italian/spanish lessons during the week as well as train for a half marathon. It's like the 80's yuppies disease has struck again, but this time it's defined by doing everything of any value morning, noon and night outside of work as well as being good in your job too, and having a good social life. Oh, and you must live in a good area, or in an upcoming one with loads of young people going into it.

The one thing I hear more than ever from friends at the end of the week, is, "I'm knackered/shattered/haven't slept enough/drunk too much/got a hangover/feel depressed. No one is getting anywhere, everyones' running to stand still and that is not the sign of a good life for anyone.

If things are this tough for people now, what happens when the economy turns in on itself? People talk about rioting - not so sure about that, most will simply not have the energy to do that, they'll be destroyed emotionally and physically.

GT.

[MarkG]

I think this crap is afflicting most Anglo countries, with the possible exception being Canada.

I was interested to hear from my girlfriend that after house prices have been rising in her area the papers are full of people complaining about the fact, not boasting about how much their house is worth.

The Canadians I've met don't seem anywhere near as 'property-minded' as other Anglos. Probably because they know that high prices are unsustainable in one of the world's largest countries with such a small population.. why pay 10x your income for a house if you can buy some land and have a similar one built for 3x your income?

Of course in the UK, that kind of freedom is unthinkable thanks to the Nimbies.

People talk about rioting - not so sure about that, most will simply not have the energy to do that, they'll be destroyed emotionally and physically.

I disagree. I see a vast amount of seething resentment here in the UK which only needs something to funnel it outwards. Why do you think the government are so desperate for ID cards and all the other police state crap?

Edited March 24, 2007 by MarkG

[Backseat Economist]

So sad that this country has got to a state that people are judged on their material possesions, paid for or otherwise. Drive an old banger who cares what others think, if it is bashed or dented so be it, no worries, gets you froma to b.

I had a bloke give me a hell of a stare on the motorway today when he passed me - I drive a green 1987 Toyota Corolla - on it's second engine. Runs like a dream - Ok a bit rusty, but it's got a bit of poke when necessarry. I use it when I take off to West Wales if I'm surfing or camping and it's just the mutts nuts, absolutely bullet proof. The look on his face though made it seem like I was driving a piece of ****. Well , OK it is, but that's not the point. It's perfect for the lifestyle and ideals I've got.

I felt like wanting to punch his lights out for a second, then realised that he was driving a white van!!

As Mike Skinner, aka The Streets would have succinctly put it - "The Irony Of It All".

GT.

[Ipodjunky]

Well I'm pretty happy although by rights I shouldn't be as i have no ticks in the correct UK possession boxes, but my camper van is nearly finished and it's going to be great as is this summer hopefully. I can handle the persecution from the toff neighbours round my way. They've even had the police out looking at it why I don't know it's perfectly legal not pretty enough for my street I think. .....haha tough.

Edited March 24, 2007 by Ipodjunky

[Dubai]

and maybe partly a subsconscious realisation that that the game does seem fair anymore, and the wrong sorts of behavior are being rewarded.

That is so true. Everything you were taught about how to behave as a kid seems to be irrelevant now. Being helpful, considerate and polite is for knobbers... being pushy, selfish and looking out for number one is promoted in the media as the way to be. And it rankles, because deep down that is not how humans are, and is not the sort of behaviour that brings any satisfaction, at soul level.

Our souls are crying out for nourishment.....

Edited March 24, 2007 by Dubai

[Guest Shedfish]

even though, to be fair, i'm not the most vapid, cheerful bunny ever conceived, i have to admit i would need to be blind not to notice the contrast in my home town from, say, 10 years ago, or even 5. a little of this could be put down to advanced years and a little wisdom, but this place is dead in comparison. apart from the occasional isolated patch of 'partygoers' (outside a club at taxi time) the nightlife has fallen off a cliff in recent years. i hardly ever go out these days, and i'm sick of the binge culture, as is my liver

that lovely house in S france has strengthened the view i've had of late that the only things keeping me in the UK are family, friends, and inertia. with many friends moving away, and my family inhabiting a painted-grass-dyed-water world of Disney these days, i think the inertia is by far the biggest one.

it's a tricky one - in the last few years i've been to Oz, Eire, France, Italy.. not all for pleasure. i felt more relaxed in three of these, and noticed little discernable difference in France, though since i was mostly passing through it's not possible to conclude much there. The other places just blew me away, and for one place i might just sell my soul for a babelfish.

[laurejon]

Private Sector. Booming Industry and far better off than down South where the cost of living is some 40% more but salaries are only 10-20% more.

Dont tell me, you are a financial advisor, or a debt collector.

[winkie]

I had a bloke give me a hell of a stare on the motorway today when he passed me - I drive a green 1987 Toyota Corolla - on it's second engine. Runs like a dream - Ok a bit rusty, but it's got a bit of poke when necessarry. I use it when I take off to West Wales if I'm surfing or camping and it's just the mutts nuts, absolutely bullet proof. The look on his face though made it seem like I was driving a piece of ****. Well , OK it is, but that's not the point. It's perfect for the lifestyle and ideals I've got.

I felt like wanting to punch his lights out for a second, then realised that he was driving a white van!!

As Mike Skinner, aka The Streets would have succinctly put it - "The Irony Of It All".

GT.

He must be jealous, sounds like a mean machine.

Edited March 24, 2007 by winkie

[winkie]

Why are people so miserable?

What have they got to look forward to?

We have been conditioned to work and pay taxes for the basics in life, a home, food, family nothing wrong with that. At the rate things are going when we finaly get to retirement age, who knows what age that will finaly be, we will drop dead with high blood pressure. What then will we have to show for it?

[Backseat Economist]

He must be jealous, sounds like a mean machine.

Is it a saloon?

Is it a hatchback,

Is it a coupe?,

No! it's a ""Fastback""

[Guest Shedfish]

Is it a saloon?

Is it a hatchback,

Is it a coupe?,

No! it's a ""Fastback""

babararacoocoodada!

[bear call spread]

Walking home from the gym this morning, I couldn't help but notice how people did not seem to have a smile on their face. Everyone eyed each other up suspiciously, crossing the road, speeding up, etc. Is this the happiness that is embodied in Gordon's economic miracle? Or is simply that it is an overcast pre-spring morning and I should lighten up a little?

While I'm at it, today I feel a little bitter that I am not enjoying the lifestyle a man of my profession would have enjoyed 5-8 years ago. Very bitter, indeed!

Hmm - have to say if i havent noticed it.

Well in the City (square mile) a large percentage of us just got our bonus's and most people seem happy right now that I see