Good Lord, do you really expect me to answer your numbered points one by one? OK, I'll try. I obviously didn't get away with trying to sum things up last time.
1 - As I have already said, I hadn't noticed that you were referring to the whole of the UK. The thread is about England, so I took your response to be about England. I have already apologised for this. Does it matter? Are you worried that any Scots, Welsh or Northern Irish readers will miss the fact that you are insulting them too?
2 - I was not writing as if there is no difference between England and the UK, as I have already said, the thread is about England, so I took your response to be about England. I hadn't realised you were talking about the UK. Do we have this straight yet?
3 - I'm sorry, I can't be bothered to list all the things that I have found to be better in the UK than in some of the other places I've been. It's late at night. Just believe me when I say I have lived in some places where people envy us the things that we take for granted every day.
4 - I'm glad you did find things to love in the UK (especially your wife!) but are you serious when you ask what in your posts led me to think this wasn't the case?????
5 - No, drunks on the street is not a good thing. We don't think it's a good thing. But we're hardly the only country in the world to have them. And most people do not behave that way.
6 - No, you didn't use the word hideous. It was my word to sum up the impression you gave of the UK. And will you please stop trying to show off your understanding of UK geography - everyone over five understands this stuff. No England isn't technically a country, it's a part of Britain and the UK. But yes, we do call it that in day-to-day speech, as we do Scotland and Wales. How do you expect us to refer to them? Administrative regions? Don't be silly. They were separate countries for a long time before they were joined in a union, and for all we have in common, we have very different histories and cultures. Try standing in a Scottish pub and telling them that Scotland is the same country as England and see how far you get.
7 - I can see my country as it is - there are good things and bad things. Like I said before, I think this is the case with most places. The fact that I'm not completely negative doesn't mean I have "blinders on".
8 - You are right that it's hard to hear tone in written posts, so perhaps I took your post to be more aggressive and rude than you meant it to be. If so, I apologise. But you must admit... phrases like "The UK is a nation of poor people who think they are middle class" just come across as offensive! If you didn't mean to be, perhaps you could be more careful in future. Or say something like "sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude".
I wasn't going to comment on this, because I didn't want things to get heated, but actually I'm pssed off now so what the hell...
" Patronising in the sense that you mean it, refers to treating somebody as if he or she were less intelligent or knowledgeable than yourself. Your right I was being patronising. What else could I be?"
Am I reading that right? You're saying you had no option but to treat me as "less intelligent or knowledgeable than yourself" ie, I am less intelligent or knowledgeable than you? Who the *** do you think you are?
And PS... If you are so intelligent, you would know that "your" means belonging to, "you're" means you are.
The UK isa nation of poor people who think they are middle class kitamaiyu. That isn't being rude or an insult, it is a simple statement of fact. A check on the income by percentage of population (not the same as average income) will quickly confirm that. The majority of people in the UK are poor. There is a shrinking middle class which has been shrinking since WW2 and there is a small percentage of people who are well off, which has held fairly steady since WW2. The fact is that many of those who are actually poor don't realize they are. They think they are middle class based on measures from the past. They can take a holiday in Spain for 2 weeks for example. Even 30 years ago that would have been a measure of someone being middle class but today almost anyone can afford it. The real measure would be can they take a holiday where 60% or so of the population cannot afford to take a holiday. So for example can they afford £10k for a 2 week holiday in the French Polynesian islands. That would be middle class today. Well off? Well off would be someone who can afford to rent Necker Island at around £25k per night.
Things are not getting heated kitamiayu. At least not on my end. I'm quite unemotional about this whole exchange.
Yes I was patronising as it appears I have no choice other than to be. Would you suggest I treat you as an equal when I don't consider you to be equal? As for who I think I am, I'm me. You see you are still reading implications into what I write, such as the intent to insult. I can assure you there is none but it would be insulting to the intelligence you do have, to pretend to treat you as an equal when I don't consider you one, don't you think?
Yes 'your' is possessive and 'you're' means you are. My thinking, composing and writing are sometimes faster on the keyboard than my simultaneous proof-reading. I type at around 80 wpm but that isn't fast enough to keep up with what I am ready to write, so there is a definite time lag between where I am in my miind, what is appearing on the screen and my proofreading of what has been typed so far. Speech recognition software is even slower so that's no answer. Bottom line, I sometimes miss a mis-spelling in my proofing. C'est la vie.
I've no doubt you are probably a nice, average person. Statistically that is the most likely possibility. I'm not average however by whatever measure you wish to use. Again, a simple statement of fact, but no doubt you will interpret that as bragging. Tell me, if you had well above average intelligence and were aware of it, would you go around saying, 'oh gee folks, I'm just an average guy'? If you did far better than average in your professional life would you go around saying, 'oh gee folks, I guess I've just been lucky'? It isn't bragging to simply state a proven fact but it is often taken that way by others. Saying you are not better in some way than others when you know you actually are doesn't make others any better in whatever way but it may lead them to think they are as capable as you are when in fact they are not and thinking they are may get them in trouble. I'd rather just tell it like it is. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it but I have the right to do it.
England is just not on my list of places I'd want to live kitamaiyu. If I were from a third world country it might be but I'm not from a third world country. If I were poor, uneducated and hadn't been exposed to anything better it might be, but none of those apply to me either. The thing about having blinders on kitamaiyu is that by definition you cannot see beyond them.
Your arrogance astounds me. Your assumption that you of superior intelligence to the rest of us astounds me. Your ill-informed opinions , dressed up as "fact" astound me.
I am going to leave it at that.
I have not been here for a good while, but I see WW is back on form. He gets some kind of kick from winding up other posters who are trying to be helpful. It used to add a bit of interest but for one so intelligent, his opinions seem to have been set some time ago and need updating. I don't believe anyone in England would consider themselves 'middle class' (an outdated concept really), just because they can afford two weeks in Spain. (Maybe that was the case in the sixties). Those people you refer to have probably taken early retirement, benefitted from the house price boom and gone to live there full time on the proceeds anyway ;-).
Don't be put off OP, life here in England can be as rich and diverse as you want it to be. No sweeping generalisation can convey an experience of any country, there are opportunities here and you make your own luck.
As a previous poster said, define your preferences and post again. Then you can narrow your options to meet your requirements.
I see that BP (WW) has had an especially boring weekend.
Tell us more about your vaunted early retirement and what wonderful leisure activities you do with it.
Oh MsMitty, just when I had this one well wound up you have to show up and spoil my fun.
Yeah, you're right, they have all moved to Spain. What do you think will happen when the 50% plus who want to retire to another country have all moved?
Im probably a bit late replying to this before it descended into patriotic chaos.. but if you work in finance and are an outdoorsy person, a good choice is the Isle of Man. Good pay, very low tax, beautiful scenery. Not an abundance of nightclubs but judging by some of the comments above, thats not always a good thing. Beaches, mountains, glens, lots of outdoor sports. :)
Many, many Australians and New Zealanders are on there way where mccutcheon??
If it is to the UK then you have you facts wrong as I know that atleast in Australia that we take four time the amount of Brits applicants to the WHV program than Britan takes Aussies. We also have what I consider a huge problem in that it seems we have about 1.5mil Bits living in our country that just wont seem to go home.
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