Out of the UK, how bad has it got?
Discussion
Hi all.
I've been out of the uk for the best part of a year (canada, working holiday visa) and i'm considering going on to NZ/Aus/whatever, generally not going home. But i dont know whats what at the moment. Every time i speak to my dad he tells me that we're about 3 months from defending our houses with shotguns and looting the local co-op for tinned food and bottled water. Then he tells me that when the general election happens, whoever wins is gonna remove the money propping up the economy and the pound will be worthless (its currently $1.55 to the £, it was nearly $2 when i arrived here).
The problem is, as much as i love mountain biking/snowboarding in these awesome places, i miss my car the ability to trackday/drift day more. And shortly i will turn 25, with plenty of ncb and i can finally justify that e36 m3 i've been eying up forever! So i kinda wanna go back to the uk, even if its just for a year.
So basically, what im asking is, has the uk got much worse in the last year, is there no chance of getting a job (nothing special, just a joejob until i decide to travel again), has the economy crashed, are people looting Anne Summers yet? Is my dad to be ignored or is his talking the truth?
Thanks
Nick
I've been out of the uk for the best part of a year (canada, working holiday visa) and i'm considering going on to NZ/Aus/whatever, generally not going home. But i dont know whats what at the moment. Every time i speak to my dad he tells me that we're about 3 months from defending our houses with shotguns and looting the local co-op for tinned food and bottled water. Then he tells me that when the general election happens, whoever wins is gonna remove the money propping up the economy and the pound will be worthless (its currently $1.55 to the £, it was nearly $2 when i arrived here).
The problem is, as much as i love mountain biking/snowboarding in these awesome places, i miss my car the ability to trackday/drift day more. And shortly i will turn 25, with plenty of ncb and i can finally justify that e36 m3 i've been eying up forever! So i kinda wanna go back to the uk, even if its just for a year.
So basically, what im asking is, has the uk got much worse in the last year, is there no chance of getting a job (nothing special, just a joejob until i decide to travel again), has the economy crashed, are people looting Anne Summers yet? Is my dad to be ignored or is his talking the truth?
Thanks
Nick
I am in a similar situation (working holiday in Australia, coming home for a few months then working holiday in Japan), so am also interested in the answer to this. (Au$1.65 to £1, was $2 to £1 when I arrived).
I miss the sense of humour of the UK, which is why I have to log onto PH to get a laugh, which is a bit sad really. I hope a few months back home with the chavs will make me happy to leave again though
I miss the sense of humour of the UK, which is why I have to log onto PH to get a laugh, which is a bit sad really. I hope a few months back home with the chavs will make me happy to leave again though
Well I think the statistics say that 1 in 4 are un-employed or something to that effect.
General day-to-day things have not changed really (at least not for me) apart from the cost of fuel going up and food etc so I tend to penny pinch a little more than I used to. But I know my uncle for example has had a lot of bad luck, getting a job just to get made redundant again a few months later etc and had a few times where the house was about to get taken off him, he managed to keep afloat though but I know many didn't/aren’t.
In terms of getting a job, its not as easy to just walk into an interview and walk out with a job anymore, take my place for example, we advertised for a chef and usually would receive a trickle of replies back so the chance of one of them getting a job were like 1 in 10...this time, we got over 120 replies for one position! If you stand out as the best though the jobs are still out there.
They say the recession is getting better, whilst others say its only a matter of time before the looting will begin, I don't really know either way yet but Winky is still in power so I’m not holding out too much hope.
I have to say though that some of that sense of humour seems to have gone from the streets of Britain though, I am finding that the countries morale as a whole seems to have dipped, not surprising really and I bet its the same in other places too. PH seems immune though
General day-to-day things have not changed really (at least not for me) apart from the cost of fuel going up and food etc so I tend to penny pinch a little more than I used to. But I know my uncle for example has had a lot of bad luck, getting a job just to get made redundant again a few months later etc and had a few times where the house was about to get taken off him, he managed to keep afloat though but I know many didn't/aren’t.
In terms of getting a job, its not as easy to just walk into an interview and walk out with a job anymore, take my place for example, we advertised for a chef and usually would receive a trickle of replies back so the chance of one of them getting a job were like 1 in 10...this time, we got over 120 replies for one position! If you stand out as the best though the jobs are still out there.
They say the recession is getting better, whilst others say its only a matter of time before the looting will begin, I don't really know either way yet but Winky is still in power so I’m not holding out too much hope.
I have to say though that some of that sense of humour seems to have gone from the streets of Britain though, I am finding that the countries morale as a whole seems to have dipped, not surprising really and I bet its the same in other places too. PH seems immune though
Edited by ymwoods on Friday 19th March 06:34
Xaero - Ditto, i miss brits, (the nice ones) but i dont miss the complete lack of get up and go (probably because all those with any get up and go, got up and went to australia/the states/canada/nz etc.) I kinda wanna go home, but something tells me its a bad idea. I was gonna try stay in canada but thats a none starter. But kiwi land sounds a lot easier to get in and stay in.
YMwoods - thanks, thats kinda what i was thinking. My dad always seems to think the worst and these things never actually seem to happen. but he's not stupid by a long shot, just very cautious, so i kinda thought i best check. Plus i'm not particularly employable, (s
t on paper, great in real life)
YMwoods - thanks, thats kinda what i was thinking. My dad always seems to think the worst and these things never actually seem to happen. but he's not stupid by a long shot, just very cautious, so i kinda thought i best check. Plus i'm not particularly employable, (s
t on paper, great in real life)Edited by bigfatnick on Friday 19th March 06:37
Well everything I see is much the same as it ever was, certainly as someone who splits their time between the UK and Australia I don't see any relative decline in the UK. It's much as it ever was, if you want to get something done you need to be in the UK, if you want better weather you need to be in Australia. If everyone with get up and go got up and went to Australia I have to wonder what happened to them when they got there.
OK, the UK has a big deficit and there will be spending cuts but any concept of defending your house with shotguns and all the other melodramatic crap is garbage.
People see the bad in what they know and the good in what they don't know. It's only by long familiarisation that you get to know somewhere.
OK, the UK has a big deficit and there will be spending cuts but any concept of defending your house with shotguns and all the other melodramatic crap is garbage.
People see the bad in what they know and the good in what they don't know. It's only by long familiarisation that you get to know somewhere.
Xaero said:
I miss the sense of humour of the UK, which is why I have to log onto PH to get a laugh, which is a bit sad really. I hope a few months back home with the chavs will make me happy to leave again though
Sense of humour is definitely needed if living in the UK, in fact, the state of the UK is probably a BIG reason why Brits have such a sense of humour.Go back for a short break if you can before making your decision, it doesn't take long
listen to your Dad and read between the lines of some of the threads on here 
Also, can you not concentrate on filling the gaps where you are (or whatever other country is an option)
We emigrated 2 years ago, pop back for family matters here and there quite regularly, our smiles are never bigger than when we're returning home again, its sad to see the way the UK has & is going, but TBO it was inevitable
We were going to return to UK develop property after a couple of years, having seen the grass is in fact greener we are now developing in our new country.
Uk is good for cheap things though
it's like europes Dollar store 
Pvapour said:
Uk is good for cheap things though it's like europes Dollar store
That is one thing i've really noticed. you could feed yourself for a tenner a week in the uk if it got really dire (nobody wants to live on beans on toast, but you could if you needed to) and you can buy a NICE 10 year old beemer/lexus/audi/rangey/sports coupe type thing for £500-£a couple of grand, because of the uk's bizzare obsession with "running costs" and wanting to own a new car. In canada there is no such thing as a cheap nice car. If you want a cheap car, its a small engined fwd toyota/chevy/ford. Plus we have the NHS, which im not a stranger to. However, if i was in the uk, i wouldnt have just spent $250 on a snowboard jacket, and be eying up a pair of $150 oakleys. Its wierd how that works. In the uk i seem to spend all my money on necesitys (even if old bmw's are one of them, i need a car, it may as well be awesome) whereas here, i can own luxury items. Here its almost cheaper to eat out than it is to cook my own food. Not brilliant for the waistline! it's like europes Dollar store If your Dad is right about shotguns and trashing that Chav-op I'll be back in about 3 months, then I'll let you know. I spent 8 hours there last year and it was 8 hours too much.
I would recommend Australia for a year - their economy is doing pretty well at the moment I think, and it has some fantastic places, and mindboggling vastness - like a hot Canada really.
Not somewhere I'd choose to live either though, for many of the same reasons I don't like the UK. I prefer silly ories. Thailand is great. What about south America?
I would recommend Australia for a year - their economy is doing pretty well at the moment I think, and it has some fantastic places, and mindboggling vastness - like a hot Canada really.
Not somewhere I'd choose to live either though, for many of the same reasons I don't like the UK. I prefer silly o
ries. Thailand is great. What about south America?bigfatnick said:
Every time i speak to my dad he tells me that we're about 3 months from defending our houses with shotguns and looting the local co-op for tinned food and bottled water. Then he tells me that when the general election happens, whoever wins is gonna remove the money propping up the economy and the pound will be worthless (its currently $1.55 to the £, it was nearly $2 when i arrived here).
Captain Flashman said:
CaptainSlow said:
If you're 25 and currently in Canada/Aus/NZ I would recommend you find and marry a nice local girl and forget all about the UK.
Ha! Easier said than doneI think i need to try somewhere else! ha
Australia seems to be going ok at the moment. The shirts I used to order from Harvey and Hudson have come down from Around AU90 delivered to AU50 delivered, so that has to be a good thing for me.
Aussie dollar and economy in general seems to be ok...
ETA I'm posting this in 28C sunny weather whilst looking down through the gum trees to the beach.
Aussie dollar and economy in general seems to be ok...
ETA I'm posting this in 28C sunny weather whilst looking down through the gum trees to the beach.
Edited by Colonial on Saturday 20th March 04:11
Nick: Where are you located ?? Things here in Calgary look like they may turn around shortly. Everywhere is getting hit hard with the "credit crunch" and they all will survive somehow. Is there a reason why you may go elsewhere ?? Canada seems to have opportunities that other countries really don't offer people from the UK. Friends down the street from the UK say that this move to Canada was their best opportunity to do something for themselves. Seems like Canadians move to AU but the Brits come here. Over 100 ex Brits on our local police force and many more willing to come when more are needed.
CaptainSlow said:
Which resort are you in?
V8TVR1978 said:
Nick: Where are you located ?? Things here in Calgary look like they may turn around shortly. Everywhere is getting hit hard with the "credit crunch" and they all will survive somehow. Is there a reason why you may go elsewhere ?? Canada seems to have opportunities that other countries really don't offer people from the UK. Friends down the street from the UK say that this move to Canada was their best opportunity to do something for themselves. Seems like Canadians move to AU but the Brits come here. Over 100 ex Brits on our local police force and many more willing to come when more are needed.
I'm in whistler. Its awesome and i never EVER want to leave!V8TVR - The reason i'm leaving to go elsewhere is that canada doesnt want me. Given half a chance i'd stay forever. But the government is really clamping down on giving none canadians permenant residency on account of there not being enough jobs for canadians. Furthermore, coming back later is out of the question. I looked at the points system the other day and out of 100 i got 38, you need 67 to get into canada. Basically, i have very little education, very little job experience (that counts anyways, i'm a grafter, not a qualified worker), bugger all money, no family over here and basically no chance. The only way i'd get in is through empolyer sponsorship or similar. Shame really because my boss loves me but the company wont sponsor me. Everyone i meet says i'm the sort of person they want moving to canada, not the current crop of economic imigrants. But i guess if you dont fit the governments wishlist, and your not marriage material, your screwed! But yeah, i'd do anything to stay here, even if it came down to giving steven harper a blowie!
New zealand is my second choice at the moment, i have never been but everyone tells me its very much like BC (ie, outdoors lifestyle, nice people, the ability to work to live, rather than live to work.) Someone told me the other day that in the uk if someone asks you what you do, you say "i'm a *insert job title here*" if you ask the same question in new zealand, your likley to get "i'm a fisherman/mountain biker/ sword swallower/other hobby". That sounds like the kind of place i wanna be in.
Edited by bigfatnick on Saturday 20th March 07:31
i'm in New Zealand right now and can't say I miss home at all. Much nicer to be in a place where people are for the most part friendly and polite. There's a lot more space and it's nice to not see cctv on every building. Only problem is i'm really struggling to find a full time job here :-( and if I don't find one may have to return.
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