Re: Moving to UK

Evan <ejoanett@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

As a man who's lived in Canada and done much touring in the States
(before cowboy Bush turned the country into mindless war-mongers) I'll
relay my experiences thus far as honestly as I can.

Remember, these are generalisations and there are people and places no
matter where you go that can surprise your friend (good surprise or bad
surprise).

Accepted.

The quality of life in the UK will very much depend on your research.
I have done a bit of travelling around the UK and found that many of
the tiny postcard towns are as picturesque as you imagine them.
University towns like Cambridge and Oxford are very progessive and
cutting edge. A recent trip to the Norfolk area showed me a historic,
yet modern looking Norwich which was also quite tidy. A half hour down
the motorway, the beach at Yarmouth was very clean and the tourist
alley was nice. If thousand year old castles and churches appeal to
your friend, they'll be in heaven.

On the flip side, my move to Walsall (West Midlands) has revealed it
to be an industrial centre past its prime with levels of apathy and
lack of civic pride I never thought possible. Residents here literally
don't like themselves, and as such don't much like others.

Yes, it's a dump.

Much of the resentment about the declining quality of life is taken out
on foreigners. If your friend is anything but caucasian, they may
suffer from some bigotry if they end up in this or any other industrial
centre.

Birmingham, the second largest city in the UK is a few miles down the
road, and offers more cosmopolitan opportunities than Walsall but still
doesn't seem to figure on the list of international cities that are
claimed "nice places to live and work". It's a shame that the number
two city in the country isn't more renowned. Mind you, I'd like to

It's an old industrial city which has lost most of its raison d'etre.

return to the work environment of higher education and would consider a
move to Bham if the University of Birmingham ever took me on. The

It's a good university... what would you wish to study?

National Exhibition Centre just outside the city is another cultural
highlight worth mentioning.

Er... only for certain exhibitions... I just see it as a rail link from
the airport.

National social services on a whole are crumbling or are transferring
rather unorderly to private control. Wages seem lower than North Am.

Really? The UK's minimum wage is about double that in the US. But then
all sorts of other factors play a part such as taxation, UK VAT being a lot
higher than US Sales Tax, medical costs (the last thing anyone in the UK
needs to be worried about unlike the US where I had a $4000+ bill for
two days in hospital (just being there with a couple of checks)).

Another major thing is that in the US one seems to be expected to work
full-time except for two-weeks holiday a year... on the other hand the
UK seems now to want people to work until they keel over at 75.

Houses are (much) smaller. The weather is like spring/fall all year

True.

Again, with the criminal records check, I can't tell you anything
except that the time and trouble involved to sort it out was entirely
up to my friend who herself had no convictions.

That depends on the job applied for.

I once applied for a sys admin job and took an online test (which I passed
very highly even if I blow my own trumpet, hardly suprising since
it was something I had been doing for many years) and was then asked
to give all my residences for the past 5 years... something to do
with it being a financial company. I refused point-blank. It was going
to be checked up on the electoral roll which I have not been on for 20
years.

Axel

.

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