Is the UK really so bad to live in?

Question

I moved from the UK 10 years ago and shortly after met my husband (non-EU) here in the Netherlands and we have lived here ever since

With two young kids now and my parents getting older (they live in the Uk) we have been discussing moving "back"to the UK, but a visa alone for my husband will cost €750 and will take god knows how long in which case the family will be split as I will have to get income in the Uk as part of the visa conditions. We both work (he has a good job with the United Nations here) and would plan to work in the UK (so not interested in sponging for benefits)

However two questions - why is a visa for someone with a British wife and 2 British kids so expensive when it seems the world and his granny can get into the UK for nothing?

Secondly - I was reading a lot of answers here and very negative answers about living in the UK (impact of immigrants & especially knive crime) - Is it really so bad to live in the UK now?

Answer 1

Yep, We moved out 3 years ago, it's the pits.

Answer 2

Stay where you are better off than uk.

Answer 3

I live in UK and it's brilliant, theres nothing wrong with it

Answer 4

I am English and i have lived here all my life and i am proud of it but if i were you i would stay where you are. Life in the UK  is now very very expensive and we do have problems with illegal immigration and knife crime is certainly on the increase so i am sure that Holland is the better option at the moment.

Answer 5

Knife crime is only an issue if you're  16 year old boy living on  a sink estate. The media blow it all out of proportion in the most irresponsible manner.

Likewise immigration - Britain has always had immigrants, there have always been nasty little racist s***s like the BNP stirring up trouble, but mostly we're a tolerant and welcoming country compared to most of the rest of the World.

Answer 6

Its not worth it.

Answer 7

My life in the UK is much better than my life in Canada was. it all depends where you live. Knife crime etc has gone up here, but if you look at the world crime tables the rate of SERIOUS crime in the UK is actually a lot lower than people think, in fact often a lot lower than countries that English people think of as 'safe'. Unfortunately the gutter press here in its attempt to get sales flaunts gory sensationalistic headlines on every front page,whereas in other countries, this kind of news is generally dealt with in a much more serious,pragmatic fashion. In part,a culture of fear has been created.

  Where I live we don't even lock our doors when we are at home.

  I do know what you mean about the visas & so on. It does make me cross that people with no ties to the UK can just come in with impunity, yet,say for instance, those in the old commonwealth countries,which still have ties politically to the UK, often get a big kick in the teeth even when they are legally employed here (and not claiming benefits of any kind) and often married to a UK citizen.

Answer 8

I've got no complaints about where I live, it's England just as it was 40 years ago, with a few added mod-cons.

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