What is it like to live in England?

Question

If you are a UK-ian, what is it like to like in the UK? How do you feel about your home? Is it like the movie 'Hot Fuzz' and 'Shawn of the Dead' or 'Red Dwarf' or 'Ballykissangel'? I know those are tv shows, but do you life a charming, witty life like those tv shows depict?

I want to visit the UK because of these shows. So, thanks for sharing about your UK life.

Answer 1

If you don't live here then don't come here.

The economy is a total mess at the moment and is the way of life.

If your only coming to visit then it's alright though. Theres loads to do. Especially in London which is where I live.

England was once over a beautiful place. Thats how I remember it in my youth. Now it's become very dangerous.

Answer 2

Pretty c**p, good things are the free NHS that's about it...

Watch Little Britain it's all true...

Answer 3

Its normal i guess. Wake up go 2 work come home have dinner. Watch Tv  go 2 sleep  

Answer 4

Um its not like the USA at all the NHS is free (health care) and the houses are much smaller...But you cant choose the perfect place too live the telly is good (sometimes) theres lots of telly channelsls to choose from (if you hae sky or freeview - things we have to get more

channels but life is not how you see it onthe screen.

Answer 5

It's c**p, it's boring, the weather sucks, and it's getting more and more expensive to live here by the day !!!

Oh and the traffic light theory is NOT true, usually if you get one red light you catch them all on red, well that's if they're working !  

Answer 6

it has its pros and it has its cons. i live just outside of Liverpool and i really like it here, where i live there is a lot of countryside but its also only 20 mins on the train to Liverpool, 30 mins to Manchester and only takes about 15 minutes in the car to get to my local town centre!

its just recently because of the whole credit crunch, the UK has become a really expensive place to live and the cost of living has definitely gone up. gang crime has also increased and knife crime is escalating at an astounding rate, it seems everytime i watch the news there have been 2 or 3 more stabbings. not to put you off but there are certain parts of the UK which are really rough (North London, Hull, South Manchester) but it doesnt mean that everywhere is like that. ive lived in England all my life (im only 16 though) and ive never once come across any kind of gang crime/knives/guns etc, i guess im lucky i live in a decent area. the government seems to do nothing but sit back and relax and wants to look like its helping with the problems the UK has at the moment when really everyone just wants Gordon Brown out.

ok, now onto the pros :D i think if you like the tv shows you have described then you would really like the UK. also, i second the recommendations someone gave for 'Spaced' and 'The Mighty Boosh' (really surreal humor, you either love it or you hate it but i personally LOVE it!) and you should also check out 'Peep Show' which is hilarious.

the only trouble is, when most people want to visit the UK they only think of visiting London. already, youve asked what its like to live in England and youve gone straight on to mention the UK. you must remember that as well as England, there is also Scotland, Wales and N. Ireland which are in the UK so i really think you shoud visit London, but please check out other places while you are here! such as Liverpool, it gets a bad reputation for being scruffy and full of crime but ive been there time and time again since the age of about 6 and ive never had a problem with the place. the people are quick witted and have the best sense of humor and there is just so much culture and history in the place (which does extend beyond the Beatles). plus, it is the 2008 European Capital of Culture so the government has invested millions of pounds into making it tourist friendly and really renovating the place so i think its really worth a visit if you havent been before! there is so much to do and the city centre is alive with culture.

another place i really have to recommend is Edinburgh! its the capital of Scotland so has a similar feel to London and i went there on holiday about 2 months ago! it was such a lovely place that i will definitly go back because the Scots are such friendly people (that stuff about English hating the Scots and vice versa is nonsense) and the city is full of history and character! if you go you should visit the Edinburgh Castle, The National Gallery of Scotland and you should make sure you check out 'The Royal Mile' which is a long street with really old arcitecture and cobbled streets which is filled to the brim with stuff to look at! ok i sound like a crazy tourist guide but you really should come to the UK! im sure you will like it, and as long as you make sure you are ready for the unpredictable weather (always take either an umbrella/waterproof coat with you and make sure you have clothes for hot days or rainy cold ones!)

if you want to check out UK life which doesnt include busy cities (such as the town in Hot Fuzz) you should maybe consider coming to places like the Lake District, Yorkshire or Devon which are more like your humble countryside towns and villages.

i must point out (someone else has also mentioned this) that there is a huge cultural divide between the North and South of England and so if you want a full taste of the UK you should go somewhere in the North and somewhere in the South because like i said, London is the most popular tourist location and is probably more impressive but in my opinion (ok im Northern so its probably biased lol) the North has a much more relaxed atmosphere and the people here (and in the whole of the UK) are generally lovely people so i really think you should come!

i hope this helped!

Answer 7

aw your sweet!  scotlands way better, you ever seen Chewin the fat?!!!  

Answer 8

Well , our summer has been like Winter : (  and its nothing like those movies :D its generally quite good though !

Answer 9

i heard that there if you stop at one red trafic light the rest are green isn't that nice

Answer 10

I will have a great time there. I won't have to worry about finding a job and get to live in Harrogate.  Let's just hope the English ladies are warm to Americans in Harrogate in North Yorkshire.  I would love to meet an English lady.

I can complain about America also, we want our Nations to be perfect and if we weren't critical we don't care.  I love USA and I like many things about UK.  And by the way.  NHS is not free.  It must be one of the things attracting the immigrants there however, if they are the legal sorts.  

Thank your FREE services as part of the higher costs of living.

Answer 11

To be honest. The uk is EXTREMELLY BORING (i live there) unless you like the country side and busy citys.

Answer 12

I used to live in th UK, emigrated to Canada. Unfortunately those shows you mention do not depict normal day to day life in the UK.

Its an expensive place for a start, you can have weeks where it just rains and you don't see the sun - bit depressing. Trying to travel during rush hour is not worth the waiting as roads and public transport gets very busy. People are always in a rush to get places and you'll find people in shops and restaurants are not very friendly. Depending on where you are from you'll find everything small, roads are small, small cars, small houses. Its a small island crammed full of people. There is still some beautiful countryside like in the lake district or the Cotswold but its becoming rarer and rarer.

But it does have so much history though and has some beautiful castles and stately homes to see. London is definately worth a visit as there's so much to see there, as is Edinburgh as someone else mentioned (though not in England).

Its great to go there for a visit but not to live there anymore as its changed so much.

Answer 13

Every where is different, like anywhere else i guess.

The rich are rich, the poor are poor and we all have different ways of life. Obviously there are no zombies and we don't live outer-space!

But you seem to get our humor if you like those TV programs and films!

There is a big cultural difference between the North and the South of England, i think a lot of people only get to see London when they come here, so suggest that if you do come to visit us you try to get to see a good bit if England, and try and get to Scotland, Wales and Ireland... I've lived here all my life and still never been to Ireland.

Maybe you could try watching some more films and TV, try This Is England (film), Shameless (TV), Spaced (TV, if you like Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead you'll love it), The Mighty Boosh (TV).

Hope you come visit us soon x*x

x*x

Answer 14

its ok , the weather is c**p , theres 1 thing thats amazing , thats the english premier league ( soccer > football to us ). lol , and yeh we are all happy but angry at the same time because the violance is picking up now with knife crime all over the country ! ( dont forget guns aswell now ).