I am now seriously thinking about emigrating. But where to?

[NMH]

Thanks. I might just do that. I have family in Sweden but am still slightly favouring Denmark, if only for their more relaxed alcohol laws!

I live in Sweden and love it.
Everyone speaks passable English (though their language is mental) and the people are consistently quite affable.
Streets are clean and transport is very reliable. Swedes complain if the trains are slowed by a couple of feet of snow - whereas the trains slew to a complete standstill over 2 inches in the UK - and they have people assigned to clear streets and put sand down with every new snowfall. In Stockholm the underground 'tunnelbana' is excellent - smooth running and efficient and goes all over the city, pretty much.
Bars are great, there are loads of nice cafes and areas of the city with different styles. Cost of living is pretty similar to the UK now, except drinks are way expensive while housing is way cheaper ("swings and roundabouts").

Football - their 'premier' division is roughly equivalent to our Championship level, which is why they like to watch and read about our Prem and the Spanish and Italian top teams.

 

[HovaGirl]

Its just bloody crazy now, and I have never seen anything like this in my life.
I wish these f***ing Tory C*(ts would do us all a favour and f*** off.

You might think that, but I think the alternative is even worse.

 

[HovaGirl]

Any place that welcomes English tourists also speak good english. Of those Cyprus and Malta already have a lot of ex-pats and still close to home if needed.

I've lived in Cyprus and the heat does get monotonous but it's a good life.

I live in Greece and the heat makes me ill. 40 degrees is great for a couple of weeks a year when you can go swimming all day and snooze in the aircon. But when you have to work in it or travel in it, it is very draining. And the noise of the cicadas can get on your nerves!

 

[HovaGirl]

You are joking right?

To a Brit, Britain does have great food and you miss some of it when you can't get it. Up in the frozen north, we need some of that stodge to keep us warm (even in the summer!). There's also a great deal of variety. French; Chinese; Japanese; Italian; Indian, etc, etc. Go to a Greek Taverna, and the food is exactly the same as the Taverna next door and every Taverna you have ever been to. The menus are identical. And when will they ever learn the idea of starter followed by main? The whole lot turns up in one great table-full (and the tables are never big enough) and by the time you get past the mezedes, everything else is cold. And there's never any gravy and the choice of vegetables is limited.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

I live in Greece and the heat makes me ill. 40 degrees is great for a couple of weeks a year when you can go swimming all day and snooze in the aircon. But when you have to work in it or travel in it, it is very draining. And the noise of the cicadas can get on your nerves!

My Son's In-Laws retired to Crete a few years ago and are now starting to regret it.

 

[Commander]

I was growing sick of the degeneration of Britain even before the latest trouble. But now I see that even a conservative PM would rather see anarchy than have the troops sort out the scumbags.
The target country needs to have English as its main language but I'm 53, so New Zealand won't want me. Australia has too many poisonous creatures and water shortages for my liking whilst Canada is too freakin' cold! South Africa and Belize are crime-ridden too, whilst the Falklands are too conservative for me. So, is there any alternative to Gibraltar?

If you are seriously considering moving to Gibraltar then things must be really bad. Have you ever been there? An absolute dive. Like Portsmouth but worse.

 

[seagull_special]

You are joking right?

Riverford, Devon

Riverside Inn, Herefordshire

Nishat Tandoori

China Garden

Pelham House in Lewes

some superb barbecues

fantastic selection of meat, fruit and veg in the supermarkets

so I am very happy to say that I am not joking

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Go to a Greek Taverna, and the food is exactly the same as the Taverna next door and every Taverna you have ever been to. QUOTE]

Well it would be. It's a bit like saying that the food in one chippy is the same as the food in another chippy.

British food is generally crap and is laughed at by most other European countries. We do have some of the best restaurants in the world though. But, below this, we generally have no pride in what we cook.

 

[Commander]

British food is generally crap and is laughed at by most other European countries. We do have some of the best restaurants in the world though. But, below this, we generally have no pride in what we cook.

Rubbish. The selection of food in this country is bigger / better than any country I've ever been to, and you can go to a decent restaurant specialising in virtually any cuisine you like easily. Maybe 30 years ago you could say the food in Britain was bad, but not anymore. Yes, it's not necessarilly 'British' food, but then what is 'British' these days anyway?

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Riverford, Devon

Riverside Inn, Herefordshire

Nishat Tandoori

China Garden

Pelham House in Lewes

some superb barbecues

fantastic selection of meat, fruit and veg in the supermarkets

so I am very happy to say that I am not joking

I am prepared to admit we have some great restaurants in this country. I could easily rattle off 20-30 in a minute with little thought. In fact, we have some of the best in the world.

But, generally, food is shit. We simply do not have brilliant meat, fruit and veg in the supermarkets. You must be insane to think this. Or maybe you just shop at Waitrose. Ever tried buying fresh salad leaves in a supermarket? This is a particular bug bear of mine. The high street is littered with chains. The pubs generally serve stuff from the freezer and use food as a non-alcohol item to make a healthy profit on. The big company owned pubs meals has to sell food for something like 5 times its unit price...I dread to think what goes into it. There are exceptions of course, but I'm talking in general and around the country, not just here.

In general other European countires have it much much better.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Rubbish. The selection of food in this country is bigger / better than any country I've ever been to, and you can go to a decent restaurant specialising in virtually any cuisine you like easily. Maybe 30 years ago you could say the food in Britain was bad, but not anymore. Yes, it's not necessarilly 'British' food, but then what is 'British' these days anyway?

I'm not talking about range or variety, I'm talking about quality. The range is vast, the quality of what is available is generally crap though. The original post to which I replied used the term 'great food'. I disagree very strongly.

 

[Seagull27]

Genuine British cuisine isn't particularly brilliant, and probably doesn't go much further than meat pies, fish and chips, and traditional Sunday roast dinners. I wil say though, I've never had a better breakfast anywhere else in the world. Can't beat a Full English.

 

[Seagull27]

I am prepared to admit we have some great restaurants in this country. I could easily rattle off 20-30 in a minute with little thought. In fact, we have some of the best in the world.

But, generally, food is shit. We simply do not have brilliant meat, fruit and veg in the supermarkets. You must be insane to think this. Or maybe you just shop at Waitrose. Ever tried buying fresh salad leaves in a supermarket? This is a particular bug bear of mine. The high street is littered with chains. The pubs generally serve stuff from the freezer and use food as a non-alcohol item to make a healthy profit on. The big company owned pubs meals has to sell food for something like 5 times its unit price...I dread to think what goes into it. There are exceptions of course, but I'm talking in general and around the country, not just here.

In general other European countires have it much much better.

Just because supermarket quality food isn't great doesn't mean to say good quality is not available. Whilst becoming increasingly rare, a good local bakers/butchers/greengroces has good quality food.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Can't beat a Full English.

And the greatest British breakfast to be had is in my avatar and is right here in Hove.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Just because supermarket quality food isn't great doesn't mean to say good quality is not available. Whilst becoming increasingly rare, a good local bakers/butchers/greengroces has good quality food.

I totally agree. Canhams down the road from me is a case in point, Newhaven and Brighton Fish Sales, Piglets Pantry is obviously another. People who have pride in what they make or provide. Brilliant quality is out there but it is in the minority.

I was responding to a comment that great veg was available in supermarkets. My view is that this is not correct in general.

 

[Simster]

I can't believe anyone is arguing with HT that our food is shit. It is. Go to Calais and check out their supermarkets and the difference in what is available is there for all to see. Good social eating just isn't part of our culture, sadly. Local restaurants just aren't a part of the fabric of society here. Instead, we have pubs. I'm not knocking it, but that is a fact. It's not that you can't eat well at home here, but expect to pay through the nose for the privelege.

As for my choice, well it has to be Canada - I lived there for a year and nearly emigrated over a decade ago. Great standard of living, pro British, as bhaexpress says, all the best bits of North America but with comparitively few of the problems the US has. And what's more, you're only 5 hours from home if you're in Ontario or Quebec.

 

[Seagull27]

I totally agree. Canhams down the road from me is a case in point, Newhaven and Brighton Fish Sales, Piglets Pantry is obviously another. People who have pride in what they make or provide. Brilliant quality is out there but it is in the minority.

I was responding to a comment that great veg was available in supermarkets. My view is that this is not correct in general.

I see, fair enough, I also agree with that. Most of it is mass grown from plants selected for producing lots of crop, and quality negated. Or, 'organic', which basically means half the size and double the price. With some soil left on it to make it look more natural.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Go to Calais and check out their supermarkets and the difference in what is available is there for all to see. .

You also see the food change with the seasons, which is a bit bizarre.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Anyway, I'd better do some work. But, just to demonstrate there is some great food out there in the UK, for my lunch I will be warming up an AMEX steak and ale pie which I squirreled away at the football last night.

 

[Simster]

You also see the food change with the seasons, which is a bit bizarre.

It's not that you don't see prepackaged meals-for-one, turkey twizzlers and those shit microwave burgers in France, but they are FAR less prominent -you'd have to go looking for them.