Quote:
Originally Posted by peacefuljourney
Hey - I don't think that you want me to give my "honest opinion" on Dubai or Abu Dhabi! For real for real. I have had an experience and I dont want to be negative on such a public forum.But I will, if it will be helpful. I want to be positive. Which brings me to my next point. I'm more than concerned about moving to Greater London now, after reading the posts and reading other sites. It seems to me that there are not many people who actually like, really like, living there. I read more negative posts about the UK than positive ones. Between reading about the crime and the weather and the high prices, I get the impression that I don't want to move there, especially with my pre-teen as a single parent. What are some positive, uplifting things about Greater London that I can look forward to? I understand that I will be paying 1/3 or more of my salary in taxes; that I will be paying an exorbitant amount for utilities and all that. I pay nothing here in Abu Dhabi - but I'm leaving regardless. That means something. I certainly am not naive, being originally from the 5th largest city in the US, but certainly someone can offer some encouragement? Personally, every time I've visited London, including the time when I lived in Paris, I had nothing but a postive experience. Even when British Airways lost our luggage, when I went to London for my interviews and attended all of the interviews in a hoodie, sweats and Adidas. Even then, I had a good experience. Who can give me encouragement from the land of 1,000 rains? Best, PJ
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First you have the media. They feed from bad news and the people fall for it. I have lived in places where crime is a real issue (back home my mum was kidnapped in one occasion, my brother was robbed at gun point by a gang, I myself was robbed a couple of times) and I can tell you that London's crime problems are nothing as serious. Londoners in particular, and Brits in general just don't understand how good they have it and have a stupid tendency to concentrate too much in the negatives.
Crime by all credible statistics is falling, but you can show this to most people and they will still insist that crime is an issue. You can do precious little against baseless stubbornness! As in any big town, if you are sensible you will be OK.
If London was such a bad place you would not have people setting home here from all around the world. Maybe native English people resent a bit that the capital city is so different from the rest of the country (drive out of London and then you understand what to be a foreigner is, specially if you are not of North European descent), but if you are open minded, I can't think of few more exciting places than London to be.
It is certainly expensive, no question about it, but still you have 8 million people here, not all of whom are mega rich Russian oligarchs. To be fair people like teachers and nurses are finding difficult to find affordable housing in London, at the end you have to make your sums and see if things add up.
As for the weather, what is the problem? It is mild compared to the rest of the country, you have 4 proper seasons, the summer is not unbearably hot (unlike parts of Spain or Italy), the winter is not cold (you rarely go below 0 degrees C, unlike Germany, France or Scotland!), it may be cloudy often, and during the winter it gets dark early, but I prefer that compared to the tropical humid hot water in places like Malaysia or Singapore. Horses for courses, but it is not as bad as some people would make you believe.
Certainly raising a child on your own is a challenge, and maybe inner London may present special problems, but it must not be as bad as the getthoized culture in some US cities, although problematic hot spots for young people do exist and you should make your homework before settling for a given place.
London is awash with culture and entertainment, peaceful countryside retreats are always a short train ride away, you can see movies from all around the world, the best theatre in the English speaking world, food from everywhere (that you can prepare yourself by going to the myriad of speciality supermarkets and buying the ingredients, if dinning out for a fiver a head proves too expensive).
Argh! I really don't understand what is the bad vibe about London, if people don't like it they must leave and leave it for us, most appreciative people....
