Britain
You are currently browsing articles tagged Britain.
Zürich has long-featured at the top of the list of cities offering the best quality of life in the world. Having finally visited for the first time last week, I can now see why.
Mind you, I wasn’t so enthused when I looked out the plane’s window as we came in to land. The pilot informed us (a little too cheerily, I thought) that it was -3°C, and the sky was an ominous grey.
Still, the city soon made up for it.
I had a few hours to kill before a business meeting, so I took the opportunity to amble around the Old Town, before finding my way through the winding streets to the Kunsthaus art museum.
The museum lacks the grandeur and wealth of treasures that the Louvre, National Gallery or the Prado can boast. But with a collection of works spanning six centuries – including some beautiful pieces by Canaletto, Monet and Van Gogh – it is well worth a trip.
And Zürich has a lot more to offer. The cafes, restaurants, shops, and its beautiful lake make Zürich an enviable place to live. Easy access to Switzerland’s world class ski resorts has a certain attraction too!
The Swiss advantage
And Switzerland’s appeal is not limited to its culture or sporting activities.
In its most recent annual survey, the World Economic Forum crowned Switzerland as the most competitive nation in the world for the second year running.
Switzerland was followed by Sweden, with Singapore third in the rankings. The United States slipped to fourth. The United Kingdom was 12th.
Running like clockwork
Such rankings were underscored on my way home.
The Swiss, of course, are famed for their timekeeping and efficiency. When the trains say they will arrive at a certain time they do, and to the second. They are smooth, clean and comfortable. Getting around Zürich is a cinch.
By contrast, getting back to my home in the UK was anything but smooth and comfortable. London’s Underground system was ground-breaking (literally) when it opened 150 years ago. Now though it is showing its age. There are constant repairs, and too many people jostling to get on.
The subsequent overland leg of my train journey was even worse. Broken signals, delays, overcrowded carriages. Suffice to say, it eventually took me twice as long to get from London’s City airport to home as it had taken me to fly from Switzerland to the UK.
Having lived abroad for many years, I know that nowhere is perfect.
Britain has its faults, for sure – the climate, the overstretched transport infrastructure, the lack of space, its cost of living. Yet coming back to live in the UK has helped me see it with new, more sympathetic eyes, better able to appreciate the wonderful things it does have to offer, and not just the bad bits.
Still, I can see why there is so much interest – especially among those well-paid financial types – in relocating to Switzerland.
Much of the reason may be to do with the favourable tax regimes they can expect to find in the country’s various cantons.
But I’m sure Switzerland’s long-trumpeted quality of life advantages must be as much of a draw.
Tags: Abroad, Britain, café, canton, cities, city, climate, cost, country, culture, financial, Kunsthaus, life, live, living, London, Louvre, Monet, museum, nation, national, Prado, quality, relocating, restaurant, shop, Singapore, ski, States, Sweden, Swiss, Switzerland, tax, transport, UK, Van Gogh, world, World Economic Forum, Zurich
As everyone knows, the weather in the UK is nothing to write home about it. Grey, damp and cold tend to be the predominant impressions. Not surprising then that the country’s climate regularly tops the polls of reasons why people want to leave.
Still, as I try to remind myself on yet another chilly, overcast January morning, it could be worse.
For one, in Britain we don’t have to contend with crocodiles waddling down the pavements, as reported in some Queensland towns hit by the recent flooding. The flooding has also brought an increase in venomous snake sightings (my wife’s pet fear), and – my phobia – bull sharks seen swimming down the streets.
But while it may be dangerous creatures that grab the headlines and send shivers down the spine, the real story is the extent of the flooding, and the chaos it has wreaked.
Vast areas of Australia’s north-east have been affected, damaging 30,000 homes and causing more than 30 deaths.
And after years of extreme drought in the country’s south-east, what has been described as an inland sea is now creeping across the state of Victoria.
Across the country, local businesses, the transport infrastructure, agriculture and mining have taken an enormous hit. The government now estimates the reconstruction effort to repair the damage will cost A$5.6bn.
Early forecasts also suggest the flooding could reduce Australia’s economic growth by 1% this year. That is a heavy toll.
Superstorm
Meanwhile, California – long feted for its climate and way of life – may be due its own “superstorm.”
According to a new report from the US Geological Survey, models show the atmospheric rivers that draw warm, moist air from the Pacific Ocean could create an “ARkStorm,” a month-long battering producing 10 feet of rain. The researchers estimated such a storm could cost $725 billion, nearly three times as much as a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hitting Southern California.
And of course there is always that risk of the giant earthquake building in the San Andreas fault, which is apparently overdue.
Maybe the British grey isn’t so bad after all.
Tags: ARkStorm, Australia, Britain, British, California, climate, cost, country, crocodile, damage, earthquake, economic, flood, growth, Pacific, Queensland, San Andreas, shark, snake, superstorm, UK, US, Victoria
If you’re considering moving abroad then you want to do it right from the off. Your happiness depends on it. And that means making sure you head for a destination that best meets all YOUR requirements.
So here are some of the key issues to contemplate when deciding where to live:
1) Education
For any parents, the quality of education available to their children – whether in the local state system, a private institution or at an international school – has to be a crucial factor.
If a country’s educational options are poor, think again. Your child’s future is too important.
2) Language
Which languages do you speak? Where in the world will you find it easiest to integrate, and feel most comfortable living, as a result? Which languages will prove most beneficial to your prospects going forward?
At the gates of my daughter’s school here in Britain I hear many foreign accents. One big attraction for these parents of raising their children in the UK is the English fluency they are achieving. As the world’s dominant business language at present that will stand them in good stead in the years to come.
3) Quality of life
Definitions of quality of life vary from person-to-person. But common considerations include the location’s relative cost of living, the climate, career opportunities and earning potential, access to leisure activities, the country’s political freedoms and cultural mores.
For instance, the UK is renowned for its high cost of living and poor weather. However, HSBC’s latest Expat Explorer Survey[1] ranked it the top country for entertainment, and reported that it is an easy place for expats to integrate.
The important thing is to determine which quality of life factors matter most to you.
4) Social network
It is great to have family support and contact. Yet for many people living abroad often means having to do without that.
In such situations, it is important to be in a location where there are plenty of opportunities to develop a strong circle of friends who can offer emotional support, and with whom you can share the good times.
5) Future prospects
Looking ahead, what sort of life will your location offer?
Does it hold out the prospect of attractive career opportunities, for you and any children you may have?
If you are considering retirement there, is it affordable? What sort of social life can you expect? How do the healthcare system, and healthcare costs, stack up?
Answer these crucial questions before you leave home and you have a much better chance of finding happiness and contentment when you arrive.
[1] Expat Experience is the second of three reports from HSBC’s 2010 Expat Explorer research series,
http://www.offshore.hsbc.com/1/2/international/expat/expat-survey/expat-experience-report-2010
Tags: Abroad, Britain, business, career, child, climate, comfort, cost, country, destination, earn, Education, English, entertainment, expat, explore, Foreign, freedom, friend, happiness, health, home, HSBC, integrate, Language, leisure, live, living, location, moving, parent, politic, prospect, quality, Retirement, School, survey, UK, weather, world
A recent holiday in Spain – the first trip back to our house on the northern Costa Brava since repatriating to the UK last Christmas – reminded me of all the good things about our former life in the sun.
And the drive home from the airport after we landed back in the UK, with the rain greasing the congested motorway, showed the stark contrast with the world we had left behind.
Since our return friends and work colleagues have been asking the same question: do we regret moving back to England?
Of course, we miss some of the lifestyle benefits Spain offers. After all, the UK is by no means perfect. Nevertheless, on balance we are happy we repatriated.
So what are the good things about living back in the UK? For me, the key ones are:
The number one advantage is being back among family and old friends, renewing those old, precious relationships.
There is an ease to living in a place where you understand the societal attitudes, the sense of humour, and how the systems involved in day-to-day life work. Being able to think and speak in your native tongue once again is nice too.
We have now been through all the seasons, and while the UK’s weather may not be wonderful (I’m writing this with the rain lashing outside), each reveals some special aspect of the country’s beauty.
In the months since our return we have also taken the chance to explore more of the country, and see the charm that attracts so many foreign visitors: the wonders of London, the nation’s majestic stately homes, its quaint villages and verdant countryside.
It is not always easy to see how great Great Britain is when you are brought up with it and long to escape. Instead, sometimes you have to leave to come back again.
As Irish novelist George Moore said: “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”
That is just how I am feeling … at least for the moment!
Tags: airport, beauty, Britain, Christmas, Costa Brava, country, culture, England, escape, family, Foreign, friend, Irish, life, lifestyle, London, rain, relationship, repatriate, social network, Spain, stately home, sun, UK, visitor, weather, work, world
After a nail-biting finale, the European team just pipped the USA to the post at this year’s Ryder Cup. The tournament is golf’s showcase international event, and its prestige was served well by some remarkable performances on both sides.
Unfortunately, it was the atrocious conditions that dominated the early stages of the competition though, with long rain delays that forced play into overtime on Monday … when, sod’s law, the weather made a volte-face and bathed the country in glorious sunshine.
Well, what can you expect from Wales in October?
In truth, Britain in autumn can be a challenging place to live. Hurricanes, like the famous one of October 1987, might be blue moon events. Wind and rain, however, are guaranteed. Add in the fading daylight as the days shorten and it starts to sound a bit bleak. No wonder so many millions of Brits dream of escaping to a life in the sun.
Mind you, in New York, where I spent a year at the turn of the millennium, the descent from the broiling heat of summer to freezing winter is even more precipitous.
By contrast, in the corner of north-eastern Spain where I lived until recently, the thermometer frequently nudged 30°C through to the end of October. Calm, sunny days meant there were a lot of leaves on the trees right up to Christmas, and oftentimes we could still venture out in T-shirts.
But now we’re back, experiencing our first autumn in the UK in eight years. I confess, weather-wise it is nowhere near as appealing as where we have come from.
The upside is the warmth we enjoy from being back among family and old friends.
Tags: autumn, Britain, Christmas, Europe, family, friend, Golf, New York, October, Ryder Cup, Spain, sun, UK, USA, Wales, weather
If anyone doubts the beauty Britain has to offer take a trip to Salisbury.
Before moving to Spain I was wont to focus on those aspects of life in Britain that were inciting me to leave: the weather, grey and litter-strewn streets, high living costs, crime levels, images of the country’s rundown inner cities, overburdened health and education systems.
Spanish life promised a more gilded existence. Towns of quaint narrow streets and sunshine burnished buildings, café-lined plazas and open-air markets, the turquoise Mediterranean, vast tracts of undeveloped farmland and forest, lower prices and a more relaxed pace of life.
But having now repatriated to the UK after seven years of living abroad I am seeing the beauty of my homeland with fresh eyes. I have a new appreciation of the rolling green landscapes, its woods of oak and elm and beech, those chocolate-box villages, the BBC.
And historic cities such as Salisbury.
I had my first visit there a few weeks ago. Centrepiece is the magnificent medieval Cathedral, completed in 1258 and considered the finest example of its type in the country. Less jaw-droppingly impressive, but equally charming, are the surrounding Cathedral Close and the rest of the medieval city centre.
Sitting amidst the tourist throngs on the lawns beside the Cathedral I saw the city as they must. And it made me realise just how beautiful England – and the rest of the UK – really can be. Not a bad place to live after all.
Tags: Britain, Cathedral, Cathedral Close, country, crime, Education, England, health, homeland, living abroad, living cost, Mediterranean, Moving Abroad, Salisbury, Spain, Spanish, sunshine, UK, weather
Adultery, family feuds, multimillion pound inheritances – par for the course for family life among the British aristocracy perhaps. But the Thynne family, holders of the Marquessate of Bath, are more colourful than most.
The current Lord Bath is known for his flamboyant clothing, the murals he has painted on his private apartments, and the scores of girlfriends (he used to call them “wifelets”) he has had – and made portraits of – over the years.
He is also the owner of Longleat House, the beautiful stately home in Wiltshire. Completed in 1580, it is considered one of the finest examples of Elizabethan architecture in Britain. It was also the first stately home to open to the public.
Longleat is best known though for its safari park, with its collection of lions and tigers, monkeys, rhinos and deer. The brainchild of the 6th marquess, the incumbent’s father, the safari park was opened in 1966, becoming the first such drive-through animal experience outside Africa.
Having heard so many good things about Longleat, and wanting to experience more of what England has to offer since moving back from abroad, my family and I took the opportunity to visit a couple of weeks ago.
I would have liked to trawl around the house itself, to sample the wealth of history and objets d’art on show. But having been subjected as a child to a succession of tours of grand old houses by my own parents I decided it best not to inflict the same pain on them.
Instead we enjoyed a selection of the many other activities Longleat has to offer: a ride on the miniature railway, fun time in the Adventure Castle, an exploration of the Postman Pat Village. Plus, of course, a drive around the safari park.
There was so much more we didn’t have time to see either. Still, we can save that for another visit. And I know our kids would be eager to go back.
Tags: Abroad, Bath, Britain, British, England, family, history, house, Longleat, moving, safari, stately home, Wiltshire
Spain 30 – England 20.
No, it’s not some freakish football score. It’s the current temperature differential between our home in the UK and our former one in the north-east of Spain.
The forecast for the coming week in England doesn’t look much more promising either. Temperatures barely struggling out of the teens centigrade, and the threat of heavy rain showers. Yippee.
Remind me – why did we move back to the UK?
Sort of summer
Still, that’s a British summer for you. The odd few days of glorious sunshine, when there seems like no more beautiful place to be on Earth, followed by leaden skies and rain squalls.
It’s a season of uncertainty – periods of joy mixed with gloom. One day you’re in shorts and sandals and the next it’s jumpers and coats.
As for making plans to enjoy the Great Outdoors … in the words of Hugh Grant in Mickey Blue Eyes, Forgeddaboutit.
In other words, hardly ideal conditions when you have kids who want to be spending their days building sandcastles on the beach, or splashing around in a pool.
(For that matter, have you swum in the sea around Britain recently? Are you crazy?)
Sunshine costs
Nevertheless, seeing the BBC News reminded me that the scorching summers seen across southern Europe and elsewhere do have their downsides.
For instance, parts of the Spanish coast are being plagued at present by an invasion of jellyfish, to the painful detriment of the people that have come in contact with them.
Meanwhile, swathes of northern Portugal are being cremated by a series of forest fires, an annual occurrence in many parts of the region.
There is, after all, a price to be paid for the sun.
Tags: beach, Britain, British, coast, Earth, England, Europe, fire, home, jellyfish, kid, outdoors, Portugal, sea, Spain, Spanish, summer, sun, UK
For sports fans it’s a month of heaven. The World Cup. The US Open golf tournament, soon to be followed by The (British) Open. And now the start of Wimbledon. The quandary of what to watch? So this is what it must be like year-round for reality TV talent show aficionados.
For me, the World Cup is the big treat. Once every four years I get to feast on a daily banquet of football, and if I’m lucky some of it may even prove sumptuous.
But alongside the games there is a more serious side to this year’s tournament. I don’t know what the coverage is like in other countries, but in Britain the matches have been followed by reports on what impact the World Cup is having on South Africa, and the problems there that still need tackling.
These short insights offer an eye-opening comparison between the footballer haves, and the country’s millions of have-nots. More importantly, it reminds me of what I have and how fortunate I am, and but for a fate of birth how different life could be.
For most of us expats and prospective expats moving abroad is about pursuing the dream of a better life. Nothing wrong with that. Still, at times it’s worth remembering what we have already, and being thankful for it.
Tags: better life, Britain, British, country, dream, expat, football, Moving Abroad, Open, South Africa, sport, TV, US, Wimbledon, World Cup
England, my home country, is playing its second World Cup match today. St. George’s flags are everywhere, and there is a palpable excitement in the air as the nation wills its players on to glory.
For the last game against the USA some 20+ million people tuned in to watch the match on TV – not bad, considering the population of England is only 51 million, and that of the UK as a whole 61 million. And if England do well and progress through the competition that number will keep on rising.
True, not everyone likes football. But in Britain – and indeed in many other countries around the world – you’d be hard pushed to find a more common cultural reference point.
And when it comes to moving abroad these cultural landmarks are crucial. National obsessions – whether they are sports or politics or music – are important parts of the social fabric. As an expat, learning something about them helps you understand the mentality of the people around you. It helps you integrate with them. It’s a way to strike up conversations, make friends, feel involved. And hopefully have a good time.
So take an interest in whatever fixates the population of your chosen country. You’ll find it a huge help.
Tags: Britain, country, cultural, England, expat, football, Friends, game, integrate, match, Moving Abroad, music, nation, national, player, politics, social, sport, UK, USA, World Cup
Recent Comments