Exeter is a great city, as is Bristol. Compared to the other UK cities I've been in (spent a fair amount of time in Birmingham), South West cities are the most pleasant. Except maybe Plymouth.Sigmar ov The Hammer said:
Opinions on the UK
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Seconded. There are certain boroughs in London, specifically the King's Cross/St Pancras and Faringdon areas that can be seem docile during the day but terrifying at night with the same amount of foot traffic i.e none.leviwoollven said:
I speak mainly from experience but I've found that the British tend to be led more by old media (newspapers/radio even television to an extent). We won't trust anything from a website, even a reputable one but if it's in the papers it has to be true, because people can't read things properly (look at our bestsellers lists, Jodi Picoult? Alan Titchmarsh? Fucking Dave Pelzer? I'm going to throw it out there and say that the average American reader is far more literate than our average book buying bog breather).
Our newspapers though, those things that everybody in this country seems to take as gospel? At their worst they are borderline racist, unethical and untruthful (see the recent GTA scandal in the Daily Star), at their best they are self-serving, elitist and serving the middle class (see the Guardian, it's the best we've got I'm ashamed to say). Most of our papers sit somewhere in the middle, racist enough to be offensive but usually don't get caught out when they do cheat (see The Sun, it's dodged more bullets than Neo).
However, we're a fair minded sort of bunch on the whole. Most people seem to be willing to listen and respond appropriately to arguments and debate fairly. We have speakers corner in London - where even the maddest of conspiracy nuts are legally allowed to have their say. The majority of us are tolerant of other peoples cultures (but some people need to be pushed into this more). We're a diverse enough bunch, if you asked a group of random strangers on a street questions from the same list, you'd wind up with pages filled with different answers. We (did) have some of the best TV in the world (reality TV was the stake in the heart of our TV industry). We also have a fairly good benefits system (which I'm currently using).
So there's good and bad, our newspapers suck and people need to be weened off them before we can make any real progress as a society. But on the whole we ain't so bad.
I wrote more on this than I intended do. Sorry if I come across as negative to all my fellow Brits, I'm feeling a bit pissed at certain aspects of our culture right now.
Guess which bits.
It's like this- London (where I've lived a lot of my life),England, and the rest of the UK are nowhere near as good as people make it out to be. BUT neither are Paris/France or any of Spain, and definitely not Australia.
Having visited a LOT of the UK, I'd have to say the best is London, purely because there are no other cities (bar one, the city that never sleeps) that even compare to it.
Another thing is that there are MILLIONS of people, squeezed into a very small island. English people suffer from overcrowding, and a relatively high immigration rate. Scottish people suffer from wounded pride that England is the richer, more successful part of the island. The Irish suffer from isolation, and the Welsh suffer from being ignored or taken for granted. Which can leave a very poor attitude with some people. Add British cynicism, and you have a potentially offputting mix.
Unlike other countries, we have little to boast, which is why the Olympics are a good thing, because it can bring back some positivity (if we do them right).
Instead of asking opinions, you should visit. The grumpy demeanor drops significantly when you are here, and the UK has billions of fantastic little treats. And, at the end of the day, you can't ignore the fact that Britain once ruled the greatest empire ever-there are signs of this from industrial revolution sights, to a varied and established multiculturalism.
Any details you want, this is the finest place to find it, and is American, so hopefully you trust it as well
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
Having visited a LOT of the UK, I'd have to say the best is London, purely because there are no other cities (bar one, the city that never sleeps) that even compare to it.
Another thing is that there are MILLIONS of people, squeezed into a very small island. English people suffer from overcrowding, and a relatively high immigration rate. Scottish people suffer from wounded pride that England is the richer, more successful part of the island. The Irish suffer from isolation, and the Welsh suffer from being ignored or taken for granted. Which can leave a very poor attitude with some people. Add British cynicism, and you have a potentially offputting mix.
Unlike other countries, we have little to boast, which is why the Olympics are a good thing, because it can bring back some positivity (if we do them right).
Instead of asking opinions, you should visit. The grumpy demeanor drops significantly when you are here, and the UK has billions of fantastic little treats. And, at the end of the day, you can't ignore the fact that Britain once ruled the greatest empire ever-there are signs of this from industrial revolution sights, to a varied and established multiculturalism.
Any details you want, this is the finest place to find it, and is American, so hopefully you trust it as well
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/uk.html
Quite, my dear chap.Liberaliter said:
Aur0ral145:
Care to list these websites?
American shows like Family Guy stereotype us as posh, tea-drinking, Empire-pining wafflers.
My opinion is they need to stop complaining whenever someone calls them by the wrong obsolete name. Kingdom this. Great that. This island is this, and these two countries when counted as one is that. Just be glad you still exist after losing your worldwide empire.
London man, you can be anywhere at anytime of the day/night and you can always get to where you want to go no matter what. People ***** and moan about the public transport but fuck, i don't know how the hell i'd live without it.
Also as me and several friends have always said, you can be in the absolute shitter of somewhere in London but hop on a bus and in about 5/10 minutes you can be in the most prosperous area.
Standard times here man.
Also as me and several friends have always said, you can be in the absolute shitter of somewhere in London but hop on a bus and in about 5/10 minutes you can be in the most prosperous area.
Standard times here man.
All of this, London is amazing, I have lived here for 10 years now and I still find interesting new stuff everyday.Verlander said:
As Samual Johnson said "when you are bored of London you are bored of Life"
OT UK is the usual mix of crap and great, too many chavs but some of the nicest countryside anywhere and you can cross the country in about 4 hours
as far as i've learnt
us brits will always moan, groan, argue and self-loath no matter how good we have it
as Bill bailey pointed out
we crave disappointment
us brits will always moan, groan, argue and self-loath no matter how good we have it
as Bill bailey pointed out
we crave disappointment
Shitty roads, too much smog, and terrible food?
Granted they have a (generally) nice fashion industry, lovely places of historical value, and have the best music history ever.
Granted they have a (generally) nice fashion industry, lovely places of historical value, and have the best music history ever.
There's apparently some form of strategic bonus to owning it, Hell if I care though.mr_rubino said:
I'm fine with Britain being just Britain, I don't need an empire to feel good about myself.
*sigh* I did something like this recently in one of my senior HS electives. I'll do you one better.
USA - Those metric using cross-Atlantic people we have a love-hate relationship with.
Canada - Eh.
Everyone in Latin America except for Argentina - They're an alright bunch.
Argentina - Nothing but contempt over the Falklands War.
Middle East - The little America.
India - The big America.
Sri Lanka / Ceylon - The guys who drink our tea.
China, Korea - What's the difference between you and America?
Japan - Who? Do they even have an embassy here?
Australia - *in undecipherable accent* They're an OK bunch of people. (you'd have to come up with a way to butcher it)
I really don't know what individual Europeans think of Britain, though. Those are the guys that'd know it the best. And words can't possibly describe the hate Ireland must have for you guys. But it should help with most of the global areas.
USA - Those metric using cross-Atlantic people we have a love-hate relationship with.
Canada - Eh.
Everyone in Latin America except for Argentina - They're an alright bunch.
Argentina - Nothing but contempt over the Falklands War.
Middle East - The little America.
India - The big America.
Sri Lanka / Ceylon - The guys who drink our tea.
China, Korea - What's the difference between you and America?
Japan - Who? Do they even have an embassy here?
Australia - *in undecipherable accent* They're an OK bunch of people. (you'd have to come up with a way to butcher it)
I really don't know what individual Europeans think of Britain, though. Those are the guys that'd know it the best. And words can't possibly describe the hate Ireland must have for you guys. But it should help with most of the global areas.
I choose to remain neutral in this thread as a true brit. That which I think of as bad in the UK must be ignored with a stiff upper lip (unless it involves animals for some reason).
That which I think of as right and good in this country must be down played is the name of the british understatement. I shall permit myself only one complaint, not enough zebra crossings, then vanish into the haze of teh internetz
That which I think of as right and good in this country must be down played is the name of the british understatement. I shall permit myself only one complaint, not enough zebra crossings, then vanish into the haze of teh internetz
No, seriously, you seem to be highly misinformed. It's like when Americans think that were it not for them everybody would be, and I quote, "speaking German." By the time they created and dropped the A-bomb (a weapon that may cause the total devastation of human civilization, 'grats guys) on Japan the war in Europe was just about over. I aliken it to when people throw up the bible to justify their baseless homophobia.mr_rubino said:
I'm tempted to believe that you're joking, mostly because I actually cannot believe somebody wrote that as a serious comment. I literally have no words to describe how ignorant and pathetic this is. If you really believe this, I feel sorry for you, because this is just so deluded and out-of-touch with reality it's pitiful. Not only do you lump every single person in the UK with one ridiculous personality, you -- hilariously -- suggest it's down to the loss of the world empire? And we're oh so distraught about the USA taking over? Are you fucking kidding me? How old are you? I, and absolutely nobody I know and have ever met, gives one fuck about that, because guess what? It's in the past, as in, history. Zero people care, except you, apparently. For the love of God, if you're going to irrationally hate on millions of people, get yourself a reason that isn't utterly laughable.Aur0ra145 said:
The uk is a diverise and intresting place with lots of history.The big problem i find with the uk is we never know what to do with ourselfs we seem to be the bridge between the usa and europe.We have a mild climate that means it is normally raining or sunshine but no extremes.All four countries have there own history and type of people.
At night the bigger cities can be a dangerous place but during the day will be a normal busy city.Our roads arent great but our health care is free and amazing.London is one of the most multi-cultured cities in the world this means a wide range of people and food in the country.
I have not heard anybody ever really mention the empire as to be honest it happened years ago and was not our most best moment *sigh*.We talk about World war two abit to often i feel and still have a weird relationship with europe.But i like it here as there are no natural disasters and i have everything i need easily reachable.So a group of four countries on two islands that get on alot better than most people seem to think.
Our government have jumped on the political correct band wagon and everyone seems to kick up when something is put in place.Then we are ignored by the government as we got back to normal after a few weeks complaining.We proberly drink a bit too much and fights break out on most weekend nights normally between drunk chavs but they are easy to avoid.Most the time chaves only stand around shouting shit and if you ignore them they normally wont do anything.Most people are happy to stand in ques for things and are reasonable people that don't give a crap what others think.Hope this helps
At night the bigger cities can be a dangerous place but during the day will be a normal busy city.Our roads arent great but our health care is free and amazing.London is one of the most multi-cultured cities in the world this means a wide range of people and food in the country.
I have not heard anybody ever really mention the empire as to be honest it happened years ago and was not our most best moment *sigh*.We talk about World war two abit to often i feel and still have a weird relationship with europe.But i like it here as there are no natural disasters and i have everything i need easily reachable.So a group of four countries on two islands that get on alot better than most people seem to think.
Our government have jumped on the political correct band wagon and everyone seems to kick up when something is put in place.Then we are ignored by the government as we got back to normal after a few weeks complaining.We proberly drink a bit too much and fights break out on most weekend nights normally between drunk chavs but they are easy to avoid.Most the time chaves only stand around shouting shit and if you ignore them they normally wont do anything.Most people are happy to stand in ques for things and are reasonable people that don't give a crap what others think.Hope this helps