h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Not literally or even figuratively.

Im too lazy/stuborn/resilient to run away from a fight but what might make me leave my home land.

I think Id stay even if the churches took over education as they once did and id stay even if they outlawed alcohol. people saying you must do this or not do this has never stopped me doing things my way to some extent or other.

Id be less inclined to stay if all the people who make *here* special to me were gone but, what would make me one of the first to pack my bags for pastures new. Lets take out a clear and present threat to life and physical lberty either for myself or loved ones.

All other things being equal if the people of this contry turned their backs democracy and equality as ideals to aspire to then I think Id prefer to live somewhere that people did and Id even take measures including fighting to reinstate those principles if there was a fighting chance of doing so.

So the question is if some of you are so unappy with things where you are why havent you gone and/or what are you doing to effect a change.

one love

I'd say, it's down to two points...

a) People like to complain
and
b) Most people are well aware that the grass is always greener...

But *is* it always greener? and if yes, who made it so and how?

keeping as it is, can also be wise for a period, or maybe for ever,
as bad as it may be.
Change means that one loses some control and that might be a very dangerous situation.

To change your life, you need some relevant "knowledge" about what's going on in yourself.
You also need (prof) help in case everything escalates when the dikes need to be broken.

Let me give an example from pure medical world; These days one can buy a total checkup from ones body. Well, you should really first consider what you're doing. Can one handle if one is confronted with a severe illness. I know people who probably have cancer, but they don't want an official one, because they know they can't cope with the results.



You need the feeling of harsh suffering (some kind of despair),
knowing about what's going on to begin with and hópe and trust in the help that is needed to go all the way.

In my point of few almost everyone makes this calculation by intuítion.
If a person comes to the first session of a ther. meeting, it is not just the beginning, it is also the end of a long proces to come that far.


Why confronting oneself while they don't see any perspective/hope.
It just makes you weaker.

So "time" is also an important ingrediënt and the feeling that you're living with your back against the wall. Most of the times that's about 35 years of age.

It's the story of "supporting power" and the limits of ones "bearability". They mixing time after time.




Just a few thoughts from me.


Greetings from Amsterdam

I dispair totally and utterly with teh direction of this country politically and socially at the current time, well, for the past several years anyhow. Its turned me more political, and then very un-political as I've become disenfranchised from political partys', currently not having a single party or individual MP3 I'd actually want activly to vote for. But I'd never ream of leaving the country for several reasons, mainly very boring reasons, such as I can't stand hot temperatures (which rules out living half the country's one might consider moving to), I don't speak any forign languages thanks to a crap education in English language and subsequently crap education in forign languages. But mainly that, even though some time in th new year my one and only passtime is being prevented by the government for nepherious reasons, I do kinda like the place But on a lighter note, there is always the suspecioun that eventually, somehow one day we'll get these barstools out and have a whole new dumb ass set of a-holes to deal with instead.... Variety is the spice o life or so they say

"But *is* it always greener? and if yes, who made it so and how?"

Yes, the lenses in our eyes have trouble green wavelengths of light at shorter distances.

Morning Blicky

I haven't gone for the same reasons that you haven't.

As you are well aware I have often been criticised for bemoaning what I see as undesirable changes, and indeed you have wielded the hammer a few tims.

But I reserve the right to 'moan', to write to my MP or council member, to try to slow down the rate of the most undesirabl changes.

Like you, my local pub is a haven of complaint, discussion, and so on , as well as a soclial conversation centre. I wouldn't want to lose it.

So again, like you, while democracy and beer survive , I;ll argue my corner with pint in hand.

Novo

I nearly did go about 5 yrs ago. Only I visited where I planned to go to and didn't really like it. I think it important to have a taste of where one wants to go before going otherwise how d'you know if it is any better?

I still think about leaving the UK. There's many things I don't like about the way it is run, and many of them are fairly mainstream. And hey, if the majority want it and I don't then seems to me I'm the one who should move/change not them. I.e. I'm the odd one out.

Why haven't I gone. Because I'm balancing my feelings about how a country should be run, how a society should work against the fact that *this* country has my family and friends in it. What good is living in your ideal society if it means leaving behind all your social and life anchors?

As for the grass is always greener, being a cynic/realist (delete as you perceive it) I'm very conscious that everywhere has it's downsides. So there's a constant thought that whilst it may a better place it may just be different. And if it was all that I wanted it to be then I have an inkling that I'm the sort of person who would find that irritating after a while

But really, I'm just lazy and it would involve a lot of organising. Although I would be financially much better off due to the exchange rate and cost of living there. It just ain't that simple a decision.

I'm actually quite tempted to leave just because of the persistent cold and wet.

Also I've very much liked the feeling of going on holiday to some places and suddenly being a towering giant .

And the insufferable sluggishness in adopting new technologies gets my nerdy side down as well. Many relatively poor countries look like some sort of computerised Heavenly Jerusalem by comparison.

Lastly, and this really is a bit of the old 'grass is greener', I've never had the slightest jot of interest from any British women, so was thinking about finding somewhere I might be more appreciated.

The Far East is looking quite tempting at the moment.

The wet and cold is my favourate bit of the UK, I'd have to find a differnt country with suitabably cold wet and damp conditions before I could ever consider moving

have to I say I don't think the UK is cold and wet enough, not these days. I want 4 ft snow drifts back, sleet hail and snow from november till march.
I really missed the rain when I've been to warmer dryer countries. There's something very urban gothic about streets lights at night in the rain. Quite romantic, in the gothic sense rather than the lovey-dovey sense. Appeals to my sense of the dramatic.

hmmm, only if you can observe them from somewhere warm and dry...

I'd consider moving because of the climate - I was one of seemingly only a few people not endlessly moaning about the heat in july.

Mind you, I like those cold clear days too that we sometimes get in winter. But what we have most of the time, is like living inside a tupperware box (thanks to Ben for the image) - look out of the window and it is all grey.

One reason I went back to Scandinavia was to have seasons. I just like to feel the year is passing, rather than grey and drizzly each day.

AGreed about the gothic sense of desolation thats so great about the UK winter weather/climate. Walking down a street at 3 AM, seeing all the frost on the parked cars, and beign able to scrape your hand across the frost, with that loverly frosty crunch of frost under foot, and then a nice freezing cold hail/sleet/rain fall

<<"Staggering down a street at 3 AM">>

Fixed.

I was going to Australia, but my Dad died and it was a bad time to leave my mother on her own.

Why did I decide to go ? I was worried about the future for my children, I saw the manufacturing industries being closed, and wondered where everyone was going to work.

I left Britain a few months after Mrs Thatcher was voted in for her second term of office; I lived in Eire for 12 years - and had the familly I left here not have had a big crisis I'd have stayed and been content to stay. It wasn't a perfect society, but generally speaking, I was happier there.

By the time the familly problems were resolved (3 close relatives died within 2 years; twas all a bit complicated, really) my children had started and settled at their schooling, and had gotten used to Britain. My last remaining relative was also getting older and more frail and needed keeping an eye on, too, and refused to come with us when I suggested we all went back together.

And I also knew if we returned to Eire, the kids have never been able to catch up with the high standard of education there.

Now they're grown and have their roots here; I'm happy enough to stay because of them - but I often get twitchy feet and the strong desire to walk away; I was pretty disillusioned with the way things were going in Britain in the 80s; Twenty five years on and I'm still disillusioned.

And a bit older, too

Somewhat similar to others who HAVE gone,

I got a bit fed up of the arguments! Whether the government is to blame, the immigrants, the large supermarket monopolies or even God, I don't really care but other folks whinging on about it every day tends to sour you on some places.

I wanted the sunshine (too many years in Scotland put me off snow and cold winds!) Here in Portugal, we get seasons, just not too vicious ones!

I wanted a place to 'live' in. I earned a very good wage in the UK but I was barely existing after my expenses went out. Now I earn less than half of that wage but can still eat out every night if I want to. And I don't have to spend 3 hours in my car commuting either!

I wanted somewhere safer to bring up my children than the UK, with a decent life for them while they were doing the growing up.

One of the things I like best about Portugal is the sense of family community. People here eat and socialise and play as a family group. Could you imagine a bunch of typical British teenagers sitting around in a cafe enjoying a conversation with their parents´ friends whilst drinking water? I want my children to be able to do that.

Symapthise with you Deakie - but my kids do just that - well two of them are teetotal and two of them drink, and they do converse with our friends.

My lads, too; they've been known to drink with adults of my age on a voluntary bassis - but then, they can also survive society with mum's friends armed only with a smile and a cup of tea.

But I think - just maybe - spending their formative years in a far more open, friendly, familly orientated society may have helped them. It was a kinder, and far more socially secure way of being.

And of their contempories, who in their turn sit and drink tea with me by choice a large proportion of them spent their early years in a different country, too.