Escape England - Live and Work Abroad: Top 10 Reasons to Leave England

Showing posts with label Top 10 Reasons to Leave England. Show all posts

Tuesday, 1 April 2008

Weather - Thailand versus England

Almost a year ago now, while sitting in the living room of the flat I was renting in Suffolk, England – I came up with my top 10 reasons for wanting to leave England to live and work abroad. Now, I’m sitting in Thailand, living the next episode of my journey to lead a simpler life.

I’m from the school of thought “you never know until you try” and firmly believe that events and situations are very rarely as you imagined they would be. With that in mind, I didn’t leave England in January under the banner of “never to return again”, but more in an attempt to explore and discover the realities of living in other countries. Only then did I feel I could possibly be in a position to make an informed choice on “where to lay my hat”.

Having now spent 3 months away from England, and having gained a good insight into life in Thailand I felt it was time I started to revisit my top 10 reasons for wanting to leave England – to see if anything has changed.

The number one reason for wanting to leave England to live and work abroad, I previously attributed to - The Weather. Click here to read my thoughts on English weather.

So – now that I’ve been in South East Asia for longer than a 2 week holiday, how do I feel about the weather here – in comparison to the UK.

Even if you can’t stand the British weather, there are positive aspects to the seasons we experience in England. Whilst it has been great to be here in Thailand, beside beautiful beaches, with beaming sunshine radiating heat of 30 or 40 degrees, we have often craved a cold wintery night so we could snuggle up on the sofa with a duvet, and enter into a kind of hibernation. Winter in England, although it’s cold, meek and for many depressing, it is also a great time to rest, stay at home, rejuvenate, and consider new ventures. Then, only after the sleepiness of winter, can you experience the waking up in spring.

As we sweated our way through a very hot March over here in Thailand, we occasionally drifted off to fond thoughts of daffodils carpeting our local country park in Suffolk, spring born lambs playing in the fields, and walking the dog in the woods while witnessing the first signs of life in what seems like Nature’s New Year.

Here in Thailand, the changes in weather during March were less apparent. We were well into the hot season on Koh Lanta (South West Thailand), and at that point, no seasonal changes in nature had really been obvious – even the diving conditions were fairly constant. But as it got nearer the end of March, it got hotter and hotter, to a point we could barely move. While I enjoyed the laziness the heat inspired, Paul got frustrated and dreamt of cool, fresh, pine woodlands...

Then just as it got too hot to bear.... the weather cracked!!!

Lightening from our balcony a couple of days ago.

Then yesterday morning we sipped hot cups of tea, huddled under the cover of the Aqua Bar, outside the dive shop, while watching the treacherous rain carve rivers into the beach.

Suddenly the frogs started their loud choruses which more resemble the sound you would expect to hear from a gigantic herd of mooing cows, than a mass of frogs. And last night, riding home on the moped was more like racing around an obstacle course, as Paul swerved again and again, in attempt to dodge the frogs which seem to have appeared everywhere – from nowhere. Every now and again throughout the day, the insects in the trees and bushes started up their high pitch singing for a few minutes, and then miraculously, like a conducted orchestra, they all stop at the same time.

Thailand has two prominent seasons - dry season, and rainy season - high season and low season. The timing of each season varies considerably depending upon where in Thailand you are, and in some areas is actually the complete opposite to here on Koh Lanta. During low season (April/May – October/November) Koh Lanta pretty much closes down apart from Kan Tiang Bay in the South. The conditions of the sea make it difficult to dive, and the rain, although by no means continuous, is frequent enough to deter tourists.

Over the last couple of years the rain has arrived on Koh Lanta in May – and locals are unsure at the moment as to whether this last couple of stormy outbreaks - is the low season arriving a month early, or just a freak outbreak.

Whatever – the storms are amazing to watch for now – and provided a pleasant, but temporary break from the humid heat of the last few weeks..

Friday, 6 April 2007

Top 10 Reasons to Leave England to Work & Live Abroad

10. Apathy

And finally - reason 10 - Apathy.

We are all so apathetic. Every day I hear people complaining. No one I know would disagree really with any of the top 10 reasons to leave England. The country is going to pot with more and more people seeking a life in the sun every year.

Decades or centuries ago, there would have been some passionate rebellious leaders - standing on soap boxes - gathering the crowds, developing a following, starting a revolution... Now - the majority of us - go to the pub - watch TV - or do whatever we can to escape from reality.... We all feel so powerless and unable to make a difference - that no one bothers anymore. My own personal icons of change are Richard Branson and Al Gore - if they were running two of the Worlds most powerful countries - how different would things be?

The media today is so powerful - anyone that wants to create change really has to get the media on side. Without positive publicity it could seem near impossible to get anywhere. Thankfully today - we have the power of the internet - where individuals can start to express themselves and reach other viewers without the authority of the media coming into play at all... Then we have Virgin Media growing slowly too.. Where will of all these new avenues of media lead the world? It's going to be fascinating to watch it all unfold... Maybe the dormant passion of the people has started to stir, and the nation will soon begin to feel empowered to change...

Alternatively, maybe those of us that can see, will just jump the sinking ship and start a new life somewhere else...!!!

9. Not all Property comes with a hammock & a balcony as a standard package

Property here in England seems to be getting smaller and smaller, and more expensive. New estates are being developed, which although a great improvement on some of the sky scraper blocks of flats of the 60's and 70's, still resemble a growing span of concrete jungle. Getting onto the property ladder is a nightmare, and even buying a plot of land to build a wooden hut is incredibly expensive...

You can't beat a hammock and a balcony for breeding relaxation and contentment... But to be able to afford a place in England where you can have a balcony with a nice view, and a hammock to sway in - you really have got to be either extremely fortunate, working your socks off to earn a fortune, or just pretty damn smart.

In other places around the world, such as South America and Asia, beach apartments with balconies and hammocks are fairly standard, plentiful, and cheap. The international property market has grown beyond belief over the last few years as people become aware of the bargains available around Europe and further a field...

8. Propaganda and Negative News

Is it true that no news is good news? I don't know about you, but personally I get tired and worn down by the constant bad news we are exposed to.

It would be interesting to carry out some research on two groups of people. The people in group 1 would be void of any television, newspapers, or radio news for a period of one month, and the people in group 2 would be exposed to them as much as possible.

Which of the groups do you think would be the happiest at the end of the month? I think we could almost guarantee that the people who were not exposed to the news were the happiest.

But hey – let’s keep bombarding the Nation with negative stuff that depresses everyone – but I know what… Let’s give them antidepressants to deal with the symptoms!!

I think it would be fair to say, that many of us have one main purpose in life - to be happy. So it follows quite naturally that in our pursuit of happiness we may desire to live somewhere which is not as exposed to negative and manipulative media. As the media and the politicians in England don’t seem to quite get this – perhaps the only solution is to leave England and live and work abroad…

7. Not the most favourable Scuba Diving conditions in the World

Yes - I love scuba diving - so for me - this a genuine reason for wanting to leave England. Sure I could scuba dive in England, and I do believe there is some good diving around locally. But for me the whole pleasure of diving is the experience of warm waters, tropical fish, and a generally meditational time.. Somehow getting into cold murky water, looking for some of the less attractive fish you may find around the English Coastline, and dealing with perhaps some more challenging conditions - just doesn't do it for me in the same way!!! Particularly when I get out of the water and have to put as many layers of clothes on as possible because it freezing cold!!!

6. Symptom Orientated

Symptom orientated? Well some of you may be scratching your head, wondering what the heck I'm talking about now, but some of you will be right there with me.

This absolutely drives me mad. But what do I mean by symptom orientated?

Okay - the first area I can use as an example would be the medical system. If any person suffers any pain or discomfort, that person will generally and automatically look for something to take away the discomfort. It could be painkillers, antidepressants, or any other form of medicine that treats a symptom of illness. And that is my point - the majority of these treatments do exactly that - they treat the symptoms - they don't treat the cause. Usually there is a very good reason for illness, pain or discomfort - but, because of the culture we have been raised in, our thinking is to immediately look at how we can eliminate the consequences - NOT look at what caused it in the first place.

The amazing thing is - even the Doctors tend to think this way. I was gob smacked to discover a few years ago, that Doctors are not trained a great deal in Nutrition... Like "Hello!"... It's a bit like going to see a mechanic when your car won't start after you've been putting pee in it instead of petrol - and the car mechanic walking around the car scratching his head and rubbing his chin - going "hmmmm! Can’t see what's wrong with that - every in the engine looks okay!"....

This approach doesn't just stop at the medical system however - what about speed cameras on the roads? Why is so much energy devoted to debating the rights or wrongs of speed cameras and the problems of dealing with speeding vehicles... surely the answer is simple - DON'T make cars that go so fast - and don't market their speed as a selling point...

This crazy philosophy we currently witness is almost on a par with allowing the sale of tobacco and alcohol - but making it illegal to drink or smoke!!! Can you imagine the uproar there would be if people were able to walk into a corner shop and buy a packet of cigarettes, but then get arrested and fined as they walked out and lit one up!!! Sounds bonkers I know - but really the current philosophy around cars and speeding is no different, is it?

Which ever area of English culture you look at - you can almost guarantee that the powers that be will be doing all they can to treat the symptoms - and hardly anyone - anywhere will even be discussing the cause - let alone dealing with it.....

5. Materialism

Ahhh… the biggy. To me the route of all the evils, and the one that causes me some of my largest personal battles. When you live in the UK (or any western society really) you are constantly tempted, constantly seduced, and constantly encouraged to want more and more. A nice house, a nice car, nice things to go in the house, nice clothes – all designer of course. So we work all the hours under the sun to get these things, then we work even harder to pay for a holiday to get away from it all, plus we spend loads of money on playing equally as hard as we work in order to get some kind of release from the tension.

4. Crime

Is crime growing? Or is it reported more? What do you think? All I know for sure is that the town I live in used to be pretty safe from a large proportion of crime, and to be honest still is one of the safest areas in England. However, I’ve noticed a growing amount of teenage agro seeping into town. There is much more attitude around in youngsters today, much less respect, and so on. I can’t begin to imagine what things are going to be like in another 10 or 20 years time, or indeed what it must be like already in some neighbourhoods of the UK.

3. Lack of People Contact

Probably as a result of the pace of life, many people are too busy and therefore don’t have time for other people. We don’t smile at each other in the streets, everyone is on too much of a mission to get to the next place, or too worried about talking to strangers. We have to diary people in for quality time, IF we can. Then, when we do have “down time”, because we’re so exhausted, and because of the design of our society, we live in our little (or large) cocoon houses, living out individualist lives, trying to gain some connection with the rest of the world and other people by watching reality TV shows or god forbid, writing blogs!

2. Pace of Life

Everybody, and I mean just about everybody, is stressed in this country. I really noticed it the most when I came back from a year in Thailand & Malaysia. I’m not kidding it was immediately obvious. Everyone looked tense, and everybody was moving so fast. It was almost as if I’d entered a nation high on caffeine or some form of Amphetamine. Everyone was whizzing around from one thing to the next, from one place to the next, and I couldn’t and still can’t fathom exactly how people manage to do so many things in one day.

Working parents I applaud you. How on earth do you keep the house clean, do the food shopping, prepare the meals, talk to the children, get them to school, get them to any after school activities AND go to work, let alone have any time for yourself? But whatever you do, while you’re busy working your socks off to simply get through the day, don’t forget to fill in any paperwork for your child, your car, the gas man…………. Arghhhhh!!!!!!

1. The Weather

Right up there at the top. You can bet your bottom dollar, that if you ask anyone why they would want to leave England and live and work abroad, the first thing anyone would say is “The Weather!”.

People dislike the weather in England for varying reasons.

a. The Summers aren’t long enough and aren’t reliable enough
After that long grey winter, our spirits lift as we move through spring, and our excitement builds as summer approaches. The mood of the entire nation lifts as a heat wave approaches (if we’re lucky!), but then, before we’ve barely had chance to enjoy it, let alone maintain a steady state of bliss – the Sun has gone, the grey clouds come over, and down pours start! The nation moves to a mood of doom and gloom!

b. The winters go on too long
The winter has some plus points let’s face it. When the snow comes it’s really amusing to watch people walking carefully but quickly through the slush, frowns on their faces as they concentrate so hard on not slipping over in their work clothes. Or maybe you enjoy taking a walk in the English countryside, and being the first person to lay a foot print in the freshly fallen snow. The mood of the entire nation at this point enters into playfulness. Sledging, building snowmen, skidding – even adults can easily find it in themselves to regress back to being children. BUT before we know it, the snow turns to grey black slush, accidents happen on the road, and the rain comes. The playfulness of the nation moves to a mood of doom and gloom!

c. The weather changes too much
As we can gage from the above two points as a nation our mood is intrinsically connected to the weather. Yet the weather is constantly changing and unpredictable. When we do receive some “good mood” weather, it doesn’t tend to stick around for long, and so we feel deprived! How do we gain a state of contentment! Is it any wonder that Nations such as Thailand are known as the Land of Smiles? Does this bear any connection to the fact that their weather is more consistent? Rainy and Dry seasons. How less complicated is that than Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter?

Top 10 Reasons to Leave England and Live & Work Abroad

The topic of the increasing number of immigrants in the UK is something we hear discussed constantly in the media and by politicians. BUT – behind the growing number of people coming into England there is an ever increasing number of people leaving England. Every year more and more English people choose to emigrate, opting to live and work abroad. Why?

Here is a proposed list of the top 10 reasons to leave England and work and live abroad.

1. The Weather

2. Pace of Life

3. Lack of people contact (cocoon, individualistic)

4. Crime

5. Materialism

6. Symptom Orientated

7. Not the most favourable Scuba Diving conditions in the World

8. Propaganda and Negative News

9. Not all property comes with a hammock and balcony as a standard package

10. Apathy

1. The weather

Right up there at the top. You can bet your bottom dollar, that if you ask anyone why they would want to leave England and live and work abroad, the first thing anyone would say is “The Weather!”.

People dislike the weather in England for varying reasons.

a. The Summers aren’t long enough and aren’t reliable enough
After that long grey winter our spirits lift as we move through spring, and our excitement builds as summer approaches. The mood of the entire nation lifts as a heat wave approaches (if we’re lucky!), but then, before we’ve barely had chance to enjoy it, let alone maintain a steady state of bliss – the Sun has gone, the grey clouds come over, and down pours start! The nation moves to a mood of doom and gloom!

b. The winters go on too long
The winter has some plus points let’s face it. When the snow comes it’s really amusing to watch people walking carefully but quickly through the slush, frowns on their faces as they concentrate so hard on not slipping over in their work clothes. Or maybe you enjoy taking a walk in the English countryside, and being the first person to lay a foot print in the freshly fallen snow. The mood of the entire nation at this point enters into playfulness. Sledging, building snowmen, skidding – even adults can easily find it in themselves to regress back to being children. BUT before we know it, the snow turns to grey black slush, accidents happen on the road, and the rain comes. The playfulness of the nation moves to a mood of doom and gloom!

c. The weather changes too much
As we can gage from the above two points as a nation our mood is intrinsically connected to the weather. Yet the weather is constantly changing and unpredictable. When we do receive some “good mood” weather, it doesn’t tend to stick around for long, and so we feel deprived! How do we gain a state of contentment? Is it any wonder that Nations such as Thailand are known as the Land of Smiles? Does this bear any connection to the fact that their weather is more consistent? Rainy and Dry seasons. How less complicated is that than Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter?

2. Pace of Life

Everybody in this country, and I mean just about everybody, is stressed. I really noticed it the most when I came back from a year in Thailand & Malaysia. I’m not kidding it was immediately obvious. Everyone looked tense, and everybody was moving so fast. It was almost as if I’d entered a nation high on caffeine or some form of Amphetamine. Everyone was whizzing around from one thing to the next, from one place to the next, and I couldn’t and still can’t fathom exactly how people manage to do so many things in one day. Working parents I applaud you. How on earth do you keep the house clean, do the food shopping, prepare the meals, talk to the children, get them to school, get them to any after school activities AND go to work, let alone have any time for yourself? But whatever you do, while you’re busy working your socks off to simply get through the day, don’t forget to fill in any paperwork for your child, your car, the gas man…………. Arghhhhh!!!!!!

3. Lack of people contact

Probably as a result of the pace of life, many people are too busy and therefore don’t have time for other people. We don’t smile at each other in the streets, everyone is on too much of a mission to get to the next place, or too worried about talking to strangers. We have to diary people in for quality time, IF we can. Then, when we do have “down time”, because we’re so exhausted, and because of the design of our society, we live in our little (or large) cocoon houses, living out individualist lives, trying to gain some connection with the rest of the world and other people by watching reality TV shows or god forbid, writing blogs!

4. Crime

Is it growing? Or is it reported more? What do you think? All I know for sure is that the town I live in used to be pretty safe from a large proportion of crime, and to be honest still is one of the safest areas in England. However, I’ve noticed a growing amount of teenage agro seeping into town. There is much more attitude around in youngsters today, much less respect, and so on. I can’t begin to imagine what things are going to be like in another 10 or 20 years time, or indeed what it must be like already in some neighbourhoods of the UK.

5. Materialism

Ahhh… the biggy. To me the route of all the evils, and the one that causes me some of my largest personal battles. When you live in the UK (or any western society really) you are constantly tempted, constantly seduced, and constantly encouraged to want more and more. A nice house, a nice car, nice things to go in the house, nice clothes – all designer of course. So we work all the hours under the sun to get these things, then we work even harder to pay for a holiday to get away from it all, plus we spend loads of money on playing equally as hard as we work in order to get some kind of release from the tension.

6. Symptom Orientated

Symptom orientated? Well some of you may be scratching your head, wondering what the heck I'm talking about now, but some of you will be right there with me. This absolutely drives me mad. But what do I mean by symptom orientated? Okay - the first area I can use as an example would be the medical system. If any person suffers any pain or discomfort, that person will generally and automatically look for something to take away the discomfort. It could be painkillers, antidepressants, or any other form of medicine that treats a symptom of illness. And that is my point - the majority of these treatments do exactly that - they treat the symptoms - they don't treat the cause. Usually there is a very good reason for illness, pain or discomfort - but, because of the culture we have been raised in, our thinking is to immediately look at how we can eliminate the consequences - NOT look at what caused it in the first place.

The amazing thing is - even the Doctors tend to think this way. I was gob smacked to discover a few years ago, that Doctors are not trained a great deal in Nutrition... Like "Hello!"... It's a bit like going to see a mechanic when your car won't start after you've been putting pee in it instead of petrol - and the car mechanic walking around the car scratching his head and rubbing his chin - going "hmmmm! Can’t see what's wrong with that - everything in the engine looks okay!"....

This approach doesn't just stop at the medical system however - what about speed cameras on the roads? Why is so much energy devoted to debating the rights or wrongs of speed cameras and the problems of dealing with speeding vehicles... surely the answer is simple - DON'T make cars that go so fast - and don't market their speed as a selling point... This crazy philosophy we currently witness is almost on a par with allowing the sale of tobacco and alcohol - but making it illegal to drink or smoke!!! Can you imagine the uproar there would be if people were able to walk into a corner shop and buy a packet of cigarettes, but then get arrested and fined as they walked out and lit one up!!! Sounds bonkers I know - but really the current philosophy around cars and speeding is no different, is it?

Which ever area of English culture you look at - you can almost guarantee that the powers that be will be doing all they can to treat the symptoms - and hardly anyone - anywhere will even be discussing the cause - let alone dealing with it.....

7. Not the most favourable scuba diving conditions in the world!

Yes - I love scuba diving - so for me - this is high up and a genuine reason for wanting to leave England. Sure I could scuba dive in England, and I do believe there is some good diving around locally. But for me the whole pleasure of diving is the experience of warm waters, tropical fish, and a generally meditational time.. Somehow getting into cold murky water, looking for some of the less attractive fish you may find around the English Coastline, and dealing with perhaps some more challenging conditions - just doesn't do it for me in the same way!!! Particularly when I get out of the water and have to put as many layers of clothes on as possible because it freezing cold!!!

8. Propaganda & Negative News

Is it true that no news is good news? I don't know about you, but personally I get tired and worn down by the constant bad news we are exposed to.

It would be interesting to carry out some research on two groups of people.

The people in group 1 would be void of any television, newspapers, or radio news for a period of one month, and the people in group 2 would be exposed to them as much as possible.

Which of the groups do you think would be the happiest at the end of the month? I think we could almost guarantee that the people who were not exposed to the news were the happiest.

But hey – let’s keep bombarding the Nation with negative stuff that depresses everyone – but I know what… Let’s give them antidepressants to deal with the symptoms!!

I think it would be fair to say, that many of us have one main purpose in life - to be happy. So it follows quite naturally that in our pursuit of happiness we may desire to live somewhere which is not as exposed to negative and manipulative media. As the media or the politicians in England don’t seem to quite get this – perhaps the only solution is to leave England and live and work abroad…

9. Not all property comes with a hammock and a balcony as a standard package...

Property here in England seems to be getting smaller and smaller, and more expensive. New estates are being developed, which although a great improvement on some of the sky scraper blocks of flats of the 60's and 70's, still resemble a growing span of concrete jungle. Getting onto the property ladder is a nightmare, and even buying a plot of land to build a wooden hut is incredibly expensive...

You can't beat a hammock and a balcony for breeding relaxation and contentment... But to be able to afford a place in England where you can have a balcony with a nice view, and a hammock to sway in - you really have got to be either extremely fortunate, working your socks off to earn a fortune, or just pretty damn smart.

In other places around the world, such as South America and Asia, beach apartments with balconies and hammocks are fairly standard, plentiful, and cheap. The international property market has grown beyond belief over the last few years as people become aware of the bargains available around Europe and further a field...

10. Apathy

And finally - reason 10 - Apathy.

We are all so apathetic. Every day I hear people complaining. No one I know would disagree really with any of the top 10 reasons to leave England. The country is going to pot with more and more people seeking a life in the sun every year.

Decades or centuries ago, there would have been some passionate rebellious leaders - standing on soap boxes - gathering the crowds, developing a following, starting a revolution... Now - the majority of us - go to the pub - watch TV - or do whatever we can to escape from reality.... We all feel so powerless and unable to make a difference - that no one bothers anymore.

My own personal icons of change are Richard Branson and Al Gore - if they were running two of the Worlds most powerful countries - how different would things be?

The media today is so powerful - anyone that wants to create change really has to get the media on side. Without positive publicity it could seem near impossible to get anywhere. Thankfully today - we have the power of the internet - where individuals can start to express themselves and reach other viewers without the authority of the media coming into play at all... Then we have Virgin Media growing slowly too.. Where will of all these new avenues of media lead the world?

It's going to be fascinating to watch it all unfold... Maybe the dormant passion of the people has started to stir, and the nation will soon begin to feel empowered to change... Alternatively, maybe those of us that can see, will just jump the sinking ship and start a new life somewhere else...!!!

Do you agree with the top 10 reasons to leave England?

Do you have any other reasons to add?

Do you have any comments to add?

Go for your life... and add them here, let's start a revolution!!!!!!!

Saturday, 24 March 2007

Top 10 Reasons to Leave England - Feedback

Happy Saturday!!

The hamster wheel of life is again slowly rocking. I think it's a Saturday morning thing. Last night I was winding down with a nice of glass of wine, relieved that the week's work was at last complete, when I noticed, just how much the house was in need of a good clean. I decided at that point, that I would use Saturday morning to give the house a good spring clean.

Well - what can I say... I decided this morning in my wisdom, that if I did spend all that boundless energy on spring cleaning the house, I wouldn't have time to up date my blog OR do my yoga. Now - Priorities!!! What is more important? My blog and my health, or a nice clean pristeen home (which would only take a couple of days to get unclean again anyway!). Logic insists surely - that I update my blog - and do my YOGA! BUT - if I were brain washed into the English Culture well - obviously a nice clean show house would come way above my health and pleasure!

Well - as I continue to insist on rebelling against the English way of life - here I am upgating my blog.

So - after providing you with that lovely insight into my decision making process of a Saturday morning, what am I going to write about, that bears any relevance to Escape England?

Last week - I notified a number of people about my blog. Over the years I have gathered a wide collection of friends all over the World. Some of them were born and still live in another country. Others are successful escapees of England. Their feedback was fascinating, and quite diverse.
I decided that I would put together a standard questionnaire and ask them all to take part in some kind of electronic interview process.

It's been my busiest week of the month as far as my "day job" goes this week - and I've been having to sprint like mad on the Hamster Wheel of Life to prevent falling upside down all over the place. Consequently I haven't yet managed to find the time to ask all of them, or to compile the interview. Those that I have asked however, have been more than happy to participate - so watch this space over the coming weeks for insights into Living & Working abroad - from the people that really are experts on the subject. Those that are living it!

I'm really looking forward to this weekend. We have a friend visiting. Lucy from Bunaken! We met Lucy over Christmas, when we went scuba diving in Bunaken, Indonesia. She's a gal from London, who was taking some time out of English Living to train as a divemaster. I did something similar in Thailand a couple of years ago, so me & Lucy hit it off instantly. She's now back in England after around 6 months of living in Indonesia. Needless to say I think that she is suffering a greater culture shock on her return to England, than the pleasant culture enlightment she received when she arrived in Indonesia. I'm really looking forward to ranting to Lucy about scuba diving and Escaping England, over a bottle of wine and some food..

So - with that said - I'd better be off and try to squeeze in some time for my yoga session. Sun Salutation - here I come...

Have fun on the Hamster Wheel of Life if you're on it, and pleasant hammock swinging those of you that have sussed out how to get off the wheel!!!

See you again in my next post - which I hope will be a little sooner than an entire week away.

Saturday, 17 March 2007

Top 10 Reasons for Leaving England - Summary

Hello - looking over all my posts and coming to grips with the navigation of blogs, if you're reading the top 10 reasons to leave England - the order can be quite confusing... So - here's a listing of the Top 10 Reasons.... To read the more detailed explanation of each reason - please read back through the archives....

1. The Weather
2. Pace of Life
3. Lack of people contact (cocoon, individualistic)
4. Crime
5. Materialism
6. Symptom Orientated
7. Not the most favourable scuba diving conditions in the world
8. Propaganda and negative news
9. Not all property comes with a hammock and balcony as a standard package
10. Apathy

I'm not getting much traffic to my blog as yet - got to work on that - so if you do visit, and you have an opinion on the top 10 reasons - your comments would be greatly appreciated...

Also - I have found a wealth of information since I started this blog from the links offered by google. If you are looking to leave England - you will surely find something there that will inspire and/or help..

Good luck - fellow Freedom Seekers...!!!

Top 10 Reasons to Leave England - Part 4

Hello...

Well - it's been a while since I posted the last entry. It's so frustrating - I find that I am so busy making ends meet, running my business, spending time with my boyfriend, and trying to keep up to date with friends and family, that it becomes near impossible to find the time I need to devote my energies to Escape England!

Sometimes I feel as though living in England resembles playing in a gigantic hamster wheel. Like a hamster I step into the wheel (which in this situation symbolises life), and start with a gentle run to achieve the things I need to. But as the day progresses more things come up, more things to do, more things to think about, more people to see.. Suddenly the wheel takes on a life of its own, and gets faster and faster, until trying to find a way to jump out, and get the heck off the crazy spinning wheel - becomes very difficult and in fact hazardous!... Yet staying on it is the most exhausting and sometimes seemingly pointless thing to do... All it does, is go round and round!!!! And all that happens is that you get giddy and tired!!!

Anyway at this point in time, it is early in the morning, and the wheel of life has slowed down over night. It's gently swaying now, and I'm rocking with it... I have an hour or so before it picks up speed again and starts spinning me around. So as time is precious - let's move swiftly on to the main point.

Here are reasons 9 and 10 on the Top 10 Reasons for Leaving England.

9. Not all property comes with a hammock and a balcony as a standard package...

Property here in England seems to be getting smaller and smaller, and more expensive. New estates are being developed, which although a great improvement on some of the sky scraper flats of the 60's and 70's, still resemble a growing span of concrete jungle. Getting onto the property ladder is a nightmare, and even buying a plot of land to build a wooden hut is incredibly expensive...

You can't beat a hammock and a balcony for breeding relaxation and contentment... But to be able to afford a place in England where you can have a balcony with a nice view, and a hammock to sway in - you really have got to be either extremely fortunate, working your socks off to earn a fortune, or just pretty damn smart. In other places around the world, such as South America and Asia, beach apartments with balconies and hammocks are fairly standard, plentiful, and cheap. The international property market has grown beyond belief over the last few years as people become aware of the bargains available around Europe and further a field...

10. Apathy

And finally - reason 10 - Apathy.

We are all so apathetic. Every day I hear people complaining. Noone I know would disagree really with any of the top 10 reasons to leave England. The country is going to pot with more and more people seeking a life in the sun every year. Decades or centuries ago, there would have been some passionate rebelious leaders - standing on soap boxes - gathering the crowds, developing a following, starting a revolution... Now - the majority of us - go to the pub - watch TV - or do whatever we can to Escape from reality.... We all feel so powerless and unable to make a difference - that noone bothers anymore. My own personal icons of change are Richard Branson and Al Gore - if they were running two of the Worlds most powerful countries - how different would things be?

The media today is so powerful - anyone that wants to create change really has to get the media on side. Without positive publicity it could seem near impossible to get anywhere. Thankfully today - we have the power of the internet - where individuals can start to express themselves and reach other viewers without the authority of the media coming into play at all... Then we have Virgin Media growing slowly too.. Where will of all these new avenues of media lead the world? It's going to be fascinating to watch it all unfold... Maybe the dormant passion of the people has started to stir, and the nation will soon begin to feeling empowered to change...

Alternatively, maybe those of us that can see, will just jump the sinking ship and start a new life somewhere else...!!!

Bye for now.....

Thursday, 8 March 2007

Top 10 Reasons for Leaving England - Part 3

Hello - this post is part 3 of the Top 10 Reasons to Leave England, discussing reason 8. Please read below for reasons 1 - 7..!!!

8. Propaganda & Negative News
Is it true that no news is good news? I don't know about you, but personally I get tired and worn down by the constant bad news we are exposed to. Mainly it is the news on the radio, on television, and in the newspapers that I am referring to here. It would be interesting to carry out some research on two groups of people. The people in group 1 would be void of any television, newspapers, or radio news for a period of one month, and the people in group 2 would be exposed to them as much as possible. Which of the groups do you think would be the happiest at the end of the month? I think we could almost guarantee that the people who were not exposed to the news were the happiest. I also think it would be fair to say, that many of us have one main purpose in life - to be happy. So it follows quite naturally that in our pursuit of happiness we may desire to live somewhere which is not as exposed to negative and manipulative media.

Top 10 Reasons for Leaving England - Part 2

6. Symptom Orientated
Symptom orientated? Well some of you may be scratching your head, wondering what the heck I'm talking about now, but some of you will be right there with me. This absolutely drives me mad. But what do I mean by symptom orientated? Okay - the first area I can use as an example would be the medical system. If any person suffers any pain or discomfort that person will generally and automatically look for something to take away the discomfort. It could be painkillers, antidepressants, or any other form of medicine that treats a symptom of illness. And that is my point - the majority of these treatments do exactly that - they treat the symptoms - they don't treat the cause. Usually there is a very good reason for illness, pain or discomfort - but, because of the culture we have been raised in, our thinking is to immediately look at how we can eliminate the consequences - NOT look at what caused it in the first place. The amazing thing is - even the Doctors tend to think this way. I was gob smacked to discover a few years ago, that Doctors are not trained a great deal in Nutritition... Like "Hello!"... It's a bit like going to see a mechanic when your car won't start after you've been putting pee in it instead of petrol - and the car mechanic walking around the car scratching his head and rubbing his chin - going "hmmmm! can't see what's wrong with that - every in the engine looks okay!".... This approach doesn't just stop at the medical system however - what about speed cameras on the roads? Why is so much energy devoted to debating the rights or wrongs of speed cameras, and the problems of dealing with speeding vehicles... surely the answer is simple - DON'T make cars that go so fast - and don't market their speed as a selling point... This crazy philosophy we currently witness is almost on a par with allowing the sale of tobacco and alcohol - but making it illegal to drink or smoke!!! Can you imagine the uproar there would be if people were able to walk into a corner shop and buy a packet of cigarettes, but then get arrested and fined as they walked out and lit one up!!! Sounds bonkers I know - but really the current philosophy around cars and speeding is no different, is it? Which ever area of English culture you look at - you can almost guarantee that the powers that be will be doing all they can to treat the symptoms - and hardly anyone - anywhere will even be discussing the cause - let alone deadline with it..... There are exceptions to this generalisation - which I will be addressing in one of the other Top 10 Reasons for leaving England - further on..

7. Not the most favorable scuba diving conditions in the world!
Yes - I love scuba diving - so for me - this is high up and a genuine reason for wanting to leave England. Sure I could scuba dive in England, and I do believe there is some good diving around locally. But for me the whole pleasure of diving is the experience of warm waters, tropical fish, and a generally meditational time.. Somehow getting into cold murky water, looking for some of the less attractive fish you may find around the English Coastline, and dealing with perhaps some more challenging conditions - just doesn't do it for me in the same way!!! Particularly when I get out of the water and have to put as many layers of clothes on as possible because it freezing cold!!!

Tuesday, 27 February 2007

Top 10 Reasons to Leave England - Part 1

Okay, before we start, I have to make it clear that despite the somewhat negative element of this title, I am not a negative person. It is not my intention for this blog to be just a rant of what’s wrong with this country (although a little of that will be necessary I’m sure). This blog is an exploration of the pros and cons of living in England, and the opportunities available to everyone for living and working abroad. As a starting point I think its important to establish exactly what it is that makes people like me want to emigrate and seek a better life somewhere else. The follow up to this entry will naturally be “Top 10 Reasons to Stay in England”.

So, I thought long and hard (in fact much longer and harder than I thought I would need to). What are my top 10 reasons for wanting to leave England? If you are thinking of leaving England and travelling, or living and working abroad, this exercise is naturally a must for you. BUT not only so that you can be sure in your own mind about why you want to leave, but ALSO so that you can fight off all those comments with hard solid facts… What comments might they be? Okay, well, if any of you out there, are anything like me, then you will have experienced on numerous occasions, the old cliché “You can’t runaway from yourself you know!”
To which you can boldly reply. “No, but I can run away from England!” If anyone then wants to challenge you as to why you would want to do that, then here you are fully armed with your top 10 reasons!

I think these could be placed in any order. For me they are all equally as important as each other, but this is basically the order they popped into my mind! Your votes on what your number 1 reason is would be most welcome. Or maybe you have some different reasons I’ve not thought of… Let us know!

Here we go…

1. The weather
Right up there at the top as the first thing I thought of. This is hardly surprising when you consider that it was raining at the time. But us Brits talk constantly about the weather anyway, so nuff said on that topic I recon.

2. Pace of Life
Everybody, and I mean just about everybody, is stressed in this country. I really noticed it the most when I came back from a year in Thailand & Malaysia. I’m not kidding it was immediately obvious. Everyone looked tense, and everybody was moving so fast. It was almost as if I’d entered a nation high on caffeine or something. Everyone was whizzing around from one thing to the next, from one place to the next, and I couldn’t and still can’t fathom exactly how people manage to do so many things in one day. Working parents I applaud you. How on earth do you keep the house clean, do the food shopping, prepare the meals, talk to the children, get them to school, get them to any after school activities AND go to work, let alone have any time for yourself? But whatever you do, while you’re busy working your socks off to simply get through the day, don’t forget to fill in any paperwork for your child, your car, the gas man………….

3. Lack of people contact
Probably as a result of the pace of life, many people are too busy and therefore don’t have time for other people. We don’t smile at each other in the streets, everyone is on too much of a mission to get to the next place, or too worried about talking to strangers. We have to diary people in for quality time, IF we can. Then, when we do have “down time”, because we’re so exhausted, and because of the design of our society, we live in our little (or large) cocoon houses, living out individualist lives, trying to gain some connection with the rest of the world and other people by watching reality TV shows or god forbid, writing blogs!

4. Crime
Is it growing? Or is it reported more? What do you think? All I know for sure is that the town I live in used to be pretty safe from a large proportion of crime, and to be honest still is one of the safest areas in England. However, I’ve noticed a growing amount of teenage agro seeping into town. There is much more attitude around in youngsters today, much less respect, and so on. I can’t begin to imagine what things are going to be like in another 10 or 20 years time, or indeed what it must be like already in some neighbourhoods of the UK.

5. Materialism
Ahhh… the biggy. To me the route of all the evils, and the one that causes me some of my largest personal battles. When you live in the UK (or any western society really) you are constantly tempted, constantly seduced, and constantly encouraged to want more and more. A nice house, a nice car, nice things to go in the house, nice clothes – all designer of course. So we work all the hours under the sun to get these things, then we work even harder to pay for a holiday to get away from it all, plus we spend loads of money on playing equally as hard as we work in order to get some kind of release from the tension.

********* okay – half way through – need to take a break now! *************

Escape England - Live and Work Abroad