How people see the USA

[dillydangler]

This is not really aimed at Gozzers post but Living in the South East/ outer London it allways annoys me when I hear tales of people from the rest of the country moaning about people moving out of the SE and buying up all of the property at inflated prices,

 

i live in the country and what annoys me is people with second homes that moan about paying council tax on there holiday home!!!

 

its the inflated prices your on about that stops me getting a mortgage!.

 

and yes there is a lot of SE people that retire down here.good choice its a lovely part of the country.but working locals cant afford houses now.

 

what gets me though is how they always say its better where they come from.

[Nightwing]

It isn't just the US, nor are they the worst offender.

 

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/c...xt/51212m01.htm

Mission Number of Fines outstanding Value £

1–United Arab Emirates 4,859 452,650.00

2–Angola 4,218 392,750.00

3–Sudan 2,924 274,870.00

4–Nigeria 1,533 140,620.00

5–Tanzania 1,477 136,280.00

6–Sierra Leone 1,441 135,290.00

7–South Africa 1,321 122,590.00

8–Kenya 1,067 96,010.00

9–Zimbabwe 1,031 96,390.00

10–USA 933 62,250.00

Total 20,804 1,909,700.00

 

Red Ken's past attitude to the US is, erm, not entirely even-handed. Sorry Newt, the Mayor of London just plain doesn't like your country. He objects to your foreign policy, particularly with regard to the Middle East, but I think he also finds the capitalist basis of your society repugnant.

 

I wonder where we would rank if you factored in the various costs of housing the U.N? Likely not a great deal of difference, but that is a factor.

[DavyR]

i live in the country and what annoys me is people with second homes that moan about paying council tax on there holiday home!!!

 

I agree with you 100%. I think if people must have second homes, they should pay extra tax which could then be used to boost the local economy:

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4990806.stm

[Sportsman]

I can understand the frustration that young people feel when homes are priced off the market by "incomers"

The problem I have is, who is selling these houses to the incomers at vastly inflated pricess ?

9 times out of 10 the parents of the young people who are complaining

Everybody hate high prices when they are buying, but they love to take full advantage when they are selling.

[argyll]

I can understand the frustration that young people feel when homes are priced off the market by "incomers"

The problem I have is, who is selling these houses to the incomers at vastly inflated pricess ?

9 times out of 10 the parents of the young people who are complaining

Everybody hate high prices when they are buying, but they love to take full advantage when they are selling.

 

Unfortunately its a problem that's currently rolling out across europe and we Brits are spearheading the campaign to price rural EVERYWHERE right out of the market. 500,000 of us have pushed up prices in rural France way beyond what locals can afford. As high as fourfold in places like the Dordogne in the last 5/6 years. Even after selling your UK property at some artificially inflated price, there are now areas of France that even the brits cant afford. Eastern Europe is being promoted as the new place to live but in comparison with local earning power and compliments of British buyers and it has to be said...british estate agents, prices in places like Poland and Hungary and the Baltic states are a now in Ga-Ga land. Bulgaria is being seen as the next property hotspot.

 

Since I read some recent statistics that suggest that 300,000 french have permanent or temporary residential status in the UK, I wonder if we are actually all trying to change places with each other. These were of course Home Office figures, so they are likely wrong

[DavyR]

According to the super soaraway Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006230293,00.html

 

the French are boring, unfriendly and smelly. Perhaps that's why a lot of Brits who bought properties out there are now returning?

[argyll]

According to the super soaraway Sun: http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006230293,00.html

 

the French are boring, unfriendly and smelly. Perhaps that's why a lot of Brits who bought properties out there are now returning?

 

Stastically ten times more going than coming back. According to th ex pat forums, those that are coming back are mostly those that couldnt make a go of things ANYWHERE. Thats probably why they left the UK in the first place.

 

Unfortunately we are the last race on earth that should be consulted on the nature of our fellow europeans and the Sun, the last newspaper on earth that should be allowed to report it . If there was a poll in the Euro tourist areas to confirm who were the worse, the most arrogant, the most troublesome and the all round biggest pains in the bum, then I'm afraid we'd top the league. If there's a fight in a Costa bar then it'lll be t'lads from Scunthorpe. If someones complaining that their Greek waiter doesn't speak immaculate English, it'll be Betty from Bradford. We have a reputation that goes before us. The french find us arrogant because we don't try to speak their language, the germans are tired of the Hitler impressions and the spanish would like their nice quiet bars back again.

 

If you want unfriendly french then you'll find them on the Champs Elysees...just like you'll find unfriendly people in Oxford Street, Times Square and downtown Los Angeles. It comes with living in cities. (which brings us back to the start of the thread) If you want to find the true nature of a country you have to visit the 'out of town' bits. I can't think of any country in europe or the rest of the world come to that, where things don't get better the further that you are from the big towns. ...Oh I forgot Switzerland, theres always one......they don't talk to anyone.......anywhere.

Edited May 21, 2006 by argyll

[DavyR]

Yeah, you're probably right - I've only got the hump about France because one of my oldest and best friends moved out to the Limousin region a couple of years ago.

 

I think that must be the first time I've ever quoted the Sun (!), but it was the first UK source I spotted on Google News (a lot of foreign papers have covered the story). I think the Express might have run the poll. It wasn't the Sun, anyway...

[argyll]

quote name='DavyR' date='May 21 2006, 12:37 PM' post='629243']

Yeah, you're probably right - I've only got the hump about France because one of my oldest and best friends moved out to the Limousin region a couple of years ago.

 

I think that must be the first time I've ever quoted the Sun (!), but it was the first UK source I spotted on Google News (a lot of foreign papers have covered the story). I think the Express might have run the poll. It wasn't the Sun, anyway...

 

 

I know parts of the Limousin quite well Davy. Around the Trois Lacs and Lac de Vassiviere regions. Lovely place, nice countryside, some good memories of helpful people and some great fishing. Limoges has the only international airport that I know of, where long term parking is free and your car will still be there when you get back.

[DavyR]

My mate was trying to kid me that this was the house he'd bought:

 

His real place is a bit nicer than that (not a lot, though).