England has problems.

[english-curious]

After my time in Scotland, it has really dawned on me that England, or more specifically my region of England, seemingly has problems. To summarize, I think it's soulless, small/close minded, dull, unconcerned/interested and cold. As a general trend, it seems pretty much more like that the further south(and east perhaps) you go. I also get annoyed by overbearing arrogance and the misplaced superiority complex towards the north of England , the celtic countries and the rest of Europe, again seemingly a south-eastern thing. It seems to me almost that people miss out on a lot because of the way it is here. In terms of my sensibilities I just don't feel remotely like a southern-Englishman and I hate the insularity and snobbishness(across all classes) of it. I'm not surprised when I hear the quote about northerners traditionally mocking the 'blank facelessness of southern life'. I write this thread because I'm interested in anyone who has experienced different parts of the UK, and maybe Ireland, and who has any experiences or opinions they'd like to offer in contrasting these different regions. Hopefully this thread will get going and grow so I might be able to take all the evidence and reach a conclusion about this issue which has been bugging me(also part of the reason I want to return to Scotland, as it's getting mildly depressing here).

[ScotsTraveller]

I lived in southwest Cumbria for a number of years in the late 80's/early 90's and to be honest, some of the people there believed that the world ended about 8 miles to the east - there was nothing beyond that point! (The strange thing is, the people that did exist beyond that point had the same thoughts about the wasteland that was further west... Barrow-in-Furness, where I lived at the time, was the butt of many jokes - even Chewits got in on that one!)

Anyway, I could never fathom the attitude of many (tho not all) of the locals... they had what is probably some of the best scenery in England (the Lake District) practically on their doorstep... words like soulless, close minded, etc seemed to sum them up! (I just hope for their sakes they're not still like that... after all, with the job situation there since the 90's many of them would have had to venture beyond the edge of the world as they knew it!)

[LangfordG]

When it comes to problems, I don't think that England comes anywhere near Scotland.

The Scots have a bigger problem with alcohol and drugs than the English, and it's no accident that Scottish teeth and hearts are the most unhealthy in the whole of Europe.

Scotland's murder rate is also MUCH MUCH higher than England's. Scotland's murder rate is second only to Finland in the EU, whereas England and Wales's is the second lowest.

A 2005 study of 21 European countries found that Scotland's murder rate is a whopping 2.33 for every 1000 people. In Spain it is 1.02 per 1000 people and in Italy it is 0.96 per 1000 people. England and Wales's murder rate is the second lowest, with a rate of just 0.7 per 1000 people, slightly higher than Germany, which has a rate of 0.68 per 1000 people.

In fact, Glasgow is Europe's murder capital, with SEVENTY murders a year. To put that into comparison, between March 2009 and March 2010 there were 117 murders in London, but that city has a population twice that of the whole of Scotland.

Only Finland has a higher murder rate in Europe. However, Finland's murder rate is down to its liberal penal system, whereas Scotland's is down to the high abuse of drugs and alcohol.

Source: Scotland has second highest murder rate in Europe | UK news | The Guardian

I suspect violent crime is also much higher in Scotland than in England.

Also, anti-English racism and attacks are far more common in Scotland than anti-Scottish racism and attacks are in England. If you don't believe me, dig out the stats for yourself.

Anti-English racism is so rife in Scotland that the police and Scottish politicians have had to try and act against it. Nothing like that happens in England because anti-Scottish racism and attacks are fairly low. The comedian Billy Connelly once denounced anti-English racism in Scotland, and once called the SNP anti-English.

The English can also watch their biggest football teams - Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and Spurs - without having to be bombarded by sickening anti-Catholic or anti-Protestant sectarianism, which is a major factor into why the Premier League does not want to accept Celtic and Rangers into its ranks.

So England may have a problem, but that cold, rocky, empty, dreary, socialism-ridden land to the north is worse. There is a sickness to Scottish society.

If you want a high quality of life with less chance of being addicted to alcohol or drugs and want to live somewhere with a low chance of getting murdered, then it's England and not Scotland where you want to live.

[LangfordG]

Originally Posted by ScotsTraveller

I lived in southwest Cumbria for a number of years in the late 80's/early 90's and to be honest, some of the people there believed that the world ended about 8 miles to the east - there was nothing beyond that point! (The strange thing is, the people that did exist beyond that point had the same thoughts about the wasteland that was further west... Barrow-in-Furness, where I lived at the time, was the butt of many jokes - even Chewits got in on that one!)

Anyway, I could never fathom the attitude of many (tho not all) of the locals... they had what is probably some of the best scenery in England (the Lake District) practically on their doorstep... words like soulless, close minded, etc seemed to sum them up! (I just hope for their sakes they're not still like that... after all, with the job situation there since the 90's many of them would have had to venture beyond the edge of the world as they knew it!)

You speak nonsense, of course. But remember that similar situations are true in Scotland, where Glaswegians poke fun at the denizens of Edinburgh and Lowlanders look down their noses at Highlanders.

[Saorsa1]

England sucks. It always has done and it always will till the English dump their kings and queens and develop a decent culture.

Scotland sucks but to a lesser degree (even though 2 people in every 1000 are murdered as opposed to 1 in every 1000 in Spain) because the Scots are funny.

This thread started off on a very negative basis and a such it will continue.

I might add, I know very funny, agreable English people but the threads with Langford are very antagonistic and don't bring out the best in me.

[Duthill]

Originally Posted by LangfordG

When it comes to problems, I don't think that England comes anywhere near Scotland.

Scotland's murder rate is also MUCH MUCH higher than England's. Scotland's murder rate is second only to Finland in the EU, whereas England and Wales's is the second lowest.

A 2005 study of 21 European countries found that Scotland's murder rate is a whopping 2.33 for every 1000 people. In Spain it is 1.02 per 1000 people and in Italy it is 0.96 per 1000 people. England and Wales's murder rate is the second lowest, with a rate of just 0.7 per 1000 people, slightly higher than Germany, which has a rate of 0.68 per 1000 people.

In fact, Glasgow is Europe's murder capital, with SEVENTY murders a year. To put that into comparison, between March 2009 and March 2010 there were 117 murders in London, but that city has a population twice that of the whole of Scotland.
I suspect violent crime is also much higher in Scotland than in England.

Do English people go up to Scotland to do their murdering ?

[Duthill]

Originally Posted by LangfordG

You speak nonsense, of course. But remember that similar situations are true in Scotland, where Glaswegians poke fun at the denizens of Edinburgh and Lowlanders look down their noses at Highlanders.

So , the Glaswegians have a wee chuckle at the folks from Edinburgh 'cos they can't spell borough properly ,
and the Lowlanders look down at the ground so they don't trip over the kerb and have an accident in the busy city traffic , and the Highlanders are up above them looking out at the view of the countryside
Is that what you meant ?