...including my book, of course. In the introduction you will learn why I ended up in the UK in the first place. There are also more details what I write about.
Life sometimes takes strange paths. A few years ago I had the honour of being the best man at a wedding. At the ceremony I met a very special woman whom I wanted to get to know more. Even better: the interest was mutual. The only problem was that I was German and lived in Germany and the woman was British and lived in England. Luckily, there was the internet and social networks. For weeks we exchanged information via chat and video, then we visited each other, and a short time later we were in a serious relationship. The geographical distance between us was not nice, but at first it was less of a problem than you might think. Our professions meant that neither of us had much time for a private life. I was working as a physicist on my Ph.D. and was busy in laboratories around the clock. My girlfriend was a budding doctor and worked 12-hour shifts in hospitals, often at night.
OK, the situation was not ideal. And I don't want to hide the fact that we had broken up in between. But we couldn't do without each other, and we got back together. Unfortunately, in the meantime I had a job at a university in the Netherlands and she had started the next stage of her specialist training.
We had to keep living in a long-distance relationship for a while, but then we wanted to move in together and start a family. Convinced of our commitment to each other, and for purely practical reasons, we got married before we had even lived in the same country, let alone the same city or even flat.
The only fixed factor in our future plans was our respective partner. Where we wanted to live and what careers we wanted to pursue took a back seat. Anyway, we were both open to change. I enjoyed the work as a researcher immensely. But a little more consistency in life couldn't hurt. Even before my time at university, moving was part of my life. In Germany, I had lived in the West, East and North; in a small village as well as a big city. And work should no longer consume all my energy. 60-hour weeks should be the exception rather than the rule, as should night shifts or weekend sessions. In short, I also wanted to make a new start, in whatever country.
It was a similar story with my wife. The more she got into the depths of the English healthcare system, the greater her doubts about it became. She wanted to continue working as a doctor, but in the UK?!
In early 2019, I moved in with her in London. Not because we had decided to live on the island, but for the simple reason that my contract expired a few months before the end of her training.
So I found myself in an exciting situation. For the next few months we were going to enjoy the time together, I could rest a little and enjoy my free time. And finally, we wanted to plan our future. What would a possible life in Britain be like? What jobs could I work in? How did the situation compare to Germany and other countries? Would circumstances change due to the approaching Brexit? I threw myself into the many questions with great eagerness.
The eagerness was soon joined by disillusionment. Britain is a broken country. Many people, especially the younger ones, are doing badly, the state even worse. Most people are struggling with constantly rising living costs. British politicians are unworldly and incompetent. They neither know the worries and needs of the citizens, nor do they have suitable approaches to solve them. In general, it is difficult to find qualified staff, and the level of education is declining year by year. So improvement is not in sight. On the contrary. I even doubt that the United Kingdom as we know it will still exist in 20 years. Not only because some Scots and Northern Irish are flirting with leaving the Union, but because state structures, control over their own country and even society in general are in serious jeopardy. (What irony after the EU exit).
Now you will laugh. Rising cost of living? Falling education levels? Incompetent politicians? Germans and other peoples are suffering from this too! But it is not that simple. Yes, in the 2010s German property prices and rents rose enormously. It is becoming increasingly difficult to fulfil the dream of owning a home, to pay the rent or to live in the desired neighbourhood.
This is not a good development and should be stopped as soon as possible. Or do you want to live in a country where property prices have risen at such a rate not for 10, but for 30 or 40 years? How much do you think you would have to cut back to be able to finance a modest place to live?
Take a little time to reflect on these questions... How vital are your holidays... or your furniture? Have you considered that property prices indirectly make other assets more expensive, too?
Fortunately just a thought experiment, right? For the British, it's a harsh reality. In the UK, housing prices have risen at the mentioned rate every decade over the last 50 years.
Similar things could be said about other issues. Yes, in Germany one may rightly complain about many politicians, but the incompetence of British representatives reaches a completely different level. The education crisis is greater, the infrastructure more dilapidated, and so on. Germany may have to struggle with similar developments as Britain, but the world is not black and white, but a gradation of many shades of grey. And on the island, they are darker in almost every respect.
If you have doubts, no problem. I know that. When I told my German friends about the conditions in Britain, they laughed at me. How little do you think you can earn? How expensive is your flat? Boy, you're looking for the wrong jobs, your landlords are ripping you off. And anyway, not everything works here either.
Honestly, before I moved to Britain, I would have doubted it too. I had visited the country several dozen times. I did not experience it as a society that was slowly but surely coming to an end. But I was just visiting. Apart from various airports, and trains, my wife's flat and a few museums, I hadn't seen much of the country. In short, my idea of Britain was largely based on assumptions and on my experiences at home.
But over time, I replaced assumptions with experiences, facts and figures. My perception changed. With my research, I finally convinced my friends. And now it's your turn.
In the first posts, will I deal with everyday life. I will tell you about my job search, possible salaries and what they would mean for our family planning.
Given the state of affairs, it's no wonder that many Brits want change. One of the reasons for the Brexit referendum result. In the second round of posts, I briefly look at some background, why many Britons are critical of the EU or blame it for their problems. Above all, however, it is about British world view and self-perception, as well as the consequences for British society.
In addition, there is a detour into the British healthcare system. There is no other topic that is as passionately debated in the country as the state of the National Healthcare Service (NHS), and none that better describes the country's ills.
Britain's problems have less to do with the EU than with its own leadership. I will deal with that in the third part of the posts. Do the problems come from the people responsible or the political system?
My manuscript could have ended at this point. I would have drawn a small conclusion and ventured a look at the future of the country. As I said, I don't see a happy ending. Then you would have put it down, perhaps with a smile, because it was entertaining, a lot of German complaining and noise. But would you have been convinced by my conclusions?! I still wouldn't have had a problem if you didn't. I am neither an economist, sociologist, historian nor political scientist. The grievances I am addressing do not belong to my field of expertise. Perhaps, as a natural scientist, I am trained to observe and identify problems. Maybe I have a wealth of experience through my stations in different countries, so that I can compare everyday life. But otherwise, I am a citizen who tried to understand his new homeland with some school education and research.
Moreover, due to the abundance of the points addressed, it was not possible for me to fathom each one in all its details, let alone present them here. The topic of rents alone would fill thicker tomes than my manuscript. My assessment and presentation are subjective and incomplete, despite all my efforts to be thorough and objective. I am sure I have made one or two mistakes.
Nevertheless, I do not think I am wrong. The ills of British society are not hidden in detail, they leap out at you. And the little effort that has been made to remedy them is so misguided and amateurishly executed that it tends to increase the problems.
Now, you might retort...enough with the ballyhooing. Then came the pandemic. In the fourth part of my posts, I recount our experiences during the Corona years. Again, the world was not black or white, the British vaccination programme was rolled out faster and was better organized than others, but overall I saw my image of a dysfunctional society confirmed. Worse, the virus exacerbated the country's problems: politics sank into chaos, government finances, like many citizens, into more debt. The infrastructure is in worse shape than ever. The healthcare system can only be described as "in collapse". Basically, the only hope left is that Brexit will relieve the country of all its worries and woes... In other words, it is about time to leave the island. Enjoy reading.
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