Greetings to all! How did February treat you? I suppose since it is the shortest month of the year, it's come and gone by the time we even get to realize it. On my side of things, I tried to make the best of the month. Seeking a new life, some better opportunities for myself, I ventured to England once again. Yet what I found there was nothing less than disappointment.
From the outside looking in, a place like England (and especially London) seems ideal for a person to begin a new life. So many nice areas to live, so much youth gathered in one place, and a concentration of education, entertainment and employment, all neatly packaged in one town! Not to mention the safety you feel from the moment you first land, you feel right at home! Now, let's just see how each and every one of those myths is easily shattered.
At first glance or from far away, one might consider England a nice place to live. Yet, the small apartments (or should I say, flats) that provide you with the bare necessities but cost you more than half of your monthly earnings is not what one would give the definition of nice. Also, the fact that you have to open your windows (if you're lucky enough to have any!) to the same grey weather almost every single day doesn't help at all. If anything, it makes your soul go grey with it.
The younger people that have gathered in England have their own agendas. They either have their lives already planned out for them (f.e. studying at a high-profile university, acquiring their Master's degree and then moving on to a high-paying position in a firm), or they are struggling to survive (the ones that usually come from the Mediterranean or South-American regions). None of them are there to make friends or have fun. But even if someone tries to do that, the meaning of "fun" in England is going out, drinking beer and cider (seriously, people should inform the British that there are other drinks in the World!) until they are so inebriated that they become obnoxious and annoying, making everyone want to just leave. Not to mention the early closing time of local clubs and pubs.
The educational and entertaining part of England is satisfactory. A plethora of museums that are free to access allow for a lot of fun learning. National History Museum, National Science Museum, even the National Football Museum let you learn while being a part of the process, not just blankly staring at some old ruin or canvas. The same goes for the fun part of England. Theaters, musicals, cinemas. But for all these, there's a downside. It's all incredibly expensive. For a middle-class or lower-class worker that makes about 1300 pounds p.m., a ticket to London's notorious musicals is nothing but an unreachable dream. On such a wage, one can go out for a drink once, maybe twice a month. That's it!
On the employment front of things, one would think England is some sort of haven: a refuge for those whose homes and lives have been turned upside down from the financial crisis raging all over Europe and the South American countries. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Employers who do not take foreigners seriously, minimum wages that are barely enough to keep workers on their feet, and now a government that decided to close the borders by altering their social benefits eligibility. It seems the economical plague that has been going all around Europe finally found its way to the United Kingdom as well.
And as for safety? Even though there are cameras all over the city, sirens are heard at any given time of day and you can even see horse-back riding police officers patrolling the streets at early hours in the morning, none of that should fool you. The violence that occurs in the streets, the gangs that pop up every now and again and the high level of inebriation is the reason why people do not walk the streets at night. This country is anything but safe!
This place is nice on the outside. It maintains its image of a high profile, glamorous place where only the best come to rest and uses that as a reason to keep its prices sky-high. In the meantime, the people are suffering, the financial refugees that took the bait are being pushed around like slaves and the fascism levels are rapidly rising because of all the incoming foreigners. This is England!
From the outside looking in, a place like England (and especially London) seems ideal for a person to begin a new life. So many nice areas to live, so much youth gathered in one place, and a concentration of education, entertainment and employment, all neatly packaged in one town! Not to mention the safety you feel from the moment you first land, you feel right at home! Now, let's just see how each and every one of those myths is easily shattered.
At first glance or from far away, one might consider England a nice place to live. Yet, the small apartments (or should I say, flats) that provide you with the bare necessities but cost you more than half of your monthly earnings is not what one would give the definition of nice. Also, the fact that you have to open your windows (if you're lucky enough to have any!) to the same grey weather almost every single day doesn't help at all. If anything, it makes your soul go grey with it.
The younger people that have gathered in England have their own agendas. They either have their lives already planned out for them (f.e. studying at a high-profile university, acquiring their Master's degree and then moving on to a high-paying position in a firm), or they are struggling to survive (the ones that usually come from the Mediterranean or South-American regions). None of them are there to make friends or have fun. But even if someone tries to do that, the meaning of "fun" in England is going out, drinking beer and cider (seriously, people should inform the British that there are other drinks in the World!) until they are so inebriated that they become obnoxious and annoying, making everyone want to just leave. Not to mention the early closing time of local clubs and pubs.
The educational and entertaining part of England is satisfactory. A plethora of museums that are free to access allow for a lot of fun learning. National History Museum, National Science Museum, even the National Football Museum let you learn while being a part of the process, not just blankly staring at some old ruin or canvas. The same goes for the fun part of England. Theaters, musicals, cinemas. But for all these, there's a downside. It's all incredibly expensive. For a middle-class or lower-class worker that makes about 1300 pounds p.m., a ticket to London's notorious musicals is nothing but an unreachable dream. On such a wage, one can go out for a drink once, maybe twice a month. That's it!
On the employment front of things, one would think England is some sort of haven: a refuge for those whose homes and lives have been turned upside down from the financial crisis raging all over Europe and the South American countries. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Employers who do not take foreigners seriously, minimum wages that are barely enough to keep workers on their feet, and now a government that decided to close the borders by altering their social benefits eligibility. It seems the economical plague that has been going all around Europe finally found its way to the United Kingdom as well.
And as for safety? Even though there are cameras all over the city, sirens are heard at any given time of day and you can even see horse-back riding police officers patrolling the streets at early hours in the morning, none of that should fool you. The violence that occurs in the streets, the gangs that pop up every now and again and the high level of inebriation is the reason why people do not walk the streets at night. This country is anything but safe!
This place is nice on the outside. It maintains its image of a high profile, glamorous place where only the best come to rest and uses that as a reason to keep its prices sky-high. In the meantime, the people are suffering, the financial refugees that took the bait are being pushed around like slaves and the fascism levels are rapidly rising because of all the incoming foreigners. This is England!
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