Thread: Britain is the worst place to live in Europe

Britain is the worst place to live in Europe (despite our big pay packets)
By LAURA CLARK
Last updated at 1:22 AM on 12th October 2009
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Britain is the worst place in Europe to live despite offering the biggest salaries, a study reveals today.
High incomes in the UK are cancelled out by long working hours, poor annual leave, rising food and fuel bills and a lack of sunshine.
Researchers weighed up official data for ten countries, including France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Sweden and Poland.

Tough life: High incomes in the UK are cancelled out by the poor weather and long working hours
It found Britons enjoy the highest aftertax household income of £35,730-a-year, more than £10,000 above the European average.
But most of it goes on keeping a 'roof over our heads, food on the table and our homes warm', according to the uswitch.com European Quality of Life Index.
After comparing 17 quality of life measures, the study ranked Britain at the bottom-with Ireland second from last. The best quality of life can be found in France and Spain.
Britons can expect to work three years longer - retiring at 62 years and 6 months - than the French, and die two years younger at 78.9.
Workers here get the least annual leave in Europe, with 28 days a year, compared with 41 in Spain. We also have to contend with a higher cost of living, paying more for fuel, food and transport.
British drivers pay the most for diesel --while only one other country has more expensive unleaded petrol.
Essential weekly groceries that cost £134.48 in the UK would be £124 on average in Europe --and £118.76 in France. Annual household energy comes in at £1,239, with Britons paying the third-highest electricity rates.
Ann Robinson of uSwitch.com, said: 'There is more to good living than money - and this report shows why so many Brits are giving up on the UK and heading to France and Spain.
'We earn substantially more than our European neighbours, but this level of income is needed just to keep a roof over our heads, food on the table and our homes warm.
'The recession could prove to be a turning point, forcing us to re-evaluate our way of life, get back to basics and to the things that really count.
'Consumers are already beginning to do this - the Government and its policymakers would do well to follow suit.'


Read more: Britain is the worst place to live in Europe (despite our big pay packets) | Mail Online

Originally Posted by crippen

Britain is the worst place to live in Europe

Just in Europe, I am surprised.

Originally Posted by gjbkk

Originally Posted by crippen

Britain is the worst place to live in Europe

Just in Europe, I am surprised.

Actually gj, one can always see surveys, polls, and such with a jaded eye - {as the title of the story is a bit misleading} Comparatives with 10 contemporaries has no reasonable conclusion to speak of. Serves no "scientific" purpose as it is lame to find any such results. In today's world of imaginary standards and absolutes, such make believe polls of any sort have to be looked upon with suspisciousness. These sort of social science theories have little place. Not news nor learned commentary, but manipulated social engineering - that most eat gleefully, without too much thought.

rain...

Originally Posted by Jet Gorgon

rain...

Hasnt been as much as I remembered. It rained for the first time in a month 2 or 3 days ago where I live.

Still one of the best in Europe for nice beers and not having loads of French people, every cloud.......

And in other breaking news to hand: People Require Oxygen to Breathe; The Sun: Officially Really Hot!; and Cows Eat Grass.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

And in other breaking news to hand: People Require Oxygen to Breathe; The Sun: Officially Really Hot!; and Cows Eat Grass.

you forgot "Ant writes garbage"

Originally Posted by wefearourdespot

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

And in other breaking news to hand: People Require Oxygen to Breathe; The Sun: Officially Really Hot!; and Cows Eat Grass.

you forgot "Ant writes garbage"

I said breaking news to hand, e.g:

Brits, Don't Read So Good.

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

Originally Posted by wefearourdespot

Originally Posted by AntRobertson

And in other breaking news to hand: People Require Oxygen to Breathe; The Sun: Officially Really Hot!; and Cows Eat Grass.

you forgot "Ant writes garbage"

I said breaking news to hand, e.g:

Brits, Don't Read So Good.

You're right, breaking news would have been "Ant speaks sense"

Floods of scrounging immigrants have only made the country a worse place to live

The income disparity is only relevant when considered in relation to exchange rates. And that is going to get a lot worse for the Brits in future.

On per capita GDP purchasing power (PPP) UK and Ireland dont look too bad.
GDP - per capita (PPP) 2009 country ranks

Quality of life is another matter though. Especially if you are a middle class worker.

Originally Posted by Panda

The income disparity is only relevant when considered in relation to exchange rates. And that is going to get a lot worse for the Brits in future.

On per capita GDP purchasing power (PPP) UK and Ireland dont look too bad.
GDP - per capita (PPP) 2009 country ranks

Quality of life is another matter though. Especially if you are a middle class worker.

That's true, but if we then consider that quite a few of the countries high on the list have a serious crooked spread of same purchasing power meaning that a lot of the wealth in reality is on very few hands, the UK would move up on the list as far as normal people is concerned and the US down as an example. Brunei would fall of the scale.

Originally Posted by larvidchr

Originally Posted by Panda

The income disparity is only relevant when considered in relation to exchange rates. And that is going to get a lot worse for the Brits in future.

On per capita GDP purchasing power (PPP) UK and Ireland dont look too bad.
GDP - per capita (PPP) 2009 country ranks

Quality of life is another matter though. Especially if you are a middle class worker.

That's true, but if we then consider that quite a few of the countries high on the list have a serious crooked spread of same purchasing power meaning that a lot of the wealth in reality is on very few hands, the UK would move up on the list as far as normal people is concerned and the US down as an example. Brunei would fall of the scale.

Quite agree. Averages dont give a true picture of how the multitudes live.

Originally Posted by Panda

The income disparity is only relevant when considered in relation to exchange rates. And that is going to get a lot worse for the Brits in future.

On per capita GDP purchasing power (PPP) UK and Ireland dont look too bad.
GDP - per capita (PPP) 2009 country ranks

Quality of life is another matter though. Especially if you are a middle class worker.

One could absorb 20 varying studies of every which sort with 20 different results. So where does that leave us....??

Originally Posted by Rural Surin

Originally Posted by Panda

The income disparity is only relevant when considered in relation to exchange rates. And that is going to get a lot worse for the Brits in future.

On per capita GDP purchasing power (PPP) UK and Ireland dont look too bad.
GDP - per capita (PPP) 2009 country ranks

Quality of life is another matter though. Especially if you are a middle class worker.

One could absorb 20 varying studies of every which sort with 20 different results. So where does that leave us....??

One could absorb 20 different studies, but we happen to be talking about this particular one here at the moment.

Originally Posted by crippen

Essential weekly groceries that cost £134.48 in the UK would be £124 on average in Europe

I don't doubt that the quality of life in the UK is poor comapred to many other countries, but figures like those above are just typical Daily Mail scare crap. Are those figures supposed to be per person; one person as part of a couple; a family of four or what?

Wow 10 quid a week more for groceries yet they earn 10000 quid a year more.

Lucky there is 1001 weeks in a year....

England is a shithole !

Originally Posted by SiLeakHunt

England is a shithole !

might it be the reason it attracts so many muslims ?

Britain is the worst place to live in Europe
No it isn't its lovely

Originally Posted by SiLeakHunt

England is a shithole !

Get yourself off to Poland then, spend a few weeks fucking goats and riding round in your horse and cart and then come back here and tell us England is still a shithole

Where is Smeg when somebody needs to post what a great place it is?

adelaide the best