Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm sorry to announce that the UK is going to the dogs. After leaving more than 14 years in London, the place has turn into hell. People are now afflicted of social jealousy, crime is on the rise, the mood is awful, foreigners are not welcome anymore and taxation is on the rise. There is an increasing number of people now leaving for more friendly shores. It looks like the days of cool Britannia are gone. e're back to boom and bust and bust has only started. Awful weather (it's been raining non-stop in July and August and September is not looking good), weak currency (the pound is among the weakest currencies on earth), an incompetent government (have you seen the measures being passed to sustain an over-valued real estate market, it's called socialisation of housing market losses and will result in higher taxation very soon), where is the UK going? It won't be long before Russian and Arabs start pulling out of this banana republic. Good bye London.
The over-valuation of the western housing markets and the subsequent credit-crisis is truly an aberration. I think it was a grave oversight on the part of western banking and financial institutions, which is now biting back with the emerging markets exploiting the weaknesses. But in the end - it's just the modern and more free markets reacting. Too bad so many friends of mine have to pay for this miscalculation.
Cradle to grave welfare state; what did you expect? Plus, they mostly lost their manufacturing base. Isn't there a 'congestion charge' just to drive into downtown London of approx $30 USD? On top of all that, the U.K. probably has a much larger housing bubble than the U.S. ever did. Plus, the weather sucks.
British humor! It's the best in my opinion... but I'm used to it and like it a bit more complex, subtle. The UK also has a lot of great research, history, culture, banking, literature, finance, music, insurance, traditions and nature. They progressed the parliamentary system... Chicken Tikka Masala is now the "national dish" - and one of my favourites.
I think the UK is in some sorts of slump where they are redefining themselves - or at least need to. A bit directionless. Dubai certainly has a lot more going on, and a clear direction. That entails a lot more opportunity for the entrepreneurially spirited. So, if people are looking for action - I guess London is not the hot spot nowadays. Germany and France are a bit more exciting, as well as new-found European nations. Moscow would certainly offer everything in terms of opportunity and entrepreneurship, if you could handle the difficulties. If banking or finance is the sector - then certainly Hong Kong is the hottest in the world, with Sydney as an interesting dark horse.
Bye bye then, have a safe journey! Let's hope this is the start of an exodus, it's about time Londoners got London back. Resources in UK have been stretched to the limit, no surprise when everyone arriving at our shores is offered free housing, free money, free medical......and it's the British tax payer who's footing the bill!
yes, it's over for London. I've also see it rise and now it's crumbling. It's very sad because I love this city but it's been taking a turn for the worse over the last 3 years. Crime is on the rise, youngsters being knifed, true. Property market melting. True. Social jealousy and foreigners not welcome. True (just check the levy imposed on non-doms). Increased taxation. True. Inflation out of control. True. Sterling crashing. True. Total absence of leadership. True. Brown, Darling and NU Labour are completely clueless. Poor public services despite high taxation. True. I wouldn't want to be a foreign investor long the housing market in the UK now. Arabs, Russians and Indians should indeed take their profits and run. HK, here I come. Bye bye UK. See you in 5 to 7 years.
Compared to other inner cities around the world violent drug, gang, and race crime statistics are moderate. When was the last indiscriminate 'drive-by' shooting in London where an innocent by-stander got hit by a stray bullet? Never! Property prices over the past 7 years have risen an unsustainable 2 and 300% in some areas of the UK, a correction was inevitable, it's the way the market works. Social jealousy has always existed and always will, it's human nature. And sure there is resentment for foreigners, they're a burden on our limited resources yet in the majority they contribute absolutely nothing to society. Yes, to pay for all the housing and benefits which immigrants (who contribute absolutely nothing) are getting! 3% is hardly 'out of control'! Sterling was grossly overvalued and made exports too expensive, a correction was inevitable and is excellent for our economy. The US had a supposed 'strong dollar' policy for years while they encouraged the dollar to weaken, now it's someone else's turn lol, that's nothing new, governments bumble along from one term to the next, the one with the best spin gets votes. Bring back Thatcher, she really knew how to fuck up!! Yep, high taxes to pay for all the leeching immigrants therefore public services get neglected simply because of a lack of money, no surprise there is resentment. Make it a one-way ticket please, and have a nice trip Hopefully there will be a few hundred thousand others following shortly, maybe the government could subsidise the air/boat fare.....now that would be worth an extra 1p on the tax rate!