gloswhite wrote:Wander, I'm assuming that you have yet to retire, so once you have done, maybe it'll be better for you, if you relocated to Spain, or some other Nirvana, and leave this pathetic and sinking land to us who want to see changes.You have obviously seen only the down side of your own country for many years, so why torture yourself, just move out.
However, before you go, think about all the good things that have been made available to you. You are obviously a well educated and intelligent man, and I get the feeling that you are financially secure, so has it really been as bad as you say ? Criticism is fair, and even deserved at times, but I find your views a little difficult to take at times.
We all know times are going to get tough, but, to my mind, the benefits will be there for all of us. I would rather a rough road now, than a cul-de-sac of opportunities for my grand children.
I am retired as it happens - although I do a bit every now and then.
I would consider going to Spain or similar, but as my mate pointed out, thanks to Brexit, British pensions for expats have just been cut by a whopping 20%.
The difference in our perspective is perhaps around the notion of the UK as an economic power - one I believe has been fading for a long time. We had our day as a manufacturing giant but successive Governments over the last 30 or 40 years have closed our industries and turned us into a service sector nation, highly dependent on foreign imports. Now we've been overtaken by China and it's only a matter of time before the emergent economies of India and Brazil also overtake us. Leaving the EU has simply accelerated that process and shortened the time we had to prepare for the inevitable.
Like Bolton's cotton mills, Tyneside's shipyards, Cornwall's tin mines, Lancashire coal and Grimsby's fishing, world economics has moved on and left the UK living in the past. Unfortunately, what we are left with - research, financial sector and services - can be moved anywhere in the world at the drop of a hat - and most of our remaining businesses - the FTSE 100 for example - is largely foreign owned already along with much of our infrastructure and big chunks of our major cities especially London.
We have decided to risk putting ourselves in a situation where prices will rise, jobs will be lost, foreigners will buy and eventually run the UK and standards of living will fall - but we have made that decision so now we can only hope that something can be salvaged if we get behind this ship of fools.