Thread: Tell me about England

Okay, i think i can offer some insight into things. 17 years here has been a bit of a mixed experience.

First off, i've only ever heard of Wensleydale in Wallace and Grommit. If there is such a place, its new to me.

I have i suppose a very negative outlook on England, i actually hate the place if i'm honest, but thats just me.

Okay, England itself is an okay place if you give it a balanced review. There is a lot to do with the different towns, not the most activities. If your looking for like a theme park, go to Alton Towers, its one of the better theme parks in England. There are a few main big cities which you may or may not want to go to, if i were you i'd stick with the ones that are most popular, if you haven't heard of some of them, there is likely a reason, for example, never go to Hull because Hull has to be one of the most boring places ever, its dull, its depressing, i could go on. But theres an example, there are a lot of places you wouldn't want to visit.

You have two options really, you can go for somewhere in the countryside or somewhere in the city. If you want to be somewhere in the city but within reach to the countryside then Manchester is a good place, but in all fairness you can get to the countryside fairly easily in any place in England. Also, in England it is very hilly, lots of hills and countryside and moors. Lots of activities to do in the countryside as i will go into later. The cities are a good place, there always seems to be plenty to do in them, lots of shops, cinemas, clubs and pubs etc. There is a lot you can do, but not an entirely wide range of things you can do (i hope you get me on this). There are lots of churches (god help me(no pun intended)) and all that general stuff.

Yorkshire of course is a very hilly place with lots of little villages, its a great place for hiking, walks and even mountain biking in some areas. There are some things you should consider about these places, i have found that especially in these little villages there are TONS of old people. You will see old people on walks, you will see them hiking, they will be in the little tea rooms drinking their tea and eating their toasted tea cakes, god i hate the way they meet the stereotype. But anyways thats what you'll get a lot of in the quiet areas, there are lots of young people also and middle aged, its a mixed bag but there always seems to be slightly more old people. I don't know but people outside of the UK always seem to want to come to the UK to see castles, well there are quite a lot of them, i don't know if its considered part of Yorkshire but theres a little village that i've been to a few times called Castleton, its got some small castle ruins which are pretty crappy but they have these underground caverns which you can go to which are pretty cool. But of course, the town is full of tea rooms and old people. But for the walks, mountain biking and other sort of activities it is great, the weather sucks a bit and your likely to get rain no matter what time of the year it is. Snow is rare in Winter but when it does snow it looks fantastic and you can walk some pretty nice routes. There are loads of trails and stuff to go on so in terms of activities you won't be stuck.

If you want to come to England for the old history sort of stuff and the hills, countryside and walks etc, i'd suggest you go to Wales, much better, not to mention some of the nicest beaches ever! If your looking for like city stuff with clubbing or what not, Manchester is okay but if your really looking for that sort of stuff just go to London, its bigger. Manchester is within reach of loads of different places via the train and stuff. I wouldn't recommend staying for a long period of time in such places because you may get bored, 2 weeks max would be sufficient in my opinion.

If you need to know anymore just let me know, if your more specific about something just say and i'll tell you what i know.

There's a road named Wensleydale in Hull

Cul-de-sack
it's nice...

Originally Posted by Lucid Seeker

First off, i've only ever heard of Wensleydale in Wallace and Grommit. If there is such a place, its new to me.

I have i suppose a very negative outlook on England, i actually hate the place if i'm honest, but thats just me.

Whats so bad about England?

England is great, it really depends what you are looking for.

We have a National Health Service, as opposed to a private one.

With have a purpotedly socialist governement.

We love football/soccer here.

There is a binge drinking culture among younger people.

World-Class Universities.

England can be very ethnically diverse in Urban areas, and other token areas, whereas in less urban areas it is distinctly non-diverse.

Beautiful contryside.


Any specific questions?

Where about do you live Evening Moon?

I really don't like England... but there's bits I love.

The forests, castles & countryside is great.

But there's so much that isn't great.

The pubs in England are good, erm. The drinking age is 18 rather than 21 if that makes a difference to you.

Theres history. But I loath to mention it because there's history everywhere. There are lots of local legend and things to do.

I take it you are in America? England's more tightly packed than that. More old buildings I guess. Its not a bad place. But then, I'm English so to me I see England as the normal place.

Me, I'm from America. I'm very surprised by you're answers. England always seemed like such a nice place to go, but you're all telling me otherwise. Thank you for the insite too I appreciate.

I said it was nice..... It is.

Visit London.

I live in West Yorkshire! =D Yorkshire is a really great place and has quite a lot of history to it!
What these other people think about England is shocking, I actually feel quite offended. >.>;

But also, London is a great place to go especially if you like theatre.

Like many places has it good stuff and bad.

I can go sit up in a castle and over look the countryside have a joint and watch the rain move in.

or you can be in grim places.. where kids are getting shot and stabbed.

I used to live in a small town I went shopping and some 8yr old called me an EMO BITCH lol.. cos I have dreads and tattoos ..

I moved to Manchester which is like 40mins drive away and totally different place.. people from all cultures about.. no one cares if you have dreads or tattoos they don't look twice.. can dress how you like and not get yelled at.

so many bad places.. kids living in cramped houses with 3bedrooms and 8 in their family.. they get angry and go out and cause trouble.


oh and it rains 24/7 had about 5days of sun in total this summer. I think that's why everyone is down.. cos of the rain.

drinking is pretty bad.. I used to drink and be able to get alcohol when I was 11..

kids here can get alcohol easy because of the age limit and small shops that don't give a toss about kids health.. you see them on the streets at the weekend with cheap cider shouting, falling over.. causing trouble.

They raised the price of alcohol like it was the reason young kids can buy it.

You can still buy a big bottle of cider for under £2 .. even if it went up to £5 a bottle kids can still buy that.. they have ways of getting money.. if their parents are poor they will steal from other kids or the shop.. or deal drugs.

The kids need help. They have no respect. They have shit parents. The only thing they can do is get wasted themselves and have fun (cause trouble)

and the smoking limit being 16.. I think it might have changed I dunno.. but 16! all the schools I have been in.. all the kids smoke.. cos its cool. I used to smoke. Dinner break kids outside smokin fags, weed, bottles of vodka in our bags.

so yeah

this country aint all English roses and queens and shit

it has serious problems.

Some areas though are really quiet and lovely. Away from the kids

Its not their fault though, They just need help.

I fear its too late to help this country.

So yeah

I wanna move.

Originally Posted by harvey123456

I said it was nice..... It is.

Visit London.

I'd love to visit London, and Yorkshire, and a bunch of other places! If only I had a passport!

Originally Posted by Lunica

Like many places has it good stuff and bad.

I can go sit up in a castle and over look the countryside have a joint and watch the rain move in.

or you can be in grim places.. where kids are getting shot and stabbed.

I used to live in a small town I went shopping and some 8yr old called me an EMO BITCH lol.. cos I have dreads and tattoos ..

I moved to Manchester which is like 40mins drive away and totally different place.. people from all cultures about.. no one cares if you have dreads or tattoos they don't look twice.. can dress how you like and not get yelled at.

so many bad places.. kids living in cramped houses with 3bedrooms and 8 in their family.. they get angry and go out and cause trouble.


oh and it rains 24/7 had about 5days of sun in total this summer. I think that's why everyone is down.. cos of the rain.

drinking is pretty bad.. I used to drink and be able to get alcohol when I was 11..

kids here can get alcohol easy because of the age limit and small shops that don't give a toss about kids health.. you see them on the streets at the weekend with cheap cider shouting, falling over.. causing trouble.

They raised the price of alcohol like it was the reason young kids can buy it.

You can still buy a big bottle of cider for under £2 .. even if it went up to £5 a bottle kids can still buy that.. they have ways of getting money.. if their parents are poor they will steal from other kids or the shop.. or deal drugs.

The kids need help. They have no respect. They have shit parents. The only thing they can do is get wasted themselves and have fun (cause trouble)

and the smoking limit being 16.. I think it might have changed I dunno.. but 16! all the schools I have been in.. all the kids smoke.. cos its cool. I used to smoke. Dinner break kids outside smokin fags, weed, bottles of vodka in our bags.

so yeah

this country aint all English roses and queens and shit

it has serious problems.

Some areas though are really quiet and lovely. Away from the kids

Its not their fault though, They just need help.

I fear its too late to help this country.

So yeah

I wanna move.

Ummmm.....WOW, never would have expected that....

London is fantastic, but you need tons of money to live there, or even to travel there for a bit. But yeah, I love London. Was only there for three days but did quite a bit.. saw a musical, too!

Originally Posted by Evening Moon

If only I had a passport!

Get one.

Everything Lunica said is true, things are entering a downward spiral and its getting worse. Manchester in all fairness is a pretty decent place, i'm there quite a lot of the time and not really had any problems, besides some guy trying to sell me monk music, but that was funny as opposed to a problem.

If you want to visit England, do it sooner rather than later, thats relying on things continuing the way they are going right now.

If you are a teenager and wish to get stabbed come London.

Bah don't listen to these people. There is a big difference between living in a place and just visiting!

Damn I love living here, it has everything you could possibly ever need! Well where I live you couldn't really want anything else! A great city, open to every culture, ethnic group, sexuality - it's such an amazing place with carnavals, festivals, beach parties! We have everything, just the weather lets it down lol.

Every place would get a different recommendation from someone who lives there to someone who has visited.

well like I said.. you can be in a place which is great and drive an hour or 2 and be in some horrible crime zone :/

living in hove/brighton its grand yeah.. you have a beach and all young student surf/hippy folk its nice.


just most areas in England need some serious help.

put visiting and living is much different.

Yeah, England has its good bits and its bad bits. I wouldn't go there expecting to find the fucking Shire or something from a Jane Austin novel. But it can be nice.

A few things:

Go to Wales. Its better than England in a whole lot of ways. Just don't get the two mixed up. Same goes with Scotland.

Don't go around calling things "quaint", "rustic", etc. People often really hate that.

Don't be surprised if not everyone takes kindly to you just for being American. There's some bad feeling, especially after Bush. But this is not really a problem. I have American friends studying here who find it fine.

Do try to visit British friends. We can show you a whole other side to the country, and by hanging out with locals you can get to see how British people actually live first-hand. A lot of tourists miss out on this vital experience.

I really wish people would stop hating on others simply because they're from a country with a bad president. You would never find an American hating an English person because of some screw up committed by Blair.

Originally Posted by apachama

I wouldn't go there expecting to find the fucking Shire

LOL!!

We all know that's in New Zealand.

Wait, what?

The shire isn't in england?

Then where the hell is it?!

Originally Posted by Seismosaur

Wait, what?

The shire isn't in england?

Then where the hell is it?!

For the accents, go to Gloucester. For the place, go to New Zealand.

Originally Posted by bluefinger

For the accents, go to Gloucester. For the place, go to New Zealand.

rofl

Originally Posted by HyperNova

If you are a teenager and wish to get stabbed come London.

OMG!! Why? Because I'm American, or because I'm a teenager?

because currently in the UK we are having a wave of teenage stabbings. Five people were stabbed in various places in London in 24 hours. I watched a program on it, in London alone there are more then one thousand cases of stabbing incidents in Accident and Emergency, many are not at all serious but the point is the rates of stabbings amongst teenagers is quite high, mainly gang related i believe, fueled by cheap alcohol.

Nearly all the stabbings have been in London, south to south east London specifically. You'll probably be ok because your a tourist and i assume you wont be wondering around streets and neighborhoods at like 1am, most have happened in the late evening to early hours( when drunken teens are staggering about in gangs with knifes)