The Grass is not always Greener in France. Good things about Living in Britain:

I was determined when we first started this website that it should not sink into a “shopping list” of good things about Britain and bad things about France: Britain Good, France Bad.

However, is has become clear that a lot of people decide to move somewhere else (e.g. France), because they don’t like where they are (e.g. Britain) and so there may be some merit in pointing out a few good things about Britain (by the way, I’ve listed good things about France in Move to France and My Favourite Links). The grass is not always greener and perhaps Britain is not as bad as you think it is.

To state the obvious, moving somewhere else because you don’t like where you are is different to moving because you like where you are, but you like somewhere else even more. 

We think if you are running away from Britain, instead of running to France, then you may be moving for the wrong reasons and, once you’ve moved, you may find yourself facing the same problems, but in a different country (frying pan to fire).

Anyway, for the benefit of those of you who may be running away from Britain, here is a list of good things about Britain (pardon the English bias, but that’s where I live - btw, many of these points are equally applicable to most larger countries):

• Values: most people identify closely with the values they grow up with. Their view of what is right and wrong, and what is “normal” in the world is defined by these values. I didn’t grow up in Britain, but I do believe in many of the shared values that have shaped the country in which I live. Not all these values travel 22 miles across the English Channel.
• The worst thing about England for me is the weather. It is unspeakably sub-average. However, it does provide a topic of shared interest to “break the ice” with complete strangers. In spring, when the sun does shine, albeit briefly, people have a zing in their step and it feels great to be alive. Everybody looks happy. I’ve lived in countries where I’ve peered out of the window in the morning and groaned with disappointment because it was another perfect day. And another thing, there is little as bracing or uplifting as a winter walk. 
• The variety of accents. Let’s face it, the English, the Scots, the (Northern) Irish (and their immediate neighbours) and the Welsh have some wonderful accents and different ways of expressing things. One of the great things about the British Isles is the variety of the people.
• Britain may be lacking in sporting prowess, but it invented more than it’s fair share of sports that are popular worldwide. Try discussing the Sri Lanka England third test in Auch and, even if your French is perfect, this is a conversation that is going to go nowhere. 
• When I lived in London in my twenties, I used to frequent the Alma Pub in Wandsworth. It was my local. I loved it. It fed me. It watered me and it provided company. A good local pub is a great thing. In America they have bars, in France they have cafe’s; neither compares to a good local .
• Humour: put two Brits in the same room and I will bet good money that within five minutes they’ll be laughing about something.  
• Driving: let me tell you with some authority that there is nowhere on earth where drivers (generally) show more consideration to each other, than Britain. I think the way a nation drives defines its national character, or agenda. In rural New Zealand, perfect strangers raise their index fingers to acknowledge you as you drive past in the opposite direction (in Australia it is a different finger). In Zimbabwe, lorry drivers swerve out of their way to try and squash you because your skin colour is the same as that of the people who previously oppressed them. In Texas, if you honk your horn at someone, they will pull out a gun and shoot you. In France it is every man for himself (forget about liberty etc), nobody lets you in and if you don’t drive fast enough, the guy behind you will overtake you on a blind corner. In England (and I’m sure it’s the same to the west and north), people are extremely civil. They let you in. They queue in an orderly fashion. They wave to say thank you. Apart from the occasional road rage incident, British drivers and British people are “nice” to each other. 
• History: unlike a lot of countries in the world, Britain has a long history that it can, by-and-large, be proud of. 
• Culture: while most continental European countries will say that Britain has no culture except that which it has stolen or copied from other countries, I take the view that, while this is may be true, (i) it is better to have some than none at all, and (ii) the industrial revolution created the prosperity that made it possible for Britain to consolidate a vast cultural wealth that is publicly available and (iii) that adds considerably to the quality of life of anybody who enjoys such things and (iv) that is, perhaps, the best in the world.  
• Education: British state and private schools are, in my opinion, much better than we give them credit for. Some of the best universities in the world are in Britain.
• The NHS: is vastly under-appreciated and subject to expectations that are far too high. Most British people do not realise how lucky they are to have the NHS.
• Tax and social charges: nobody likes paying taxes, but compared to France and lots of other countries in continental Europe, we get off lightly.
• And lastly, England is close enough to France to make it possible to enjoy the best of both worlds. One can get there easily and enjoy what it has to offer, without living there.