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UK quality of life poor, study says

by generaldecay | October 12, 2009 at 11:18 am

136 views | 16 Recommendations | 6 comments

People in the UK have a worse quality of life than many of their European counterparts despite earning more money, according to a study published today.

This finding doesn't surprise me at all. One has to spend just a little time in another European country to see that the quality of life in mainland Europe in particular is far superior to that in the UK.

Familiar bugbears such as longer working hours and the high cost of living contributed to Britain's bottom place in a survey of 10 European countries. Relatively low holiday entitlement was another reason the UK came last in the uSwitch.com European quality of life index.

It's a shame, really, because the UK has the potential for a much better quality of life. Its education, health, welfare, and travel systems are all in good shape (with some exceptions), and British culture has many merits. The piece suggests that the current recession could mark a turning point.

She suggested that 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".

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Hugh Askew

at 01:07 on October 13th, 2009

"Relatively low holiday entitlement was another reason the UK came last......."

entitlement?

I wonder how the US, Canada, Japan, S. Korea, Japan, India, Brazil, or Australia would fare in that area? Or in the "longer working hours" category.

generaldecay

at 02:08 on October 13th, 2009

Yes. Perhaps worldwide, the UK fares OK in terms of quality of life.

Thanks for the recommendation and comment, Hugh.

Iffy (not verified)

at 03:28 on October 13th, 2009

I have worked in many countries including the UK. The UK is - and isn't - as bad as these surveys make out. The UK has wonderful countryside and natural beauty. It's biggest failure is its urban environments and its long-lasting underclass of scum who fester on public housing estates. It has made a mess of its immigration and has over-crowded urban areas: it is shocking but parts of London seem more congested and over-stretched than anywhere I have been in China or Japan. Urban areas - especially the British high street - are dirty, violent, chaotic and downright ugly to look at. Crappy, scrappy shops with poor quality signage and service make for blighted urban landscapes. Throw in lots of ugly, burned out people in bad clothes, and it is a sorry sight to see. There are very few high quality, modern places to live or work and this drags down the quality of life (and despite the biggest property bubble in human history!). On the plus side, British culture is still vibrant and it is still a place full of ideas and discussion. But unfortunately this is also under threat as the government clamps down on these things in order to try and control the chaos of the urban environments.

Sputnic

at 07:44 on October 13th, 2009

Housing estates are designed to turn people into "scum". See if you come up smelling of roses living cooped up with 300 other families in a series of buildings that act like an echo chamber. Surrounded by main roads so you effectivly live on a roundabout. CAVITY WALL, almost designed to cause family feuds. And dont even get me started on the "housing estate myths" about the mob putting cocain in tower block water pumps.

Amy Judd

at 07:47 on October 13th, 2009

I think people in the UK work longer hours and don't take as much time for themselves as people in other European countries do; when I worked in the UK that's what I found anyway.

generaldecay

at 08:11 on October 13th, 2009

Thanks for the recommendation and comment, Amy. I agree that UKers work v. hard (although not as hard as Americans). I could really use a little more European work ethic!