Not that this surprises me at all, but does this 'Europe' include countries such as Romania, Belarus, Lithuania,etc? Do we really have a worse quality of life than these?

So why do the immigrants keep coming over?

I also know a few colleagues who've left for Australia/NZ and they find it's a lot nicer than here.

To make us even more unhappy?

In my opinion in the UK we're caught somewhere between US-style capitalism and European-style Social Democracy. On the one hand we're not taxed to death like most of Europe, but then the price we pay for that is public services that don't live up to European standards.

To be perfectly honest I think we have it pretty good in the UK. I could never choose to live in a country (I'm looking at you, USA) where people are left to suffer whith health conditions because they can't afford (or can't get) adequate health insurance, or afford the treatment. I also couldn't watch impoverished people starve or end up homeless for lack of money (such as through unemployment), which many Republicans seem more than content with.

I think Britain has lost a lot of public service ethos in the drive to generate profit. A lot of services companies/public organisations/individuals used to carry on with or offer for free are now chargeable extras or have disappeared entirely. For example, the Police will no longer hold on to stray or lost dogs because of the cost of holding on to them (and also the cost of putting them in kennels). Public sector bodies (Such as councils, the Police etc) will no longer help each other out, because they're more interested in protecting their own budgets and arguing over who's responsible for what than ensuring the best outcome for the public.

TBH the only places you seem to find any genuine desire to do you a favour or help you out is in the independent sector.

In fact, at the risk of sounding Socialist, the profit and savings-driven nonsense has to stop. How many times have we seen costs for government projects spiral because they've tried to do it on the cheap, and it's never worked out? The government needs to start being realistic about both their requirements and the amount needed to be invested. Doing it on the cheap always costs us more in the long run (for example, PFI/PPP etc). Hell, I would even say natural monopolies need to be owned and run either by the state, or as not-for-profit companies (Water companies, British Rail etc).

Anyway, with that said I'm still content with living in England. For all the selfish morons out there there is another person who is kind and helpful. The weather may be grey and dismal, but the temperature and the environment suits me, not to mention British culture.

Yes but many Europeans actually feel happier with higher taxes knowing that tey get better services. My daughter gets a Swedish student grant to study here in the UK. Her grant is £4500 per term!! So higher taxes have their benefits.

Sure, but then by the same token the suicide rate in Scandinavian countries is noticeably higher than in the UK...

Is anyone here going to be happy with paying £5+ for a pint? I know I wouldn't.

If you knew any thing about Swedish history you would know why they take a tough stance over alcohol.

It's not just Sweden though. It's Norway (could be Sweden's fault, given the previous Kingdom) and Denmark etc too.

EDIT: Having had a quick look....a government monopoly on alcohol sales? No thanks, I thought Labour did too much nannying.

Actually the Systembolaget is the biggest buyer of wine in the world. As a foreigner you have to carry cash. Credit cards are not allowed and only Swedish Debit cards work, so it has to be cash.