A British couple living in Germany asked Twitter’s hive mind whether they should stay in the country or return to the UK when they retire and the responses were pretty depressing.
Posting on the platform, the couple said they were “coming to a major decision point in our lives”, having lived abroad for 20 years, and needed advice about whether to take the “big step” and come back.
I appear to have 815 followers so here is a question for you all.
— 🇩🇪🇬🇧🇪🇺 FBPE #FBPPR 💙 (@fliegerrick) October 13, 2021
Coming to a major decision point in our lives; do we remain living/retiring in Germany or make the big step after 20 years to return to the UK?
The tweet went viral and had more than 2,000 responses from people eager to give their two cents on the situation. But Brits weren’t sure whether it was worth returning to their home turf, and had some pretty grim words to say about the state of the country.
Some pointed out that the supply chain crisis, in which a shortage of HGV lorry drivers is causing supermarkets and petrol stations to be understocked, was making life in the UK difficult:
Sign up to our new free Indy100 weekly newsletter
Only if you are a fan of empty shelves, government sanctioned race hate, and roads that have all the physical integrity of shortcrust pastry. https://t.co/osLJQqK3Ww
— Firebrand (@PaulGoodbrand) October 13, 2021
Those against Brexit also argued it would be preferable to stay in a country in the EU:
Return to the UK? Madness. Stay in a civilised country that is still in Europe, the UK of twenty years ago no longer exists! https://t.co/sgeD3KmjpQ
— patricia #3.5% #FBPE, rejoin, remove Tories, (@markettownmabel) October 13, 2021
Others claimed the country is going downhill and said the UK has got a lot worse in the last 20 years:
Stay where you are! Seriously, the situation here is deteriorating by the day.
— Bee Middlemast-Neal #FBPPR #FBPE #JohnsonOut (@Mistywoman1) October 13, 2021
Stay in Germany. The UK is in decline & won’t stop declining until reform of the political system & media takes place.
— Gray 🏴🇩🇰🇿🇦🇪🇺 (@gstewartbxl) October 13, 2021
I’m not one of your followers but but I see no benefit to you leaving a country you’ve lived in for 20 years and returning to your memory of a UK which no longer exists.
— 💙Calimocho loves Marmite 🏴🌼🏳️🌈💙 (@Calimocho14) October 13, 2021
I am German and have lived in the UK since 2004. If I had known then what was going to happen in the UK, I would never have come here.
— ITL London 3.5% #RejoinEU #FBPE🇪🇺🇩🇪🇬🇧 (@LondonItl) October 13, 2021
Stay in Germany!
Everything is going downhill here.
indy100 contacted the couple to ask them if they have decided what they are going to do now they have received such a large number of responses.
They said: “No not yet,” but noted “follower opinion is massively against returning.”
Quite.