The Grass isn't Greener
Or: Why emigrating doesn't make everything better
I have a love-hate relationship with my home country. Mostly hate. Ever since I was a child, I knew that I wanted out. I didn't necessarily know where I would go, or even why I needed to leave at that point, but I was certain that a day would come when I would pack a bag and set off for more exotic climes.
My first attempt was in my early-20s, when I joined the military. Indeed, I escaped my suburban purgatory, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. To quote Full Metal Jacket,
Join the Army; travel to exotic, distant lands; meet exciting, unusual people and kill them...
Having returned with only moderate physical and psychological damage, I set about looking for a more sustainable method of escape. I ended up working my way into an industry with a global footprint. It wasn't long before I was offered a role abroad and I happily accepted it.
Same shit, different flag
There's a honeymoon period. All of the little annoyances of daily life seem petty while the excitement is fresh. National healthcare, public transportation that works, there's even a castle in the middle of my city! Cobblestone alleys, medieval buildings, and Sunday roasts.
But, reality inevitably reasserts itself. Suddenly, the cobblestone is just annoying to drive over. The national healthcare system is in shambles and I have to wait fifty weeks to see a specialist. These buildings are cold and drafty and cost a fortune to heat in the winter.
The accent I found so endearing became torture to my ears. Everyone is drunk, all the time. The police are pointless and there are violent youths terrorising everyone. There's a wage crisis, a housing crisis, an immigration crisis, and probably a few more crises waiting in the wings.
So, what have I learned? You can't escape humanity. At the end of the day, we're all facing the same issues to varying degrees. Most people just want to make enough to comfortably take care of themselves and / or their family. They want peace and health. But where is that to be found? Maybe everywhere, maybe nowhere.
Closing Rant
The inspiration for this little ramble was my son's first day of P6. Before we came here, we had a Hollywood-inspired image of the British education system. Uniforms and headmasters and the like. Very Harry Potter-esque.
As I've come to discover, even the posh independent schools (or perhaps I should say especially the posh private schools) are full of some of the worst people I've ever met. The arrogance, the mockery, the complete disregard for other people, it's some of the worst I've ever seen. The parents and administrators are clearly the source. Fake and obnoxious, the lot of them.
I thought I was escaping a broken system, but as I said at the start, it turns out the grass isn't always greener.
Disclaimer
I'm not completely oblivious. I recognise how fortunate we are to be globally mobile. I know that billions are suffering every day, trapped in unimaginable situations. Perhaps real success isn't what school you attend or how much money you make, but rather, it's recognising the reality of this life and doing something, however minor, to improve it. Perhaps.