Does everyone want to live in the US?

[AteRiri]

I was talking to an American friend and he made this blanket statement, "Everyone wants to come here!"

Is this true?

Ah yes, the useless last president who not only slashed unemployment, but grew the economy whilst cutting the deficit?

All the while being blocked by Congress from doing things he wanted?

Yeah so useless.

The one who got the popular vote AND more electoral college votes than Trump in 2012? That useless one?

Yeah.

Smash burger. And broken yolk cafe in downtown San Diego. The yanks know how to do breakfast!

Ok Seneca, that vehicle wins. Whilst it aligns with my own political views though it still would have annoyed me beyond distraction. Cars are for getting from A to B.

I have a bumper sticker! It's very official-looking and it says "Cape Cod Tunnel Pass."

This is funny because there is no tunnel below the canal that separates Cape Cod from the rest of Massachusetts. In the summer all the tourists have to wait hours at the bridges to even get onto the Cape, and it's funny to ... okay, you know what? This is a HILARIOUS bumper sticker to anyone who lives year-round on Cape Cod. Sigh.

I'd be curious to live there short term.

*Another anecdote from my ex-New Jersey MIL who defected to Florida in her early teens:

'Oh, she's black, but she's a lovely lady'. WTF.*

because no British woman/MIL/mother has every said anything like this??

Seriously?

Surprised you went to Chick a fil, Bunty - did you know what you were supporting?

I think the Americans like Seneca have shown great resilience to stay on this thread, given some of the things that have been said. Some of the things that have been posted are definitely based on ignorance.

For example, customer service in retail shops in the us ime beats the service in comparable uk shops. E.g. the sales assistants who will "wait" on you and run back and happily get you different sizes, or different options or coax you into trying something new. I only tend to find comparable personal service like that in much more expensive shops in the uk.

Also for much of London the service charge in restaurants is now automatically added at 10 or 12.5%. It isn't quite the 15-20% you tip in the us but you get a lot more service for your tips.

Unfortunately the one set of people that I have consistently found to be rude and weirdly "unAmerican" are TSA. My British Pakistani friend has gone to the US for business trips about 50 times some 9/11. He's looking forward to a trip one day . he can get through immigration without being pulled aside for an interview. Someone has clearly had a word because you get the more friendly ones these days!!

I noticed Americans did think they were living in the best place on earth and were quite vocal about it. Which was quite irritating. I can choose for myself which I like best!
Lots of people have no desire to move there, having seen it or not, because I suspect they are happy where they are.

I think there are many pros and cons to WHERE EVER you live, and often there are micro climates within countries also where you get vastly different experiences from one county to the next.

Why I live in America:

1. Much more job opportunity for partner and myself - hence more earning capacity and ability to save for future

1. Better housing value (bigger house and yard than ever afford in U.K.) - less claustrophobia

1. Better weather (oh my giddy aunt - better weather) :-)

1. Minimal traffic

1. Super supportive multi racial, multi religious, diverse community

1. Awesome police and fire teams (seriously great service)

1. Great service / community / charity ethos - service is a mindset from early age

1. Easy access to many different activities / places

1. Many different choices for schooling / education

(Yes, healthcare is a mess and the gun laws are nothing short of stupid - but every country has negatives)

oldguard
All those choices are a matter of perception.
Better weather, for me no!

Pallisers

I'd never come across the level of racism I experienced in the US, no.

As for Chick Fil A - if I made decisions to buy things based entirely on my political views I would have almost no where to shop.

oldguard

6. Awesome police and fire teams (seriously great service)
Am I right in presuming you're white then?

What is with the Canada live? Suggest you Google Lewis Crowe for a taste of their immigration policy. I don't want to live in the USA because I like where I do live but I think the USA bashing is quite vile

old I agree with your list. Most of the police where I live are Hispanic and they are fab. They have a very tough job and one I couldn't do. Two towns over the police are awful to everyone no matter what your skin color.

There is a big race problem in the US, and guess what, the U.K. also has a huge race problem. Where I live race isn't a problem and LGBT persons/couples are able to live in peace. Obviously, Omaha wouldn't be my first choice of location to live but then neither would Grimsby in the U.K.

To describe a group of people who torment, brutalise and murder people based on the colour of their skin as "awesome" is at least insensitive and at most racist in itself. Saying that there are some good American police officers does not excuse the fact that, as an institution, they are racist. If you think that is awesome then there is really little point in me attempting any sort of discussion with you because, clearly your views on the things are questionable.

And, yes, there are similar problems in the U.K. Hence why I wouldn't describe them as "awesome" either but at least with them I can see why people would try to defend them. After all, they only get away with "lawful killings" whereas US cops get away with cold blooded murder.

It was just an exaggeration surely. He meant that "lots" of people want to come to the US. People exaggerate all the time, eg

"It'll be the end of the world if I get a cold at Christmas!"
"My mother is going to kill me when I get home!"
"Everyone in Poland wants to come to the UK!"

None of them are true, they are exaggerations to get a specific point across. ("It'll spoil Christmas if I am ill," "I'll get told off," "Lots of people want to move to the UK.")

The facts are that an awful lot of people do indeed want to move to America to live. It is massive and diverse, in terms of geography and people. I used to think they were all gun-wielding lunatics, but then I went there and realised that I was just being ignorant. They're just normal people who happen to live in America.

What I thought:
-they all carry guns
-they are all strictly Democrat or Republican
-they've got no sense of humour
-they are convinced their country is better than anywhere else

What I found:
-no, they don't
-they hate all politicians (almost) equally. At least as much as we do in the UK!
-they do
-they're not so blind as to not be able to see where their country is lacking. Patriotism does not mean blind devotion.

There are certainly problems, where I went there was a lot of "self-segregation" between races for example.

America is like any comparatively wealthy country. People from poorer countries want to move their in the hope of a better life. People who have lived their all their life feel threatened. Their own living standards continue to fall, they are let down by politicians on all sides, and they don't see why they should have to suffer for the benefit of the many, many people who will keep trying to get into the country until they succeed (or die in the attempt).

I wouldn't want to move there, no. But then I'm not sure I'd choose to move to the UK either at the moment although obviously that would depend on where I was coming from.

I think of my country a bit like I do my family or my football team: sometimes they exasperate or even horrify me but I still love them and I can understand Americans loving their country too, warts and all.

I have a penchant for American car's and their grocery stores it fascinates me for some reason. But I'd never live there the gun laws and government are too much for me

angela Your comment screams ignorance to me based on my experience in America. I've lived in charlotte North Carolina, Chicago, Miami, NYC, New Jersey and Fairfield county, Connecticut. The police have been quite consistent. They aren't racist in my experience but if you show disrespect you are in for a rough ride. They do an impossible job. I've seen them in my town hold a man while he died, take a child from a mother while she was overdosing on heroin on our doorstep and bring her into Macdonalds for a happy meal while an ambulance came and I've seen them kick back against a bunch of drunk young guys who were being obnoxious.

It is a sweeping generalisation to say that all police in America are racist, but where the ration of unarmed black men shot and killed to unarmed white men shot and killed by the Police is 7:1 there have to be questions asked.

Although more White people and Hispanic people are killed by the Police, more black people are killed than would be representative than their share of the population which also demonstrates a worrying trend.

The Police aren't all racist, some police are tho, you only need to look and see some of the shootings this year that were filmed to see that.

Definitely not, their food full of all that rubbish, no thank you!

Want2b as does yours to me. "Showing signs of disrespect" are different things for a white person and a black person. Black people are seen as "aggressive" for the same behaviour that white people are described as being "frustrated" for.

This video might also be of interest to you.

Nope, maybe Australia

Angela It is such a more complex problem than you realize. Videos show a snapshot but don't give the whole picture. You can't tell if the area was identical or what the set up was to the white guy.

America is such a different country than you realize. I thought the black man in the video was treated with respect. In NJ at least you are not allowed to walk around with any gun like that.

I remember an exchange I had with an American man who was telling a forum I was on that America was the best nation in the world. When asked to support this he pointed out that people are constantly trying to get into the country.

I, and others, broke it to him that the same is true of plenty of other nations, including the UK. He was honestly astonished. Americans are often extremely parochial. This man's ignorance is by no means unusual.

I met a young man on a train last month who had just emigrated here from the U.S. He had dual nationality but was surrendering his American passport so that changing his mind would be difficult. He and a number of his friends had decided that Trump was the last straw.

I wouldn't want to live in America, though I understand some parts are more user friendly for British tastes. It's the guns, the healthcare, the overt religiosity, the politics, the parochialism. Things vary very widely from state to state, I know. I would hate to live in a place where abortion and reproductive healthcare are under attack, not because it would affect me particularly, but because of what it says about attitudes to women. The main reason, though, is that all the people I love are here.