What is your honest opinion of Eastern Europeans?

[tellmehowitis]

Name changed for this.
I've been in England for nearly a decade and have tried to integrate but so far the friends I have are other Eastern Europeans such as Polish, Latvian, Romanian etc. and also a few Spanish, Portuguese, Italian.

My experiences of English people (women especially) have been as follows:
-seeming friendly and saying things like "we should go for coffee/drinks" but not actually meaning it.
-most locals already have a social circle and don't seem to want to add to it (or don't want to add me specifically).
-if friendships do develop people will at some point suddenly decide they don't like me anymore for no reason (well there obviously is a reason but they don't say what it is).
-people blank me or act condescending. A woman on a course I was on actually turned away and looked at the ceiling when I said "hi, how are you", even though the previous day we'd had a perfectly pleasant chat. I couldn't think of what I could've said to offend, it was all general small talk like where we're from and what uni we went to etc. This has happened a few times with different people.

Maybe I'm just not likeable...but then there are no problems with people of other nationalities. I think I'm "normal" and not some weirdo, I speak English, have a job and am not here to "sponge" or any of the other stereotypes.

It didn't used to bother me too much but now I'm considering my long term future...even though materially speaking I have a nice life here I'm thinking of moving back home to settle down, because feeling like an outsider takes its toll emotionally.

I'm just curious though, what is it about me that locals don't like...is it my personality specifically that doesn't fit here, or is it because of my nationality? (It was the same before Brexit, so can't blame that).
If you're EE do you have English friends? And if you're English, would you be friends with an EE person? What do you honestly think of us as a whole?

We have immigration, we emigrate. We are people. Just like the British, some bad, some good but at least respect we aren’t one mass sitting in a racist backwater having never met an immigrant

I acknowledged earlier that of course not all EE are racist. However, my own experience as I said that the only blatant racism I've experienced has been from them. And I live in London so obviously mix with lots of different nationalities. I'm not condoning any derogatory comments that have been made to you or anyone else.

Anyone of any nationality can be racist but it is shocking for me as a person living in London nowadays to actually hear blatant racist language being used.. I had never experienced that before and I wonder if it is not seen as socially unacceptable amongst EE people?

Also how do you imagine polish leaving is counteracting Ukrainians arriving? People with a completely different language and culture, mainly looking for short term work. Totally different group, they’re not just interchangeable! It’s a huge shift in many areas as to population needs or behaviours.
You wouldn’t be swapping British people for french so easily.

As I’ve said, I am from an Eastern European country and I’ve explained the attitudes towards people already. In OTHER countries there are certainly som pockets with more hostile views- vocal idiots. You aren’t recognising that in SOME countries the views will be very different to OTHER countries. That is what I find derogatory after explaining it multiple times. It IS not voiced where I am from, it is unacceptable. Like I’ve said, it’s like continually repeating at you in Germany some of the responses to Syrian refugees is unacceptable and asking you why you in Western Europe act this way towards refugees? Is it socially normal to be without any empathy?

@Oeliil

Also how do you imagine polish leaving is counteracting Ukrainians arriving? People with a completely different language and culture, mainly looking for short term work. Totally different group, they’re not just interchangeable! It’s a huge shift in many areas as to population needs or behaviours. You wouldn’t be swapping British people for french so easily.

No you misunderstand, I mean as net migration counts numbers in versus numbers out...so if a million enter but a million leave, net migration is zero. I mean it from a mathematical perspective not lumping everyone together.

I have a few eastern European friends, its not that british people are all one group who all thinks the same. On the other hand my relatives gf is eastern European, speaks fluent english but wants absolutely nothing to do with British people despite living here, so much so she has found EE strangers online to meet up with to avoid having to talk to any of us or make any british friends. It would be understandable if she was new and nervous but shes lived on off in the uk for ten years and has no british friends at all which is fucking bizarre.

It’s like talking to an Eastern European that has entirely formed their views of the British through Kent Online and the UKIP website. You’d seem awful. Why is it acceptable to support small boats going into the channel to watch refugee children drown as they turn back in a sailing boat? Or protest outside barracks in Folkestone loudly were people traumatised from war reside. You’d get a bit frustrated if I kept asking after you explained about different groups in Britain if I kept asking stuff like ‘but why do the British find this acceptable?’.

@Oeliil

It’s like talking to an Eastern European that has entirely formed their views of the British through Kent Online and the UKIP website. You’d seem awful. Why is it acceptable to support small boats going into the channel to watch refugee children drown as they turn back in a sailing boat? Or protest outside barracks in Folkestone loudly were people traumatised from war reside. You’d get a bit frustrated if I kept asking after you explained about different groups in Britain if I kept asking stuff like ‘but why do the British find this acceptable?’.

You are twisting everything I say and trying to insinuate that I condone racism from British people. I don't.

@Shaniac Tbf maybe she’s had one too many experiences that were awful. Had to apologise for the Polish person that was racist one too many times explaining she’s from an area ethnically different, a different religion, has never been there even...
It’s depressing.
If I engage, I try not to, I realise how unimportant I am and on the edge.

All you need to get @formerbabe is your basic premise of ‘EE people do x, y or z’ is nuts. Many countries, cultures are being swept up into one image. Get that image out your head.

Stop focusing on the British. I’m not twisting your words to claim you are racist! I’m trying to get through to you that just like in Britain there are some area holes like the ones I mentioned , there are arse holes in every nation. Maybe you met one. You didn’t met Eastern Europe. You met an arsehole.

You would find it unacceptable to swap ‘EE’ for women/ men/ Asian/ black/ old etc into w sentence stating an entire group had a certain negative trait. Try it.

I have specifically said many times on this thread that I know not all EE are racist. Would you prefer me not to discuss my personal experiences?

‘but it is shocking for me as a person living in London nowadays’

It’s shocking in Leeds, Dublin, Lviv, Rome....
Elsewhere they are not matching around the streets shouting out blatant racism routinely either.

But... I’ve heard it in London too, in a cock st accent. I understand that’s not everyone

I think a bit of variety would be good, acknowledging others and stopping with the speculation about ‘EE’.
I explain a little, you stop a bit with them and us.

@Oeliilyou would think that but she claims she likes british people and loves the uk and couldnt see herself living back home. Yet she deliberately wont acknowledge any brits except her bf and even he says she always speaks her own language in their home and is always talking to other ee on the phone shes met online. Its absolutely her choice of course but its very strange to come to a country you claim to love and refuse to assimilate or even make friends or allys.

I have many Eastern European friends from a variety of walks of life across many different Eastern European countries - it seems marrying a darker skinned Indian / Pakistani / African man or woman is a common desire. A lot of their friends and family have also converted to various ‘flexible’ Hindu or Muslim sects.

I personally really like the tall / dark haired / eyed / pale skinned look some eastern europeans have. It’s the very definition of the Indian beauty standards I was brainwashed into liking as a kid lol

I live in a city with a large Polish population, and knew a few Polish families when my kids were small (nursery, baby groups). Now that we are at school there are not any EE families in my children’s year groups that I know of. I’ve lost touch with the Polish women that I spent time with on maternity leave and when the kids were small, but not because they are Polish, just because we live in different areas and they mostly use the RC school. My cleaner is Bulgarian and genuinely lovely, I really feel that she takes care of us. We have a nice relationship and she sometimes asks for my help with understanding how things work in England (though less now she’s been here many years). I worked with an Estonian woman who is a complete bitch, but not sure that has anything to do with her being Estonian (though I do think she used that as a cover for just being rude and obnoxious).

Not to wade in. But when i first met some of DH's hometown friends i was shocked at some of the casually racist comments (he is EE)

But now i look at the reaction to the sainsburys advert in this country, outrage at BLM etc... the UK has always been just as racist. I was just more accustomed to the forms the racism took.

Basically, you get racists everywhere, and i would disagree that its more acceptable or whatever in EE countries- unfortunately for a lot of the UK its totally acceptable here too.

Not using this as an excuse, but some EE countries (including my own) have had very limited exposure to other races/cultures,especially during the formative years.

I hadn't seen a black person in real life until I was at uni. All I knew was from movies,music videos and what others said.

For example , an adult in my life always told me that black people have a specific,unpleasant smell . I had no idea that wasn't true until my mid 20s, and while I didn't repeat that "fact" or had negative thoughts about black people, I did believe it.

Any Eastern European I’ve met has been honest, hardworking and their word is gospel. The women are very resourceful, can cook amazing meals with basic ingredients and the men know have a friend who can get you anything.

My boyfriend is from Eastern Europe and he’s absolutely wonderful.

ComeOnBabyHauntMyBubble yes DH never saw a Black person til he moved here. The communist regime put almost a complete stop to any migration to or from his country for about 20 years.

As with any group of people, you can’t generalise.

My mother is Eastern European (came here as a child). She’s been anglicised but It is quite normal for them to ask someone they have only just met how much they earn or how much their house is worth. So perhaps different culture.

I think every immigrant should get Very British problems on arrival😁

I think every immigrant should get Very British problems on arrival😁

Yes! The first thing is they need to be stopped at the airport for small talk on the weather, a moan about the price of petrol, a cup of tea, a manual on britishisms and then a long sigh before being sent on their way into the big bad world of the uk

@Shaniac 😂😂
Border agents should wear the VBP t-shirts to prep arrivals on the translating the meanings too😂

Example 😂

I remember thinking once at work that I git a praise... Nvm.

Seriously though. Obviously UK isn't perfect. Nowhere is🤷🏻 But I kind of get the moaning about secularity. I came here knowing there are many cultures and have been for a long time. I did expect less xenophobia and racism because of that tbh. As pps, I haven't actually spoken to a black person till late. In my case 18 because I lived in a capital...

But then again. Some of the what could be taken as unfriendliness encount here isn't racism, nor it is rudeness. It's actually an overtrying to not be rude ime.

It's odd😁 But funny odd once you realise