I really liked my neighbour until she said this

[neighbourhoodwatch]

I've recently moved to a new area and was talking to my neighbour, who I really like.

Somehow the conversation went to GPs and how you can never get appointments and basically have to beg to be seen nowadays.

She was saying how it didn't used for be that way... before...

She then went on to say that it's because of all the immigrants that have come into this country and how our country is too small to hold all these people.

She also talked about the illegals coming in on boats etc and how terrible it is.

I am immigrant. I didn't come on a boat and I have a good job etc. But essentially I came to this country. I've never claimed benefits or anything like that. I'm on a high salary etc and studied here etc etc. So, I'm well established. Essentially whenever people say stuff like that, alarm bells start ringing for me.

Am I seeing it too black and white ? It's just difficult when someone says stuff like this to someone who also came here..... as an immigrant...

That should read "overt racism and xenophobia...'

I've had that too from a good friend who I thought was an intelligent woman. But one day she went off on this big rant about how immigrants were ruining the country, bringing in their weird food, strange religions, not wanting to conform etc etc. And then added "but not you! You're just fine!". Yup, because I'm an immigrant.

You have asked fair and real questions but you won't get a straight answer from the those crying "racism" and "let as many come here as possible". This post may get removed but imo the people I have just responded about probably do NOT live in an area that is now populated almost exclusively by people from other cultures and/or countries. Over the years I have witnessed many inner city areas change due to immigration, so much more traffic, parked cars blocking narrow streets (terraced houses), and a lot of rubbish piled up in the street. There's no integration in these areas - fine - but even this type of community will feel the force of growing numbers - if not now but some time in the future.

YANBU
She is a Racist ☹️

Yes! 100%! this ^ well said

I was having a similar conversation at work this week with a colleague who I usually get on well with, we were discussing the worrying financial situation, energy crisis, impending recession etc. and how we’ll all cope and she started spouting exactly the same bigoted rubbish! I just changed the subject and moved on.

This!

I'm not friends with anyone who holds beliefs that I find detestable (such as blaming people for trying to come to the UK when there is no legal route to apply for asylum from abroad). It's personal choice who you like and don't though!

This. I am done tolerating the intolerant. I don't owe anyone who expresses bigoted views the benefit of the doubt, and I don't have to listen to their detestable opinions out of politeness or embarrassment. If people like OP's neighbour are entitled to express their racist or xenophobic opinions then I'm entitled to decide I don't want to hear it and choose not to interact with them again.

Those who are coming over on the boats do not have any other means of applying to live here. They cannot apply for asylum without landing on our shores, because our government won't let them fill in the paperwork and apply outside the UK

If the government won't let them fill in the paperwork then they should not be forcing it anyway. They are safe in France, they are not at risk of anything. I'm shocked that saraclara and others continue to justify this illegal activity

People with an iota of a social filter will keep their big mouth shut but unfortunately that's rare. Everyone has a right to their opinion and think it's fine to inflict their inner thoughts on others. They even think it's OK to give their unwanted opinion when they haven't the foggiest who they're talking to, what their background and family origins are etc. tedious in the extreme.

helped by the Border Force and RNLI

The activity of the Border Force and RNLI in this respect should be stopped immediately

Over the years I have witnessed many inner city areas change due to immigration, so much more traffic, parked cars blocking narrow streets (terraced houses), and a lot of rubbish piled up in the street.

I took a little wander to the cul de sac I used to live in as a child more than 40 years ago, when I lived there, not one family had more than one car, all of which were parked on the drive. Now the whole street is used for parking , cars parked on the kerb the whole way round.
The terraced streets you describe would have the same problems regardless of the nationality of the families living there, they were built at a time before cars and I don't think car ownership is the sole preserve of immigrants ?
When I was a child, the bin lorry came every week, now its once a fortnight and the amount of rubbish we produce seems higher now ? Back then there was very little packaging, milk was delivered to the door in glass bottles, at home, terrys nappies were the norm, any newspaper was rolled tight and used to make firelighters for the coal fire, making a meal from scratch was the norm because there was little alternative.
Small town in a fairly rural county with low immigration figures, so I don't think you can blame the few immigrants in the area, for the increase in traffic/lack of GP services/waiting times at A&E/rubbish etc. The town has grown massively in size and there have been no new schools built, no additional GP surgeries, even fewer hospital beds than when I was a child, rubbish collection services have reduced.
The family next door has 5 vehicles, non of them are immigrants and all need those vehicles for work reasons. The adult children would love to own their own homes or be able to afford to rent, the thing that prevents them isn't housing being taken up by immigrants, but the real cost of housing in this area and the relatively low wages, which given inflation being what it is, are worth far less than they were.

Yes but there is no knowing how many people will continue to come and no way to stop it, it seems.

This is a good question. Do you remember when it started ? people travelling across the channel in boats that is ? It is a fairly new phenomenon. What happened prior to that ? Do you remember people trying to get onto lorries and through the tunnel ?

What happened that mean't that this became the new norm ?

Yes but why isn’t the Scottish referendum seen as xenophobic or racist?

@FinallyHere high rents are due to landlords leaving the market and there now being not enough supply to meet demand (simple economics of scale). There are 34% less available properties than in previous years.

This isn’t due to immigration, it is due to government creating overbearing legislation that leaves landlords feeling that they are no longer in control of their own assets and that it is simply no longer profitable for them to provide housing or they are risk averse if the consequences of doing so in some cases.

1. a lot of people have crowed for years about how people should not make money off the back of providing basic needs.
2. others have crowed about how landlords stop people owning their own homes because they buy up stock and inflate purchase prices overall

Both if these are short sighted views that government hides behind to avoid being held accountable for the current housing crisis. Because landlords are not the issue, the lack of available housing at the level required for the population is the issue.

So, the bottom line of this post is the same principle as housing/renting. Immigration is a convenient thing for government to hide behind to not have to face their own failings. Rinse and repeat for most political matters ad infinitum…

What really needs to happen is that we need to politically wipe the slate clean and have a government that work for the people and the country to meet their/it’s needs. To achieve that the lot of them need to go and fresh new blood is required with a more rounded view rather than a bunch of back slapping secret handshaking Etonians and if you think any party is any better than the next that are vying for the top spot at the moment you’d be very badly mistaken! Our country currently has no real hope in politics.

I like immigration. As a higher earner, I benefit from it. buT mass immigration from poorer countries has depressed wages for 10+ years so I can see why large swathes of people are against it.

Plus if you look at it more objectively, 1.5 million brits are spread across 28 EU countries. But from Poland alone there are 1.5 million in just the Uk. Can you imagine if 1.5 million brits moved to Poland? 🤷‍♀️

So add onto that the Romanians, Bulgarians etc etc and the number gets higher. Of course it may have dipped since brexit. But let's not pretend it didn't have impact and negative impact on some.

Correction - 1million

I wouldn't like this either. I'm not an immigrant or anything either, just can't stand people with this kind of attitude. Like, bordering on Britain first ,edl kind of attitude. Disgusting. I hate how people are so entitled, no one chose to be born here or there or anywhere, we all get what we are given, for some reason some people think they have more right to be somewhere than others . If I lived in a war torn country or one dominated by men or crazy dictators I'd want to leave too.or just anywhere where I wanted or needed a better life for myself or my children.
YANBU

They are safe in France, they are not at risk of anything

You don't know what you're talking about. Having worked with children and teenagers who have come here from refugee camps in France I can tell you categorically they are not safe. The things that go on in those places are terrifying.

I have some friends who grew up in London with me. Loved the “melting pot of cultures”. Moved to tne Home Counties and had kids. They have a great life. All their friends are middle class, John Lewis shopping, whose people. Their children have only white friends. It’s very white white white.

yet they still harp on about the shit they read in the guardian. Xenophobia and how we should have open borders and how mean it is to expect people to not live on benefits and blah blah blah. But obviously all those people from abroad should carry on living in the inner cities where housing, healthcare and school places are sparse. Because we wouldn’t want them inconveniencing the nice local village life.

it would be so nice if many of tne open borders crowd could spend 2 years living in one of the areas that are actually accommodating the people who are moving here. Maybe you won’t be so holier than thou when your kid can’t get a local school place and you can’t see a doctor. But yay, anyone who doesn’t agree with open borders is a bigot.

So move to another part of France?

May I add that for incomers, however they arrive here, who show a willingness to learn and integrate, we do encourage and offer opportunities to learn our language and customs (as do other countries) and encourage social integration and free training in any number of jobs/careers/ professions. It's my experience, that our hospitality to those less fortunate, is to be respected, if not admired. We do our best but there comes a point when it's obvious that the infrastructure is creaking and we are having a hard time supporting the many who are already living here. That point cannot be ignored.
We must look directly at the reason why the UK in general and England in particular, are the primary target of these incomers.
Not to do so, or to skirt the issue is not a good idea.
It's because our rules and laws are too lax, our borders too vulnerable, our benefit system seems generous (not to those who live here, I add) and we don't come down like a ton of bricks re expelling criminals and those undeserving of a better life, as do Australia, New Zealand, Canada and some other countries. I'm all for encouraging immigration of the right sort from any country, race, gender, sex, ethnicity etc and totally against unfettered/uncontrolled, illegal immigration from anywhere and of any race, colour, gender, sex.
We all have friends, people we choose to have in our lives to add something and we let go of those who drain our resources, whether mental, physical, financial or material.
We, as a country, must follow that pattern.

Just for a moment, let's imagine that geography was different. That the UK was the first safe place that asylum seekers came to. Would you feel the same then? That they should all stay here, even though a proportion of them want to go to France? Or would you want France to take their share rather than sitting smugly on the other side of a sea barrier saying "nope, they're safe with you, we're closing our borders"?

Many many asylum seekers DO stay in France. But some don't.

The activity of the Border Force and RNLI in this respect should be stopped immediately

You want the RNLI to stop saving lives at sea ?

waiting lists are nothing to do with immigrants it's to do with 1. NHS being understaffed

So at what point will the NHS will be adequately staffed if the number of people continue to increase without control? Where's the limit?

it would be so nice if many of tne open borders crowd could spend 2 years living in one of the areas that are actually accommodating the people who are moving here. Maybe you won’t be so holier than thou when your kid can’t get a local school place and you can’t see a doctor. But yay, anyone who doesn’t agree with open borders is a bigot.

I'm pro-immigration and have spent a lot longer than 2 years living in areas with a larger than average immigrant populations. Any problems I or others might have accessing public services are due to the Government systematically starving those services of funds, not because of immigration. We've had over a decade of ideological austerity imposed on us by successive Conservative governments and it is well documented that immigrants put more into our economy than they take out. So your position on immigration isn't logical. If you take against entire communities and blame them for systemic failings that are beyond their control for no logical reason then don't be surprised if others consider your views bigoted.