Will my life be better if I move to USA?

[Yatre]

I truly hate the UK class system.

I hate the whole private school vs grammar school vs state school elitism.

I hate the Oxbridge elitism and how Oxbridge-educated people dominate public life and the arrogance many of them have.

I hate the posh Etonians and Harrovians.

I hate the elitism of the Royal Family, the British aristocracy, all those titles and landed estates, the House of Lords etc.

Just the existence of certain British politicans (regardless of their politics - because this isn’t necessarily about their political beliefs) really irks me. Think David Cameron or Boris Johnson. Both upper-class, privately-educated, Oxford/Bullingdon Club, which have given them a great sense of arrogance about their position in life.

I hate the Oxford Union and the way they all dress up in posh attire, acting all special, and thinking their oratory skills will materialise into anything of worth.

This arrogance has been talked about before with many Brits believing that these Oxbridge, privately-educated, middle and upper-class people have the arrogance to think they have the right to run the country.

They’re present everywhere. Edward Davey, Keir Starmer, Suella Braverman, Tony Blair etc. it’s not just a right-wing thing. In fat, you could argue, these days, it’s more so left-wing.

Even successful British actors like Emma Thompson, Tom Hiddleston, Eddie Redmayne etc exhibit these attributes. They

I just don’t want to have to live in the same country as these types of people or listen to their antics.

Luckily, I’m a dual UK-US citizen since I was born in the US while my parents were living there for a while, but I have never been there since my parents returned and I don’t know anyone there.

I really want to move to the US.

If you know what it’s like to live in the USA, can you just tell me whether if I moved to the USA, I wouldn’t have to come across any of those posh, aristocratic, upper/middle-class, privately-educated, titled, Oxbridge graduate snobs that I mentioned.

I would live in a much more meritocratic country where nobody would tolerate Oxford Union debaters thinking their opinion matters or privately-educated people thinking they have a right to run the country.

At least Trump’s wealth or that of the Kardashian’s isn’t offensive to me because it just feels different - it doesn’t feel as layered and it doesn’t make them act as entitled or snobbish.

So, if I move to USA will I be free from these types of people or will I still see some of them/hear from them? I’m not sure if America is dominated by middle-class or posh, Oxbridge graduates or aristocrats.

Sorry for the rant. Just felt overwhelmed.

Have you ever heard the saying "Everywhere I go, there I am?"

Wow you just sound like you have a massive chip on your shoulder. I mean how does this class system affect your every day life? And why do you think these ‘posh’ people are so evil?
It’s interesting that you don’t want to live in a country ‘as these [elitist] types of people’ but then go on to name Trump and the Kardashians as not ‘offensive’ - I can’t think of many people with lifestyles so removed from your average American as those two families!
I have family in the States and grew up there myself. Why not go give it a try if your citizenship allows you to. What is your occupation? Hopefully you have a needed skill that will pay well because it’s not cheap and you need health insurance.
I live in London in a lovely neighbourhood of mixed race/nationalities. Our terraced street of three/four bed houses are all worth over £1m, so I imagine that the people who live here are reasonably successful (mainly young families as three very good primaries within walking distance, so not people who bought way back but more recently). I have no idea if any of them went to Oxbridge - after all most successful people didn’t - and it’s irrelevant where you went to university (or if you didn’t go at all) after your first couple jobs. But we are a friendly bunch. I’m not sure you get the same (racially) integrated neighbourhoods in much of the US.
Donald Trump and all recent presidents (Biden the exception) went to Ivy League universities. Eight past presidents went to Harvard, five to Yale (arguably the US equivalent of Oxbridge). But is it so surprising that top politicians went to the top universities of their countries?
I have a friend who is a lawyer and though brought up in Boston and went to a prestigious university, she didn’t go to Harvard, and said that made it hard to get a corporate law job there. Ironically she worked for the US government. She retired last year and could not wait to get away from it after Trump was elected.
But there are still a lot of great things about America and if you so despise England then why not go? It’s people who complain and moan but don’t do anything about their situation that are intolerable. Just choose your location wisely.

Medical care is super expensive and some of that money does reach nurses.

Despite those high salaries - that's still not enough to buy a house most places and attrition rates are comparable to the UK. So it may not be as good a salary in practice as it sounds. Where I live, a salary of 94k for a single person would qualify them for affordable housing programs (nurses tend to earn a bit more here but might still be under the threshold, especially if they have kids).

Although The American dream promises meritocracy, in reality, where university costs hundreds of thousands of dollars (granted aside from some scholarships places), do you really imagine that’s going to provide an even playing field?

You should read Michael Sandel’s The Tyranny of Merit. It’s mainly about the US (he’s American). It’s hard to measure ‘meritocracy’ but if you look at inequality America is a far more unequal country than the U.K. you’d be better off in Scandinavia.

How old are you…12?? Ffs grow up!

Laughing so hard at the idea that Trump’s wealth doesn’t make him feel entitled 😂😂

He’s the very definition of wealthy, entitled man.

@Yatrewhere in the UK do you live? I certainly don’t feel overwhelmed by the influence of Oxbridge and the Oxford union and I work in the university sector!

But yeah, if you hate the county so much so should probably move.

Look it's not like I like that kind of person either. Move away from the south and you'll be fine. I only encountered them at uni.

Although yes I admit that they're massively overrepresented in politics.

I know what you mean OP, although will say Starmer is an exception to the rule and to be honest most of his front benchers are. He went to Leeds uni which is a great uni but not Oxbridge.

I will also say I’m an academic and did research down in Oxford over summer. The place reeked of elitism. The actual academics I worked with knew it and were critical of it so I’m not saying regular, down to earth people don’t work there because they absolutely do. What I’m saying is the university owns half of the city and is also still funded in part by the slave trade. One of the bursaries they give to international students (some of whom will be from Africa) is from Cecil Rhodes’ estate. It’s disgusting frankly. They also still have the wanky formal dinners and don’t get me started on the matriculation process…

America is a different ball game though, I don’t think it’s the solution you’re looking for. Their vision of the American dream is built on colonialism, destroying the Natives, destroying the ecosystem, consumerism, corporate greed etc. Lots of literature I could point you towards but I will say a good one is actually JD Vance’s book. The guy had a bit of common sense a decade ago. He writes about how the system is set against people like him, hillbillies. It actually reads a bit like Gary Stevenson’s Trading Game which is another great book, insofar as pointing out economic inequalities.

Yeah because the US seems like a really calm, fair and tolerant society right now! 🤣👏

Why shouldn’t Cecil Rhode’s estate money go to students from Africa?

Come off social media and you'll feel better. There's plenty of elitism in the US if you decide to go .
Trump inherited his wealth, by the way.

I also hold US citizenship, OP, and have just returned from a visit. I agree the class system there is equally entrenched.

Do you line the idea of heavily armed, helmeted troops (National Guards, I think) patrolling the nation’s capital, a strongly visible presence at all the major symbols of Western democracy? I found it rather jarring.

BTW, Keir Starmer’s undergraduate degree is from Leeds.

Social mobility in the US is very low. Look at the statistics. They TALK about it a lot, the "American dream" is the foundation of their myth that anyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps, but the numbers tell a different story. You sound very naive and misinformed.

"Oxbridge people" - that homogeneous group of 50,000 people per year that are all exactly as you describe 🙄 rather than emigrating it might be easier to do some introspection on why you're so triggered by where some actors went to uni??

My brother is Oxford educated and earns £££££. Our dad was a semi literate builder.

You sound unhinged! Id rather eat my own toenails than live in the US.

I wonder if this is the same poster who didn't get into Oxford and kept posting thread after thread about it?

I love the idea that Trump’s wealth doesn’t make him ‘entitled or snobbish’. The man who is currently trying to annexe great swathes of the world because he wants to take control of its resources, and thinks his wealth means he can ‘grab women by the pussy’ because he’s rich, All perfectly normal, folks. Definitely not entitled.

OP, you know an awful lot about Oxford for someone so offended by the place. The vast majority of people in this country have never heard of the Oxford Union. Are you the poster obsessed with getting into Oxford University, to the extent she turned down a fully-funded access course at Cambridge? And you’ve just had another rejection, as it’s that time of year? It’s the only explanation I can see for this level of interest in a place while holding it in such disdain at the same time.

Also wasn't Cecil Rhodes involved in the slave trade ? In which case it's payback for his past crimes to pay bursaries for African students. (I maybe wrong, if so apologies. I just remember there was a school near where I lived called Rhodes Primary which the LA was considering renaming following the murder of George Floyd and BLM protests that followed.)

Off you go then, dont wait about- just go.

BYE!

What a peculiar thing to get your knickers in such a twist about!!

If you value people by their wealth the USA will suit you perfectly.

Cecil Rhodes was a monster. He'll be one of Elon Musk's great heroes.

Off you go then byeeee

Cheerio old chap

Is this a joke?

OP, I think you have PDS.......Posh Derangement Syndrome. Why are you so obsessed with it?