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Old 09-25-2015, 12:42 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,654 posts, read 60,300,578 times
Reputation: 101014

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Quote:
Originally Posted by newdixiegirl View Post
Ya might wanna reconsider moving to Texas, then, cowboy. You ain't gonna get 2 months off there!

It's a whole different life over here.
My husband and I live in Texas. He gets two weeks off every month. That's right - 26 weeks off a year. Of course, he works two weeks straight, but that two weeks off each month is really nice.

When I worked in banking, I got four weeks of paid vacation - plus twelve holidays. Plus two weeks of sick leave if I wanted or needed to take it. In Texas. So actually that's over two months of paid vacation a year. In Texas.
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Old 09-25-2015, 06:23 AM
 
63 posts, read 61,263 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by KathrynAragon View Post
My husband and I live in Texas. He gets two weeks off every month. That's right - 26 weeks off a year. Of course, he works two weeks straight, but that two weeks off each month is really nice.

When I worked in banking, I got four weeks of paid vacation - plus twelve holidays. Plus two weeks of sick leave if I wanted or needed to take it. In Texas. So actually that's over two months of paid vacation a year. In Texas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mag3.14 View Post
That is a lot even for the UK. The US is terrible for time off - the average is 3 weeks but it is changing. I work for a company where we can take whatever off so long as we get our work done, plus the work environment is a little more chilled than the companies I worked for in the UK. I'll probably take 25 days this year plus Christmas and thanksgiving.
That's interesting. I figured it was going to be a stagnant standard to have two weeks of vacation time or under for practically most jobs here. My mom works at FedEx and has been a loyal employee there for 20+ years and only gets about three weeks-worth of vacation time tops, excluding holidays (the big ones like Christmas and Thanksgiving, which only allow 2-3 days of time)
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Old 09-25-2015, 09:22 AM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,638 posts, read 28,461,518 times
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We are not hearing from the average American worker who gets two weeks off. Also most Americans might get Christmas Day but not the day before or the day after. Also New Years Day but not before or after. Easter is on a Sunday anyway and no days off around it.

But I think the UK could be sliding down the same abyss. For example dh's son works in some restaurant pub chain over there and he is working 14 hours a day at times. Gets a day off and gets called to come in because somebody is staying out. Not much choice but to say yes or he could get fired. No overtime either.

And what's it all about? Greed and money. Are the ceo's working on the holidays?
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Old 09-25-2015, 09:33 AM
 
14,249 posts, read 17,855,882 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
We are not hearing from the average American worker who gets two weeks off. Also most Americans might get Christmas Day but not the day before or the day after. Also New Years Day but not before or after. Easter is on a Sunday anyway and no days off around it.

But I think the UK could be sliding down the same abyss. For example dh's son works in some restaurant pub chain over there and he is working 14 hours a day at times. Gets a day off and gets called to come in because somebody is staying out. Not much choice but to say yes or he could get fired. No overtime either.

And what's it all about? Greed and money. Are the ceo's working on the holidays?
Actually, I think you will find that most CEOs are workaholics and put in more hours than the average employee.
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Old 09-25-2015, 09:35 AM
 
Location: Itinerant
8,278 posts, read 6,237,592 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
We are not hearing from the average American worker who gets two weeks off. Also most Americans might get Christmas Day but not the day before or the day after. Also New Years Day but not before or after. Easter is on a Sunday anyway and no days off around it.
Actually you probably won't.

Employee average (mean) paid vacation is 2 weeks.

When you eliminate temporary, catering staff and any who are included in the "employed" but do not get any paid vacation, you'll probably find that most people who get paid vacation get more than 2 weeks. It's just the nature of the mean. For every two people getting 3 weeks paid vacation you need 1 person getting no vacation to achieve 2 weeks average paid vacation.
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Old 09-25-2015, 11:15 AM
 
Location: San Francisco
169 posts, read 167,343 times
Reputation: 320
I've experienced nothing but welcoming treatment when I've been to the UK. Now, of course, I was in London which is a giant, posh, progressive city, but still I encountered no problems being from the U.S. Additionally, I'm African American and I'll tell you, I was more comfortable around "random British person" than I am around "random U.S. person" but that's another thread for another day. I think most British people I met were more curious about my "American-ness" than my "black-ness". Maybe that's why I was more comfortable and felt more welcome there.

As with anything, I think if you go to another country and be nice and respectful no one will care where you're from. To be honest, I think actually "caring" about where you're from and what race you are is more American thinking than anything. So long as you're not stepping of the plane and screaming "U.S.A! U.S.A!" then I think anyone would be fine working and living in the U.K.
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Old 09-25-2015, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Northern Ireland and temporarily England
7,668 posts, read 5,239,232 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by in_newengland View Post
We are not hearing from the average American worker who gets two weeks off. Also most Americans might get Christmas Day but not the day before or the day after. Also New Years Day but not before or after. Easter is on a Sunday anyway and no days off around it.

But I think the UK could be sliding down the same abyss. For example dh's son works in some restaurant pub chain over there and he is working 14 hours a day at times. Gets a day off and gets called to come in because somebody is staying out. Not much choice but to say yes or he could get fired. No overtime either.

And what's it all about? Greed and money. Are the ceo's working on the holidays?
I don't think the forum members are indicative of normal American life by any stretch. At least from what i've seen and from what American relatives/friends have told me.
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Old 09-25-2015, 03:58 PM
 
5,606 posts, read 3,483,834 times
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The difference between holidays in the US and the UK is very easy to explain.
In the UK working conditions were fought for and achieved by trade unions committed to improving the working lives of their members.
Trade unions in the US were and still are run by gangsters looking to line their own pockets.
America's biggest union,the Teamsters,has never been more than a money laundering operation for the Mafia.
Google Jimmy Hoffa and you'll learn everything you need to know.
One of my best friends in the US is a Teamsters guy and he and everyone he knows is on the take.
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Old 09-25-2015, 06:40 PM
 
Location: near bears but at least no snakes
26,638 posts, read 28,461,518 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roscoe Conkling View Post
The difference between holidays in the US and the UK is very easy to explain.
In the UK working conditions were fought for and achieved by trade unions committed to improving the working lives of their members.
Trade unions in the US were and still are run by gangsters looking to line their own pockets.
America's biggest union,the Teamsters,has never been more than a money laundering operation for the Mafia.
Google Jimmy Hoffa and you'll learn everything you need to know.
One of my best friends in the US is a Teamsters guy and he and everyone he knows is on the take.
Could be. I know my dil in the UK got to stay home for most of her pregnancy and is still getting to stay home with the new baby. In the US, babies go straight into daycare in many cases. I don't know if her job is still paying her but I think it was during her pregnancy. Even her husband got a paid week off around the time the baby was due. Here, that would be rare, although very sought after.

Most people with full time jobs get 2 weeks paid vacation plus federal holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving, maybe Memorial Day in May and Veterans Day in November. But try to get a few days off around Christmas or New Years so that you can go anywhere and see family and it's not so great. For some, it is, for many, it's not. After putting in quite a few years these people can get three weeks off.

As for ceo's working so much harder for their money--it's not in proportion to the enormous amounts they make, in the millions. A simple social worker can work very hard, have a lot of stress and responsibility, few days off, and get really low pay.
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Old 09-25-2015, 08:09 PM
 
22,923 posts, read 15,372,431 times
Reputation: 16962
Quote:
Originally Posted by kyogul View Post
I'm interested in working in England when I'm older and perhaps even living there. However, the one thing that's a real turn off to me is the English's attitudes towards Americans or people of American descent. I've encountered really snarky, bitter responses to my nationality and others of the same descent as well. And online it's even worse; a lot of the comments I've seen here come across as disparaging and sometimes even hostile in the manner that some English talk to with Americans. I'm aware that Americans are stereotyped as being annoyingly jingoistic (which I agree with) and other stereotypes like being fat, lazy, stupid, etc. But I still see these types of comments directed towards Americans that don't even showcase these qualities. It's like I can't really catch a break with them. Now, I know not all English people are like this, but from my experience they've been an overwhelming majority and the tolerant/nice (towards Americans) to be an extreme minority. This is a concern for me because I'm worried that when (or rather if) I ever do pursue this and I go, that I won't be able to mingle in. Now granted I'm of course not one of these stereotypical Americans where I'm stuck in my ways. I don't have a problem adapting to my environment. Hell, I'm actually already doing it here (spelling things in the English way, like -ize -> -ise. It makes more sense phonetically)
Your fears are completely groundless.

There is all of that historical stuff associated with old Great Britain and the modern U.K and the USofA. All of that amounts to a hill of beans when it comes to what the two countries have in common.

The Brits are known for having an innate desire to test your mettle by taking-the-mickey out of you.

Show them a quick witty retort with a sense of humour behind it and you'll do just fine.

The world has had far too much of associating the actual citizens of a country with that countries fudged-up politics and foreign policies.

People are better informed now and have a better understanding of how the leadership of almost every country out there does not necessarily represent the will of it's people.

If just visiting and you meet that azzhat that is present everywhere then sure, you might get some undeserved obnoxious behaviour, but if you're there for the long haul and people get to know that, you'll as often as not, find them jumping in to put their nasty confrere in his place tuite-suite.

Fear not...no worse than that first day at kindergarten.
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