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It's not an issue. I could walk into Europe because my passport allows it. For the US, it'd be an investor visa. It's social/family life I'm thinking about. English is the language of international business, so work would never be a problem. But as far as social life goes - I'd hate to live in one of those expat huddles, living on the periphery of things.
I was just curious to hear about people experiences of trying to move deeper into Europe, or whether it's easier to try the US.
Those expat huddles do exist........and they are packed, packed, packed with English.
This American, the Germans, the Ukrainians, the Russians don't live in those huddles (good word, by the way.) The other Europeans dive into the local language...its just the English that huddle in their gilded ghettos and want everyone to speak English to them.
Pfffffffffffffffffffffffffft! to that.
As for the U.S.....read C-D forums for a start to hear about social/family life in the U.S. Start browsing through some of the U.S. state forums to what's being discussed about life in their towns. I don't really think that this is the forum to get best acquainted with life in the U.S.
BritishExpats.com Has forums regarding different parts of the world, such as European countries, and the United States. Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland are discussed as well.
There are articles that deal with practical issues. For example, in the United States a Brit will have to learn how to "drive on the wrong side of the road".
Last edited by Tim Randal Walker; 05-22-2016 at 05:06 PM..
Getting ahead in life, economically at least, generally means having some post-secondary level education and some professional credentials. Unfortunately, these aren't always "portable"... it can be difficult to have credentials recognized in foreign countries and it can be a bit time-consuming. This is simpler if you're moving between English-speaking countries--it's less of an issue among Australians, Americans, Canadians, etc.
If you go to a vastly different country from the one you're from, you'd stick out like a sore thumb socially--it might be tough to integrate well. Another hurdle.
If you were interested in moving to a random foreign country with the intention of "getting ahead", it's hard to see how someone could manage it without already having an education. Unless you had some funds or a way of furthering your education in the destination country.
Of course, if you hunted around to find out what types of businesses or industries were looking for employees in the destination country, you could get some training or experience before going there. That could be a decent strategy.
Moveable did mention an investor visa. A glance at some web sites indicated that to qualify, the investor must have sufficient capital for the business.
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"“If a thing loves, it is infinite.”"
(set 2 days ago)
Location: Great Britain
27,175 posts, read 13,455,286 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Greysholic
Out of topic but I know this guy from Northern Ireland who never shuts up about how great the UK is and how high the social mobility is in the UK. Now I'm not British so I don't know if that's the case (nor do I care really) but the way he talks about it is just so ****ing annoying.
/rantover
The UK does not have high social mobility rates, in the past it was a very class ridden nation and although things have changed, both the UK and US have nothing to shout about in terms of social mobility rates. However at least I acknowledge this, in terms of the US the whole country was built on the premise that any one can make it and the so-called American Dream.
Last edited by Brave New World; 05-23-2016 at 02:27 AM..
The UK does not have high social mobility rates, in the past it was a very class ridden nation and although things have changed, both the UK and US have nothing to shout about in terms of social mobility rates. However at least I acknowledge this, in terms of the US the whole country was built on the premise that any one can make it and the so-called American Dream.
It's just his problem. He also loves to brag about how great the British passport is and crap (seriously who does that?), and everything wrong with it 'is not that bad' (like the CCTV). He's just a really annoying person in general.
Economic mobility has improved in the "BRIC" countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China) at least for the poorest segment of society. There are more people lifted out of extreme poverty who can now earn a living, even if the income is quite meagre by Western standards. The same is true in other parts of Asia and South America too.
People in extreme poverty have a strong incentive to work hard to improve their living situation.
I sometimes wonder if people in the U.S. have grown accustomed to less social mobility and have sort of accepted it. Not that social mobility doesn't exist at all--many immigrants still start with nothing, work hard, and the next generation "makes it" into the middle class. For non-immigrants, there's a larger underclass that kind of accepts that that's where they're destined to live their lives. I can't understand where their motivation went.
If you check some statistics, Canada actually still has decent economic/social mobility in contrast to the U.S., but a good post-secondary education is a lot more affordable and accessible here. Trades opportunities and job training in general seem to be more of a trend here.
Status:
"“If a thing loves, it is infinite.”"
(set 2 days ago)
Location: Great Britain
27,175 posts, read 13,455,286 times
Reputation: 19466
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greysholic
It's just his problem. He also loves to brag about how great the British passport is and crap (seriously who does that?), and everything wrong with it 'is not that bad' (like the CCTV). He's just a really annoying person in general.
LOL - sounds very annoying.
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