hereandthere

I disagree strongly with this. The vast majority of British go to Australia and think only of Australia. Hardly any British people have substantial links in the US and I would be very surprised if the majority of British people looked into moving to the US first. In fact it just isn't the case.

50% of British emigrants go to just four countries, Australia, NZ, France and Spain. Canada is next and then the US. I would be very sceptical that this is simply because they cannot get in to the US. Most go to Australia because they have so many family and friends there and this creates a cascading effect.

Many British people would never move to the US because of the healthcare issue alone, and also many have a prejudiced (and wrong) view of the crime there. My best guess is that if they could get into the US, the order would be Australia and NZ first, then the US/Spain, then France and then Canada. But it's speculation!

Once in Australia I think it's Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Hobart, and then Darwin. Not sure where Canberra fits in.

Oink

I really disagree with this. Most British would rather go to the US but because they lack the education or technical job training then they have to go countries that don't require such highly skilled workers, like Canada or Australia. Those countries need less skilled jobs like bricklayers and lorry drivers and policemen whereas the US only wants the cream of the crop and not dropouts. But it's speculation!

chrisfromusa

Exactly the point I was trying to make

Oink

I thought it might have been.

hereandthere

No way. Most British people do not have the first clue about how different life in the US is, knowing it only through Hollywood films. The reality is very different. British people have a long relationship with Australia in particular and massively more contacts with Australia. Australian and British society are much more similar to each other and Australia has an excellent healthcare system which British people are used to.

Furthermore, Australian immigration requirements are changing radcially now, and it is getting harder for the lower skilled workers to get in, as Canberra is slowly shifting the emphasis to white collar workers.

I don't know how intelligent you are or how well-travelled you are because I'm not very familiar with your posts, so I'm not sure how to read your last sentence which is both inordinately ignorant and offensive. Perhaps it was supposed to be funny, in which case I would suggest the use of an emoticon to make your point clearer. As for the "drop out" comment, considering most British people in the US are there because they met and married a bored loser on Chubs4Marriage.com I would keep quiet on the subject. The massive number of American and Canadian professionals who live and work in my part of Australia would also take exception to being described as drop outs.

Speculate on that.

Novocastrian

It is exactly the point you made. Word for word. Do you lose your sense of humour (sorry humor) as soon as you go to the USA or does it take a year or two?

Oink

I certainly didn't mean to be offensive, sorry you took it that way. I was merely trotting out the same old baseless, nonsensical and overly generalized drivel that masquerades as factual reason in this thread. I thought it must all have been a joke, as no one could take these positions as anything other than that.

hereandthere

Sure. A lot is drivel, yes. I think the point that Australia would remain more popular than the US stands up to scrutiny though. My reasons for saying this are that the main considerations of immigrants are work, healthcare and living standard, and in all three consideration Australia leads the US. It has much lower unemployment, a much more comprehensive healthcare system, and is No. 2 and on an upward trend in the UN's human development index, as opposed to the US which is at 13 and on a downward trend.

You could argue that if you're really rich in the US your standard of living would be higher, although I would say not necessarily, and also, we must look at the levels of the general society, not just niche quarters, because this informs crime levels and so on.

I think another way of looking at it is that many British people have a completely delusional way of looking at the US, informed mainly by programmes like the OC or Hollywood films. The reality is very different. The US is in decline, and its projected population I think is supposed to be 450 million by 2050. This population increase will not be accompanied by a concomitant increase in infrastructure because of the ball-busting US national debt. This means living standards are going down. Also, the US is changing demographically. In 2050 30% of the population will be Hispanic, or 135 million people. Despite the propaganda, Britain is about 85% - 90% white, and most British people grow up in white-centric cultures. A move to the US would confront them with an increasingly different culture to integrate into.

So the well-informed British emigrant would be smart to move to Australia over the US, is all I'm saying - not for the cultural reasons because many successfully move to Spain, but for the economic factors.

EasyRider

I understand where they are coming from. I have a question-- does it hold true for the province of Quebec (Montreal, Quebec City)? Who can tell?

I'm almost certain not, I'm in Vancouver and I'm looking to escape this awful, cold, almost Darwinian social culture of narcissism and segregation. Very antisocial existence, there are no interesting real communities worth mentioning or common bond here. Some thrive in all that, but it's just not my cup of tea. Comparing to Europe-- life's totally antisocial here. I think the OP who has sent this is from Western Canada, likely Vancouver.

I'm honestly tired of wasps and protestants with their live-to-work corporate-brainwashed culture with cities that leave impression of large labor camps after you actually try to "live" there for a while with some cheap entertainment thrown for color.

I just wanted to confirm-- is Quebec culture so different from the rest of Canada? I'm looking for a place in Canada where people are actually lively and laid back (not lazy or dumb like so many in Vancouver), can have genuine fun and can let go (not these stiff anglo-saxon parties with pretend fun) and people talk to each other on the streets. I've heard Montreal is much like Barcelona which would be great. Why would I stay in Vancouver then?

As for Vancouver I can't wait to leave, the place is seriously messed up socially and politically. People are backward and aren't able to work together and cooperate efficiently which has come to limelight during this Olympics-- scandal after scandal, poor planning, organization and implementation. Everybody just seems to want to escape any responsibility "I'm done-- F.U. attitude" and walk over the others heads at any cost. Very backward society-- back to the caves, I'd say. I like this post I found and resonate with it pretty well:

dboy

what a bunch of crap.

Oink

Its all crap.

dboy

he pulls a bloggers comments and then spins it into his own post? Vancouver can be a tough a place at times and I certainly agree it can be overly provinical and backwards at times, but come on FFS, give me a break!

EasyRider

Go F yourself, buddy. I need reply from those who can relate. Others don't need to reply.

dboy

What are you 20? Vancouver is a city for grown ups, i suggest you go and play somewhere else. and perhaps next time you can post you own comments instead of pulling a blogger's post, spinning it around and trying to act intelligent with big words.

And if you don't want a reply don't post. Grow up.

EasyRider

What? It's you acting like have never finished high school. I think what you're really trying to say is that Vancouver is a boring mediocre backwater, but can't admit and say this here 'cause of all bunch of your complexes? Are places like New York, Chicago, Montreal for "grown ups" as well or Vancouver apparently got a leg on these places?

Weak.