mrken30

I have been considering moving back to the UK in a few years. However I have started to see tweets against white Americans and telling them to go home. My kids have American accents and I do not really want to subject them to this kind of environment. However Twitter is not always the best source of information. I was wondering if anyone had any experience of this kind of thing happening in the UK.

spouse of scouse

I returned to Oz late last year, after living in the north west of England for 3 years. Never heard or saw anything like that. The Americans we encountered in pubs (white and black) were treated like Australians, exotic and interesting, and we'd invariably get a few rounds brought for us while being peppered with questions about our country.

Dorothy

We just spent a month in the UK and being Canadian my accent is often mistaken for American. In all places we went I never saw or heard anything that sounded even remotely lije what you're describing. Locals in the pubs we went to were really friendly all across northern England and throughout Scotland.

Moses2013

If you go by Twitter the whole world is now racist. How does a Polish person feel in the US and how do Scottish people mange in England? I'm sure you'll hear horror stories and others only had a positive experience. If you are interested, this is a very good article about British living in Ireland https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-...lish-1.4054045

Cape Blue

Just keep away from Guardian-reading liberals and you'll be fine.

scrubbedexpat142

and brexit orientated threads on BE!

BritInParis

Depending on their age they’ll probably get ribbed at school for their accents but I’d hardly call that “racism”.

LARAHTX

I just came back from the UK/ Europe. I didn't encounter any racism while in the UK.

I usually talk to locals and they cant really pin point my accent. I haven't had any problems with racism just the normal coldness that I've gotten use to.

But while in Italy.. I was told "Go back to your country you Mexican wetback.." all because I was bargaining the price of a tote bag lol.. wowza..

durham_lad

Pollyana

Lets face it, that even happens to kids moving within the UK!

Britishbitz

Happened to me when I moved to Australia with mum back in the 90's I came home from school in tears after my first day at an Aussie school. Kids can be cruel :/

UkWinds5353

Based on my experience there shouldn't be any major concerns you will need to prepare for guard against. My wife is British, I'm American and our three sons are American born with dual citizenship. We recently spent nearly two months in the UK and other European countries and to be honest being an American was a plus in several ways. Our accents definitely brought a lot of attention to us but it was very favorable. Our 15 year old made friends quickly and many of the other youngsters were curious about him in part because of his accent. I don't think you'll have any major problems but if you want to error on the side of caution just be mindful before picking which neighborhood to select. Btw, I had my share of beers bought for me once a few very kind brits found out I was American. Of course I returned the favor.

Good luck!

lansbury

When we lived in the UK Mrs L was badly assaulted while shopping in Uxbridge one Saturday. Some guy didn't like her accent and punched her in the head several times. It was the only time in the ten years she lived in the UK anything like that happened, usually she got special treatment being American.

The guy that did it was stupid enough to do so in front of the town precinct CCTV, and it didn't end well for him.

scrubbedexpat097

Wow! That is awful. I hope Mrs L wasn't hurt too badly.

My son moved back to the UK 10 years ago after being in the US 20 years. He moved to Cambridge which is very much a multi culture city so he blended in immediately. Strange thing though he still sounds more Texan than we do after 30 years here.

UkWinds5353

The Texas accent tend to be a bit deeper than most southern versions, which mean it might have staying power.