Racism in the UK
 

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.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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

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and brexit orientated threads on BE!

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

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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..

Re: Racism in the UK
 

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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

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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 :/

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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!

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

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

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My whitish in skin tone in the winter and very brown in the summer half British, half Mexican, brought up in the US and American-sounding son seems to be capitalizing nicely on his American accent - it seems to come in useful both for chatting with girls and for giving presentations in class. No prejudice issues there. The only issues he has had have been town/gown issues (Portsmouth FFS, not Oxbridge) but not too much of that, and some British white nastiness towards some British black people. That last one blew him away, since he had never encountered it in the UK before although he was very familiar with it here.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

Your poor wife. Did anyone come to her rescue?
That is so unexplainable on most every level. Was the neighborhood a challenging place? Is this a reflection of the crime rate in that London area? Did the authorities send that perpetrator for mental health examination?
A preexisting mental condition is the only thing that would make sense. So sorry your wife went through such a horrifying experience.

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She was badly bruised and had concussion, but fortunately nothing broken.

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At least in the north-east UK I can say generally Americans and Canadians are not only treated politely but people seem o have a lot of goodwill towards Americans, and always wanting to ask questions about America .

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Our situation in visiting the UK for nearly two months is different from living in that place because you don't have sufficient time to see the good bad and indifferent. But honestly we did not experience any negative feedback at all. No bad attitudes directed at us because we're American, or anger at us which sometimes can happen due to people attaching a bias at a person because of the actions of that person's government. Which is kind of weird since a great many people in America don't even vote.

We found brits to be friendly in most every area of the country. But our most memorable encounters took place in Manchester, Liverpool, Brighton Beach, Glasgow, and Edinburgh.
We had several very friendly encounters in London despite the fact that most huge cities in the world are usually not friendly places. New York city being one of them and yet I have found some extremely kind people there as well. I was thinking the family dynamic(seeing a family with kids) might be partly responsible for Brits being more open to us. But truth is I encountered the same kind treatment even when out on my own.

There are always going to be a few people that will dislike you for a great many unreasonable explanations. Because you're attractive, or in their opinion not their cup of tea. Because you are viewed as using the system, or because you have a few nickels to rub together. Or because you have a natural tan, or because you're a quiet conservative person and not always open and talkative. There will be a few people that will not like you for being an American or Canadian. But that will not matter.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

Uxbridge was never a challenging place. It was one of the nicer parts of Hillingdon. It was in the run up to Christmas and busy with Christmas shoppers, the guy was just your average thug who thought lashing out was the acceptable way.

Re: Racism in the UK
 

How old are your children?

Most kids I know of pick up the new accent pretty quickly. Someone once told me that they move before the age 11 they naturally adopt the new accent quickly. After 11...it’s up to them, but I think many do and find it easy to do so.

My daughter was 11 when we moved to NJ. She was 18 when she moved to Toronto. Depending who she is speaking to, she speaks with one of the 3 accents. During the first parent/teacher meeting at high school, her class teacher was amazed to find out we were British. :D

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My son was 10 when we moved to Australia abd within 6 months sounded like he'd been hereall his life. My daughter was 12 and still sounds Canadian. Albeit with a bit of Australian in there. She's mistaken for Irish (so am I though) a lot.