Yorkieabroad

Somewhere in the not too distant future someone is going to make a lot of money franchising "piercing reversal outlets" to fill in those giant earlobeholes when their owners finally grow up and realise a) what total and utter twunts they look, b) that in a fight, having handy finger sized holes on the side of their heads is not a stunning idea from a tactical viewpoint, and c) their career options are being restricted by boring old fuddy duddies who have some old fashioned notion that attorneys/accountants/business execs/doctors etc should at least make an effort to look like fully developed grown ups instead of mentally stagnated teenagers. They will probably offer package deals along the lines of "have 2 holes filled and get a facial tattoo removal for free!"

Sally Redux

Sorry this is a thread about America, but a lot of shop assistants here seems to be heavily tattooed/pierced - even middle-aged mum ones in M&S.

lizzyq

That sounds somewhat obscene

Pulaski

I prefer my idea, #300 above, of just selling them for their scrap value.

phodg

Apparently one of the fastest growing businesses to be in is tattoo removal these days. Tons of people got them to be trendy in the last 10 years and now they hate them.

Yorkieabroad

They'd be dead easy to collect as well - just sneak up behind them, thumb through each side and pull. Reminiscent of beer chugging contests at Uni when the winners were invariably the ones that could open the old fashioned ring pull cans ambidextrously.....allegedly....

Yorkieabroad

Yes, I'd read that too...in fact, I think I read that it is not only the fastest growing, but that removal is actually the largest part of the market - may be wrong there though....

Apparently its a lot more painful to have them removed than it was to have them in the first place...

SultanOfSwing

That's what I've heard, too.

Sally Redux

There's a shop near here offering both tattoos and tattoo removal.

My husband had to go to one of those courses at work about recruitment and apparently asked about facial tattoos and piercings (I didn't know he was bothered about them). He was told he couldn't take these into account for recruitment.

Yorkieabroad

Easy to say, a lot harder to turn off the "first impression"

Sally Redux

I think his concern was people representing his group at international meetings and so on.

carolina212

Funny how things work! Never say never and all that -- I like these stories about romance and love that lasts!

Yorkieabroad

They don't have to if you don't recruit them....and if they do something silly once in, well, then there's a choice to be made on the make-up of the representation team....by then he'll have a better idea as to whether their ability overcomes the fact that they are going to look like a knob-end. Or not...

Dewey

Yes. NY Senator Gillebrand in her recent book described how shortly after they moved to the DC area her British husband Jonathan felt miserable stuck at home with the kids in the inner suburb of Arlington, VA, so they moved to Capitol Hill where she could be nearer work. He got a job in his finance field so now he's out of the house and working at something he enjoys.

TMR

Just wanted to thank everyone again for their helpful responses. I really appreciate it!

I've taken on board the various opinions expressed here. My wife loves life in London too. She's a senior analyst at an investment bank (Morgan Stanley) and was offered a promotion back in NYC due to the size of their operation there. She was headhunted straight out of Harvard so her entire life post-21 has been focussed on her career. The idea of hitting a ceiling in London does cause her some anxiety.

I've explained that America isn't for me. She understood and agrees that what Europe offers in exchange for her career prospects more than makes up for it. I think we'll be staying.