Originally Posted by Desdemona (Post 9153292)

We can argue till the cows come home, but these are the fact of life as far life here in the US. I've never heard an American complain, they work hard to earn a decent wage, have little vacation time but have no real grouse as long as they are working at something and have a decent lifestyle. Which is what we do have in this country. And I've never really heard of Americans leaving in droves for foreign shores because "the grass is greener".

Originally Posted by Giantaxe (Post 9153394)

Lol. That certainly used to be the case. One could have a very comfortable life in the US with little education and employment in the kind of sectors we've been discussing. It's increasingly less the case as jobs get off-shored, social mobility decreases and the cost of healthcare and education continues to increase at a rate far higher than inflation. It's no surprise that an increasing proportion of welth is now in the hands of a small percentage of the population. Perhaps if Americans weren't so docile and actually stood up for their rights - ironic eh? - they wouldn't get trampled on so much in the employment field?

Originally Posted by Gabgoeshome (Post 9153434)

I think that is because many Americans have no idea there are any greener grases ...

Originally Posted by Gabgoeshome (Post 9153434)

I think that is because many Americans have no idea there are any greener grases ...

From dot, Americans are bought up to believe America is the best Country on earth ,and (apparently) the only free one lol !

I know we have already touched on this many times ,not an earth shattering point -but I am always surprised how cocooned many of my American friends and family are .

However,I have loved many, many aspects of my life here ...some things are going to be hard to replace elsewhere :)

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl (Post 9153466)

IMO many of the Americans who post on here are well aware of green pastures elsewhere. Unfortunately there are wannabe Brits who love to sit on the fence and stir the pot.

Originally Posted by Desdemona (Post 9153439)

Once again, I am forced to agree with you :( My brother is once again the case in point. Graduated September of 2009 with a degree in IT but still to break into the field of his choice. He languishes in Hawaii in a dead-end job making application after application looking for that elusive first job which even in better times is hard to come by. Like I said, he doesn't complain but I can only guess at how he's feeling while he tries to stay on top of his student loans.



True. They are probably better off than those saddled with crippling student loans.

Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills (Post 9153590)

Well if I was going to languish anywhere, Hawaii would be a good place to do it. :lol: Maybe he'd have more luck on the mainland.

Originally Posted by nethead (Post 9152884)

I think it's obvious that employers that treat their staff well, have higher productivity and company loyalty. It's not very productive if you keep having to train different people in the same job over and over again is it? Not to mention the cost of advertising positions, interviewing etc etc.

Originally Posted by Kaffy Mintcake (Post 9155537)

That's a good point. I work for an employee owned company. As a brand new employee, you have 3 weeks of vacation. After three years, you have four weeks of vacation. In addition we have an option that allows you to either "buy" or "sell" a week of vacation ... basically you can take an extra week unpaid or get paid for one week you don't want (if you so choose).

The company isn't perfect and there are days when I find it frustrating (that's just work I guess) but our turnover is crazy low. I don't think that's a coincidence.