Why move to the US?
#91
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 265
Re: Why move to the US?
Because for me it was
never being told I could not do something I wanted to do
never being told I did not come from the right background (social class)
never again having to listen to the teacher laugh at my best friend when my friend said he wanted to become a commercial airline pilot
never being told I did not go the right school
never being told I missed my chance to get higher education
never being looked down upon because of my working class background
never having to listen to that tripe about one's station in life or lot
and so on, I could go on.
Mind you I have been in the USA for > 30 years and I suspect attitudes in the UK have changed some
never being told I could not do something I wanted to do
never being told I did not come from the right background (social class)
never again having to listen to the teacher laugh at my best friend when my friend said he wanted to become a commercial airline pilot
never being told I did not go the right school
never being told I missed my chance to get higher education
never being looked down upon because of my working class background
never having to listen to that tripe about one's station in life or lot
and so on, I could go on.
Mind you I have been in the USA for > 30 years and I suspect attitudes in the UK have changed some
I myself wouldn't want to live anywhere else, especially when I go back to England every few years I can't wait to get back here, no middle class snobbery here , people don't care if you work at McDonald's or clean houses for a living.
The only problem will be when the Obama health care takes effect next year, that will be the downfall of this country, it's going to be socialized health care no matter what there trying to call it, where do people think all this money's going to come from to pay for it....working class taxes of course.
#92
Re: Why move to the US?
Very true, there's still a lot of middle class snobbery in the UK, they don't know what hard work is, most are on benefits but still take a holiday every year because with benefits they can afford it. So why come to the US they would have to work .
I myself wouldn't want to live anywhere else, especially when I go back to England every few years I can't wait to get back here, no middle class snobbery here , people don't care if you work at McDonald's or clean houses for a living.
The only problem will be when the Obama health care takes effect next year, that will be the downfall of this country, it's going to be socialized health care no matter what there trying to call it, where do people think all this money's going to come from to pay for it....working class taxes of course.
I myself wouldn't want to live anywhere else, especially when I go back to England every few years I can't wait to get back here, no middle class snobbery here , people don't care if you work at McDonald's or clean houses for a living.
The only problem will be when the Obama health care takes effect next year, that will be the downfall of this country, it's going to be socialized health care no matter what there trying to call it, where do people think all this money's going to come from to pay for it....working class taxes of course.
I don't see the UK as (currently) any more or less class-ridden than the US, in some ways the social infrastructure (NHS, taxation, public transport, etc) seems to make it less so.
This free glossy gets delivered to my apartment block.
http://www.nobhillgazette.com/
At the same time, I trip over several homeless on the 4 block walk to my local shops.
#93
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 41,518
Re: Why move to the US?
Well there is plenty of snobbery in Calabasas
#94
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Why move to the US?
I myself wouldn't want to live anywhere else, especially when I go back to England every few years I can't wait to get back here, no middle class snobbery here , people don't care if you work at McDonald's or clean houses for a living.
The only problem will be when the Obama health care takes effect next year, that will be the downfall of this country, it's going to be socialized health care no matter what there trying to call it, where do people think all this money's going to come from to pay for it....working class taxes of course.
The only problem will be when the Obama health care takes effect next year, that will be the downfall of this country, it's going to be socialized health care no matter what there trying to call it, where do people think all this money's going to come from to pay for it....working class taxes of course.
#95
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 12,865
Re: Why move to the US?
This free glossy gets delivered to my apartment block.
http://www.nobhillgazette.com/
At the same time, I trip over several homeless on the 4 block walk to my local shops.
http://www.nobhillgazette.com/
At the same time, I trip over several homeless on the 4 block walk to my local shops.
#96
Re: Why move to the US?
That may be true, though I doubt it, but see what happens when it gets out that you live in a trailer! .... The impact is goong to be much worse than saying you live in a council house.
#97
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 265
Re: Why move to the US?
Actually it's quite interesting how someone who hasn't lived in the UK for 30 years, followed by someone who hasn't lived in the UK for 40 years, both see the UK as class-ridden. I seem to remember that Steerpike who moved to the US 20+ years ago also had the same thoughts (although he was a frightful northerner).
I don't see the UK as (currently) any more or less class-ridden than the US, in some ways the social infrastructure (NHS, taxation, public transport, etc) seems to make it less so.
This free glossy gets delivered to my apartment block.
http://www.nobhillgazette.com/
At the same time, I trip over several homeless on the 4 block walk to my local shops.
I don't see the UK as (currently) any more or less class-ridden than the US, in some ways the social infrastructure (NHS, taxation, public transport, etc) seems to make it less so.
This free glossy gets delivered to my apartment block.
http://www.nobhillgazette.com/
At the same time, I trip over several homeless on the 4 block walk to my local shops.
#98
Forum Regular
Joined: May 2012
Location: USA
Posts: 265
Re: Why move to the US?
You sound a but snobbish yourself, thinking that only people that live in trailers work at those jobs....
#100
Re: Why move to the US?
Equally, I don't know what bit of the US you are in, but if you think there is no snobbery then you really need to open your eyes a bit, or expand your experiences, if you really think that the working poor are to be found in the same social situations as middle class.
#101
Re: Why move to the US?
I have to say, I quite like seeing it on the doorstep - 5 minutes of entertainment about what the NorCal royalty have been up to. WTF they want their photos in a magazine like that always astounds me, no class whatsoever.
#102
Re: Why move to the US?
I didn't say anything about what job you do - my point is that you could be a lawyer or a brain surgeon, but if you live in a trailer the part of the US population that doesn't will look down on you.
#103
Account Closed
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 760
Re: Why move to the US?
You are so very true! some of the Americans i have had contact with can be utter snobs and id go so far as to say that quite a few Americans think very highly of themselves
#104
Re: Why move to the US?
While both the UK and US have snobbery and class issues, the semiotics is different, completely different language of signs and cues. This results in people who have experienced class prejudice back in the UK not experiencing it in the US. I have personally found it quite marvelous (I think I have become more aware of how it was in the UK, by being exposed to its absence). It is of course a mistake to assume that because an individual no longer experiences or perceives it, that it does not exist. You have to learn a whole new language of those signs and cues.
#105
Re: Why move to the US?
While both the UK and US have snobbery and class issues, the semiotics is different, completely different language of signs and cues. This results in people who have experienced class prejudice back in the UK not experiencing it in the US. I have personally found it quite marvelous (I think I have become more aware of how it was in the UK, by being exposed to its absence). It is of course a mistake to assume that because an individual no longer experiences or perceives it, that it does not exist. You have to learn a whole new language of those signs and cues.