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It's not the first time the thought comes to mind, and there's many reasons for it - As most of you know, I'm Portuguese, and despite the great culture, people and history we live in a shithole economy with over 40% youth unemployment according to some statistics - Minimum wage is stupidly low for the cost of living (even if the cost of living is low as well) and I basically need to work 8 hours a day 6 days a week to be able to barely survive, not to mention our successive governments have been successfully increasing prices and goods that were once considered first need are now luxury products. I'm trying to take a degree in Law, but even so most degrees are basically useless because there's too many people finishing them and most will be underemployed which is bad as well, not to mention the fact some employers don't hire bachelors/people with degrees for jobs that are lower paid (like working in a supermarket)
Oh, and most employment contracts for young people like me are temporary, meaning I need to submit myself to a shitty schedule and work for some time without knowing when I will be fired but knowing I will be and I'll be back to the same shitty hellhole.
I have some relatives and friends who work abroad as immigrants and sometimes come back home on vacation, most on France, a few on the UK and Switzerland - Those seem to be the most common destinations for Portuguese people who want to immigrant, and it works well for them - In France, many immigrants do jobs like cleaning people's houses that pay quite decently - My girlfriend's biological parents are uneducated and cant' do a lot of things, in France her mom works as a maid and her stepdad as a construction worker, they earn far better than here and have better living conditions, they even got a nice BMW truck.
I'm not a fool, and I know immigration is not a ticket to paradise or anything, but right now I'm just looking for something to change the pace and that pays off decently, just enough to live and enjoy the casual beer. The place I would most likely go is the UK because I have a friend in London and they speak English, which is a huge advantage because, without meaning offence, I've always hated learning French at school and never quite got into it - My dad lived in France for 5 years and while he integrated later he had bad experiences in the beginning because French people sometimes see Portuguese immigrants as rednecks and discriminate against them.
Brits, how is life in Britain right now, and in London if someone can fill me in? Do Brits treat Portuguese immigrants well? How much quality does a lower paying job allow people to have?
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
I'm not in London but if you speak English most people in the UK won't care where you come from. (Although as with every country we have a few bastards too).
(August 20, 2015 at 12:44 am)Ashground Wrote: I'm not in London but if you speak English most people in the UK won't care where you come from. (Although as with every country we have a few bastards too).
I don't think they're bastards for it.
We got 'nuff immigrants over here. But one that comes from Portugal is far more tolerable than any of the current brand of shitstains we have rolling in from the Middle East.
It's not the first time the thought comes to mind, and there's many reasons for it - As most of you know, I'm Portuguese, and despite the great culture, people and history we live in a shithole economy with over 40% youth unemployment according to some statistics - Minimum wage is stupidly low for the cost of living (even if the cost of living is low as well) and I basically need to work 8 hours a day 6 days a week to be able to barely survive, not to mention our successive governments have been successfully increasing prices and goods that were once considered first need are now luxury products. I'm trying to take a degree in Law, but even so most degrees are basically useless because there's too many people finishing them and most will be underemployed which is bad as well, not to mention the fact some employers don't hire bachelors/people with degrees for jobs that are lower paid (like working in a supermarket)
Oh, and most employment contracts for young people like me are temporary, meaning I need to submit myself to a shitty schedule and work for some time without knowing when I will be fired but knowing I will be and I'll be back to the same shitty hellhole.
I have some relatives and friends who work abroad as immigrants and sometimes come back home on vacation, most on France, a few on the UK and Switzerland - Those seem to be the most common destinations for Portuguese people who want to immigrant, and it works well for them - In France, many immigrants do jobs like cleaning people's houses that pay quite decently - My girlfriend's biological parents are uneducated and cant' do a lot of things, in France her mom works as a maid and her stepdad as a construction worker, they earn far better than here and have better living conditions, they even got a nice BMW truck.
I'm not a fool, and I know immigration is not a ticket to paradise or anything, but right now I'm just looking for something to change the pace and that pays off decently, just enough to live and enjoy the casual beer. The place I would most likely go is the UK because I have a friend in London and they speak English, which is a huge advantage because, without meaning offence, I've always hated learning French at school and never quite got into it - My dad lived in France for 5 years and while he integrated later he had bad experiences in the beginning because French people sometimes see Portuguese immigrants as rednecks and discriminate against them.
Brits, how is life in Britain right now, and in London if someone can fill me in? Do Brits treat Portuguese immigrants well? How much quality does a lower paying job allow people to have?
That's a brave move. More power to you! If I were you, I'd do it quickly before the Conservative government change the immigration rules or opt out of the EU. They plan to make things far more difficult for prospective immigrants.
Generally, life in the UK's not too bad. We're a tolerant nation with a broad range of immigrants from all over the world. The National Health Service is taking a hammering at the moment but is still one of the best in the world. Likewise, the education system is becoming more expensive to the user but still ranks pretty highly. 'Austerity politics' is reducing earnings in the lower-paid demographics while simultaneously driving up the cost of living. There's been a bit of a swing to the political right in recent years, largely driven by misrepresentation of immigrants (some political parties are using them as scapegoats for our financial troubles ) . As mentioned by Tubby, the cost of housing is forced up by a major shortage across the country; you'd need to make sure you secure accommodation before you move and beware of dodgy landlords. London's the most expensive place in the UK. My neck of the woods (Norwich, Norfolk) has the 2nd highest concentration of Portuguese people (~15,000), has the benefits of high employment, good wages (3rd highest average disposable income per household in the UK!), low crime, good schools/universities, friendly people, good social life but suffers from high rents (nearly as high as London), poor public transport, a detached County Council and is 2 hours from London (that's a loooong time on our trains!).
(August 20, 2015 at 6:57 am)Ben Davis Wrote: There's been a bit of a swing to the political right in recent years, largely driven by misrepresentation of immigrants (some political parties are using them as scapegoats for our financial troubles )
At the risk of derailing this thread, exactly what misrepresentation and by whom are you referring to, specifically? Can you give examples?
August 20, 2015 at 8:05 am (This post was last modified: August 20, 2015 at 8:10 am by Dystopia.)
(August 20, 2015 at 12:44 am)Ashground Wrote: I'm not in London but if you speak English most people in the UK won't care where you come from. (Although as with every country we have a few bastards too).
I hated learning French too. I spent 5 years of high school learning it but now I remember just a few words, a massive waste of time.
The rule is that speakers of Latin derived languages have trouble learning other latin derived languages if they learn English first - That was my case, I had a problem with pronouncing French words with an English accent and trying to replace words with English ones - Best example is "Je n' speak French"
I'm not so sure about your first rule - I mean, in Portugal we say we accept all immigrants as well and that's the perception people have of our own society, but the truth is that if you're a black immigrant you'll be massively discriminated and the same applies if you're gypsy - In fact, people will never see you as a Portuguese, just as an immigrant, even if you've been living here for 500 years.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
(August 20, 2015 at 12:44 am)Ashground Wrote: I'm not in London but if you speak English most people in the UK won't care where you come from. (Although as with every country we have a few bastards too).
I don't think they're bastards for it.
We got 'nuff immigrants over here. But one that comes from Portugal is far more tolerable than any of the current brand of shitstains we have rolling in from the Middle East.
Alright, thanks so much for classifying me as "far more tolerable", that's lovely.
Quote:That's a brave move. More power to you! If I were you, I'd do it quickly before the Conservative government change the immigration rules or opt out of the EU. They plan to make things far more difficult for prospective immigrants
Unfortunately I don't plan on doing it anytime soon - I mean in the next 2-3 months, it will at least take me half a year, probably more, and even so it's just an idea - I have a preference for the UK compared to France and Switzerland is placing restrictions on immigrants, not to mention that you work massive hours there to save enough money and return Home - Thanks for providing all the useful tips, I'll look into that Austerity problems seems to be the same as with Portugal and Spain, costs going up, wages going down, it sucks, but keep in mind that compared to what I'm used your lowered wages and risen prices might be a better option.
Quote:At the risk of derailing this thread, exactly what misrepresentation and by whom are you referring to, specifically? Can you give examples?
There's politicians who blame immigrants for most economic problems, which is stupid - Yes, there are immigrants who plan to live on welfare and commit crimes or even trafficking children etc and there's immigrants who want to work and have a good life.
Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you
August 20, 2015 at 8:12 am (This post was last modified: August 20, 2015 at 8:14 am by Ben Davis.)
Derail accepted! There are the obviously bigotted, generalised views of immigrants presented by the likes of UKIP, EDL, Britain First, the Daily Mail and others who are the main users of 'scapegoat' tactics: blaming immigrants for the rise in unemployment ("They took our jobs!"), housing problems ("They took our houses!"), welfare costs ("Immigrants claim loads of benefits!"), educational standards ("Immigrants are taking over our classrooms!") and other wildly inaccurate & overly-simplistic, crackpot claims (who can forget that Daily Mail headline "Flights & Buses Full! Romanians head for the UK!" that landed them in front of a tribunal).
Then there are the more subtle misrepresentations offered by main-stream politics & media: that immigration costs the country more than it earns, that there's not enough room in the UK to fit all the immigrants, that large proportions of European populations want to emigrate to the UK, the NHS can't cope with the influx, 'Call me Dave's' Calais comments. These are factually inaccurate but more subtle and difficult to find the data on so a surprising number of people think that 'immigration is a problem' in the UK when quite the opposite is true.
) . As mentioned by Tubby, the cost of housing is forced up by a major shortage across the country; you'd need to make sure you secure accommodation before you move and beware of dodgy landlords. London's the most expensive place in the UK. My neck of the woods (Norwich, Norfolk) has the 2nd highest concentration of Portuguese people (~15,000), has the benefits of high employment, good wages (3rd highest average disposable income per household in the UK!), low crime, good schools/universities, friendly people, good social life but suffers from high rents (nearly as high as London), poor public transport, a detached County Council and is 2 hours from London (that's a loooong time on our trains!).
