UK Politics

I left the US during Obama's time in office, and for family rather than political reasons, but I've found that the quality of life here is excellent. My advice: avoid London, which is insanely expensive, overcrowded, polluted, and full of money-grubbing finance weasels and slimy foreign oligarchs and those who pander to them. Also, London has too many Americans from the finance sector, so Americans are not well-liked there. I live in the South West, which has (by English standards at least) good weather, beautiful and varied countryside, and down-to-earth no-bullshit people. Also, their accent is less abrasive than many in England.

With England, there's London, which is an international hub city, then there's the rest of the country. They're not the same. Make sure to experience both before deciding.

And yeah, you don't need to learn a new language, though cultural norms are different and it takes a while to understand the unwritten rules.

No language barrier and free healthcare are two huge incentives. I admit, we're going to hear a lot about him, but at least he won't be the prime minister.

Me neither but if you can't get to New Zealand or, possibly, Ireland it may be better than staying put.

Dunno, it feels like rich Yanks are what got everything to this point.

Yeah. If you accept any of our billionaires onto your shores, be sure to eat them promptly. They spoil quickly, and it makes a mess.

How about we grant asylum to Americans who are at the greatest risk of persecution?

At the moment that includes well educated Americans, so that could work.

Can ypu afford that?

Thanks! Getting a child visa for my kid is not going to be a problem, but getting a family visa so my wife can come over and look for work once she gets here is a giant pain in the ass, so hopefully Starmer will do something. I'm not especially confident that he will, but we can hope.

I won’t hold my breath but I will be keeping an eye on this.

Yeah, Starmer's reply utterly dodges the issue. While there are good grounds for making some immigration easier he has said he'll get the numbers down, so any slackening of the laws now would get him (another) kicking by the right wing media.

There's different numbers from different places, depending on if they're just looking at full time only or including part time, employees or all incomes, and if they're looking at individuals or households.

(All numbers below are approximate)

From a vague mish-mash of sources, in the UK, an individual income of about £80,000 (about £55,000 after Tax & National Insurance) puts you in the "top 5%" of earners. 95% of the country earns less than you. That may meet many people's definition of rich.

About £100,000 per year is "top 2%" and it's about £160,000 to be "top 1%" (those "one percenters" we used to talk about).

Where you consider "rich" to start is a matter of personal preference.

Many people use personal measures like "twice what I earn is rich", regardless of how much they earn, so for example, an average person in the UK with an income of about £30,000 (~top 50%), may feel a £60,000 (top 7%) earner is "a rich, la-de-dah bastard", whereas the £60,000 earner feels like they are "just about managing", but feels that someone on £120,000 is "a poncey rich twat".

I wonder though if Davey is thinking more of the "1% of the 1%" millionaires etc.

The piece says:

UK immigration lawyers said earlier this week that they have received a spike in inquiries from “mobile, wealthy individuals in tech, law, and the arts” who are “worried about socially conservative policies that Trump could introduce once in office” so they are wanting to move to other countries, such as Britain.

So anyone doing well in those industries.

You are joking, right? While tories are fucked up reactionaries, in the US you only have two parties: centre-right and batshit crazy far right.

Fuck that. I'd want the Irish to let me have a passport because my closest Irish ancestor is my great-grandfather. I'm three quarters Irish but most came over during the Potato Famine.