Quora Question: "Why aren't most Brits that interested in living and working in the US?"

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Why aren't most people in the UK that interested in living and working in the US? Most British would rather opt for EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Dubai, rather than trying the American Dream. Only Wanted Down Under is featured on the BBC.

Mark Pitt, lived in The United Kingdom (1975-2000)

Updated Sep 4

1. Yes, I live in ‘Murica. It is not for everyone.
2. Get used to CAPITALISM. There are no safety nets here. You want a job when you get here? Wait tables for a while like I did, then use your qualifications and networking skills to be hired. Not everyone will jump at the chance of employing a Brit, just because you are a Brit. It took me eight years of networking before I became successful.
3. America is not waiting to welcome you! It is a melting pot. However, if you have skills that people want, you will do well. However, that four week’s holiday you get? Say goodbye.
4. Your health insurance payments will be over $400/month with employer subsidy. Without this? Good luck. America has NO health safety net and the system is catered to those who can pay. If you’re not insured and you get sick, you may have to declare bankruptcy.
5. You will have to drive everywhere. Public transport is BAD, outside of NYC, Chicago and LA. You will need one car per family member. No walking to the pub. No popping out for a pint of milk.
6. You have to ‘learn’ America. It takes years, not months. You will NOT understand the culture when you get here, so don’t try. Just assimilate naturally and over time.
7. The American Dream STILL exists. I worked 70 hour weeks for ten years to achieve what I would consider to be successful. Even though I have everything I want, materially, you WILL miss family, you will get homesick and you cannot just take a vacation. Oh, I also laugh when my former UK collegues say that they are stressed! Yup - 13 weeks off? Major stress ;)
8. Time off is not federally mandated. I get one week off per year, otherwise, if I need more, I pay for an additional three weeks myself.
9. Universities are corporations. You will pay tuition and cost of living far in excess of the UK. You think 9k a year is bad? Try $40–75,000 per year. More if you attend an Ivy League school. Many universities have TV rights for their football coverage, memorabilia etc. Many have legacy funding from alumni, but some of these institutions make more money than some Fortune 500 companies. Oh, and they pay no tax! They would rather sell caps, shirts and MONEY than lowering costs. It is a scam.
10. Money rules everything and everyone. Eg: At Omaha airport, you cannot take a COKE through security. However, the vendors that SELL coke beyond security, have their coke bottles scanned BY the same fucking TSA people and their machine! It’s a money thing, not a security thing! Americans buy this shit! If you ask questions, see point 34. There is no reason, nobody can explain it, it is just how it is!
11. Homes are not built to last. Roofing is designed to last 15 years, so that a roofing company can charge about $5000 to replace the shingles (which is the underlay of a UK roof). It is just designed to help the economy function and not designed to make a roof last. Siding is not brick, but wood and/or vinyl. A heavy storm will blow the house down - literally.
12. There is a national divide between the Democrats (socialists?) and the Republicans (far right which would make Thatcher look like a liberal). Now, the divide is such that families and friends are not speaking to each other. This decade has polarized the country.
13. Religion is a mega-corporation. Some pastors, such as the sanctimonious Joel Osteen, make millions from ‘god’. The problem is that if you are an atheist, you may face ridicule and/or discrimination. The first ‘black’ President was one thing. Now let’s wait for the first atheist President. CHURCHES ARE TAX-FREE - RELIGION IS BIG BUSINESS!! Pastors advertise their churches on billboards - WTF? There are a whole shelf load of religion (Christian) mags at the local grocery store. I confuse them when I ask for Islam Life!
14. Freedom of Speech is fine, unless a person disagrees with you - then you will be cited as unpatriotic and even a traitor (as I have been cited on this forum). Note Goebbels in WW2 - it is the same thing here.
15. America does not care about the Paris Accord. Yes, we recycle, but the Chinese, to whom we sent the recycling, have refused more. What happens now? Oh, who gives a fuck?
16. Do you call 911 for an Ambulance? $600 bill.
17. Did you get to the Emergency Room with a heart attack? Make sure you have your credit card. Sure, you WILL be treated, but then the bills come in and the collection calls will start. The system is WRONG!
18. Hundreds of thousands of people across this land are addicted to prescribed medication and other drugs. That is OK - the doctors and pharma’ companies are making money. Lots and lots of money. Pill mills in Florida are booming!
19. Dr’s are treated to bonus payments and vacation trips for ‘selling’ brand medications.
20. Medications are advertised on TV - just like washing-up liquid. Then the commercial spends half of its airtime telling you how the medication may kill you! WTF? Lawyers.
21. There is one system of class here - those that have money and those that do not - Good luck with that.
22. The news is biased - no impartiality exists. FOX News = PROPAGANDA.
23. Animal rights? You wanna see 1000 chickens traveling in the back of an exposed truck to their miserable death? Come here. It is FUCKING DISGUSTING but McDonald’s needs their meat.
24. TV is NOT free. My friend’s cable bill is $200/month WITH adverts.
25. Healthy food is expensive. Corn is subsidized in the USA but vegetables are not. A 50p bag of sprouts in the UK is $3.99 in the USA. However, a 99c burger in the USA is perhaps $1.99 in the UK- DOUBLE. I supersized a meal in Omaha for 99c and gave it a colleague. 2000 calories? About four pounds. Enough fries for two. THREE burgers stacked. Yes., I had a coupon.
26. Rarely will you hear news about countries beyond the USA. NPR does a good job but normally, the news is parochial and designed the keep the viewer watching. The ‘predator’ in your child’s neighborhood could be a stray raccoon! The word ‘predator’ conjures up much more.
27. The legal system is GREAT - if you can afford it. This is a litigious society and the opportunist WILL sue McDonald’s if they spill hot coffee on themselves. “Contents are hot!”. How about the person who sued Disney because their kid saw “Mickey” without his Mickey-head costume on? Seriously? Ambulance chasers are two-a-penny and yes, sometimes people will brake harshly so that the car behind will ram into them; resulting in compensation for whiplash, lost work, etc.
28. America can be a FABULOUS country if you are on the right side of it. However, you need to be ALL-AMERICAN, STAR-SPANGLED AND ALL GOD-FEARING and apathetic about the rest of the world. If you can live with this, then this is the place for you. Don’t believe in a GOD? Well, good luck with that.
29. You will learn to love the USA because of its beauty, its super-friendly people and its opportunities. I have done well here. However, afford criticism of its disastrous healthcare and its avoidance of any environmental responsibility, then you’ll hear crickets.
30. Think of the USA as a popular teenager in high school. It’s GREAT when everyone lauds and applauds, but when the going gets tough, it becomes defensive - very defensive. IT WANTS AN OOMPA LOOMPA!!
31. This century, two Presidents have lied under oath - Nixon and Clinton. If leaders of the United States can lie, while under oath as leaders of the free world, then what DON’T we know about their underlings? Is it any wonder than ‘American Conspiracies’ is one of the most searched terms on the web? I simply ask the question?
32. The right to bear arms was an amendment to the constitution designed to protect Americans’ property, families, etc. It was written in the days of single-load muskets. Today, school shootings, concert shootings, and mass shootings have happened due to this spurious and archaic legislation - some, using automatic, multi-load-multi-fire military-grade weapons. Americans carry guns - this is a fact. Do you want to have a traffic altercation? You may die. Do you want to live here? You may be shot. The odds are just higher due to this DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
33. If you have the money, you can buy your way out of a crime. Think O.J Simpson. “If the glove doesn’t fit, you must acquit…” RIP Johnny Cochrane.
34. Service is great in private industry, but many government workers are rude and unhelpful. Social Security? Driver Services? TSA? ICE? Good luck. Oh, and they’ll employ the AEMS - The “American Elected Mute Syndrome” if they’re questioned. They “plead the 5th!” in the event that they say something that could get them sued, or fired, or both.
35. Theft within companies is rife. However, if you accuse a thief and cannot prove it, the thief can and will sue the company for defamation. You have to be able to prove that you can prove it!
36. This is a country of fifty shades of grey. Legally, ethically, morally and politically, you just don’t know which way is up sometimes. Contradictions abound, up to the “Pussy-grabbing Pres’” who also believes in God (?). One Nation Under God? Well, it would cost a lot to reprint the money if we had an atheist President. God’s sheep live in America, whoever God is?
37. Ten percent of responders will tell me to GO HOME because not everything here is star-spangled fucking awesome.