[bad_user]

The problem is highly skilled Europeans can also get those jobs elsewhere. Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Munich, Stockholm, Copenhagen, etc.

And if somebody is willing to suffer through bureaucracy and be humiliated in that process, for a city that has an insanely high cost of living, then why would people go to London instead of San Francisco or New York?

The problem with leaving the EU is that the EU provides competitive advantages and opportunities that are now going to be gone.

Plus that referendum is signaling to me, an European, that I'm not wanted there. Oh and I'm also a Romanian and we've been used as scapegoats in the UK's anti-immigration campaign. Don't think that I'm going to forget that easily.

[smcl]

I really feel for the raw deal Poles, Romanians and Bulgarians have had in the UK media. People act like these are primitive countries with hordes of would-be immigrants desperate to take advantage of the UK's "generous" (HA!) benefits system ... and it's simply not true. Charlie Brooker had an excellent piece on the news coverage, once the EU restrictions were completely lifted in the last few years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jai4v4aNe-s

[noir_lord]

My partner is Hungarian, I'm English - the atmosphere in this country is fucking retarded, she has a degree in international finance and is just finishing qualifying as a ship broker, her education level exceeds mine and nearly everyone I know, she's lived here for 10 years, always paid taxes and is raising her son here but somehow she's a problem.

In the longer term we are looking at a move to Germany as she speaks fluent German (she worked as a translator), Hungarian and English and I'm a programmer.

I've never been particularly proud of been British (I didn't get to tick a box saying where I wanted to be born) but these days I am ashamed.

[thriftwy]

That's how the life in the world with borders is. Anywhere in the world.

The situation when the color of your passport is more important that any of your eduction, qualifications and experience is the rule, not an exception. It is how the world works by default, for people outside IT, and for most people inside IT too.

I'm kind of annoyed how people from first-world countries are suddently striken with this revelation when it suddently affects somebody they know, shows how blind they were when it didn't.

[avh02]

My favourite thing has demonstrating to people how complicated it is for me (non-EU/UK) to go just about anywhere from the UK as a base (brexit makes no difference to this).

I originally wanted to live/work here, to the extent of job hunting and getting offered a job - I decided not to go ahead because I would have to go through hell every time I wanted to take a break/vacation and go somewhere.

Living/working in the schengen zone means I can just hop on a plane/train and go to a variety of places. Why wouldn't I do that?

[Silhouette]

I don't know your situation, but I can't help thinking that some of the attitude you describe is more perception than reality.

One of the things even our current government has managed to say reasonably clearly is that people from the EU who are living and working here legally today will be welcome to stay post-Brexit. They're quibbling over details, because that's what politicians and diplomats do, but I don't think anyone serious is suggesting that someone like your partner or her son should lose out here.

Similarly, there are some very nasty racist/xenophobic people in the UK, and sadly there always have been, and it looks like there are similar unpleasant undercurrents in various other places around the EU as well. However, exactly none of the Leave voters I know would be among those people. There seem to be plenty of reasons people voted Leave that have nothing to do with the immigration issue or somehow wanting to "throw out" citizens from other EU states. One group of people I talked to before the vote were even tending towards Leave for exactly the opposite reason: they had nothing against reasonable immigration, but didn't see why the EU should have an advantage over, say, someone similarly qualified or connected but from the US or Australia, and they wanted the whole immigration and visa system to be forced to update for the 21st century. (Possibly an optimistic view of the likely outcome, but a reasonable enough position in principle, IMHO.)

I am not ashamed to be British because of the Brexit vote, but I am sad about how it's been portrayed particularly in the media and by a rather unpleasant part of the Remain contingent online, because I think it makes some people feel far less welcome here than they still are by most Brits.

[jdiez17]

This is exactly how I feel about the whole Brexit mess, as an European that is working in the UK. For me, moving here was as simple as getting on a plane and handing my Spanish identity card to a customs officer. This is my benchmark for the post-Brexit immigration system: if it is one iota more inconvenient for an European like me to move to and work in the UK, I will pack up my stuff and go somewhere else, because I would not have even considered coming here in the first place if that was the case.

Like you said, there are plenty of other places full of smart people in Europe. I feel strongly about doing this as a political statement, or "voting with my feet". In Spain, brain drain is a serious problem that politicians pay attention to, so maybe it will give the UK's negotiators some pause when thinking about this.

[blibble]

so you're going to punish the brexit voter by doing exactly what they want and leaving

good job

[lou1306]

Well, if what they want will harm them long term, why not?

[user5994461]

>>> Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Dublin, Munich, Stockholm, Copenhagen, etc.

All cities that have another language than English, and don't have a quarter of the jobs in London.

>>> San Francisco or New York?

It's impossible to get VISA to live and work in the USA, for an European. Americans don't seem to realize how closed their country is.

[petagonoral]

You do realise Dublin is in Ireland and they speak English natively.

Also, one can easily live in Berlin with just English (as long as you don't need to interact with government too much)

[avh02]

or you know, live a little and learn a language (or enough to get by).

[thriftwy]

Maybe what you are describing is in fact a good thing?

London gets correction on its growth, rest of the UK sligtly benefits by getting industries back which can no longer be served from within EU. Which will lead to slowdown or reversal of inequality growth.

[slashdotdash]

The remainder of the U.K., outside of London, has a larger dependency on the EU. These regions will suffer disproportionately more than London.

"In particular, Northern Ireland (the UK’s poorest region), the North East (England’s poorest region) and the South West (Southern England’s poorest region) appear to be the most dependent on the ability of the UK to trade in goods with relatively few restrictions with other EU countries." [1]

[1] "UK regions, the European Union and manufacturing exports" http://speri.dept.shef.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Brie...

[thriftwy]

I can feel the pain with regards to Northern Ireland.

Though, it's hard to justify how Northern Ireland happen to become the UK’s poorest region, given how Ireland is more prosperous than the UK by the numbers.

The whole situation is hilarous IMO.

[tonyedgecombe]

If I thought that was going to happen I would have voted for Brexit, if we go through with it the regions are likely to suffer the most, in particular car manufacturing.

[poooogles]

>for a city that has an insanely high cost of living, then why would people go to London instead of San Francisco or New York?

Because that's even harder. The American visa system is even more insane than the UK one. I'd love to move to California (if only for a couple of years) but it seems to be totally impossible when it comes to a visa.

[D_Guidi]

Yep, but you can choose Berlin, Milan, Madrid

[charlesdm]

The problem is that those are not native english speaking countries.

Barcelona is a great city, but if you don't speak any Spanish and/or Catalan (and don't intend to learn) then good luck building a life there. Life is more than work. The ability of the general population to speak acceptable English in say Spain, is abysmal.

And it's like that in many EU countries. The same applies to Paris, Munich, and Amsterdam. Some cities and countries are easier to live in for English speakers, and the UK in combination with Ireland is probably a prime example.

[GlennS]

As a British person (who voted to remain), this makes me really sad to read. I think immigration helps to keep society from stagnating.

I feel like the UK will be diminished, and that it will have deserved it.

(Currently working on emigrating.)