Questions about England

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

To answer your questions:

Hypocrisy is rampant everywhere across the world.  On the face of it you have a constitution in the US that guarantees your rights; there is none of that guff in the UK.

Politics - is just like in the USA, except the UK has no constitution, so they can make it up as they go along.  The UK is a parliamentary democracy, but the winners are determined by a first past the post system, those who come 2nd, 3rd get a round of applause and a kiss from their Mom and are then totally ignored by everyone for the next 5 years.

The UK has parliamentary committees just like the US does; these committees are formed from members of the elected parties, again, just like in the US.  Government is run by a "Cabinet"; these are guys who are the senior members of the ruling party; they set an agenda (a manifesto) when elected and there is pretty much nothing anybody can do to stop it while they have a parliamentary majority; at the moment the ruling party have a majority of >80; those that lost are a bit fed up about it, but I guess they should have tried harder at school.  The Committee's I mentioned report to the Cabinet, sometimes their reports are totally ignored.

I must declare an interest here; my wife and daughter are both nurses in the UK National Health Service. Healthcare is good in as much it's free at the point of delivery.  Of course it's not free, it's paid for from general taxation; we pay a lot of tax in the UK, which makes it a political football with every party claiming they are the saviour of the Health Service.  We pay for prescriptions (some exceptions, but if you're young and healthy, you pay).  You will not go into debt with the NHS here, nor will you be turned away if you are ill, but neither will you be turned away in the USA, but you already knew that, except the debt bit I mean.

Media - there are 2 kinds, news reporting and opinion giving.  News reporting is a dieing art, apolitical reporting has gone altogether; most are now opinion giving; if you happen to agree with them, you think they're great, if you don't, it's the opposite - sound familiar?

You should consider how you will qualify for a visa to live and work in the UK; you could be forgiven for thinking the UK doesn't like Americans. 

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hey Cynic

Thanks for the reply, it helps to get a general idea of what it's like in other places. All I know so far is I'm tired of the states and I'd like a change I'm just not sure where I could start.

Hi again.

You should also bear in mind that in the UK an Expat has no voting rights in Parliamentary elections; you'd be looking at least 5 years of residency before you could even apply for citizenship

Perhaps you should consider getting involved in your local politics where you live and try and achieve change there.

It says in your info that you speak Dutch; misschien en beetje in Nederlands proberen; word of warning, you'll just get me again.  The Netherlands is probably a little bit more social and politically to the left, but their Healthcare system is similar to the USA.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hey Cynic I've thought about what you've said and a bit more on what I want and I've boiled it down to this

I don’t want a country so politically divided it can’t function

I do want a country that understand there are differences but at least tries to make an attempt to reach a compromise

and from my own experiences I just don't think that's possible for the United States. I don't know if the UK is the right place for me I'd love to visit there someday and find out but right now all I can do is research from home and figure out what's different about the rest of the world.

Hi again.

Interesting - why don't you think the US is functioning?  More importantly, what makes you think that any other country is fundamentally any different?

Anyway, if you want to move anywhere, I can't think of any country that will give you a work visa just because you're fed up in the USA; you need to be attractive to them, and I don't necessarily mean look good (although that definitely helps in some places), so you need good qualifications, good experience, speak their language(s).  These are the things you need to consider; being a political refugee doesn't really mean much these days, there are millions of them already.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Hey Cynic

I could go on and on about why I think the US doesn’t function but to boil it down from my point of view fact has become irrelevant in the eyes of the American people and that includes our politicians. Our government is in the middle of fighting itself over how to handle the COVID-19 epidemic and has been fighting about it sense it first started.

As for whether I think it is better anywhere else. I do not know if it is better but part of me wants to hope that it is. So, I’m researching to the best of my abilities to see if things could possible be what I would consider better.

On the matter of visas, I know that no country is going to take me in just because I’m tired of my current situation and I’m working on trying to correct that. I’ve always been good with computers and am working to get my A++ certification which would allow me to work in several information technology fields. I’ve also pondered whether it would be possible to get a higher education overseas.

Hi again.

COVID - if you look at the reported numbers, the US has a better COVID outcome than the UK, and many in the rest of Europe.

I've lived and worked all over the world, have 2 passports and speak 3 useful languages; I've yet to find the Utopia you aspire to.  I'm now retired and live in the middle of nowhere in North Yorkshire - life is good here; whether you'd agree with me I don't know, but I suspect not.  If you think the UK is socially benevolent, it's not.

Visas/qualifications - Many countries have a visa system generally known as skilled-migrant, these are people who have qualifications or skill sets that are in short supply, so people who are doctors, nurses, engineers are almost certainly in demand and don't have to try very hard to find a work visa, the rest of us, it's market forces.  A+ certification is OK for entry-level jobs, but I don't think it's going to get you a skilled migrant role; you need a college degree minimum and some experience for a work visa, plus you need to find a job.

Higher education - it costs money no matter where you go, so I guess you're talking about scholarships; they do get offered to some 3rd world citizens, but I'm not sure about US citizens.  How about Holland, this link lists all of the English language courses that are taught in the Netherlands?  Holland always had a reputation of being a bit more socially responsible, so may suit you aspirations - I just read through the updated version and it does say that you're unlikely to get funding.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

I do agree with you about the fighting that goes on between the two political parties in the US has become ludicrous. In the UK there are also extremely strong feelings due to Brexit and dislike of individual politicians and this is a huge problem at the moment especially with accusations about handling Covid the wrong way. However, while there is very much dispute in the UK I don't believe that people go to such extreme lengths to slam the opposition like they do in the US.

It does appear that you are seriously heavily into politics, so I think wherever you end up  you will find serious criticism in that political system. I'd completely rule out Asia because your brain might pop which what goes on out here. Europe also has many issues with it's politics but some countries are better than others.

Or you could move to the UK and simply disregard politics (and religion) as I have for the majority of my life and enjoy the countryside, the culture, the food, the beautiful architecture and the many beautiful nearby countries in Europe such as Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Norway etc.