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American software engineer who is leaving the US in 35 hours to work for a startup in the UK here. I feel like even for non-EU immigrants, the brexit makes Brit

American software engineer who is leaving the US in 35 hours to work for a startup in the UK here. I feel like even for non-EU immigrants, the brexit makes Britain in general less attractive. Part of the reason I'm joining the company is getting to work alongside folks from across the EU and, while I strongly suspect they'll ultimately be alright, I wouldn't be surprised if they were more anxious. Another reason is that my wife loves to travel, we are going to use London as a base, and this does hurt the value of my salary for traveling in the EU.

afarrell 10y ago
Aside from the impact on myself, I'd strongly suspect that non-white immigrants feel less welcome due to the uptick in racist incidents (or at least the media reports thereof) which has accompanied this. hmmm.... It just occurs to me that I've been assuming I'm still white in the UK. I think that is a safe assumption, but race is weird so I suppose there is a slight possibility that my skin is dark enough that I'm not. huh.
- jacquesm 10y ago
  It's not just aimed at 'non-whites', it is aimed at all foreigners. (Though it is likely that skin color will make it (much) worse.)
  - afarrell 10y ago
    yea, I saw something about a Polish community center having been vandalized. The response to that vandalism was really heartwarming though. Also, how are you doing? Thank you for the referral a while back when I was doing my job search. The EU offices weren't hiring SWEs at the time, but the referral was still helpful.
    - jacquesm 10y ago
      You're welcome, and I'm doing ok, crazy busy a few weeks ago, now fortunately a little bit more quiet.
- switch007 10y ago
  Please put away the tar brush. 52% of voters is not the majority of the UK population. I doubt even a majority of the 52% have deep-rooted hatred of foreigners. Extrapolating public feeling based on reporting of recent, horrid, despicable events is not fair nor scientific. Even if on a shallow level someone is anti-foreigner, I believe their discontent comes from somewhere else (if they had a well-paying, secure job, a house with a low mortgage payment, excellent prospects for their children etc... they'd forget about foreigners).
  - afarrell 10y ago
    I'm stating a suspicion about the perceptions held by non-UK citizens. I'm not making a claim about the mindset of UK citizens. In fact, I'm not making any claims at all about the racial angle because: 1) I don't live in the UK yet 2) Race is weird
    - switch007 10y ago
      I was born here, lived here 97% of my life. Perhaps it would be prudent to listen to those that live here to confirm/deny suspicions? Your choice obviously.
      - afarrell 10y ago
        Right, but I'm not saying anything about the people who've lived here. In my first sentence, I'm suspecting things about the perceptions of people outside the UK (or possibly recent arrivals). In my second, I'm speculating wildly about how race works in the UK but stating that I really don't know. By the way, as an actual concrete statement: Your border force is absolutely grand and made me feel so welcomed. I should be going to sleep to stave off jet lag, but I am just really excited to finally be here after many years of planning and working toward this.
throwaway991132 10y ago
As a British white guy who was in the US recently, who likes to date Black Women. Let me tell you what I heard from my girlfriends. What's it like dating in London. Are interracial couples ok? I had to laugh at that one. No one bats an eyelid - AT ALL. Sadly, it seems to be the reverse in the US, still a lot of opposition to it. I would say the US is still a billion times more racist than the UK/London.

afarrell 10y ago

Aside from the impact on myself, I'd strongly suspect that non-white immigrants feel less welcome due to the uptick in racist incidents (or at least the media reports thereof) which has accompanied this. hmmm.... It just occurs to me that I've been assuming I'm still white in the UK. I think that is a safe assumption, but race is weird so I suppose there is a slight possibility that my skin is dark enough that I'm not. huh.

jacquesm 10y ago
It's not just aimed at 'non-whites', it is aimed at all foreigners. (Though it is likely that skin color will make it (much) worse.)
- afarrell 10y ago
  yea, I saw something about a Polish community center having been vandalized. The response to that vandalism was really heartwarming though. Also, how are you doing? Thank you for the referral a while back when I was doing my job search. The EU offices weren't hiring SWEs at the time, but the referral was still helpful.
  - jacquesm 10y ago
    You're welcome, and I'm doing ok, crazy busy a few weeks ago, now fortunately a little bit more quiet.
switch007 10y ago
Please put away the tar brush. 52% of voters is not the majority of the UK population. I doubt even a majority of the 52% have deep-rooted hatred of foreigners. Extrapolating public feeling based on reporting of recent, horrid, despicable events is not fair nor scientific. Even if on a shallow level someone is anti-foreigner, I believe their discontent comes from somewhere else (if they had a well-paying, secure job, a house with a low mortgage payment, excellent prospects for their children etc... they'd forget about foreigners).
- afarrell 10y ago
  I'm stating a suspicion about the perceptions held by non-UK citizens. I'm not making a claim about the mindset of UK citizens. In fact, I'm not making any claims at all about the racial angle because: 1) I don't live in the UK yet 2) Race is weird
  - switch007 10y ago
    I was born here, lived here 97% of my life. Perhaps it would be prudent to listen to those that live here to confirm/deny suspicions? Your choice obviously.
    - afarrell 10y ago
      Right, but I'm not saying anything about the people who've lived here. In my first sentence, I'm suspecting things about the perceptions of people outside the UK (or possibly recent arrivals). In my second, I'm speculating wildly about how race works in the UK but stating that I really don't know. By the way, as an actual concrete statement: Your border force is absolutely grand and made me feel so welcomed. I should be going to sleep to stave off jet lag, but I am just really excited to finally be here after many years of planning and working toward this.

throwaway991132 10y ago

As a British white guy who was in the US recently, who likes to date Black Women. Let me tell you what I heard from my girlfriends. What's it like dating in London. Are interracial couples ok? I had to laugh at that one. No one bats an eyelid - AT ALL. Sadly, it seems to be the reverse in the US, still a lot of opposition to it. I would say the US is still a billion times more racist than the UK/London.