5 ms·

The grass is always greener on the other side. Being born in Europe and living here is suffocating me.

matthewmacleod 9y ago
I find that quite difficult to believe. "Europe" is essentially meaningless as an identification of a place you live. The difference in culture, society and lifestyle between, say, Athens, Bucharest and Inverness is pretty extensive. There are of course some elements of shared culture, but there are also a whole bunch of different lifestyles. The same applies in the US to some extent, though of course a common language and federal government homogenises the country much more.
jotm 9y ago
You can move elsewhere in Europe, it's pretty diverse, even city by city.
dazc 9y ago
Europe is a big place and covers at least 6 different kinds of lifestyle and 3 kinds of weather. That's a few shades of grass to try before you give up entirely?
- abqwe 9y ago
  +1. And do not need a visa if you are European.
  - luckydata 9y ago
    Unless, you know, you're British and your fellow countrymen decided to go crazy all at the same time.
    - guitarbill 9y ago
      I know you're being humorous, but to spell it out: They aren't crazy, they're simply like that. And, like the article says, you have options. For anybody still on the fence, I can't recommend leaving the UK enough.
    - fwdpropaganda 9y ago
      We feel for you :-/ 2016 year of the chav.
- auganov 9y ago
  We're on HN. The startup industry in most of Europe is non-existent. Very few options. As a founder, much of Europe looks pretty much the same. Want to actually assimilate - good luck given the prevalent ethnocentrism. It's nothing like moving from one US state to another.
  - Barrin92 9y ago
    To be fair, 75% of US venture capital accumulates in just three states[1], and leaves the overwhelming majority of the country out. The US startup industry is higher but not wider than the European one. The ethnocentrism is prevalent in US startup culture as well, it is overwhelmingly white and Asian with Hispanics and African-Americans being left out. Underprivileged minorities face steep challenges in the tech industry, almost regardless of geographical location. [1]https://www.recode.net/2017/6/1/15725826/steve-case-revolution-rise-rest-left-behind-venture-capital-dollars https://www.recode.net/2017/6/1/15725826/steve-case-revoluti...
    - auganov 9y ago
      1. VC funding is hardly well-spread in Europe - UK, Germany and France compromise roughly 75% of European funding too [0]. 2. The entire European pie is roughly 25% of the US. 3. That's racism and it's a problem in the EU too, albeit less recognized. The ethnocentrism is an additional, different one (and it only amplifies racism). It's the way European national identities are defined mostly along ethnic and linguistic lines. American culture and identity is 100x more universalist than the European ones. This means not only will people have a harder time seeing you as one of them, you'll also have a harder time seeing yourself as one. [0] https://medium.com/yankeesabralimey/european-israeli-venture-data-2017-45510d40c5f1 https://medium.com/yankeesabralimey/european-israeli-venture...
      - Barrin92 9y ago
        I didn't really disagree with the first two, but concerning the third one, that's really not true in all places in Europe any more and a little bit of a stereotype. Berlin is very much a cosmopolitan city at this point, and Sweden has always been very open as well. As is London and even cities like Warsaw are becoming more and more accepting. France and Italy as two very large countries stand out, the former because it's very closed up culturally, the second because it's not in a good shape politically. I won't deny that the US has a more open culture (having experienced both myself as a German citizen who has worked in the US) but the gap is not so large any more that the generalisation is valid without qualifications.
fwdpropaganda 9y ago
Really? Where do you live?
Symbiote 9y ago
Looking through your comment history, you might want to stop making sweeping generalisations about Europe and then refusing to say which countries you mean. (I could also be less kind and write: don't feed the troll.)

I find that quite difficult to believe. "Europe" is essentially meaningless as an identification of a place you live. The difference in culture, society and lifestyle between, say, Athens, Bucharest and Inverness is pretty extensive. There are of course some elements of shared culture, but there are also a whole bunch of different lifestyles. The same applies in the US to some extent, though of course a common language and federal government homogenises the country much more.

jotm 9y ago

You can move elsewhere in Europe, it's pretty diverse, even city by city.

dazc 9y ago

Europe is a big place and covers at least 6 different kinds of lifestyle and 3 kinds of weather. That's a few shades of grass to try before you give up entirely?

abqwe 9y ago
+1. And do not need a visa if you are European.
- luckydata 9y ago
  Unless, you know, you're British and your fellow countrymen decided to go crazy all at the same time.
  - guitarbill 9y ago
    I know you're being humorous, but to spell it out: They aren't crazy, they're simply like that. And, like the article says, you have options. For anybody still on the fence, I can't recommend leaving the UK enough.
  - fwdpropaganda 9y ago
    We feel for you :-/ 2016 year of the chav.
auganov 9y ago
We're on HN. The startup industry in most of Europe is non-existent. Very few options. As a founder, much of Europe looks pretty much the same. Want to actually assimilate - good luck given the prevalent ethnocentrism. It's nothing like moving from one US state to another.
- Barrin92 9y ago
  To be fair, 75% of US venture capital accumulates in just three states[1], and leaves the overwhelming majority of the country out. The US startup industry is higher but not wider than the European one. The ethnocentrism is prevalent in US startup culture as well, it is overwhelmingly white and Asian with Hispanics and African-Americans being left out. Underprivileged minorities face steep challenges in the tech industry, almost regardless of geographical location. [1]https://www.recode.net/2017/6/1/15725826/steve-case-revolution-rise-rest-left-behind-venture-capital-dollars https://www.recode.net/2017/6/1/15725826/steve-case-revoluti...
  - auganov 9y ago
    1. VC funding is hardly well-spread in Europe - UK, Germany and France compromise roughly 75% of European funding too [0]. 2. The entire European pie is roughly 25% of the US. 3. That's racism and it's a problem in the EU too, albeit less recognized. The ethnocentrism is an additional, different one (and it only amplifies racism). It's the way European national identities are defined mostly along ethnic and linguistic lines. American culture and identity is 100x more universalist than the European ones. This means not only will people have a harder time seeing you as one of them, you'll also have a harder time seeing yourself as one. [0] https://medium.com/yankeesabralimey/european-israeli-venture-data-2017-45510d40c5f1 https://medium.com/yankeesabralimey/european-israeli-venture...
    - Barrin92 9y ago
      I didn't really disagree with the first two, but concerning the third one, that's really not true in all places in Europe any more and a little bit of a stereotype. Berlin is very much a cosmopolitan city at this point, and Sweden has always been very open as well. As is London and even cities like Warsaw are becoming more and more accepting. France and Italy as two very large countries stand out, the former because it's very closed up culturally, the second because it's not in a good shape politically. I won't deny that the US has a more open culture (having experienced both myself as a German citizen who has worked in the US) but the gap is not so large any more that the generalisation is valid without qualifications.

fwdpropaganda 9y ago

Really? Where do you live?

Symbiote 9y ago

Looking through your comment history, you might want to stop making sweeping generalisations about Europe and then refusing to say which countries you mean. (I could also be less kind and write: don't feed the troll.)