(I live in CO and think this is A Good Thing). Back in 1995, working for an Investment Bank in London, Perot Systems tried to have us sign a non-compete that i

(I live in CO and think this is A Good Thing). Back in 1995, working for an Investment Bank in London, Perot Systems tried to have us sign a non-compete that included the primary industry, adjacent industries and basically a circle drawn around London with a (IIRC) a 300 mile restriction on working in IT. Which not only prevented me from working anywhere in England, but ruled out a big chunk of Northern Europe. I assumed that it was because the guys who wrote the contracts were Texan and had a different view of distance than us Brits, but the cultural clash was enormous (contract failed after 12-18 months, but I was gone anyway). Probably not legal in the UK at the time, but irritated enough of us to leave and go and work somewhere else.