Not funny, but it struck home : almost a million British citizens have left the country since 2000

The Spectator ^ | 11/11/2006 | Rod Liddle

[SirLinksalot]

Not funny, but it struck home

Rod Liddle

Apparently almost a million British citizens have left the country since 2000, to live somewhere else. Last year, according to the Office for National Statistics, 380,000 people left Britain, of whom about 200,000 were British citizens. At the same time, though, 565,000 immigrants arrived in Britain, the overwhelming majority from the Indian subcontinent (largely Pakistan and Bangladesh).

These facts were reported as if they were entirely unrelated. Nobody dared to venture that there was perhaps a very direct and even causal relationship between the record numbers of British people leaving the country and the record numbers of non-British people coming in...

[SirLinksalot]

In relation to this, read this :

Mass emigration slows Dutch population growth

http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=1&story_id=34306

Also in Germany, read this :

More and More Leave Germany Behind ( Mostly the Best and Brightest)

http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/0,1518,446045,00.html

In the next 30 years most of Europe will slowly become Mulism countries. How will the US continue partnering with these countries who are now our allies to meet our strategic interests under those conditions?

Mark Steyn is the most prescient observer of them all.

Read what he says here :

http://www.rightwingnews.com/archives/week_2006_11_12.PHP#006805

Mark Steyn: Well, my view of Europe in 20 years' time is that you'll be switching on the TV, you'll be looking at scenes of burning and conflagration and riots in the street. You will have a couple of countries that are maybe in civil war, at least on the brink of it.

You will have neofascists' resurgence in some countries and you'll have other countries that have just been painlessly euthanized in which a Muslim political class has effectively got its way without a shot being fired -- and large numbers of people, particularly young people, have left those countries and have moved on to whoever will take them.

You know, the Dutch are going to Australia, Canada, and New Zealand and some of them, no doubt, would have liked to have gone to the U.S., but the U.S. doesn't really have a legal immigration program. So, if you need to get out in a hurry, it's no good going to the U.S. embassy

[Flavius]

eventually people will run out of places to run to

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

So where do the Brits move? Probably most of them are trying to flee high taxation brought on by incrementally-encroaching socialism.

[beaversmom]

I'm listening to Mark Steyn right now talk about this very thing. I love Mark Steyn but I sure wish he had some better news to report.

[dgallo51]

No, with zero population growth, they need the tax revenue off cheap labor to pay off the retiring babyboomers…just send my Social Security check to my bank in the Canaries luv, they'll know where to wire the funds:-)

[beaversmom]

Here's an article that I posted on October 15th:

Foreigners flock in as Britons quit the country
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1727048/posts

These are the reasons (supposedly) given by young people
as to why are they leaving:

Young people were the most likely to want to leave, with a quarter saying they were hoping to live abroad. When asked why, the most important reasons were a better quality of life, better weather and a feeling that Britain is too expensive.

Obviously it's too politically incorrect to make the correlation between the amount of foreigners flocking in and the amount of British leaving. Either the author sugar coated it with a general "better quality of life" or the young people have been conditioned to talk in euphemisms.

[staytrue]

I hear thailand and chile are good places to go.

The people are nice, the taxes are low, the crime is low, and your savings go a lot farther.

[elmer fudd]

Obviously it's too politically incorrect to make the correlation between the amount of foreigners flocking in and the amount of British leaving. Either the author sugar coated it with a general "better quality of life" or the young people have been conditioned to talk in euphemisms.

Seems pretty bizarre to me. If you don't want to be around foreigners I'd think the last thing you'd want to do is leave your native country for a foreign land.

[beaversmom]

Well they are probably going to places like Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. Different but not too much of a culture shock. I doubt many are flocking to Saudi Arabia, Libya, and Iran.

[beaversmom]

Here's an article posted back in September about millions of white South Africans leaving:

Million whites leave SA - study
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1712536/posts

Unfortunately the U.S. is pretty tough on legal immigrants.

[B4Ranch]

In some foreign countries there are communities or shall I say large neighborhoods that are comprised of Americans.

[Cacique]

btt

[Jack Black]

eventually people will run out of places to run toF*ck it. I'm done running. I don't even have the energy to relocate to Wyoming.

Molon Labe. Here and now is just fine. As the big man says: LETS GET IT ON!

[johnthebaptistmoore]

The northeastern states will also continue to be seeing large numbers of both people and businesses leaving the area for years to come.

[durasell]

Welcome to the future. Just as you may have five or more different jobs over a lifetime, you may also have four or five different countries of residence over your career.

[Prodigal Son]

Either the author sugar coated it with a general "better quality of life" or the young people have been conditioned to talk in euphemisms.

Better weather would be my number one reason for leaving. The reasons listed would match up with the reasons I hear from most people I talk to who are wanting to leave.

Americans too easily forget that the UK is not actually that big. America is huge and encompasses several time zones and climates. You can get a change of pace by getting in a car and driving for a 1000 miles in the States. Not so here. Many people just want to see something different. When Brits get down to Spain many of them think 'how lovely it would be to live here and get all this sun'. Consequently many Brits have bought property in Spain. It's not because of the imagined grey socialist nightmare we live in here.

People also forget that unlike the US, the British were actively involved in creating and maintaining an empire based largely upon their own cultural values. That cultural empire still exists in the form of New Zealand, Australia, Canada and the USA. The English speaking world... It is spread out, empire style, across two hemispheres of the globe. Surely Americans can understand why many Brits want to go out and experience the rest of the English speaking world. One of the top destinations for Brits is Australia. It seems like a full half of people I question list Australia as their destination of choice. Think about it. It's English speaking. It's far away. It's big. It's amazing. It's the perfect place to move to.

I think too often Freepers make unfounded assumptions about things based upon their own prejudices and political bias. Life is pretty good on this side of the Atlantic. I'm one of those foreigners who wanted into the UK. It's a nice place.

[Caipirabob]

They can come here. Imagine having people who actually speak English! That'd be an exciting and exotic change of pace here in SoFlo.

I'm saying that tongue-in-cheek, but I'm reflecting at the moment that I cannot remember a day I've spent in SoFlo in the past few years where I haven't used three languages in one day.

That being said, it's hardly less expensive to live here in SoFlo these days between higher taxes and insurance. They best not foster a dream to own a home unless they bring lots of money. The local economy isn't sufficient to sustain loads of new immigrants and their mortgage payments with tax and insurance. Unless they have 10-20 per home. Somehow I don't think we're talking about the Brits here, though.

Also, now Hillary's talking up healthcare again and trying to slip Hillarycare through the backdoor of the law by regulating medicine prices. The British may need to reconsider the US as a destination. Our system could become shambles of what it is today if Hillary has her way.

Then again, what won't become shambles of itself if Hillary has her way?

Run while you can, British friends!

[driftless2]

"too expensive"

My wife and I visited Britain recently, and I can confirm that it costs about twice as much for just about everything you can name ($2.40 for a sixteen ounce bottle of soda, six or seven dollars for a gallon of gas, etc. ) than in the States. But Britain looked prosperous to me and the people I met, my wife's clan, seemed happy. But the Brits are not much for complaining. They seem to make the best of the situation. Americans are spoiled.

[driftless2]

"it's a nice place"

That was my impression from my recent visit. It looked to me like Brits lived pretty good...even with the much higher prices. On top of that the weather was outstanding. In the seventies and eighties every day with little rain. Scotland was a little cooler. I wonder how many Brits would like the present warmer weather or would like to go back to colder weather. I got the sense from my in-laws that some Brits don't mind a little global warming.

[AngloSaxonChristian]

'My wife and I visited Britain recently, and I can confirm that it costs about twice as much for just about everything you can name'

Do you think that might just have something to do with the fact that your weak dollar is only worth half the value of a pound? It's far less of an issue if you get paid in pounds than if you bring a weak dollar to the uk and convert it to 55pence! ;-)

[MadIvan]

I think people need to compare prices at purchasing power parity - doing this at a raw currency value doesn't work.

Regards, Ivan

[sphinx]

Unfortunately the U.S. is pretty tough on legal immigrants.

Couldn't the South Africans just fly to Mexico and bribe someone for a Mexican ID before sneaking into the U.S.? Seems like an easy enough way to do it.

[Vanders9]

Quite so Ivan. $100 might technically be worth £55, but you can buy more for $100 in the US than you can for £55 in the UK, although having said that, it does depend a bit on what you want to buy.

[MadIvan]

Where also counts as well. My £55 will go much further at a farmers' market than in a supermarket like Tesco.

Regards, Ivan

[6SJ7]

Couldn't the South Africans just fly to Mexico and bribe someone for a Mexican ID before sneaking into the U.S.? Seems like an easy enough way to do it.

Their cover would be blown the moment they said "Buenos dias, ol' chap!".

[EDINVA]

based on my limited exposure to Brits, I'd favor the US taking every one of them here, if they were intersted in coming.

But, at some point, if people are being forced to leave their homeland because of the vast waves of immigrants coming in and taking over their culture(s), they and their governments have to put their foot down and say 'enough!'
Looks like the Dutch are finally doing that, and all it took was the stabbing of one film-maker. In the USA we had 3000 Americans vaporized in one day and 5 years later it seems the majority has forgotten.

[wtc911]

I hear thailand and chile are good places to go.

----------------------------------

You are kidding about thailand, right?

[FreedomPoster]

>>The northeastern states will also continue to be seeing large numbers of both people and businesses leaving the area for years to come.

An acquaintance on another forum was shocked at how cheap it was, to rent a U-Haul truck (might have been a Ryder, but you get the idea) for a move to NYC. Another guy commented that it was very expensive to do the opposite, which he was doing. It was something like a 5X or 6X cost difference.

Obviously, more people are leaving that area via U-Haul, than arriving, and the pricing reflects this. They're just trying to get equipment repositioned without having to hire drivers.

[mewzilla]

FWIW, from this link...

UK export companies urged to think British

Even the export market is being advised to cater to Brits who are leaving.

[Vanders9]

..and there are regional variations too. London is notoriously expensive, whereas in my part of the world you could buy a street for what they are paying for a small house in the Home Counties.

[beaversmom]

But the Brits are not much for complaining.

Maybe it was just because my relatives were mostly old when I met them back in the 70's, but that's all I remember--the complaining.

[beaversmom]

I don't discount the other factors entirely. I've heard them complain about the weather. I know when relatives have visited over here, what they think is a long trip (Is this place in another state?!?) is just up the road to us. I also know that the English have always been fascinated by the U.S. and other places like Australia. When my mom came here as a young woman she thought there would be a movie star on every corner. I know that some English stars have chosen to live abroad to avoid high taxes. What I would be curious to know is the amount of average people leaving now as compared to the 70's, 80's, and 90's. They've had foreigners in England for a long time now. My mom remembers seeing her first Indians as a young girl in the 40's. But as the amounts of foreigners are increasing, is that coinciding with a larger number of British leaving? Why the large amounts of people leaving other parts of Europe? Mark Steyn was talking about a gay man that had left the Netherlands. This man sees the writing on the wall. He said he's not a fighter and he knows he won't last when the Muslims take over. But it's not just the gays leaving.

When Brits get down to Spain many of them think 'how lovely it would be to live here and get all this sun'.

Sounds like my cousin.

[driftless2]

We purchased pounds sterling before we went over. What's the difference? It still costs about twice as much for the same or similar article.

[driftless2]

"Muslimes take over"

It's not just Muslim immigrants. There are large amounts of people from eastern Europe who are emigrating to or staying illegally in the UK. I've never been to eastern Europe, but the UK looks like a prettty good place to me. We get people from south of the border, they get people from eastern Europe. The U.K. is more cramped than the States, but we're spoiled.

[SirLinksalot]

I hear thailand and chile are good places to go.

The main thing I know about Chile is they had privatized social security for over a decade and nothing went wrong. Their retirement system is in sound footing and we in the USA are trying to learn from them ( to no avail ).

As for Thailand, sure the people are nice, the country is beautiful, but they just had a coup ( they have had coup d' etat's too many times ).

The Coup leader is a "moderate" Muslim and the South of Thailand is a hotbed of Islamist separatism.

The Brits should not suffer from the "grass is greener on the other side" syndrome. You either fight to keep your homeland safe, or simply surrender to the inevitable. Freedom is never free and you have to fight for it. The feckless do not deserve freedom.

[SirLinksalot]

UK export companies urged to think British

Even the export market is being advised to cater to Brits who are leaving.

Folks, if the Brits want to go to a better place, all they have to do is cross the sea to the Emerald Island.

See here :

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4020523.stm

-------------------------------------------

Ireland is named 'best country'

Dubliners have reason to be cheerful, the survey finds Ireland is the best place to live in the world, according to a "quality of life" assessment by Economist magazine. The country's combination of increasing wealth and traditional values gives it the conditions most likely to make its people happy, the survey found.

Ireland was followed by Switzerland, Norway and Luxembourg. All but one of the top 10 were European countries.

The USA languished in 13th, while Britain was 29th - the lowest of the pre-expansion EU nations.

'TOP TEN COUNTRIES'

1 Ireland

2 Switzerland

3 Norway

4 Luxembourg

5 Sweden

6 Australia

7 Iceland

8 Italy

9 Denmark

10 Spain

The survey was prepared for the Economist's "World in 2005" publication, with the remit: "Where will be the best place to live in 2005?"

Researchers took into account not just income, but other factors considered important to people's satisfaction and well-being.

They included health, freedom, unemployment, family life, climate, political stability and security, gender equality and family and community life.

The Economist said: "Ireland wins because it successfully combines the most desirable elements of the new, such as low unemployment and political liberties, with the preservation of certain cosy elements of the old, such as stable family and community life."

The magazine admits that measuring quality of life is not a straightforward thing to do, and that its findings will have their critics - "except, of course, in Ireland".

Breakdown in Britain

The Republic has made significant gains from its membership of the EU, earning the soubriquet Celtic Tiger for its economic progress.

Commentators say it is widely admired by the EU's newest members, and has become a model for what they hope to achieve.

Although European nations generally do well in the survey, the continent's major industrial powers of France, Germany and Britain finish 25th, 26th and 29th respectively.

The researchers said although the UK achieved high income per head, it had high levels of social and family breakdown.

The worst of the 111 countries to live in was considered to be Zimbabwe, "where things have gone from bad to worse under [President] Robert Mugabe".

[pepperdog]

That's really bad news, I suppose they'll come south and bring their politics with them. I'm going to try to find a good news thread somewhere today.

[staytrue]

The worst of the 111 countries to live in was considered to be Zimbabwe

It is hard to believe that any country could be worse than Iraq, Lebanon, Somalia, Eritrea, Cuba, North Korea, and Albania.

How bad do you have to be to be worse than North Korea ?

[jpsb]

I wish there was someplace I could move to. But there is no place to go so I guess I'll just have to stay and watch the end of Constitutional government in the usa.

[beaversmom]

Well you're right--I don't think Britain has been inundated to the degree as other countries i.e. France, etc. The guy Mark Steyn was talking about was from the Netherlands. Also, was the "e" added to the end of Muslim(s) to make it Muslimes intentional or by mistake? That wasn't in my quote.

[beaversmom]

Is Eritrean considered a rotten country? I know some Eritreans. They don't make it sound like paradise (some Muslim problems) but it sounds like a place you could visit.
Maybe I haven't asked them enough questions.

[Teacher317]

"Hey, Jabir, let's go to Americatown in the Village for lunch today!"

[beaversmom]

Oops that should have read Eritrea.

How bad do you have to be to be worse than North Korea?

That is pretty bad if you beat out North Korea. I thought that was as bad as it could get.

[Fishrrman]

staytrue writes:
I hear thailand and chile are good places to go.

Um, where have you been?

Thailand just had a coup ousting the civilian government (which was trying to resist a Muslim insurgency in that country), and the general who now leads the military there IS A MUSLIM.

Prediction: Thailand will be converted to Mohammedism within 10 years.

- John

[DungeonMaster]

Say hello to the next Detroit.

[Crawdad]

Someone saw this coming:

http://es.geocities.com/sucellus23/797.htm

[Prodigal Son]

I wonder how many Brits would like the present warmer weather or would like to go back to colder weather.

I don't know but I do know if the summer in Scotland was more like Barcelona then Edinburgh would literally be the perfect place to live. A couple summers ago it was hotter for a couple days here than it was in Barcelona. My lady and I went down to the beach (just a short bus ride away) and even swam in the water and it felt good! In late June the sky is still well lit at 1130 and midnight, so you have all that light and if you're out on a date with a lass it just feels like you're walking into a sunset for hours. For those three days in '04 this place was paradise. Let global warming occur! ;-)

[Free ThinkerNY]

Enoch Powell was right.

[Free ThinkerNY]

“If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory is sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves.”

Winston Churchill - 1939

[SirLinksalot]

Enoch Powell was right.

Who is he ? Is he related to Colin ? :)