I know places like Portugal and Spain are going through serious housing crunches right new and I know expats often exaggerate those problems. So where can an American flee oppression without just oppressing someone else?
For context: I’m a progressive lefty, thinking about long term relocation options cause the fash is getting pretty thick around here.
Edit: I know immigrants and expats (US or other) are not solely responsible overseas housing issues, but housing issues definitely exist across Portugal, Netherlands, etc. I don’t want to increase that burden and would feel shitty if my housing offer outbid 300 local applicants.
Nowhere? Why would any community appreciate foreigners? Some communities don’t care and this is the best you can hope for.
Because they aren’t dicks, and immigrants bring more tax-paying workers.
Having a diverse origin of inhabitants is a plus for many places. It makes them more interesting, gives more opportunities to practise language skills, etc.
I live near Manchester now and it’s great for that, although I do recognise the opposite exists, too! (I live in Bolton which has huge, not-particularly-integrated minority populations). By contrast, when I go to visit my parents in another part of England, it’s all just beige boring people that haven’t ever left this corner of the world
This is a blunt comment, but it’s a realistic take. Most countries, especially in europe, have a housing and immigration problem. More people coming here won’t solve any problems. There’s a good chunk of people that don’t want any foreigners. Of course not everyone minds. But appreciative? Don’t see why. Maybe in countries where the population drops.
We dont have a housing crisis in the sense of volume we have a housing cost crisis. But that would also exist without imigration. Imigration is needed to keep up variouse social nets like retirement.
We also dont have a migration problem, but an integration problem. As partner to a brit in germany, they speak german fluent and got a degree at an age where even the state didnt belief it until we showed the degree. They have practical experience as well. And still its impossible for them to find a job. Job market is only in crisis regarding slave workers.
I’m not saying immigration is the cause of the problem, I am saying that most people in most european countries blame it on immigrants and refugees. Just look at the elections. So I really doubt anyone would be jumping for joy with more. They are more than welcome to come here, I don’t mind. Just… Good luck finding a house. (We do have a housing crisis here in the netherlands right now cause the whole system is gridlocked because of nitrogen)
Actually, yes, you said that immigration was the problem, that’s what “we have an immigration problem” means. If you genuinely don’t see the problem with that sentence, picture someone in the 1930s saying “we have a Jews problem”. Does that mean that this person thinks that antisemitism is a problem, or does that mean that they are antisemitic?
What we have is a racism problem, not an immigration problem.
Where did I say immigrants cause the problems then? I say we have an immigration problem because we can’t house them all. And every time they want to build more refugee shelters people protest them. Making the problem even bigger. But sure call me or nazi or something wtf.
“Imigrants” as the voters of right wing partys use it, means “anyone not white”. Just look at their rethoric. They dont talk about a swede the same way as they do about tunesians, turkish, iranians
I’m half expecting a lot of downvotes for this but…
How do you decide you don’t have a migration problem? Agreed you need migration and agreed that a lot of people see migration as the cause of a lot of problems that have more dominant causes but I also think that it’s possible to see some of the increase in far right / anti-migrant rhetoric as a measure of the capacity for migration. By that measure, even if I disagree with those people’s views, there is a signal that migration is having an effect (just probably not as much as political groups looking for power). Anyway, I’ve spent a bit of time thinking about the increase in far right groups and it seems like perceived economic stress and perceived issues with migrants align pretty well. I’m kind of hoping to learn I’m actually wrong or a mechanism that’s likely to reverse these trends besides stints of nationalism
Racists be racists. The problem is not imigration. The problem we are facing is out of control and too huge costs of living. The people voting faar right not holding those fascist, racist, conspiratory views, are afraid of their lively hood. Now should we kill the scape goat? No! That wont improve anything. The corperations need to be held accountable! The once causing this insane inhuman cost of living increase! Vonovia with their housings. Yes the state must step in and put restrictions on rent and electricity pricing.
The boomers are afraid of change and not liking the reality of them becoming irrelavent. You wont convince a fascist that deporting all the willing workers will improve anything based on facts and statistic. How will a 1.6 million less in the household expenses of germany do anything? Its a drop on the hot stone.
We need radical systemic change! However, racism, fascism, hate wont solve anything. The faar right gets voters threw just yelling easy solutions, widespread misinfo spread online helped by china, russia and USA and the failing of the old partys because they dont inovate/reform. And young people drift to the extrems because they dont see a future in the current system.
Example AfD. They mean to tell, germany will massively gain from leaving the EU, destroying all worker rights and trade unions, massively lowering the taxes off the rich and by deporting anyone they dont like (as they said in the Potsdam meeting) weather born potato german or having not #FFFFF as skin colour Hex Code.
Alone leaving the EU will create a economic depression seen like never before! In a few years the economy will have decreased by over ⅓ and unemployment rising astronomicly!
Yeah, I doubt leaving the EU would help most of the people supporting it:
https://www.nber.org/papers/w34459
I just don’t think pointing at information like this convinces anyone in the group that more vocally swung right in the last ten years
I feel a bit guilty leaving some of the negativity here, so I thought I’d leave a more positive video pointing out how some of the baby boomer influencers in politics is beginning to lessen, but it’s pretty US focused:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IwgzuSqb7ys
Exactly