[tulip]

Since SF seems to flooded with people getting on their high horse about legal and illegal immigrants, I though it was about time I asked British people abroad how they are treated. Do you feel welcome in the country you live in?

I've have only come across two people in the 18 months that I've been living in The U.S that disliked me because I'm a foreigner. I feel comfortable and at ease with people in this country

[saxon51]

Don't forget to remind them that they are foreigners too tulip - unless of course they are 'Native Americans'

[Ally68]

I have yet to come across anyone in the 14yrs I've been here that made me uncomfortable because I'm English. I doubt very much that would be the case if we lived in England.

[tulip]

Originally posted by saxon51
Don't forget to remind them that they are foreigners too tulip - unless of course they are 'Native Americans'

My husband is an American citizen so I let him point that out for me. Recently someone, without thinking said "there are too many foreigner in this country" my husband pointed out to the guy who's surname was o'conner that he didn't sound like a native American from his name

[tulip]

Originally posted by Ally68
I have yet to come across anyone in the 14yrs I've been here that made me uncomfortable because I'm English. I doubt very much that would be the case if we lived in England.

Judging from the posts I have been reading on SF, I'd have to say you are absolutely right!

[Ally68]

Originally posted by tulip
Judging from the posts I have been reading on SF, I'd have to say you are absolutely right!

Absolutely! frightening isn't it?

[tulip]

It's getting to the point were people are going to start hating others just because they are not British - I blame the tabloid press over there!

[GJ2004]

Originally posted by tulip
Since SF seems to flooded with people getting on their high horse about legal and illegal immigrants, I though it was about time I asked British people abroad how they are treated. Do you feel welcome in the country you live in?

I've have only come across two people in the 18 months that I've been living in The U.S that disliked me because I'm a foreigner. I feel comfortable and at ease with people in this country

we have lived here in spain for a few years now and i must say i don´t remember anyone making us feel unwelcome although i have to admit it is europe so that may make a difference
the one time i do recall a couple of years ago a friend was called an English pig" but that was by a policeman who he had a run in with and i don´t know the circumstances the one main thing i have found is that you get far more help if you at least try to speak the language even if it is only a few words problem is there is more than 1 spanish and it is sometimes difficult to define the difference but in general we think it is ok

[tulip]

Originally posted by GJ2004
we have lived here in spain for a few years now and i must say i don´t remember anyone making us feel unwelcome although i have to admit it is europe so that may make a difference
the one time i do recall a couple of years ago a friend was called an English pig" but that was by a policeman who he had a run in with and i don´t know the circumstances the one main thing i have found is that you get far more help if you at least try to speak the language even if it is only a few words problem is there is more than 1 spanish and it is sometimes difficult to define the difference but in general we think it is ok

We were going to move to spain but it had gotten too expensive by the time we were ready to move. I really like were we live, it's a small community and most people are warm and friendly - good thing since I don't seem to be able to post anything on here without someone having a go at me

[Fareast]

I've worked in a few foreign countries and , generally speaking , people in those countries are friendly.
However , when British people go to work or live in a foreign country , it is usually either on a contract or they have to go through the procedures , if they are going to be citizens of that country. The locals know this and know that their country has often asked the person to come and work there.[as in the case of teachers or engineers].
However , I don't know what their attitude would be if you were there illegally or if you committed an offence whilst you were there. Also , I'm not sure how much help you'd get if you arrived there illegally and applied for financial help from the State.
Also , the vast majority of people living or working in foreign countries , in my experience , are pretty meticulous about respecting the country they're in and obeying the law and customs.
I was living in a small town in Saudi and during evening prayers , I was sitting outside at a cafe table , having a smoke. A Religous Police Officer came up and told me in a very aggressive way to not smoke , during prayer time. I put it out , as I'd heard one or two things about Saudi prisons. Later , some Saudi friends told me I could have ignored him but when you're alone .........It shows that you have to be careful and when Brits do break the law or behave badly abroad , they get treated just as roughly ------or worse-------than foreigners who break our laws. I think the same goes for the friendliness on a personal level too.

[Ally68]

Originally posted by Fareast
I've worked in a few foreign countries and , generally speaking , people in those countries are friendly.
However , when British people go to work or live in a foreign country , it is usually either on a contract or they have to go through the procedures , if they are going to be citizens of that country. The locals know this and know that their country has often asked the person to come and work there.[as in the case of teachers or engineers].
However , I don't know what their attitude would be if you were there illegally or if you committed an offence whilst you were there. Also , I'm not sure how much help you'd get if you arrived there illegally and applied for financial help from the State.
Also , the vast majority of people living or working in foreign countries , in my experience , are pretty meticulous about respecting the country they're in and obeying the law and customs.
I

When I came to Germany I did it through the legal channels, I registered. I was told after 3 months that I either had to get work, get married or leave. This rule applies throughout Europe. Although I was in a steady relationship I decided to get a job

[Fareast]

I think I missed the point a bit on my last posting and the original poster was asking the question on a more day-to-day level. However............here goes , for what it's worth.
At the moment I'm working in a , "small" city in China , with very few Westerners. Some of the locals , particularly those who have popped into town from a village have literally never seen a Westerner before . The result is you get stared at endlessly , which can be embarrassing or flattering , depending on the circumstances. You are certainly an object of curiosity ; now , whether the locals actually like you or not ,is maybe a different matter. Once the language barrier comes down , I've found most Chinese are friendly and helpful.
At the other end of the scale , as it were , I worked for a over 2 years in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have had [and have] so many ex-pats in their country that I don't think they notice them any more. I always found them polite , serious and , outside the capital , much more like us than I'd ever imagined. They are certainly not all rolling in money ! In fact , one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life was [is] a Saudi.He was a real family man , living in a remote village in the mountains , near Abha.His parents and children suffered from diabetes and he had to help them every day ; yet he still found time to do English lessons and help me [and others] , in every possible way.
I've worked in other countries too but not much time left at the moment.

[buck]

I've never had a problem here in the US, and always been treated with great friendship, albeit sometimes with a good natured dig at us brits. My wife is from County Clare in Ireland and is very popular hereabouts. We sometimes have people complaining about immigrants to us as if we had never been immigrants ourselves. As for the natives, it is believed that they came across from what is now Siberia when the Bering Strait was a land bridge, so they're probably immigrants too, just like many Brits came from Germany, Denmark, Rome, Normandy etc. etc.

[tulip]

Originally posted by buck
I've never had a problem here in the US, and always been treated with great friendship, albeit sometimes with a good natured dig at us brits. My wife is from County Clare in Ireland and is very popular hereabouts. We sometimes have people complaining about immigrants to us as if we had never been immigrants ourselves. As for the natives, it is believed that they came across from what is now Siberia when the Bering Strait was a land bridge, so they're probably immigrants too, just like many Brits came from Germany, Denmark, Rome, Normandy etc. etc.

Thats very true, not many people can call themselves true natives!

[tulip]

Originally posted by Fareast
I think I missed the point a bit on my last posting and the original poster was asking the question on a more day-to-day level. However............here goes , for what it's worth.
At the moment I'm working in a , "small" city in China , with very few Westerners. Some of the locals , particularly those who have popped into town from a village have literally never seen a Westerner before . The result is you get stared at endlessly , which can be embarrassing or flattering , depending on the circumstances. You are certainly an object of curiosity ; now , whether the locals actually like you or not ,is maybe a different matter. Once the language barrier comes down , I've found most Chinese are friendly and helpful.
At the other end of the scale , as it were , I worked for a over 2 years in Saudi Arabia. The Saudis have had [and have] so many ex-pats in their country that I don't think they notice them any more. I always found them polite , serious and , outside the capital , much more like us than I'd ever imagined. They are certainly not all rolling in money ! In fact , one of the nicest people I have ever met in my life was [is] a Saudi.He was a real family man , living in a remote village in the mountains , near Abha.His parents and children suffered from diabetes and he had to help them every day ; yet he still found time to do English lessons and help me [and others] , in every possible way.
I've worked in other countries too but not much time left at the moment.

Yes, I did mean in a general day to day living sort of way. I totally agree with respecting the customs and laws of the country you have been granted residency in. You wouldn't go into some elses house and walk mud all over and stub cigarette butts out on their carpet! In the same way you shouldn't live in another country and stick two fingers up to their laws

[expat]

Originally posted by tulip
Since SF seems to flooded with people getting on their high horse about legal and illegal immigrants, I though it was about time I asked British people abroad how they are treated. Do you feel welcome in the country you live in?

I've have only come across two people in the 18 months that I've been living in The U.S that disliked me because I'm a foreigner. I feel comfortable and at ease with people in this country

I lived in Holland for 18 years in the past it was no problem being a foriegner.The last 3 years have seen a u -turn hereI dont recognise it any more .Due to political and economic problems the natural Dutch conservatism is raising its head and feel a that being a foriegner even english is not such a great hting here anymore

[tulip]

!8 years is a long time to live in a country, call it 'home' and suddenly be made to feel unwelcome. All countries have governments that people dislike but from what I read on here I don't think I would consider going back to England, everyone I talk to seems dissatisfied there at the moment!

[sauerkraut]

I've just had my first experience of hostility after 8 years of living in Germany. It was at a hairdressers I was visiting for the first time and there was a really hostile atmosphere, whispering in corners about "foreigners" etc, and then another customer very deliberately and obviously taken ahead of me out of turn. My complaints - polite at first - were just treated with derision so in the end I said something like "foreigners obviously come last in this shop" at which they just grinned and agreed so I stomped out in high dudgeon. As I say, I'd never experienced anything like that before and it was a really nasty, uncomfortable feeling. I feel so sorry for people who have to put up with that sort of thing all the time.

The postscript is that leaving the salon early meant I had to start a long walk home down a busy main road. A neighbour driving by happened to spot me, stopped specially, crossed through all the traffic to fetch me because I hadn't seen her, and then went out of her way to give me a lift home. Now that is far more typical of the treatment I've had in all the years I've lived here.

[hazel]

Hi,
I think you can be made to feel a "foreigner" in many an English hairdressers if you don't fit in through no fault of your own.
I find women in hairdressers very territorial.
So may have been just because you were an intruder they snubbed you and being English was extra.
Just a thought
hazel

[sauerkraut]

That's a good point and might explain it. Thank goodness I didn't stay around to let them have a go at my hair - who knows what I might look like now!!