Funny, sad and true

[Crazy Dave]

We hear about how great this country is and it's the land of opportunity, yadda, yadda...

Having made a dozens of friends from around the world on the internet and getting their true and heartfelt opinions about ever moving here, I can honestly say not one of them would even consider moving here permanently. A vacation yes, but to live here for an extended period of time, no.

Only one friend who lives in a bad area of Mexico where about six to ten people get shot every week in the streets said she would like to get away for a little while but would prefer Canada over the US.

[rurallib]

1. a few years ago I was working with some foreign students

at the local university.
Most were from Europe. None had any desire to stay in the US.
The biggest reason cited was healthcare.

[Crazy Dave]

2. That's the main reason I hear too

And the well deserved stereotype of all Americans being arrogant and mean.

[XemaSab]

22. That's the opposite impression I get from my foreign friends

They all think Americans in person are really, really, really friendly and social. Like, friendly and social to the point of being obnoxious.

[robcon]

3. Yeah, I guess that's why there's "only" 40 million foreign-born residents in the U.S.

No one wants to come here. :sarcasm:

[Crazy Dave]

4. Duh!

Can only speak for the ones I know personally :P

[robcon]

5. "And the well deserved stereotype of all Americans being arrogant and mean"

Well-deserved??? Judging by your responses, you're not only arrogant and mean but under-informed as well.

[Crazy Dave]

6. And you are correct

Go fuck yourself loser! :P

[devilgrrl]

8. 40 MILLION????

Whose ass did you pull that one out of?

[robcon]

11. Congressional Research Service

The U.S. Foreign-Born Population:
Trends and Selected Characteristics
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R41592.pdf

See page two.

[devilgrrl]

7. I was in Latin America recently and met not one person who'd even want to visit here

Americans haven't a clue of how indifferent the rest of the world is toward us.

[Crazy Dave]

9. A friend of mine returned to Honduras during the uprising in '09

Because she had better job opportunities there even with the country in chaos than she had here.

[Scuba]

10. Bingo.

[robcon]

12. The plural of anecdote is not data.

40 million foreign-born residents seem like data to me. Your experiences in Honduras, or some other country, seem like anecdotes.

[Scuba]

13. There's six billion People on the planet. 40 million isn't statistically significant.....

...if you want to play statistics.

Let me ask, how many of those 40 million have been here more than 20 years? America was a much different place then.

[devilgrrl]

15. Ten years before that it was America

After 1980 it went to shite.

[robcon]

17. 13 % of U.S. population. Do you know any other country which has attracted so many foreigners?

I think the U.S. is still a beacon of prosperity and freedom for many people.

[Electric Monk]

19. Israel?

I guess it depends how you define "foreigner" though, to properly answer your question.

[robcon]

21. Good catch. Israel is probably #1.

Foreigner=foreign-born, IMO

[laundry_queen]

23. 1 in 5 in Canada are foreign-born. 19.8% nt

[laundry_queen]

24. NM, I see you were talking total numbers. nt

[devilgrrl]

14. Doesn't sound like you travel much outside of the country.

Also, it's good to know that there are 40 million people wingnuts can blame all of the country's problem on.

[tkmorris]

16. Sure, but that's an indication of what people have already done

Once upon a time enough people wanted to come here that we have accumulated 40 million foreign born residents. That has little to do with how many want to come here now. I would guess there are still some in Haiti and similar places who imagine they might be better off here but the number of people in places like Mexico, El Salvador, and so forth that look to the United States as a path to (relative) economic prosperity are dwindling. That's a no-brainer really; all one needs to do is look at the relevant and recent economic data to understand why that would be the case.

[robcon]

18. Not true. The last ten years have been boom years for immigration.

Immigration 2000-2010

Mexico 1,759,000
China 509,000
Philippines 478,000
India 593,000,
Vietnam 337,000
Cuba 148,000
El Salvador 338,000
Dominican Republic 249,000
Canada 242,000
Korea 179,000
Other Countries 4,400,000

Total 2000-2010 Immigration to the U.S. 9,400,000

[Scuba]

20. Thank you for saying so eloquently what I said so poorly. n/t