Which country to retire to for fun, culture, nightlife? Ireland,France, Spain?

I can top your complaint about the UK. Try being an American while your country is ran by Trump who btw loves Hitler, Putin and every other psychotic racist maniac. See if you can beat that. Oh btw, this week we are trying to separate babies from there mothers. You guys have it easy. Unless Teresa May turns out to be the Manchurian Candidate, the UK looks very inclusive by current American standards. Our President hates Canadians. Who doesn't love Canadians? They are some of the nicest people ever!

I wouldn't say its a pissing contest as neither side is perfect....but what I will say is it sucks being an American living abroad when you're the token American in the office or somebody at a pub or meetup or party etc. finds out you're American and then you have to listen to other people ask you how "your country/your president can do xyz" as if he actually represents you. It's not like living abroad somehow absolves your connection to that twat. I have to hear about Brexit from the American side and how we cant throw stones or whatever (even though I think it's comparing apples to oranges) and I have to hear about Trump from everybody else like I can even pretend to tolerate the guy (I can't).

I wouldn't say its a pissing contest as neither side is perfect....but what I will say is it sucks being an American living abroad when you're the token American in the office or somebody at a pub or meetup or party etc. finds out you're American and then you have to listen to other people ask you how "your country/your president can do xyz" as if he actually represents you. It's not like living abroad somehow absolves your connection to that twat. I have to hear about Brexit from the American side and how we cant throw stones or whatever (even though I think it's comparing apples to oranges) and I have to hear about Trump from everybody else like I can even pretend to tolerate the guy (I can't).

I hear you!  It's never easy being the new kid on the block, add to that being in a new country and dynamic. Very challenging for sure. But you sound like a very self aware person which is quite helpful in navigating around problems.

Certainly not easy being an American right now it feels like we are lost in some sort of black hole. Every week there is some new landmark decision made by our new regime which dials back all the progress made of generations. And all this done because many Americans are too lazy to stay informed on various issues and they don't take the right to vote as seriously as we all should.

We are now about to pick a new supreme court justice that will be so extreme that our highest court will get rid of a woman's right to decide about their own bodily functions. Gays could lose the legal right to marry and love who they wish. And minorities could lose a generation of legal protections against discriminations.

It's about to get very challenging in America for a great many people that have not taken the right to vote as a cherish responsibility. And those are only a few of the rights that were decided on a 5-4 vote in the Supreme Court over the last 30 years.

16 year old kids are about to actually be sentenced as adults once the new court is in place. That case came before the court not that long ago and was decided by a 5-4 vote. It will now go the other way. Rights we taken for granted are about to be wiped off the books for the next few decades. I predict a great many Americans are going to want to leave America in the next few years. Even once Trump is gone this change in legal rights will be here for decades!

I feel for those Americans who can't be expats!

I hear you!  It's never easy being the new kid on the block, add to that being in a new country and dynamic. Very challenging for sure. But you sound like a very self aware person which is quite helpful in navigating around problems.

Certainly not easy being an American right now it feels like we are lost in some sort of black hole. Every week there is some new landmark decision made by our new regime which dials back all the progress made of generations. And all this done because many Americans are too lazy to stay informed on various issues and they don't take the right to vote as seriously as we all should.

We are now about to pick a new supreme court justice that will be so extreme that our highest court will get rid of a woman's right to decide about their own bodily functions. Gays could lose the legal right to marry and love who they wish. And minorities could lose a generation of legal protections against discriminations.

It's about to get very challenging in America for a great many people that have not taken the right to vote as a cherish responsibility. And those are only a few of the rights that were decided on a 5-4 vote in the Supreme Court over the last 30 years.

16 year old kids are about to actually be sentenced as adults once the new court is in place. That case came before the court not that long ago and was decided by a 5-4 vote. It will now go the other way. Rights we taken for granted are about to be wiped off the books for the next few decades. I predict a great many Americans are going to want to leave America in the next few years. Even once Trump is gone this change in legal rights will be here for decades!

I feel for those Americans who can't be expats!

Unfortunately even when you aren't the new kid on the block, you'll still deal with this kind of stuff.

What can also be a pain is that I tend to hear about some of these things (like the new supreme court justice situation) from a vague Facebook post first as something like that wouldn't be covered by the media over here at this stage unless you REALLY care about politics enough to follow specific sources (which I don't).

You're right though. Once a new supreme court justice is voted in, damage will be done long after Trump is gone.

Yeah, I got a snark the other day, from the teller at the bank when I was saying we were trying to get Irish citizenship for the Daughter, so if Brexit went badly she wouldn't have to go back to the States. Something about "afraid they'll put her in a cage?".... not nice. At all.

[Considered reporting the person, but I've already complained about something else once and it's a she-said/she-said, so no point.]

Yeah, I got a snark the other day, from the teller at the bank when I was saying we were trying to get Irish citizenship for the Daughter, so if Brexit went badly she wouldn't have to go back to the States. Something about "afraid they'll put her in a cage?".... not nice. At all.

[Considered reporting the person, but I've already complained about something else once and it's a she-said/she-said, so no point.]

When I hear comments like the one you experienced at your bank, it's not lost on me that the person isn't really angry at me per say. Instead they feel frustrated that America, a country that likes to preach to other nations about human rights has now decided to shed itself of those same values.

Of course it doesn't feel pleasant to be confronted based on the actions of our government but what are we gonna do. We either are a part of the solution or part of the problem. The next time someone confronts you about American politics tell them that you voted for the other person.

When I hear comments like the one you experienced at your bank, it's not lost on me that the person isn't really angry at me per say. Instead they feel frustrated that America, a country that likes to preach to other nations about human rights has now decided to shed itself of those same values.

Of course it doesn't feel pleasant to be confronted based on the actions of our government but what are we gonna do. We either are a part of the solution or part of the problem. The next time someone confronts you about American politics tell them that you voted for the other person.

And I consider them ill-mannered, as they should very well know that their customers have no real say in any of it. (If they did have any political clout, they'd not be shopping at the places I frequent.)

I believe that diplomatically ignoring the comment would work just as well - which is what I did and plan to do. If it goes further than a simple snark, my standing response is "Well, the next time Rump phones me and asks for advice, I'll be sure to pass along your comments." Which generally shuts people right down. Only had to use it twice, and it was well-deserved both times.

And I consider them ill-mannered, as they should very well know that their customers have no real say in any of it. (If they did have any political clout, they'd not be working at the places I frequent.)

I believe that diplomatically ignoring the comment would work just as well - which is what I did and plan to do. If it goes further than a simple snark, my standing response is "Well, the next time Rump phones me and asks for advice, I'll be sure to pass along your comments." Which generally shuts people right down. Only had to use it twice, and it was well-deserved both times.

It truly is best to just do what you did and ignore them (or report them). I would disagree with their approach still but could understand a person taking their frustrations out on another person as Overhead suggested because nobody is perfect and things like that happen even if I personally think it's wrong.....but you do that in your own time...NOT when you're representing a business (in this case : the bank). I would think the bank would want to know how their employees are representing them to their customers.

Yeah, I got a snark the other day, from the teller at the bank when I was saying we were trying to get Irish citizenship for the Daughter, so if Brexit went badly she wouldn't have to go back to the States. Something about "afraid they'll put her in a cage?".... not nice. At all.

[Considered reporting the person, but I've already complained about something else once and it's a she-said/she-said, so no point.]

How widespread is anti-American sentiment in the UK? Do you go weeks, months without being confronted with comments about America's politics? Or do you feel judged most of the time when people in Europe learn that you are American?

In your opinion what are the most Anti-American nations in Western Europe?


This move of ours is probably going to happen by the early part of next year. The wife is feeling a little fed up with America's current political landscape and she wishes to push up the date from the summer of 2019 to early 2019. Things have gotten out of control in the States. I'm hearing quite a few people comment that they want to move to Canada lol.

Our accent is such that we can pass for Canadian, and a lot of people here seem to not want to offend Canadians by assuming they are "American." So they sometimes probe. I've taken to saying I'm Irish, but raised in the States. Which, technically, is true.  That seems to change how I'm addressed.

In one year here, I've only really run into it "in my face" on a personal level twice in public - one of which was when two delivery guys from Ikea made comments like "oh, look, ANOTHER American" [tone of voice], and "How long are YOU going to be here for, then?" Followed by some semi-unintelligble muttering when I said "Permanently, I hope."

Of course, I've also gone to job interviews that seemed as if they were doomed the moment I opened my mouth. [I could see the interviewer's expression freeze into a forced smile after I said hello.] I've had other interviews where that definitely did not happen, though.

I did have a lengthy conversation, in Primark last summer, with a lady who was asking me why "nobody had shot" Rump yet and wondering "what had happened" to "us". I told her that the Secret Service was very good at it's job, and that I actually was kind of surprised to not hear of any attempts. I absolutely don't support shooting anyone, let me make that clear, but I know there are plenty of people wandering the streets in the States who are capable of doing that. I am somewhat surprised, given the "turbulence" I see in the States from various newscasts, and the general incivility that has always been just under the surface there, that an attempt hasn't happened yet. As to the "what has happened," I offered some conjectures and left it at that.  Nice lady, very perplexed lady. That makes two of us.

So... hard to say about anti-American sentiment. I get the sense that generally it's directed more against the government, rather than us as individuals.  Others may have had different experiences.

I'd have gone to Canada if they would have let me in, but I'm too old. Not a bad destination for those who can manage it! 

I can honestly say that my husband has never received anything but a positive reaction. Perhaps it's different because he is visibly disabled but everyone, including complete strangers, has treated us incredibly well. 

We have been here a year now (I'm the Brit) and hubby absolutely loves being here.  People are delighted when they hear his accent and treat him like a film star.  There hasn't been one negative comment.   

We have been here a year now (I'm the Brit) and hubby absolutely loves being here.  People are delighted when they hear his accent and treat him like a film star.  There hasn't been one negative comment.

Yes!  That's been our experience!

We have been here a year now (I'm the Brit) and hubby absolutely loves being here.  People are delighted when they hear his accent and treat him like a film star.  There hasn't been one negative comment.   

May I ask what area of the UK do you live?

Our accent is such that we can pass for Canadian, and a lot of people here seem to not want to offend Canadians by assuming they are "American." So they sometimes probe. I've taken to saying I'm Irish, but raised in the States. Which, technically, is true.  That seems to change how I'm addressed.

In one year here, I've only really run into it "in my face" on a personal level twice in public - one of which was when two delivery guys from Ikea made comments like "oh, look, ANOTHER American" [tone of voice], and "How long are YOU going to be here for, then?" Followed by some semi-unintelligble muttering when I said "Permanently, I hope."

Of course, I've also gone to job interviews that seemed as if they were doomed the moment I opened my mouth. [I could see the interviewer's expression freeze into a forced smile after I said hello.] I've had other interviews where that definitely did not happen, though.

I did have a lengthy conversation, in Primark last summer, with a lady who was asking me why "nobody had shot" Rump yet and wondering "what had happened" to "us". I told her that the Secret Service was very good at it's job, and that I actually was kind of surprised to not hear of any attempts. I absolutely don't support shooting anyone, let me make that clear, but I know there are plenty of people wandering the streets in the States who are capable of doing that. I am somewhat surprised, given the "turbulence" I see in the States from various newscasts, and the general incivility that has always been just under the surface there, that an attempt hasn't happened yet. As to the "what has happened," I offered some conjectures and left it at that.  Nice lady, very perplexed lady. That makes two of us.

So... hard to say about anti-American sentiment. I get the sense that generally it's directed more against the government, rather than us as individuals.  Others may have had different experiences.

I'd have gone to Canada if they would have let me in, but I'm too old. Not a bad destination for those who can manage it! 

I think the toughest job in America is that of being a Secret Service person. And crazy Donald Trump makes their job 10 times harder.

Sounds like it's a mix bag whether someone might say something negative to you because you're American. Do you happen to live in a large city? I sometimes wonder if the area a person lives in might influence aggressive behavior. I have to say that Trump's election has motivated a lot of extreme people to act out their feelings toward complete strangers.

 Racial attacks whether they be verbal or physical have increase considerably in the States. I've never seen so many Republicans pulling for Democrats to win office. Hopefully everyone will come out to vote. Even once the Mrs and I move to Europe we will still vote back in the States and might even fly over to help canvas to get people registered and out to the polls to vote. America is changing for the worse and we all must do our part to help get the ship back on the right course.

We have settled in Southport in the North West of England.  Southport is a Victorian seaside town.  We are a couple of streets away from the centre and can stroll to bars and restaurants and there is usually something going.  Tomorrow there is a parade and various displays for Armed Forces Day.  Next weekend there is the Air Show and so we will walk to the sea front and watch the Red Arrows streak by.  There are cinemas, shops, bowling alley and LOTS of golf courses,  and a railway station within walking distance.