What is so good about this country?

[Ric.ror]

I thought I heard recently that in 2013 this country will experience a flood of migrants from other EU countries such as Bulgaria and Hungry
Why do they choose to come here and not countres such as Germany or France

Please could I have sensible answers and not rants

TIA

[emmie]

that old chestnut, you haven't seen some of the ones i have, lolling around with large cans of whatever takes you off your head. A local refugee centre is full of them. Relatives who live in a rather sleepy backwater have the same problem. the Poles arrived ostensibly to get jobs, and on discovering they couldn't find any, set up their own little drug deals and drinking escapades, the local police have yet to sort that one out. That is not to say there aren't some who do make a life for themselves here, but many do not.

[jake-the-peg]

Come to that you might ask why we have so many Northerners down here taking our jobs in the South!

[emmie]

hardly an endorsement of a multicultural society, and this is not the only time i have heard her say this.

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2026645,00.html

[douglas9401]

That's an easy one jake. They're put off the land by soft southerners who've sold their three bed semi and bought a grouse estate on the proceeds. :P

[ummmm]

Em, you always make it sound like you live in some sort of no go zone ghetto.

All the Polish and Romanian I know, and I know a few, all work.

[Zacs-Master]

Some interesting facts and figures for those who would like some substantiation:
http://www.aboutimmigration.co.uk/facts-impact-immigration-uk-population.html

[jake-the-peg]

A right wing chancellor feeding her right wing

Oh look here's Cameron feeding his right wing

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12371994

Gotta keep them fed otherwise they get hungry and start biting the boss!

[emmie]

we live in one of the biggest cities in the world, with a multi cultural, multi ethnic mix, that doesn't mean to say it works, just that's how it is.
Our area is now a ghetto, take that as you wish.

[chelle7272]

Em i can't say that the Polish and other eastern Europena commmunity here are anything like what you describe. Most of the ones I know work, my OH works with a team of Hungarians on his site, they're very good workers.

[emmie]

interesting reading from that article about how illegal immigrants stay here, and the juries out on how many there are.

[emmie]

so Frau Merkel is right wing, surprising as i have never thought she was.

[sp1814]

Weirdly my area (Islington) used to be rough until the gays started moving in. Now it's all chi-chi cafes, independent furniture restorers and designer clothes shops.

Also, a lot of areas in the East End were complete dumps (rat-infested, outside toilet hell holes) throughout the first six decades of the 20th century. This was before any immigrants moved in (apart from the Jews who fled Germany and then were met with anti-semetism from a small part of the local population).

Pretty sure I've spelled 'anti-semetism' wrong.

[douglas9401]

My sister lives and works in the big smoke now em, she's now used to everything and everyone, except the Somali loiterers.

[sp1814]

em10

My experience is very different from yours too. We had our house renovated six years ago, by a bloke who's parents are from Greece...all his team were from Eastern Europe, and I was actually shocked at how good they were.

I mean...they had a pride in their job that I've literally never seen before. One day they started sanding the dining room floor, and afterwards they stained it. They put another coat on the following day, and then on the third day, they stripped it all off and started again. The reason? They felt it hadn't been done well enough. Believe me, it looked perfect to my untrained eye.

We then had our place redecorated by the same firm, although now it was a different set of Polish lads working.

Once again, they did stuff over and above what you'd expect from builders. Eventually I asked about their ridiculous levels of attention to detail. I was told that it's just the way Polish people are.

I'm not saying that your experiences don't count - of course they do, it's just that there's more than one side to the story. I literally couldn't praise Eastern European workers high enough.

...but if you're going to buy them a few bottles of vodka to thank them for their hard work, don't give them to them until they've completely finished the job, otherwise be last couple of days will be very difficult for them.

[modeller]

When they arrive in this country they not only can bring their family here but for many what is more important is that they are paid for those left behind, whether they exist or not.

[modeller]

sp1814

[emmie]

Islington funny enough wasn't that rough, i know the area well, as most of my friends lived in the borough, and it wasn't so much the gays who started moving in but Blair, he made it somewhat fashionable and then it all began to change.

I had quite a bit of work done on our place, by English blokes, they were hard working, good at their jobs, and cleaned up after themselves, see we can all do that

some of youngsters of the immigrants who have found their way here from somalia and Pakistan, have joined the endless gangs that have pervaded our area.
You wonder quite why you bother, but life has to go on doesn't it.

[ichkeria]

Poles (as opposed to next year's Romanians and Hungarians - about whom we've yet to hear) have a long tradition of settling in Britain. We have Poles (admittedly not migrant ones) largely to thank for cracking the Enigma code in WWII.
There was always a large Polish population in our town, now much bigger of course.

Doesn't excuse the drug escapades of course I agree.
And they can be rather miserable and not smile and bow and say "thank you" :-)

[pdq1]

Word of mouth! Think of the politician with the biggest mouth and you get Boris . Here he was spouting out his verbal filth yesterday saying British firms are going under because of immigration rules are too strict. Somebody should tell him there are millions of unemployed skilled workers in this country trying unsuccessfully to find work in their chosen profession.

[emmie]

modeller, that has been the biggest shift, that whilst one might welcome some new blood, workers for the jobs we can't or even won't do, they bring their endless families with them. It's not a new problem, and one which has seen far reaching effects. If you have one worker, but the state has to support ten, how is that remotely beneficial. It's been going on for years, but the politicians of every persuasion have ducked the issue. It doesn't matter for them, because they will swan off one day to some where it's warm and will have enough money to not bother with our little overswamped island.