EU referendum, brexit and the aftermath

Too big for my luggage...

Do you have hold luggage at the mo, or could you pay for an extra bag?

I think you are allowed to just find the nearest leaver and demand they pay the duty.

I think I'd look at what hold baggage would cost, vs duty+shipping+VAT and pick whichever was cheaper, bearing in mind that I might get pulled up at customs and still have to pay duty and VAT.

Thanks for the input everyone.

Might have found a workaround of marking it as “Sample” and sending it to my restaurant.

What a hassle over a present…

Going back to my comment about the fudges re Ireland from Westminster (and your response)...
Today's piece in the FT shows how fudgie the Free State agreement was (is)..

https://archive.md/xOGFl

Will re enter the fray with my own views when I have more time (rather aptly, the end of this week was spent dealing with Brexit related corporate arrangements).

Changing the game, Desde 1971

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/06/citizenship-journey-europeans-who-became-british-after-brexit-photo-essay

Not sure I'd call this a nice piece on Europeans in post-Brexit UK (it's not not nice) but it's a humanising piece.

In Limbo is a good series with testimonials from Brits in the EU and EU immigrants here and how Brexit affected them.

You may like that if you enjoy reading personal stories.

The UK has seemed to treat Europeans as very 2nd class citizens. Whereas I've have the total opposite out in Spain.

Funny reading their comments.

As an immigrant who chose to make the UK my home (twice), I was more interested in the stories of people who've made similar decisions. There's a whole lot of negativity on here from people desperate to fuck off to anywhere else (I was one of them). So it's comforting to be reminded that we're still living in a multicultural place that people from all over have chosen to make their home.

I can tell but feel that guardian article is very rose tinted.

For what it's worth, my wife (Polish) and I (British) moved back from Poland since Brexit, with all the visa hassle and expense that entailed (long story, mainly due me being naive and not understanding things with a smattering of British exceptionalism as much as I don't like to admit).

As much as I loathe the current government, moving back was right for us - mainly around job security for me, future earning potential for my wife ('unskilled'/has no formal quals), and for our kids (notably avoiding the Polish school curriculum given all the recent changes).
Plus women's/abortion rights - really wanted our second that was on the way at the time to be born here, and she was in May :)

I can tell but feel that guardian article is very rose tinted.

Not entirely sure what you mean by rose tinted. They're just stories told by people who have chosen to stay in the UK after a shitty situation forced them to make that decision.

My Wife (Hungarian) and I (British) moved to Hungary before brexit fully became a disaster but have since had to move back for my work which will hopefully change again in a years time.

Despite Hungarys various issues, similar to Poland, I still somehow feels better than here. I genuinely think Britain is teetering on the edge of no return to complete dark ages with corruption, unemployment and zero benefits.

Hungarys far far from perfect but I I think the EU I feel it can only go so far.

Yeah, definitely the right decision for me and my partner as well. Similar professional reasons to an extent (although I kept my EU job for a while after coming back). And to be honest, London is just rad, so there was a huge social pull.

And agreed: fuck the Tories. But I'm not pulling a Phil Collins yet. Not when there's still hope we'll see IDS and Johnson and ... lose their seats.

Did they gave up the EU passports?

I fear that the demographic shift required to unseat the Tories is 20 or so years away, and the damage they'll do during those two decades will be significant.

And that fear is why you're going to leave. Fine. 100% your choice and I'd be a hypocrite for calling you out for it. Enjoy Scotland, Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, or wherever it is you end up. I've no doubt it'll be lovely.

Despite Hungarys various issues, similar to Poland, I still somehow feels better than here. I genuinely think Britain is teetering on the edge of no return to complete dark ages with corruption, unemployment and zero benefits.

Strangely I have a Hungarian friend who has moved to the UK because they have exactly the same (and more on top) concerns about Hungary.

I think a lot of people on here (speaking generally, not specifically you) are somewhat hyperbolic about how bad the UK is compared to the foreign utopias. It could certainly be doing better at the moment but it's certainly better than a lot of other places and the inevitable slide to destruction that some are predicting is a long way from happening.

I've heard a lot worse stories, more racism etc. those stories are all pretty nice.

Yes. Bad stuff has happened and will continue to happen. In fact, that was the point of sharing not bad stories. A slightly different perspective from the one we normally get. Is it a rule that for every not bad thing said about the UK we must also say that it's a racist shithole about to catch fire?

And that fear is why you're going to leave.

Well, that's more of an ambition than a reality right now, a lot of things need to slot into place to enable a move that doesn't come with significant downsides.

(I know we have a bit of a problem with "I would like to do this thing at some point" being read to mean "I am doing this thing" on the forum, so wanted to be clear).

Out of interest, did/does your wife feel the same way?

Perhaps I'm projecting, but I reckon I would have had an easier time staying in Poland than my wife in many respects. Mainly on account of my lack of real integration (still worked in the UK, with a lot of travel back-and-forth) and seeing it as something exciting and new and European etc. etc. etc. (despite being fully aware of how utterly shit PiS are) - whereas my wife had grown up there, so the shit things seemed to resonate a bit more.

That, and have already had an ectopic pregnancy nearly kill her a few years ago, didn't want to risk ended up another statistic.

edit: example of things a lot better/more for us here - daughter #1 started in reception in September and has learned about Rosa Parks during Black History Month; whilst Poland has been introducing Section 28 style anti-LGTBQ+ assaults on their curriculum, and re-writing history to support the ruling party's ultra-nationalistic views.
Also compare BBC headlines to Poland's state broadcaster's:
'leftist fascism destroying Poland'; '[liberal opposition candidate] will fulfil Jewish demands' and so on
https://notesfrompoland.com/2021/11/12/turning-propaganda-into-public-service-broadcasting-in-poland/