Postby Generous_J » Wed Aug 16, 2:37 pm
I'm in Lisbon right now. It's very nice.
There's a reasonable amount of immigrants here, though nothing conpared to England. Like England, many of the immigrants are from former colonies. Some from Mozambique, Angola, Goa in India, Brazil etc. Cohesion seems ok.
Like Ireland, Portugal got dicked by the EU on the bailout. Like Ireland, Portugal has recovered from that depression and is doing well. Regeneration after a restructuring. Some cool things are happening here, with the obvious example of the country's drug policy (since 2001, but anyway). It's a city with a good vibe.
I'm lying on my bed, just had a spliff, sipping a Mango Black Tea Lemonade (from Starbucks, lol).
I could move here tomorrow. Or I could move to Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris, Barcelona etc. It won't be that simple for British people going forward, as you want your own private party it seems.
I've said it before, but I really regret that young English people won't be able to take part in the Erasmus programme going forward. That's where young people from around Europe get to live and study in another European city. I chose Amsterdam, obviously. It was probably the most fun I ever had.
So many say that free movement of people is poor people coming to get benefits and use your tax money. The reality is the majority of immigrants from poor countries do the jobs you don't want to, to make a better life for themselves. Free movement is also just from within the EU 28. Most other immigrants to England are from your former colonies.
The young people you meet when travelling in these wonderful European cities, are mostly very optimistic and forward thinking though. Not any of them would be a proponent of Brexit. It's a laughable absurdity. A regression. It's insular and backwards and bordering on offensive.