I love Birmingham, in no small part because on my first visit, the cabbie in London who took me to the train station tried, desperately, to convince me not to go, so sure was he that we'd hate it. I think it's great.
I am really looking forward to reading your thoughts on BA, too. Fascinating place.
When it comes to housing in the USA I can share some details as a small scale developer (1 single family house at a time). Buying land is not a problem. It's the permits and the labor costs that make housing unaffordable. For example a 1,600 square foot home (149 square meters) cost $31,000 in permit fees alone! The county had an entire campus dedicated to the administration of permits. One fee alone was $6,000 for affordable housing. I asked where the affordable housing was in the county and they said they haven't built it yet. I said how long have you been collecting the tax. They said 20 years!
Reminds me of my job application cover letter for academic jobs in Australia a decade ago...
After growing up in continental Europe, Grad School in the US and post-doc in the UK, I motivated my application by arguing it is a great combination of both, the freedom and space of the US and the urban sophistication of Europe.... Seemingly the flattering worked and they gave me the job 😎
Europe: higher quality of life for normal folks. Generally less long-term sustainable due to demographics.
USA: riskier, uglier, more stressful for normal folks. But a migrant magnet because of good money-making potential. Greatest place in the world if you don't mind the negatives, which are manifold.
V interesting. Largely agree. My migration post from a few months back on similar theme:
'Much I read tells me the U.S. is a busted flush, its era of global dominance is coming to an end, it is on the brink of internal collapse. That's not how ordinary people see it - for now.
2023 saw 43,000 Russians, 42,000 Indians and 24,000 Chinese illegally cross into the U.S. across its southern border, and total of 40,000 Indians and Chinese do the same across its northern border, coming from Canada.
When we see Americans trying to circumvent the border controls of India, China and Russia, in search of more opportunities and a better life, that is when we will really know things have changed.'
I've always wondered/suspected that had I been born outside of the US, I might have desperately wanted to immigrate to there. I say that because while I now absolutely love so much about living in Europe, I can see feeling stifled by how much closer family ties are here and the fact that it can be harder to be innovative and break free of social norms. All three are things I took advantage of when I was younger to create the life I wanted.
That might have been harder to do had I been born European...
While not everyone may want to live in the USA there are a lot of people who want their money to live here. But of course their money must live in a nice place. This reality alone has created a severe "affordable" housing crisis. Take Hawaii for example where over half of the native born Hawaiians no longer live in the Islands because they can't afford it. I'm guessing that the entire world is this way though, not just the US. Is it a) Capitalism b) Supply and Demand or c) Both of the Above.
I have heard from Jewish and Catholic Relief Service personnel who facilitate legal migration to the U.S. that most immigrants want 1.) Northern Europe 2.) Canada 3.) the U.S., in that order (I never hear Australia/NZ mentioned). Obviously the time people put into learning English has a bearing on their choice (Northern Europe being tolerably English-speaking), but also most immigrants have family, friends, cultural groups in each of those places, and they know how easy/difficult it is to find shelter and support. So much of the burden for helping these families in the U.S. falls on local networks of synagogues, temples, churches, etc., whereas Canada and Europe have better national systems for support. No place is perfect, but it’s interesting to me that people like political refugees who put a lot of work into thinking and networking to learn about migration destinations are not prioritizing the U.S.
I think that there are tons of people in the US who would prefer to live in a smaller apartment in a more dense city (in Europe). The evidence is in the US itself: there is high demand for places approaching this in the US. COVID aside, people are *still* moving to cities.
We are likely be moving soon to Chicago from Oxford, UK, not to fulfil a dream, but merely for a good school for our child, and healthcare we can buy there, but could not buy here (to buy healthcare in UK, one must really be rich, not just well off).
Not that we are really looking forward to this - e.g. we don't know how to drive cars, and our workloads will get higher.
I think this is my biggest issue with the urbanist/YIMBY crowd. While my personal preferences (and lifestyle decisions) are far more in line with what they believe I observe the United States and see that a large majority of people are choosing something else--and some version of false consciousness doesn't explain it. People WANT the two-car garage with the beer fridge and the large, fenced backyard. They're not choosing that due to a shortage of 1,800 square foot townhouses next to an urban rail line. And I think that desire is pretty transcendent across cultures.
My SIL’s first cat was named Breezewood, after the halfway point b/t Montgomery County, MD, and her grandparents’ place in Acme, PA. Breezewood is still horrible.
I love Birmingham, in no small part because on my first visit, the cabbie in London who took me to the train station tried, desperately, to convince me not to go, so sure was he that we'd hate it. I think it's great.
I am really looking forward to reading your thoughts on BA, too. Fascinating place.
When it comes to housing in the USA I can share some details as a small scale developer (1 single family house at a time). Buying land is not a problem. It's the permits and the labor costs that make housing unaffordable. For example a 1,600 square foot home (149 square meters) cost $31,000 in permit fees alone! The county had an entire campus dedicated to the administration of permits. One fee alone was $6,000 for affordable housing. I asked where the affordable housing was in the county and they said they haven't built it yet. I said how long have you been collecting the tax. They said 20 years!
Reminds me of my job application cover letter for academic jobs in Australia a decade ago...
After growing up in continental Europe, Grad School in the US and post-doc in the UK, I motivated my application by arguing it is a great combination of both, the freedom and space of the US and the urban sophistication of Europe.... Seemingly the flattering worked and they gave me the job 😎
don't overthink things, please.
Europe: higher quality of life for normal folks. Generally less long-term sustainable due to demographics.
USA: riskier, uglier, more stressful for normal folks. But a migrant magnet because of good money-making potential. Greatest place in the world if you don't mind the negatives, which are manifold.
V interesting. Largely agree. My migration post from a few months back on similar theme:
'Much I read tells me the U.S. is a busted flush, its era of global dominance is coming to an end, it is on the brink of internal collapse. That's not how ordinary people see it - for now.
2023 saw 43,000 Russians, 42,000 Indians and 24,000 Chinese illegally cross into the U.S. across its southern border, and total of 40,000 Indians and Chinese do the same across its northern border, coming from Canada.
When we see Americans trying to circumvent the border controls of India, China and Russia, in search of more opportunities and a better life, that is when we will really know things have changed.'
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/jonathan-thomas-a29374a9_americas-southern-border-has-become-a-global-activity-7154782129137074176-bFPq/
Parts of Nairobi are not safe, period, and many places not safe to walk after dark, And I lived in Kenya for 3 years, Used to be better but......
Once again I suggest paying somebody to walk with you.
You will probably be OK anyway but.....
Rural areas in Kenya much safer, I worry little there.
I've always wondered/suspected that had I been born outside of the US, I might have desperately wanted to immigrate to there. I say that because while I now absolutely love so much about living in Europe, I can see feeling stifled by how much closer family ties are here and the fact that it can be harder to be innovative and break free of social norms. All three are things I took advantage of when I was younger to create the life I wanted.
That might have been harder to do had I been born European...
While not everyone may want to live in the USA there are a lot of people who want their money to live here. But of course their money must live in a nice place. This reality alone has created a severe "affordable" housing crisis. Take Hawaii for example where over half of the native born Hawaiians no longer live in the Islands because they can't afford it. I'm guessing that the entire world is this way though, not just the US. Is it a) Capitalism b) Supply and Demand or c) Both of the Above.
I have heard from Jewish and Catholic Relief Service personnel who facilitate legal migration to the U.S. that most immigrants want 1.) Northern Europe 2.) Canada 3.) the U.S., in that order (I never hear Australia/NZ mentioned). Obviously the time people put into learning English has a bearing on their choice (Northern Europe being tolerably English-speaking), but also most immigrants have family, friends, cultural groups in each of those places, and they know how easy/difficult it is to find shelter and support. So much of the burden for helping these families in the U.S. falls on local networks of synagogues, temples, churches, etc., whereas Canada and Europe have better national systems for support. No place is perfect, but it’s interesting to me that people like political refugees who put a lot of work into thinking and networking to learn about migration destinations are not prioritizing the U.S.
Thank you for the introspection, Chris.
I think that there are tons of people in the US who would prefer to live in a smaller apartment in a more dense city (in Europe). The evidence is in the US itself: there is high demand for places approaching this in the US. COVID aside, people are *still* moving to cities.
We are likely be moving soon to Chicago from Oxford, UK, not to fulfil a dream, but merely for a good school for our child, and healthcare we can buy there, but could not buy here (to buy healthcare in UK, one must really be rich, not just well off).
Not that we are really looking forward to this - e.g. we don't know how to drive cars, and our workloads will get higher.
I think this is my biggest issue with the urbanist/YIMBY crowd. While my personal preferences (and lifestyle decisions) are far more in line with what they believe I observe the United States and see that a large majority of people are choosing something else--and some version of false consciousness doesn't explain it. People WANT the two-car garage with the beer fridge and the large, fenced backyard. They're not choosing that due to a shortage of 1,800 square foot townhouses next to an urban rail line. And I think that desire is pretty transcendent across cultures.
My SIL’s first cat was named Breezewood, after the halfway point b/t Montgomery County, MD, and her grandparents’ place in Acme, PA. Breezewood is still horrible.