America is over for irish/europeans?

Europe is **** tbh, don't get people's fascination with it. Everywhere looks the same and everyone is so reserved.

Fr Tod Umptious wrote: »

Give an Irish person the exact same job opportunity in Boston or Berlin and I'd reckon they majority would go for Boston.

America holds an allure for us that other countries don't

That's because we consume so much American culture and many of us have family or friends that live or have lived there.

I lived there for 6 years and visited 38 states.
I did not see a single gun in all my time there.

Everyone the world over has family there and consumes their media. Irish people think we're somehow unique when it comes to America, the only thing that's unique about Ireland and America is that it's kinda trendy to say you're Irish on the east coast. In California, nobody cares, it's just a foreign European country that's exotic. You'd get the same reaction if you say you're from Belgium.

I'm in Canada and the same question arises here. The general sentiment seems divided, but there were always some people who didn't go across the border very often if ever, those people are more likely to say they wouldn't go now. For people who are used to travel or work related visits to the U.S., the thinking is more specific, like what areas should I perhaps avoid (and why) for my safety? For me, the draw has always been scenery in remote areas of the west, and I have not really seen any changes in the experience. Most of us can probably imagine what places are likely to see outbursts of random gun violence which can help you to avoid those, although it has become such an epidemic of recent attacks in very ordinary places like bars and concerts. These things seem to come in cycles, and it will probably fade back to more normal times eventually, but even at the current levels, you have to factor in the size and population and your chances of being involved in any such incident would be much lower than other hazards you might face while driving or just your own health. A lot of people may be carrying (weapons) but you don't tend to notice this even in crowded cities like Las Vegas. It's not like every five minutes somebody whips out a gun and starts firing it. In fact I have only seen one citizen with a gun in all my visits to the U.S. (it was holstered) and he was chatting with a store clerk in a small town in Nevada. Not sure if he was some sort of auxiliary cop or if his display was legal, but it wasn't very threatening.

In Canada, these issues are generally more similar to Ireland than the U.S., the level of gun ownership and shooting incidents is relatively low compared to south of the border, and most gun violence here seems to be gangs settling scores, although occasionally with non-participants either in the line of fire or accidentally mistaken for a gang member. I don't imagine at 70 I will have that problem though.

Been to last Vegas once. Grand oul time.

I will visit New York and maybe the west coast someday but they're not that high on my list of places I want to visit.

I probably wouldn't move there because from all my encounters of Americans both in America, in Ireland or while backpacking, I just don't like them. I'd probably kill myself if I had to work and live surrounded by them.

Americans have been intergenerationally damaged by the original sins of Native American Indian genocide and African slavery. Add the unrestrained militarism, perpetual war-mongering, barely restrained capitalism, a weak social safety net, sycophantic media, gun culture and a dog eat dog mentality that hangs over them like a dark cloud all their days.