I have read an article about European cities like Athens and Lisbon buckling under the influx of mostly American expats bringing up the cost of living/rents/property prices significantly for the locals. So no surprise there can be animosity from those that don't make nice incomes from renting said properties. Of course expats also soens more money on restaurants, nice furnishings etc. Or like you two spending money on remodeling a very old apartment and employing local work force. So they can be a boon to local economy. But if you don't benefit directly from that it can be hard to watch it going on.
No doubt it’s a complicated issue that usually gets propagandized down into an us vs them issue. Airbnbs/landlords vs the working class, or similar, when tons of forces are at play. We watched a whole evolution of it in Portland. The rich expats there were from California, New York, etc… So we have seen both sides. I don’t discount the pain and the problem but often the discourse about it can be toxic vs constructive. Especially on Facebook.
Oh yeah, I don't do Facebook. And yes people can be so disrespectful when hiding behind a screen name in all social media. There will always be people who have more and who have less. The thing is lots of time people abroad don't realize average Americans didn't just get rich. We worked very hard and often much harder and longer hours and sacrificed more, especially when it comes to paying for education, health care, retirement funds. No freebies and long vacations and job security and free university education and subsidised childcare. Yes we have higher wages but also higher costs. When I tell people what renta are or heating costs or shitty health insurance, then they are surprised. They don't know what a deductible is. That the people are no less in America because if medical debt. That people sleep in cars while working full time.
I have read an article about European cities like Athens and Lisbon buckling under the influx of mostly American expats bringing up the cost of living/rents/property prices significantly for the locals. So no surprise there can be animosity from those that don't make nice incomes from renting said properties. Of course expats also soens more money on restaurants, nice furnishings etc. Or like you two spending money on remodeling a very old apartment and employing local work force. So they can be a boon to local economy. But if you don't benefit directly from that it can be hard to watch it going on.
No doubt it’s a complicated issue that usually gets propagandized down into an us vs them issue. Airbnbs/landlords vs the working class, or similar, when tons of forces are at play. We watched a whole evolution of it in Portland. The rich expats there were from California, New York, etc… So we have seen both sides. I don’t discount the pain and the problem but often the discourse about it can be toxic vs constructive. Especially on Facebook.
Oh yeah, I don't do Facebook. And yes people can be so disrespectful when hiding behind a screen name in all social media. There will always be people who have more and who have less. The thing is lots of time people abroad don't realize average Americans didn't just get rich. We worked very hard and often much harder and longer hours and sacrificed more, especially when it comes to paying for education, health care, retirement funds. No freebies and long vacations and job security and free university education and subsidised childcare. Yes we have higher wages but also higher costs. When I tell people what renta are or heating costs or shitty health insurance, then they are surprised. They don't know what a deductible is. That the people are no less in America because if medical debt. That people sleep in cars while working full time.
Sorry spell check. People are homeless not “no less”...