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Comment by Osmium | Hacker News Reader

UK citizen here. "High-skilled" worker, left the UK. Policies like this do not make me want to return.

Could you elaborate, please? The policy seems reasonable. I've experienced in Hong Kong and Japan.

Sure. I don't think points-based systems are in-and-of-themselves unreasonable, in that there are good-faith arguments to be made in their favour. It's the undercurrent of meanness and xenophobia behind the policies that's more frightening to me.

It's difficult to comment on this one policy without contextualizing what's happened to Britain as a whole over the last few years, and a lot of it has been pretty ugly.

Does the country you are living in now have a better social conditions? are they improving there? Or just higher wages?

Many tech workers have moved to the USA, for example.

What would it take you to live somewhere else?

Should we expect a tech worker to halve their pay and move from LA to London if there was a better relationship between Britain and Europe?

I am skeptical that this policy has any direct bearing on your future decisions, but it is a pretty good way to make a political point as it's good to have outside perspective.

You're a UK citizen, you don't need a visa. This policy has practically 0 impact on you.

That's a very narrow lens with which to look at it. It matters a great deal when your friends, co-workers and communities would be affected by policies like this. Historically, the UK has benefitted immensely from its immigrant population.

Well then pointing out you are a 'high skill' worker doesn't really add to the discussion, at all. Your original comment would have been much better if you had explained why (like you just did here).

Well, he managed to virtue signal and humble brag at the same time.

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