I am a 27 years old white male living in Walthamstow, London. When I first meet people, it’s not my gender or my race they notice first, but my accent. I am a Romanian man living in UK and this is my story.
Originally from the City of Iasi, I moved to United Kingdom over a year ago to pursue the chance of a better life. I had my Bachelor degree with me, worked hard 4 years to get it. Almost immediately upon arriving to United Kingdom, I was struck by the culture and metropolitan difference. I’ve learned American English on my own, but here it’s rubbish, not garbage, yes-mate, not yes, sweet, not cool and the social proximity is so much smaller I can feel their breath over my neck in the tube (not subway train).
I quickly learned that to be white, male, without a physical handicap, heterosexual, from an old European country, speaking English fluently, educated and not on benefits makes you ignorable and politically bashable. If you’re Romanian on top of all that, there’s nothing to hope for as you cannot be employed.
