# Ever wish you held another nationality? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2010, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375 "2010-11-03T20:56:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/41 "2010-11-05T14:25:00Z")
Since I was a kid, I’ve had episodes of wishing I were British. The accent, for one thing! And they have the best slang. Even the words that are different from ours are frequently better—I can’t exactly go around referring to an outdoor trash can as a “wheelie bin” or the trunk of a car as the “boot” without sounding like an a-hole. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/42 "2010-11-05T14:59:03Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > I think you missed the target of my sarcasm. > > ETA: Unless I’m being whooshed. I HAVE NO IDEA ANYMORE. > > ETA #2: Now I realize you must have made a post and then deleted it. I am easily confused. Yeah, it was just a dumb joke I deleted. By the time I noticed I’d left your quote in it was too late. Sorry, **Kyla**. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Wallenstein](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b5a626/32.png) [@Wallenstein](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wallenstein)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/43 "2010-11-05T15:23:48Z")
Compared with England there’s so much more space in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand… I’d love to be part of a country where you can drive for a day and not see anyone. In England you’re never more than 550 miles from any other part of the country, and it just feels so crowded and hemmed in. We have a population density of 1,023/sq mi, whereas Oregon (which is bigger than the UK) has a density of 35.6/sq mi… I’d love to have that much space to breathe. ---
**Author:** ![Baron\_Greenback](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/baron_greenback/32/48_2.png) [@Baron\_Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baron_Greenback)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2010, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/44 "2010-11-05T15:43:12Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Compared with England there’s so much more space in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand… I’d love to be part of a country where you can drive for a day and not see anyone. In England you’re never more than 550 miles from any other part of the country, and it just feels so crowded and hemmed in. > > We have a population density of 1,023/sq mi, whereas Oregon (which is bigger than the UK) has a density of 35.6/sq mi… I’d love to have that much space to breathe. The Highlands have a population density less than Oregon. It’s a bit smaller obviously, but closer. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/45 "2010-11-06T01:59:13Z")
If I may stretch the meaning of the OP and include another ethnicity…years ago I went with a couple of buddies to see the Bus Boys in concert. We were the only white folk there. During the entire show, I felt as though I were black. And I was digging the feeling. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/46 "2010-11-06T02:02:28Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I would never consider Thai citizenship. Naturalized citizens are not allowed to vote for one thing. It seems I am behind the times. This changed three years ago upon enactment of the 2007 constitution. That changed the situation to allow naturalized citizens the right to vote, but not until they’ve been citizens for five years. (Monks still cannot vote. They’re supposed to be above politics.) Still would not want to be a Thai citizen, though. Just because a place is nice to hang out in, doesn’t mean I’m going to pledge myself to it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/47 "2010-11-06T02:12:41Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > However when I started talking to the locals it became apparent that they were bitter and jealous about Australians. They whined endlessly about their own situations but took great pleasure in making idiotic assertions about what they thought Australians thought, felt or believed. That’s not just Aussies, we do that to everyone! 😉 > [@TrueCelt](#): > > The part of Ireland my family is from is now part of the UK I think you meant to write “is _still_ part of the UK” - unless by “now” you mean prior to the last 800 years… Though technically, rather than pragmatically, it’s been part of the UK since 1801. Me, I wish I was from Hong Kong. I just love everything about the place and would love to be able just to rock up and get a job there like I did when we still owned it. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/48 "2010-11-07T18:45:19Z")
As a South African citizen, I’ve often wished I held another country’s passport, for the convenience of visa-free travel. I’ve never actually wished that I had been born in another country, though. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/49 "2010-11-07T19:02:00Z")
Not exactly what the OP asks, but to bring up another point: Unless the laws have changed that I don’t know about, the problem is, if you are already a US citizen, you cannot have dual citizenship with another country. For instance, I could easily become a German citizen, but would have to give up the US citizenship - and the thought of having to get a visa to visit family and friends here in the US made it complicated and not worth doing. People from other countries do not have to give up their citizenship when getting a US citizenship, which is why they can have dual citizenship. Always found that kind of unfair, but one of the major reasons that many US ex-pats I knew in Europe never became citizens of countries there. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/50 "2010-11-07T20:07:04Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Not exactly what the OP asks, but to bring up another point: > > Unless the laws have changed that I don’t know about, the problem is, if you are already a US citizen, you cannot have dual citizenship with another country. > > For instance, I could easily become a German citizen, but would have to give up the US citizenship - and the thought of having to get a visa to visit family and friends here in the US made it complicated and not worth doing. > > People from other countries do not have to give up their citizenship when getting a US citizenship, which is why they can have dual citizenship. Always found that kind of unfair, but one of the major reasons that many US ex-pats I knew in Europe never became citizens of countries there. [Yes, it has changed](http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html) > [@US State Department](#): > > However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. **In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship** (bolding mine) This effectively means that you have to come out and say “I want to give up my American citizenship” in order to actually lose it. Oh, also I’m Exhibit A, as I hold dual citizenship (US and Israel) ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/51 "2010-11-07T21:03:12Z")
I feel like I hit the motherlode-due to my parents’ wanderlust I have both American and Canadian citizenship even though I was born overseas (I’ve also lived in Japan, England and Australia briefly). I could also easily get that Indian Person of Origin certificate if I wanted it since that’s where I was born. As far as nationalities go, Canadian/US is pretty convenient, so I don’t long for an EU passport or anything. I feel very, very American because to me the whole quasi-second generation immigrant thing is a pretty (North) American situation. I have a lot of friends from various parts of Europe and Asia that have the same issues that I do even though they’re not Indian, just have first generation super-cultural parents. But like Anaamika said, there have been plenty of times that I wished I was white growing up, but these days I’m 100% fine with my ethnicity, especially since my “people” have flooded the United States to the extent that I am no longer The Indian Kid in class and whatnot. Hell, when I lived in California I felt downright ethnically anonymous, which was pretty relaxing. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/52 "2010-11-07T21:55:47Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I think you meant to write “is _still_ part of the UK” - unless by “now” you mean prior to the last 800 years… Though technically, rather than pragmatically, it’s been part of the UK since 1801. From our perspective, we were not officially a part until we were left behind in 1922. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/53 "2010-11-08T01:04:28Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > Not exactly what the OP asks, but to bring up another point: > > Unless the laws have changed that I don’t know about, the problem is, if you are already a US citizen, you cannot have dual citizenship with another country. > > For instance, I could easily become a German citizen, but would have to give up the US citizenship - and the thought of having to get a visa to visit family and friends here in the US made it complicated and not worth doing. As pointed out above, that isn’t true for everyone. The U.S. doesn’t like its citizens from having dual citizenship but it can’t stop it either. There are plenty of people that have dual U.S. and (other country) citizenships. That doesn’t mean that it is risk free however and the U.S. doesn’t want its citizens to collect citizenships on a whim like trading cards. If there was ever a real conflict between the two countries that involved something like a draft, it could put everyone in a bind. It could also create a problem if the person ever got into serious problems with a third country while traveling. In short, the U.S. won’t just strip you of your citizenship if another country offers you another one but it isn’t too hot on the idea. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/54 "2010-11-08T08:50:11Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Compared with England there’s so much more space in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand… I’d love to be part of a country where you can drive for a day and not see anyone. In England you’re never more than 550 miles from any other part of the country, and it just feels so crowded and hemmed in. > > We have a population density of 1,023/sq mi, whereas Oregon (which is bigger than the UK) has a density of 35.6/sq mi… I’d love to have that much space to breathe. They do their best to occupy most of it, though. The metropolitan area of Miami has the population of the city of Barcelona (not of its metropolitan area) but it’s all spread out in little-boxes type of houses, taking up about as much space as Spain’s biggest province. It’s kind’a scary… ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 9:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/55 "2010-11-08T09:36:43Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > From our perspective, we were not officially a part until we were left behind in 1922. Of course if you are from Northern Ireland, you can have both a British and an Irish Passport, although there wouldn’t be much point in having both. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/56 "2010-11-08T10:07:07Z")
> [@Wallenstein](#): > > Compared with England there’s so much more space in America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand… I’d love to be part of a country where you can drive for a day and not see anyone. . Hell, sometimes I’d like to be part of a country where you can drive for a day, period. ---
**Author:** ![BleizDu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@BleizDu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BleizDu)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/57 "2010-11-08T10:43:27Z")
Sometimes I wish I was Belgian (I’m French), since I feel they are more socially advanced than here, and that the government is less to the right, but I would feel totally foreign living there. I’ve visited a handful of times and never felt “at home”, like I feel in France, wherever I am. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/58 "2010-11-08T10:44:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Hell, sometimes I’d like to be part of a country where you can drive for a day, period. Well, some days, when the traffic is **really** backed up… 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/59 "2010-11-08T10:47:41Z")
I think he meant with the car moving at a speed above “one handspan per hour”, **Nooner**. ---
**Author:** ![Noone\_Special](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noone_special/32/2863_2.png) [@Noone\_Special](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noone_Special)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375/60 "2010-11-08T11:22:44Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > I think he meant with the car moving at a speed above “one handspan per hour”, **Nooner**. AKA “A furlong per fortnight” 😃 See, now this is what’s called “Strong Dependence on Initial Conditions.” Or, as it is sometimes (far more appropriate to Israeli traffic…) popularly called: “Chaos.” [/hijack] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ever-wish-you-held-another-nationality/559375.md?page=4)