# Hypothetical fleeing America **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 13, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496 "2005-12-13T22:15:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496/1 "2005-12-13T22:15:06Z")
This could start as a poll in IMHO but will probably get into a debate. Hypothetically speaking, let’s say you had enough of the U.S. and decided to take your family permanently to a foreign country to set new roots, raise your family, and stay there. For this example say France or Germany. Would you: 1. Learn to speak French or German as quickly as possible, insist your family speak it, and raise new children to speak just French or German. or 2. Learn enough to get by, let your wife continue to speak English, and raise your children to speak English around the house but learn French/German enough so they could go to school. Would you: 1. Try to learn European customs, try to blend with your new countrymen, socialize with the locals. or 2. Seek out other Americans, live among them, try to start a “Little U.S.” part of town and primarily socialize with them. Would you: 1. Understand that you are an outsider and Germans/French may resent you not learning the language and may resent you trying to start a “Little U.S.” in their country. or 2)Be angry with them for not being tolerant to outsiders. ---
**Author:** ![Jill\_s\_Fruitcake\_Mine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Jill\_s\_Fruitcake\_Mine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jill_s_Fruitcake_Mine)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496/2 "2005-12-13T23:11:38Z")
When I lived overseas I did the 1) answers. Some of my friends did the 2) answers. And we all returned fat and happy. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496/3 "2005-12-13T23:14:17Z")
I think you’re offering some false dichotomies. I would mostly do #1, but I’m sure I’d like to socialize with other displaced Americans at times, too. I’d like for my kids to be completely fluent in the local language, but would hope they’d continue speaking English as well. After all, it helps quite a bit to speak English, and most educated Europeans can at least get by in it. If I decided to set down roots in a new country, I’d try to blend in as much as possible w/o giving up the things I like about my own heritage. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496/4 "2005-12-13T23:32:35Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > 1. Learn to speak French or German as quickly as possible, insist your family speak it, and raise new children to speak just French or German. > or > 2. Learn enough to get by, let your wife continue to speak English, and raise your children to speak English around the house but learn French/German enough so they could go to school. 1. Learn to speak French or German as best as I could. Let my family members do as they will, but try and finagle it so they at least had a chance to learn English along with the native language. > [@](#): > > 1. Try to learn European customs, try to blend with your new countrymen, socialize with the locals. > or > 2. Seek out other Americans, live among them, try to start a “Little U.S.” part of town and primarily socialize with them. 1. Pick up things I liked, not pick up things I don’t like. Hang out with people I got along with, not hang out with people I didn’t. > [@](#): > > 1. Understand that you are an outsider and Germans/French may resent you not learning the language and may resent you trying to start a “Little U.S.” in their country. > or > 2)Be angry with them for not being tolerant to outsiders. 1. Not much care. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496/5 "2005-12-14T00:02:27Z")
Well, I’d never move to either country but I’ll go along with the hypothetical. > [@](#): > > Would you: > > 1. Learn to speak French or German as quickly as possible, insist your family speak it, and raise new children to speak just French or German. > or > 2. Learn enough to get by, let your wife continue to speak English, and raise your children to speak English around the house but learn French/German enough so they could go to school. When we moved to the US my parents chose number 1…with a vengance. So…I’d probably also choose number 1. > [@](#): > > Would you: > > 1. Try to learn European customs, try to blend with your new countrymen, socialize with the locals. > or > 2. Seek out other Americans, live among them, try to start a “Little U.S.” part of town and primarily socialize with them. Same thing. My folks bent over backwards to try and learn the customes and to blend in with folks in the US…and make sure we kids especially were fully American. Again, I’d probably do the exact same thing, so number 1 again. > [@](#): > > Would you: > > 1. Understand that you are an outsider and Germans/French may resent you not learning the language and may resent you trying to start a “Little U.S.” in their country. > or > 2)Be angry with them for not being tolerant to outsiders. Here I’ll go with my own first instinct…neither of these. I’d do what I could, but who I associate with and what I do once I’m a citizen is my own business. My fellow citizens can blow me if they don’t like it. So, I choose Sage Rat’s #3, ‘Not much care.’ -XT ---
**Author:** ![Rodgers01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b19c9b/32.png) [@Rodgers01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rodgers01)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2005, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hypothetical-fleeing-america/335496/6 "2005-12-14T00:10:05Z")
I’m guessing this is to draw a parallel to how some immigrants are in the US…? I don’t think I’d move to France or Germany unless I already _could_ speak French or German; any job I could get there without speaking those languages would either (most likely) not be worth moving for, or (extremely unlikely) being the head of some international company that already does all its business in English. Anyways, I’d raise my kids to be bilingual, but other than that try to fit into the local community. I imagine I’d try to maintain my heritage around the house (take the kids on a picnic on the 4th of July, etc.), but mostly fit in. Granted, if teaching the kids both languages was impractical, impossible, or interfered with their learning the local language, I’d put the emphasis on the local language, and hope to give them English lessons when they were older.