I arrived in the UK in 1993 from continental Europe. I have learned here and invested a lot of my life in this country. I love living here, especially because I thought to be among people who are generally good at ‘live and let live’ while still caring – maybe people here are not perfect at this, but appear much better at it than where I come from. I’ve got a job I like and that allows me to give something back to society through education and research. I’ve got family and friends here.
I thought I could continue to shape my life without worrying about whether or not I have a right to be here. That right was a given and as I’ve always felt more European than anything else (except, maybe, eine Unterfränkin, but that’s a parochial joke and irrelevant here), I could not imagine this ever to change.
But it has. My world, as it relates to living in the UK, has become uncertain by the result of a referendum that was called for the wrong reasons, the campaigns for which were at best poor and at worst misleading on all sides, the outcome of which was not thought through by those who were responsible for thinking it out.
I’ll be applying for permanent residence to keep my options open. I know that it is irrational, but at the moment, I refuse to accept that my options should be curtailed by BREXIT after living here all this time.
Challenging Habitat Blog 
Hi Charly, I voted to stay in as I liked being European, I like having friends and colleagues from not just all over Europe but from all over the World. Yes I’m Plymothian and lived here all my life but I didn’t expect my youngsters to do the same in fact one of my daughters worked in Paris and in Brescia (Italy) for twelve months once she left college which gave her the confidence to go even further to find work. Will these opportunities for the young be curtailed once we have Brexit?
My trade union advised me that staying in would be beneficial especially for the rights that I have as a worker will we be losing some of these rights? I feel vulnerable now we are going to become a small island on its own once more. People said that they wanted to have their country back, back from whom is what I want to know, could we not walk down the street and go about our business freely before the Brexit vote? Yes there were things to sort but those things will still need sorting Brexit or no Brexit.
I’d like to say to all of my ‘European’ friends and colleagues, you will always be welcome as far as I am concerned and my youngsters and most of their generation feel the same way!
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Hi Karen, thank you for your kind words, insightful comments and questions. Charly
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