To many Americans the biggest impact of the EU Referendum vote in the United Kingdom this week is a fall in the stock market which affects investments. While this may be how Americans are viewing “Brexit” and possibly contemplating a trip overseas, people living in Europe will be faced with many different changes in the coming months and years.
In a world that is growing ever smaller with the help of technology and globalization, I get to hear first-hand accounts of how this affects others. I have friends living in both the UK and on the European continent, so I’m seeing how this vote directly impacts people I know. In my day-to-day life the results of this vote affect me very little right now, but my friends have been telling me how this is already affecting them and how it will continue to in the near future.
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My British friends are not pleased with the surprise outcome of the vote, being in the majority of other young adults who voted for the UK to remain in the EU. These young adults will now have to deal with the downturn of the British economy and everything that is expected to follow in the fallout. Young Britons are now faced with a future they did not want for themselves, and are not happy about it.
With Britain’s exit from the EU, many large banking companies will most likely consider leaving the UK to other locations in Europe to continue their business with those countries. This would mean a loss of these jobs, along with jobs in factories as companies such as BMW and Volkswagen consider moving their plants back to Europe to avoid stricter customs and import regulations and fees. The value of the pound has also already taken a tumble in the wake of the vote, and the exchange rate between the US dollar and British pound at its lowest level in 30 years.
Looking at this from the viewpoint of my friend who lives in Germany, this decision may have more of a silver lining. While this decision will cause economic downturn and likely recession in Britain, the opposite may hold true on mainland Europe. As Britain untangles itself from the European financial system, the companies once based in London will not be able to access Europe as easily, so these companies will need to move to other areas of the continent. All kinds of jobs will consequently move and will cause job growth across Europe and may even strengthen the value of the Euro.
I am in a unique position to be able to be on the outside of the major event of Brexit and know people whom this directly affects. I find it interesting to see first-hand accounts of this story as it slowly unfolds in the wake of the election results. No one knows for sure what is to come, but it will definitely be a new world.
