L8.Scouser

That's great that you now feel at peace, hopefully you don't get mugged in Edinburgh...you know how the irony goes

I'm actually in an odd situation in California because although I want and will be going home my life here is actually great. I have a cushy job that pays well, a realy nice car and co/share a house with a swimming pool. However i'm willing to give this up to go back to shitty old Liverpool. It just makes no sense at all but I've just spent three weeks with my parents and friends over in England and I was taking a bath one night listening to radio merseyside and I relized then in that instant that I was coming back for good. On paper it makes no sense but there is something not quite right with California (especially Los Angeles) I couldn't keep the smile of my face when I was back home - it wasn't even family and friends, there was just something in the air that was very, very calming.

immunise

I'm actually going to live in Balerno, on the outskirts of Edinburgh..nice and quiet and close to the Pentlands (good for dog and cycling). I went home for 10 days in 2004 and it was the happiest I have been in years..that was when I knew I had to come home. I too have the great paying job and on paper the move seems a terrible idea....but what good is money and a nice house if you are miserable and miss your family and friends. I can't put my finger on it but California seems to me to have a sickness...nothing quite gels or works well and everything costs a fortune. There is an air of rudness and selfishness about the place that is very unsettling. My whole theory is that when I'm on my death bed will I look back and think...damn I wish I'd stayed in CA so I could buy more stuff?....no......I'll be greatful for the time I had with my family and friends, once I realised that, the move was a no brainer!

shelly1

Here's another one that sold all the furniture to pay for 3 months quarantine for our dog, we flew back 27th October She comes home tomorrow 13th Yippee
can't wait!!!!!!!! won't sleep tonight,
well done Paul and Mrs Paul on your brave decision to come back, we got everybody saying how sorry they we're it didn't work out for us.
We on the other hand we're jumping through hoops.....thrilled to bits we we're home....
Take my word for it you won't regret it
Good Luck
Shelly

L8.Scouser

You said it yourself with "disgusting overuse of resources". That's a great quote and sums up a lot of what I feel. This may be just an LA thing but everything is so fake and obvious. It's the whole this land is really a desert and everything is man made, right down to the fake tree's and bushes....even the sprinklers anoy me. I was describing it to a freind and I used the term "Real life Lego land".

I think it's just not meant to inhabited by man lol. If i was more New Age i'd say we are psychically picking up on the therat from Earthquakes. When I sat down with my wife we agreed that with the great vacation time you get in the UK it feels better to live there and then come and vacation here.

My only issue now is losing the green card, I'm eligable for citizenship but a part of me doesn't want to be associated with the place - I know that sounds horrible to fellow US citizens... I don't know. Having that passport would be an escape route should live in the uk go "Arse over tip" lol.

immunise

You know what makes me smile? People telling me they did the same as me, selling all for their dog! Most Americans I know are horrified that I sold all my stuff and suggested I ship the furniiture and put the dog in a shelter...."Get a new dog when you get home!" That speaks volumes to me!

immunise

All of the above was the reason I left LA after a year, I couldn't take it anymore. The air, the SUV's, the "it's my right" mentality and the worst of all...trying to get up a main road that has awful traffic because of....people having their SUV's valet parked.....(3rd street!) arghhhhhhhhh I hate that place!

My green card is for the chop at Heathrow!

L8.Scouser

Haha love it, maybe when I get closer to the move I shall be so bold.

eurotramp

I know this mentality...when ever army family's move back to the US from Europe, a lot of them give their pets away, like the electrical goods they cant use anymore

Always21

I have really enjoyed reading these posts. It's not just LA, although I'm sure things are worse there, but Maryland shows the overuse of resources too. Of course we have a little more history here with some 200-400 year old buildings, and great architecture in Baltimore. However, it makes me cry seeing the abandoned parts of Baltimore because anyone with any money would rather live in bland suburbs that eat up open space because all the developments are separated from each other and none of the streets connect. As you said, it just feels fake. Although Baltimore is changing and people are moving back to the city, I want to experience real urbanism again and go shopping in a town centre instead of a bland mall or cloned strip mall that looks exactly the same as 10,000 others across the country.

Don't worry, I know exactly what you mean. I didn't know whether to go for citizenship or not for the same reasons, but I got it in December. My wife and kids are US citizens so it is good for me to have it too in case we decide to come back one day. I don't want to discount that it is a good thing to have, but at the end of the day after going through so much immigration paperwork over the last five years it does feel somewhat like just another piece of paper.

Erica

I have to stick up for Berkeley, CA a bit here. There are a many people driving cars fueld by vegetable oil here, there is alot of "green building" and use of solar energy, people cycle. I think this is rare in America though and there are still the hideous strip malls just outside but not in Berkeley. Having said all that, I do worry about my kids growing up in the USA, there is something sick about the excess of this place. I wonder if the UK is more like that since I left 6 years ago, what do you think?

Always21

Yes, green building is a growing trend, especially now with the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) ratings system. It's an exciting trend and things are definitely improving. It may take some time for the New Urbanist mindset to catch on with the majority of car-loving Americans though as opposed to just with architects! Baltimore's public transit is pitiful but a great regional rail plan has been devised. However, it's a 40 YEAR plan! As much as I love this citiy I'm not going to wait until I'm retired for it to become the kind of place I want to live in!

I don't know if there is more excess and waste in the UK than when we left. There was a thread some months ago that was sort of related to this, saying the Brits are always redecorating every couple of years and are never happy with what they have. I disagreed with it; I love the way things get renewed all the time in the UK. It's better than driving down a road that hasn't been repaved in ten years to shop at a grocery store that looks like it hasn't changed since the 1970s.

I think the UK has been forced to be more environmentally conscious due to lack of space and overcrowding. One example that comes to mind is that local authorities will be fined if they exceed their landfill quota and so they have to push people to recycle more and more. Good recycling does exist in some counties here but in Baltimore City it is picked up once a fortnight, and if it is missed because of a holiday you have to wait four weeks! Of course, the authorities' push for environmental responsibility doesn't necessarily mean the public aren't wasteful.

JAJ

Out of interest, did you consider relocating to another U.S. state instead?



Jeremy

JAJ

Has your wife got a spouse visa for the UK? (she can't arrive without one unless she's also a British/EEA/Swiss citizen).

She will be able to become a naturalised British citizen after 3 years in the UK.


Jeremy

Dan725

Great set of posts telling it like it is. While I'm not unhappy in the US by a long way, I do think that values are skewed, and California is the worst example of all, with people choosing stuff over friends, choosing money over time off work, wanting it all now and throwing it away tomorrow mentality.

I'm amazed that you got sued by your employer - it's normally the other way round! What did you do, leave a data destroying virus on their computer on the way out?!

immunise

I got sued for breach of contract after rapidly realising hwta aload of lies my new employer had fed me I quit fast!

My wife is Canadian but has a settlement visa.