We have now been here almost two months and if I had the money I would be on a plane tomorrow back to Scotland. My almost 10 years living here in the US has culminated in my feeling a deep disconnect with the country. This became more apparent to me after the spate of shootings running up to the Sandy Hook massacre. Surely I am not the only British Expat who is disgusted with the obsession of guns and the 2nd amendment in this country? I am shocked at how desensitized most Americans are to the gun violence in the US. I am further disturbed by the many that truly believe the 2nd amendment gives them the right to protect themselves against a “tyrannical government”. It has dawned on me that this so-called protection against a government is the very source of why so many Americans don’t trust the Federal Government or anything federally mandated like God forbid, universal healthcare. Between these alien ideologies to me, lack of employee rights compared to the UK and a need to be closer to my family, I am driven to feel the need to leave the States. Are these thoughts of mine out of place and am I mad for yet again wanting to ping-pong back across the Atlantic to the UK? I so wish I had come to this realization when I was in the UK, as it would have saved a lot of time and energy. Needless to say my OH is tired of all the moving and I don’t blame her as we need to settle down, especially if we decide to have kids. But that is just it too. If we are to have kids, I would much rather have them raised in the UK. Then I wonder if a move to the UK would have my OH feeling the same way about the UK as I do about the US. Please let me know if I am loosing the plot and if I have rose tinted glasses on or if I should try to see if Seattle will improve with time? Although I somehow think after 10 years living in different parts of the US, that I should know by now whether I like the place or not.

Thank you all for the words of advise and I will certainly take them into consideration as me and my OH decide what to do. Regarding whether my wife would go back to Scotland again, she has said she would do it for me, but I can't help but feeling guilty that part of her may not want to go. In terms of giving Seattle a try and maybe being swayed by events elsewhere in the US, I am not convinced that is the case, because the attitudes for example regarding guns still seems to somewhat prevail even here in Seattle. So even though the scenery and politicians have changed from the mid-west, the same disconnect I have with US ideologies still seems to linger even here. I have often wondered what makes some expats make it work here in the US and others just can't seem to connect.