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First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Old Apr 14th 2012, 11:36 pm
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Default First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Finally the family and I went back to the Uk for 10 days.....not really a vacation as it was whizzing around the SOuth visiting friends and families.

We were amazed at how indoctrinated to the US we have become based on the observations we had on our return:

1) heathrow is a toilet
2) Price of gas is eye watering
3) driving round narrow streets with double parking was a nightmare
4) fantastic, lovely, beautiful beer (Tanglefoot, Doombar, Furkin, London Pride to name but a few) with fantastic country pubs with roaring fires!
5) Terrible service
6) Lovely, lovely sausage rolls, pasties, proper fish and chips, proper pies, proper biscuits and crisps
7) beautiful countryside, coastlines and hedgerows
8) Very, very expensive
9) Awful weather (slate grey skies with a real dampness in the air)

As much as we loved going back to visit, my wife (who did not want to move here initially) told everyone we would not be returning to the UK to live!

We also had a shocking experience of the good ol NHS.....my dad was diagnosed with cancer and told he needed chemo and they had it all booked and he refused and went for a second opinion. They then did another biopsy and he was told no further action was required!

When I compare that with the health treatment I have had in the US in the last 4 months it is night and day apart.

The trip back to the UK has cured any home sickness we may have had and although it is really hard leaving parents back there (especially as they get older) we now really believe the US is our home.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 2:34 am
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

I am anticipating similar experiences when I eventually get over there for our first visit back, which may be late this year (which would be 4 years after we left).
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 3:36 am
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Originally Posted by washsaint
We were amazed at how indoctrinated to the US we have become based on the observations we had on our return:

1) heathrow is a toilet
2) Price of gas is eye watering
3) driving round narrow streets with double parking was a nightmare
4) fantastic, lovely, beautiful beer (Tanglefoot, Doombar, Furkin, London Pride to name but a few) with fantastic country pubs with roaring fires!
5) Terrible service
6) Lovely, lovely sausage rolls, pasties, proper fish and chips, proper pies, proper biscuits and crisps
7) beautiful countryside, coastlines and hedgerows
8) Very, very expensive
9) Awful weather (slate grey skies with a real dampness in the air)
Pretty much agree with this list. I'd add chocolate and Ploughman's Lunches to #6.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 6:41 am
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Originally Posted by washsaint
Finally the family and I went back to the Uk for 10 days.....not really a vacation as it was whizzing around the SOuth visiting friends and families.
From my experience, a word of advice, arrange a night for a get together in a restaurant for a small party and get it over and done with in one go, remember you travelled 3500+ miles to get to a point that they can come see you!

We were amazed at how indoctrinated to the US we have become based on the observations we had on our return:

1) heathrow is a toilet
Agreed, I hate Heathrow, I fly via Amsterdam, it is cheaper and a great airport.
2) Price of gas is eye watering
Hmmm you need to put it in perspective though, is gas expensive? Of course it is we all know that BUT when I lived in the UK my dad had to travel 1.5 miles to work (he would walk when the weather was nice) my mum travelled 7 miles to work, my commute is 30 miles round trip. Also public transport is a good alternative over there compared with here, it is often possible to walk to the shops etc over there, for most people, if they need bread or milk they have to drive to the store (as well as most other things). When I was a kid I rode the bus to school, the school my kids attend, does not have a busing system so I have 3 school runs a day to do. So, as I said gas is expensive but I would be using a lot less of it in the UK.
3) driving round narrow streets with double parking was a nightmare
Agreed
4) fantastic, lovely, beautiful beer (Tanglefoot, Doombar, Furkin, London Pride to name but a few) with fantastic country pubs with roaring fires!
Agreed
5) Terrible service
Agreed, for the most part, at least it is a little more honest. Ever go into a restaurant here and had the server say 'Hi how are you' and them start telling you about the menu special before you had chance to reply? 'Nicer' service, yeah but (but from someone who works in a service industry) it is all scripted!
6) Lovely, lovely sausage rolls, pasties, proper fish and chips, proper pies, proper biscuits and crisps
AGREED!!!
7) beautiful countryside, coastlines and hedgerows
AGREED!!!
8) Very, very expensive
Costs are creeping up in the US too
9) Awful weather (slate grey skies with a real dampness in the air)
There can be nice weather too, when we were there last year in March we were walking around without a jacket, while they were cleaning up after a blizzard at home

As much as we loved going back to visit, my wife (who did not want to move here initially) told everyone we would not be returning to the UK to live!

We also had a shocking experience of the good ol NHS.....my dad was diagnosed with cancer and told he needed chemo and they had it all booked and he refused and went for a second opinion. They then did another biopsy and he was told no further action was required!
There are mistakes made in the US too.I know this from personal experience

When I compare that with the health treatment I have had in the US in the last 4 months it is night and day apart.
Agreed, but I also left the hospital with a $1700 deductable to pay, however I was lucky enough to have insurance, MILLIONS in the US are not so lucky, without insurance on my last major treatment I would have been handed a bill in somewhere of the region of $90,000. To me healthcare is a basic human right, not a privilege, in the UK you will be treated if you are rich or poor, young or old


The trip back to the UK has cured any home sickness we may have had and although it is really hard leaving parents back there (especially as they get older) we now really believe the US is our home.

Last edited by Ash UK/US; Apr 15th 2012 at 7:52 am.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 10:58 am
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Originally Posted by washsaint
Finally the family and I went back to the Uk for 10 days.....not really a vacation as it was whizzing around the SOuth visiting friends and families.

We were amazed at how indoctrinated to the US we have become based on the observations we had on our return:

1) heathrow is a toilet
2) Price of gas is eye watering
3) driving round narrow streets with double parking was a nightmare
4) fantastic, lovely, beautiful beer (Tanglefoot, Doombar, Furkin, London Pride to name but a few) with fantastic country pubs with roaring fires!
5) Terrible service
6) Lovely, lovely sausage rolls, pasties, proper fish and chips, proper pies, proper biscuits and crisps
7) beautiful countryside, coastlines and hedgerows
8) Very, very expensive
9) Awful weather (slate grey skies with a real dampness in the air)

As much as we loved going back to visit, my wife (who did not want to move here initially) told everyone we would not be returning to the UK to live!

We also had a shocking experience of the good ol NHS.....my dad was diagnosed with cancer and told he needed chemo and they had it all booked and he refused and went for a second opinion. They then did another biopsy and he was told no further action was required!

When I compare that with the health treatment I have had in the US in the last 4 months it is night and day apart.

The trip back to the UK has cured any home sickness we may have had and although it is really hard leaving parents back there (especially as they get older) we now really believe the US is our home.
I agree with all bar 1 and 2.

1 - Maybe it depends which terminal you use? All but one or two of my regular visits to LHR in the last 5 years have been to T5, which I've found excellent. If all airports in the world were modelled after this I'd be happy.

2 - What Ash said. Sure, you get sticker shock when you first see a petrol station, but overall I think like-for-like car running costs as about the same (in my experience). I'd add in the car engines in the US are much bigger (even in similar sized models, e.g. my 2L Focus (which was the minimum engine size for that model over here!).

Actually, jury's still out for me on the service thing...

Last edited by tonrob; Apr 15th 2012 at 11:00 am.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 10:59 am
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with a lot of your criticisms. As I'm replying from an iPhone, please forgive me if I don't address everything.

- Heathrow is a bit of a mess, but it has vastly superior eating & shopping facilities to most US airports. Gatwick and Manchester are much nicer airports.

- Not al of the US is super wide highways. Try driving in New England or in much of the northeast, where you'll also find very narrow windy roads and very inadequate highways that are built for 1950's cars, some of which are downright dangerous and have more craters than the moon! The quality and safety standards of British motorways are both of high standard.

- The ONLY thing I find significantly cheaper here in the US is petrol, but that's eaten away by the fact that I have to drive 4 times as far every day. Things like car insurance, fresh food, rent, mobile phone contracts, car repairs, vets, higher education costs and of course healthcare are significantly cheaper in the UK.

- I'm sorry about your bad experiences with the NHS, but I had generally good experiences with it. The NHS took more care of my dying grandfather than any private nursing home did. I've actually had bad experiences over here and have a painful back/spinal condition that I cannot afford to get treated, even with insurance.

- Terrible service? Try dealing with Comcast over here. Also, why do so many people care so much about a complete stranger being fake-nice to them in a retail environment? I don't need a store clerk to pretend to be my best friend; just leave me alone unless I ask for assistance. Service in reataurants over here is a pain in the arse too, waiters constantly coming to your table, making you feel rushed (not their fault as they're just paid to do it).

The US is great for people of higher incomes who can afford to buy cheaper property and bigger, though bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. For those in my position who are somewhat struggling, it becomes somewhat futile and extremely stressful, given the healthcare issue and the job market, the lack of safety net and less time off to enjoy things (not that there's as much here to enjoy for free or little cost).

In summary, I would move back to the UK today if it were not for my wife.

Last edited by Ethelred_the_Unready; Apr 15th 2012 at 11:07 am.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 12:37 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

washsaint, sounds like you had a nice trip in general, so that's good.. I guess I agree with some of the other previous responses here, the things you found to be negative sort of depend on the point of view.. specifically, in this case, the point of view of someone on a short holiday who is rushing around trying to do a lot in a short time! For instance, if you are living in the UK, the shortcomings of Heathrow terminals don't really matter, and also you are probably not spending money at a frightening rate like you are when on hols. Gas.. I always drove about one mile in the UK to every ten miles I drive here, so for me the price of gas doesn't figure in to it. Weather.. I prefer the grey skies. I'm getting very tired of the high sunshine scores over here. As for customer service, I'd prefer quirky human beings like you get in the UK vs. people who've been instructed to say certain things at certain times, or risk losing their jobs.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 1:08 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Why was this thread moved? It was originally posted in the main USA forum where it was starting a conversion comparing the US and UK. Why is that considered "off topic"? Plenty of similar threads have lived quite happily in the main USA forum.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 5:04 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Originally Posted by Ethelred_the_Unready
I'm sorry, but I don't agree with a lot of your criticisms. As I'm replying from an iPhone, please forgive me if I don't address everything.

- Heathrow is a bit of a mess, but it has vastly superior eating & shopping facilities to most US airports. Gatwick and Manchester are much nicer airports.

- Not al of the US is super wide highways. Try driving in New England or in much of the northeast, where you'll also find very narrow windy roads and very inadequate highways that are built for 1950's cars, some of which are downright dangerous and have more craters than the moon! The quality and safety standards of British motorways are both of high standard.

- The ONLY thing I find significantly cheaper here in the US is petrol, but that's eaten away by the fact that I have to drive 4 times as far every day. Things like car insurance, fresh food, rent, mobile phone contracts, car repairs, vets, higher education costs and of course healthcare are significantly cheaper in the UK.

- I'm sorry about your bad experiences with the NHS, but I had generally good experiences with it. The NHS took more care of my dying grandfather than any private nursing home did. I've actually had bad experiences over here and have a painful back/spinal condition that I cannot afford to get treated, even with insurance.

- Terrible service? Try dealing with Comcast over here. Also, why do so many people care so much about a complete stranger being fake-nice to them in a retail environment? I don't need a store clerk to pretend to be my best friend; just leave me alone unless I ask for assistance. Service in reataurants over here is a pain in the arse too, waiters constantly coming to your table, making you feel rushed (not their fault as they're just paid to do it).

The US is great for people of higher incomes who can afford to buy cheaper property and bigger, though bigger doesn't necessarily mean better. For those in my position who are somewhat struggling, it becomes somewhat futile and extremely stressful, given the healthcare issue and the job market, the lack of safety net and less time off to enjoy things (not that there's as much here to enjoy for free or little cost).

In summary, I would move back to the UK today if it were not for my wife.
What Ethelred_the_Unready said is pretty much how I feel.

I'm glad you had a nice time, 2 years in isn't really very long. Feelings change over time about both places.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 5:32 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

I really hated the UK the first few times that I went back after moving to California - every time I arrived at Heathrow I wanted to leave again even before I had walked the half mile or so from the gate to customs and immigration - but I already disliked it before I left so that really wasn't too surprising ...

Over the years (25 and counting) my attitude to the UK has softened a bit - it has changed enough since I left that now it is just a foreign country - an OK place to visit but not somewhere I would want to live.

Of course all of this says a lot more about me than it does about either the UK or the US - I was lucky enough to find a good job in the US in a place that I liked and the move worked out well for me - there are, however, lots of places in the US that I would absolutely not want to live - it certainly isn't all wonderful over here.

The one place where I really would disagree with the OP is on US healthcare vs the NHS - I'm not sure why getting a particular diagnosis and then asking for and getting a second opinion that was different from the first means that the NHS is bad - certainly US health care at its best is second to none - if you have insurance and can afford it - if you don't ... well, then you never even get a first opinion let alone any treatment - I know the NHS isn't perfect but they still seem to be doing a pretty good job of looking after my 91 year old mother ...
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 6:52 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

I'm heading back next week for the first time in 10 years and to be honest I'm dreading it. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 7:16 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

It must be totally subjective. I loved it when we were back last summer. Even Heathrow is massively improved now. Service almost everywhere is so much better than I remember. Whole trip, to many different places, on one and a half tanks of diesel. Everywhere buzzing.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 7:50 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

What's great about the UK is great, what's shit is shit.

What's great about the US is great, what's shit is shit.

Really makes no difference what the other is like, it's all about what you've got to deal with in your own circumstances.

It's all so different depending on where you live and how financially stable you are, but that's life isn't it.

UK is a lot better if you're broke...but life isn't exactly great being broke full stop and the US can change your circumstances on life a lot quicker I think than the UK.

Meh.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 8:42 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

I have to say that the opportunities out here are immense....so long as you are prepared to work hard and have a job with good health insurance.

My kids have opportunities (education and sports wise) they never had back in the UK. When we visited friends back in Wiltshire we were struck by the lack of opportunities for the kids (e.g. sports clubs - competitive - and professional coaching).

Plus, our youngest has some issues and in the Uk they couldn't cope yet over here from Day 1 he has had tremendous support and has thrived and is now a regular, hyper 8 year old!

Obviously some things are better in the Uk than here but, overall, we're one happy, settled family.
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Old Apr 15th 2012, 9:33 pm
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Default Re: First trip back to UK in nearly 2 years......

Originally Posted by washsaint
... but, overall, we're one happy, settled family.
And that's really all that is important isn't it!

As the stuff you've mentioned work out great for you, but that might not be the case for others, I know it isn't the case for where I am both here in the US or in the UK, but there are other things to off set the good and bad too.
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