MarylandNed

Glad I made the move. Wouldn't go back to the UK to live - at least while I still have my kids at home. I think it's more kid-friendly and family-oriented in the US (and Canada where I also lived for a while) and there are greater opportunities and more things to see and do here.

I miss:
- fish & chips
- abundance of good Indian restaurants (harder to find here)
- pubs & beer
- football (soccer) - especially going to the matches
- friends & family
- sense of humour (especially sarcasm)
- easy access to the rest of Europe

I would have said TV but I can see UK programs on US TV (e.g. BBC America and PBS) and YouTube. UK radio and newspapers can be found on the internet.

I don't miss:
- the weather
- dog crap, litter and broken glass in parks and playgrounds
- juvenile delinquents (just seemed to be more there)
- the higher level of aggression (road rage, pub fights, and street brawls)
- the generally more negative outlook on life
- how kids are treated compared to North America
- increased population density (and therefore more competition for everything such as jobs, accommodation, schools, transportation, etc.)

steve100100

+ 1 to marylandned. My iPad wont let me quote.

washsaint

Only been here 7 months but there are certain things I miss about England:

Family (although they come for extended periods and, ironically, we see more of them just crammed into a shorter window)
Cricket
Pubs with real beer
'Right to roam'

However, as others have said the pros far outweigh the cons, namely:

Great outdoors lifestyle in VA
Family friendly
More opportunities
The space

Oh, and if you like horse country VA is fantastic - Middleburg truly is horse country!

rpjs

Well, I've only been here a couple of weeks but so far I only miss, and I'd never have imagined I'd be saying this, the London Tube. The NYC Subway is much, much nastier!

MarylandNed

Yep - and the Tube is also much easier to understand and navigate than the NYC subway. Just one look at a NYC subway map is enough to give you a headache.

joannabanana

QUOTE=MarylandNed;9126563]Glad I made the move. Wouldn't go back to the UK to live - at least while I still have my kids at home. I think it's more kid-friendly and family-oriented in the US (and Canada where I also lived for a while) and there are greater opportunities and more things to see and do here.

I miss:
- fish & chips
- abundance of good Indian restaurants (harder to find here)
- pubs & beer
- football (soccer) - especially going to the matches
- friends & family
- sense of humour (especially sarcasm)
- easy access to the rest of Europe

I would have said TV but I can see UK programs on US TV (e.g. BBC America and PBS) and YouTube. UK radio and newspapers can be found on the internet.

I don't miss:
- the weather
- dog crap, litter and broken glass in parks and playgrounds
- juvenile delinquents (just seemed to be more there)
- the higher level of aggression (road rage, pub fights, and street brawls)
- the generally more negative outlook on life
- how kids are treated compared to North America
- increased population density (and therefore more competition for everything such as jobs, accommodation, schools, transportation, etc.)[/QUOTE]

you have said it all perfectly!
I grew up in the UK, moved out to the US for 10 years, moved back here to the UK for the last 3 years...and now heading back to the USA (again). What you have said is EXACTLY why me, my hubby and son are moving back to the US.

1chumly

I have been here for a total of 35 years and do like it but I will miss England till the day I die and I still get homesick.

fsm

July will make 12 years for me.

7 in Miami and 5 in Charlotte.

I go home and find it is not home anymore, I miss the ablity to get great fish n chips, but I can can still get reasonable fish n chips here in Charlotte.

I will always be British but cannot realistically ever see myself living back there.

SultanOfSwing

I miss the UK. Took a while to catch up with me (couple of years) but it did and that is that. I'm married to a Yank so I'm basically stuck here unless she has a bump on the head because that seems to be the only thing that would make her even consider a move to the UK

Lots of people settle here and that's great for them. I thought I was one of them, but I'm not unfortunately. I don't fit in and I hate to be a dick but part of me doesn't really want to, if that makes any sense. Suffice it to say, I won't list all I miss from the UK, and the only things I'd miss from the US are the people that would come with me if I did move back home.

Don't get me wrong, there is a lot to like here - I'm not knocking the country. There may even be another part that'd suit me better but a move is not an option just now and I'm an introspective, pessimistic git anyway so I'm never satisfied

Keith

After 47 years on this side of the pond I don't think anything exists that I left behind.

Been back 3 times, last in 1982. I found it to be totally changed and mostly for the worst. Too many cars parked in the streets and most of the nice front gardens paved over for parking.

Pubs were not at all the same and many had either been torn down or taken over by fast food companies.

The influx of so many different people from around the world has made it too foriegn for me not the place I used to know.

Poppy girl

Hell NO!!

California Dreamin'

Been here in L.A. since 1964. We've been back on vacations on many occasions, the latest just last April. We would no ore go back there to ive than fly to the moon. If it wasn't for visiting relatives, I wouldn't give england a second thought..except for Manchester United of course.

MarylandNed

Wow - 1982! I would love to hear of your reaction if you ever visited the UK again.

I left the UK in 1989 for Canada but visited frequently and moved back to the UK in 1996 before moving to the US in 1998. My biggest gap away from the UK was from 1998 until my last visit in 2009 - and I thought that things had changed a lot in 11 years. You would notice an even bigger change I'm sure. Although sometimes it's hard to know how much of the change is within yourself and how much is within the place itself.

I'm not racist or anti-immigration by any means (after all I've benefitted from emigrating to Canada and the US). It can sound hypocritical when someone who has emigrated to another country complains about how much the old country has changed due to people emigrating there. However, I do think that immigration can be done wrong and I think it has been in the UK. To me, multiculturalism is a mixture of cultures living together whereby each culture enhances the experience of the other. I don't think that the UK has managed it properly - although UK citizens (of a certain generation at least) tend to be much less tolerant of foreigners (although I think that is something that is changing too). Still, I think that too many areas of the UK have been completely taken over by one culture to the exclusion of others - that's not multiculturalism.

I think the UK is in for a prolonged period of reduced standard of living as it tries to deal with its debt problems. Eventually the US is going to have to do something similar and then our opinions about living in the US may well change. Canada is in better shape to weather the financial crisis but still has some debt issues.

Keith

I have no intention of ever visiting the UK again. I have a brother that I keep in touch with but most of my friends and relatives of my generation have gone up in smoke.

Yes it does sound racists but as you mentioned new immigrants to the UK have tended to take over areas.
I have lived in Ottawa for all of my 47 years here and we too have gone through a similar influx, but for the most part they have spread themselves around rather than develop ghettos.
I suppose my main reason for having embraced Canada and Ottawa has been it still being part british in it's institutions and compassion for those less fortunate. I have spent most of my vacations over the years in the US and although a nice place to visit would not be happy living there.

BHAFC14

Apart from friends and family the only things I really miss are the pubs, soccer and the British sense of humour. If you like the outdoors you cannot beat the States. So many wonderful areas and so many National Parks which ensure that it’s looked after. I worked in Portland Oregon before living in New York and the Pacific North West is incredible – acres and acres of unspoilt wilderness for hiking, biking and skiing. I was surprised at how much great countryside there is in upstate New York, the Hudson Valley and Appalachians being just a few examples. And it’s only a 5 hour schlep into Vermont which I think is a beautiful State. The skiing there is the best in the North East and it’s a fantastic place in the summer for hiking and rafting. Driving through Arizona and Utah beats anything the UK has to offer. Like most other posters I think you should take the plunge.