Do you prefer the UK to the USA
Jan 19th 2014, 8:44 am
#16
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Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I had a better job in the UK. I have a better house in the US, I have my wife and step daughter in the US, it's the middle of January and I'm walking round in shorts and t-shirt in the US, I have chickens in the US........ I think you can probably tell which side of the pond I prefer.
Jan 19th 2014, 9:45 am
#17
Grumpy Know-it-all
Joined: Jul 2010
Location: Calgary, Alberta
Posts: 8,928
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I disagree on this one, because the one thing that really got to me in the UK was the general amount of anti-social behaviour, that was driven in large part by acceptance (and even encouragement) of people drinking to excess, especially young people.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
Jan 19th 2014, 9:50 am
#18
Newbie yet to move
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2013
Location: Uk
Posts: 82
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
Just wondering - what part of Ohio are you moving to?
In answer to your question - do I prefer the UK or USA? Lots of things I like about the US and lots of things I don't like. I've been here quite a while (23 years). Would go back to UK tomorrow if I didn't have children & grand-children here. The US lost it's appeal for me quite a while ago - hate the politics, gun culture, etc.
In answer to your question - do I prefer the UK or USA? Lots of things I like about the US and lots of things I don't like. I've been here quite a while (23 years). Would go back to UK tomorrow if I didn't have children & grand-children here. The US lost it's appeal for me quite a while ago - hate the politics, gun culture, etc.
Jan 19th 2014, 1:15 pm
#19
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Joined: Jul 2010
Location: North East Ohio, USA
Posts: 1,933
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I disagree on this one, because the one thing that really got to me in the UK was the general amount of anti-social behaviour, that was driven in large part by acceptance (and even encouragement) of people drinking to excess, especially young people.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
Jan 19th 2014, 2:02 pm
#20
Joined: Dec 2001
Location: Dixie, ex UK
Posts: 52,448
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I disagree on this one, because the one thing that really got to me in the UK was the general amount of anti-social behaviour, that was driven in large part by acceptance (and even encouragement) of people drinking to excess, especially young people.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
The two things I disagree with though, are the littering and drunkenness. Round here at least, littering on rural roads is disgraceful, embarrassingly bad. There are volunteer schemes here to keep roadsides clear of litter, and clearing of litter collects perhaps a sack of litter ever 50-100 feet twice a year, including a huge number of cans, of which, in my experience, about two thirds are beer cans! Also tossed beer can cases, from which I conclude that the open container laws are widely ignored. ..... Which brings me to drunkenness: America might not have the Saturday night binge drinking issue that the UK does, but where it "falls short" in public brawling and vomiting, it more than makes up for in drunk driving. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving in the US are truly shocking. The police in the UK these days report negligible numbers of cases of drunk driving, even across Christmas and the New Year period, and yet the police here in the US can set up a check point on pretty much any night and find half a dozen or more drunks behind the while. What I find more disturbing, living in a rural area as I do, is that out here the sheriff's department isn't even looking!. Meanwhile the grass verges are littered with hundreds of beer cans! Draw your own conclusions.
Last edited by Pulaski; Jan 19th 2014 at 2:29 pm.
Jan 19th 2014, 7:29 pm
#21
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Joined: May 2008
Posts: 572
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
The two things I disagree with though, are the littering and drunkenness. Round here at least, littering on rural roads is disgraceful, embarrassingly bad. There are volunteer schemes here to keep roadsides clear of litter, and clearing of litter collects perhaps a sack of litter ever 50-100 feet twice a year, including a huge number of cans, of which, in my experience, about two thirds are beer cans! Also tossed beer can cases, from which I conclude that the open container laws are widely ignored. ..... Which brings me to drunkenness: America might not have the Saturday night binge drinking issue that the UK does, but where it "falls short" in public brawling and vomiting, it more than makes up for in drunk driving. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving in the US are truly shocking. The police in the UK these days report negligible numbers of cases of drunk driving, even across Christmas and the New Year period, and yet the police here in the US can set up a check point on pretty much any night and find half a dozen or more drunks behind the while. What I find more disturbing, living in a rural area as I do, is that out here the sheriff's department isn't even looking!. Meanwhile the grass verges are littered with hundreds of beer cans! Draw your own conclusions.
Jan 19th 2014, 10:26 pm
#22
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Joined: Jul 2010
Location: North East Ohio, USA
Posts: 1,933
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
Hi, it will be Perrysburg. Pretty quiet historic town but most things we need are in driving distance. I will miss the idea of going for a walk as that seems quite hard as the sidewalks just stop abruptly but we've looked at what I have and what he has (he also has a daughter) and the life will be better over there in terms of quality of life. We're in our 30's so plenty of time to try it.
Jan 20th 2014, 2:00 am
#23
In the pink
Joined: Oct 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 3,324
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I disagree on this one, because the one thing that really got to me in the UK was the general amount of anti-social behaviour, that was driven in large part by acceptance (and even encouragement) of people drinking to excess, especially young people.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
You can't even have an open container in a car as a passenger in the US and drinking in public places is largely illegal.
There's nothing like the degree of vandalism, graffiti, littering, general rudeness and so on in the US that the UK has. People in the US are fantastically more polite. One of my relatives moved to the US and her kids grew up in the US and she's always thankful she did because they are polite and use grammar properly. Americans are genuinely offended by swearing that British people use in everyday conversation.
I always think a lot of the problems the UK has are caused by overcrowding, people arguing over dogs, fences and so on and the US just doesn't have that to the same degree.
And yes people do have guns and that to my mind is generally a good thing because burglars are genuinely scared of getting shot. The problems with school shootings and so on I think are more an indication of the healthcare "system" because most of the time they seem to be people who are seriously mentally ill. The UK does a better job of healthcare.
The US does have a serious problem with social mobility caused by barking mad politics (which is a recent thing) which is one of the reasons why there are crime hotspots in places like L.A. and Chicago but those are the exception rather than the rule.
Jan 20th 2014, 8:28 am
#24
Forum Regular
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 236
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
In fact, I'm sure I read about a similar effect somewhere (can't remember where though), and one of the things was that once a burglary is in progress, in places with low\no gun ownership, if disturbed burglars just legged it, but in places with high gun ownership, the burglar was more likely to injure or kill whoever disturbed them, because otherwise the risk is that the burglar will be killed or injured themselves.
Anyway, back to the OP, the only way is to try it and see, although I think the stage of life you are at will make a significant difference. My OH is a USC, and a couple of years ago through work we had the option of living in the US, but we decided to stay in the UK, as at the time (and now) we preferred it. That's not because we think it's better, neither place is better, they're just different. It just suited what we want. Maybe later, it won't and then we will consider moving.
Jan 20th 2014, 10:06 am
#25
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 6,148
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I think the US is great if you have money (Professional), or are retired and have money in your account. I'm in Ireland now, but don't think I'd have the same quality of life in the US working in a similiar job. Advantage in the UK is Healthcare and more holidays + it's not only about work compared to the US. Sure you can have better weather in the US (if you're in Texas, Florida, California etc.), but you have every type of weather in Europe too and can fly to Spain, Italy in less than 3 hours. You can go to a depressing area in the UK, but it won't be as bad as a depressing area in the US (even more crime). The gap between rich and poor is bigger in the US and that doesn't help either.
Jan 20th 2014, 1:33 pm
#26
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Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
Oh **** yes. Prefer the UK culture to the US one. Can anyone actually define a uniform US culture anyway?
People arsing about pretending to be Christians when the only value they have is $
Wondering why they have so many school shootings but pretending it's not anything to do with the gun culture and feigning the Jane Austen heroine jaunty bonnet thing (Thanks Malcolm Tucker) if you dare suggest their gun laws might be something to do with it. "it's our culture!" Well your culture is kind of shit then.
General lack of respect for ones fellow human being.
I would say that the USA around forty years ago might have been something. However the government has been bought by money and it's pretty useless for anything Average Joe wants or needs.
Poor is your own fault, lack of morals and character etc
Trouble is, as a nurse I'd make no money at all at home unless I did the NHS full time job and private job thing on the side........so for me it's the $ too, but at least I'm not pretending to like the culture or the "freedom" or the guns etc.
People arsing about pretending to be Christians when the only value they have is $
Wondering why they have so many school shootings but pretending it's not anything to do with the gun culture and feigning the Jane Austen heroine jaunty bonnet thing (Thanks Malcolm Tucker) if you dare suggest their gun laws might be something to do with it. "it's our culture!" Well your culture is kind of shit then.
General lack of respect for ones fellow human being.
I would say that the USA around forty years ago might have been something. However the government has been bought by money and it's pretty useless for anything Average Joe wants or needs.
Poor is your own fault, lack of morals and character etc
Trouble is, as a nurse I'd make no money at all at home unless I did the NHS full time job and private job thing on the side........so for me it's the $ too, but at least I'm not pretending to like the culture or the "freedom" or the guns etc.
By the way, I pretty much agree with the rest of your post. I used to think (naively) that we lived in a democracy in the US. However, we have a Congress that is in the pocket of big business and special interest groups. If it's a democracy, how come we can't pass meaningful gun control legislation that is supported by 90% of Americans and 75% of NRA members?
Jan 20th 2014, 1:41 pm
#27
I have a comma problem
Joined: Feb 2009
Location: Fox Lake, IL (from Carrickfergus NI)
Posts: 49,598
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
These days I like them both about the same as far as personal preference goes. Speaking from a standpoint of practicality, I like it better here in the US. There. I said it.
As far as the culture - the UK is just as bloody regionally varied as the US is, at a fraction of the size so that is really a non-argument. In reality, there's enough good and bad about both countries to make it a wash. As I have said before, same shit; different accent.
As far as the culture - the UK is just as bloody regionally varied as the US is, at a fraction of the size so that is really a non-argument. In reality, there's enough good and bad about both countries to make it a wash. As I have said before, same shit; different accent.
Jan 20th 2014, 3:17 pm
#28
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Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
The two things I disagree with though, are the littering and drunkenness. Round here at least, littering on rural roads is disgraceful, embarrassingly bad. There are volunteer schemes here to keep roadsides clear of litter, and clearing of litter collects perhaps a sack of litter ever 50-100 feet twice a year, including a huge number of cans, of which, in my experience, about two thirds are beer cans! Also tossed beer can cases, from which I conclude that the open container laws are widely ignored. ..... Which brings me to drunkenness: America might not have the Saturday night binge drinking issue that the UK does, but where it "falls short" in public brawling and vomiting, it more than makes up for in drunk driving. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving in the US are truly shocking. The police in the UK these days report negligible numbers of cases of drunk driving, even across Christmas and the New Year period, and yet the police here in the US can set up a check point on pretty much any night and find half a dozen or more drunks behind the while. What I find more disturbing, living in a rural area as I do, is that out here the sheriff's department isn't even looking!. Meanwhile the grass verges are littered with hundreds of beer cans! Draw your own conclusions.
End of day, it's all horses for courses. Some issues will be the same/better/worse where ever you are in the US/UK/Everywhere else in the world.
So it doesn't matter what one person thinks or what their opinion is of a particular issue on the whole country, it's only relevant to how it affects them personally and locally.
Jan 20th 2014, 4:47 pm
#29
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 22,105
Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
I agree with almost everything you say to some degree, and most of it without reservation, including the bit about guns - I hate it that guns are widely available in the UK, but only if you are a criminal! Your point about English grammar is questionable, and mostly school dependent, IMO.
The two things I disagree with though, are the littering and drunkenness. Round here at least, littering on rural roads is disgraceful, embarrassingly bad. There are volunteer schemes here to keep roadsides clear of litter, and clearing of litter collects perhaps a sack of litter ever 50-100 feet twice a year, including a huge number of cans, of which, in my experience, about two thirds are beer cans! Also tossed beer can cases, from which I conclude that the open container laws are widely ignored. ..... Which brings me to drunkenness: America might not have the Saturday night binge drinking issue that the UK does, but where it "falls short" in public brawling and vomiting, it more than makes up for in drunk driving. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving in the US are truly shocking. The police in the UK these days report negligible numbers of cases of drunk driving, even across Christmas and the New Year period, and yet the police here in the US can set up a check point on pretty much any night and find half a dozen or more drunks behind the while. What I find more disturbing, living in a rural area as I do, is that out here the sheriff's department isn't even looking!. Meanwhile the grass verges are littered with hundreds of beer cans! Draw your own conclusions.
The two things I disagree with though, are the littering and drunkenness. Round here at least, littering on rural roads is disgraceful, embarrassingly bad. There are volunteer schemes here to keep roadsides clear of litter, and clearing of litter collects perhaps a sack of litter ever 50-100 feet twice a year, including a huge number of cans, of which, in my experience, about two thirds are beer cans! Also tossed beer can cases, from which I conclude that the open container laws are widely ignored. ..... Which brings me to drunkenness: America might not have the Saturday night binge drinking issue that the UK does, but where it "falls short" in public brawling and vomiting, it more than makes up for in drunk driving. The number of deaths caused by drunk driving in the US are truly shocking. The police in the UK these days report negligible numbers of cases of drunk driving, even across Christmas and the New Year period, and yet the police here in the US can set up a check point on pretty much any night and find half a dozen or more drunks behind the while. What I find more disturbing, living in a rural area as I do, is that out here the sheriff's department isn't even looking!. Meanwhile the grass verges are littered with hundreds of beer cans! Draw your own conclusions.
Jan 20th 2014, 6:44 pm
#30
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Re: Do you prefer the UK to the USA
Plus, drinking and driving in the UK is now pretty much socially unacceptable. Here in the US, it isn't.