I've lived in the States for 20 years. First, Minneapolis, now San Francisco. I grew up in Worthing, Sussex and have gone back many times for vacation to England and Ireland (where my mum lives) ...

I have always been pretty comfortable money-wise (after poor college days) here in the US, and aside from the "dot com crash" in the early 2000s, I've always had good jobs. I went to art school in Mpls, and this was paid off in a couple of years. I went into design and then web stuff. So my world is not suffering from the "recession": it depends what profession you're in. And I've always rented -- so not caught up in the housing crisis.

I also started a Masters degree in psychology a few years ago (but this is not paid off yet!) So I know a number of people in social work etc. They are doing OK, but they get paid very badly. There are lots of lower middle class people in America: they pay the most for everything. You don't see them in the movies! Anyway, I stayed in web design.

Recently, I've wanted to try living in the UK. I know some things have changed there. Yet I miss something essential. Perhaps I like the overall beliefs in England: More social welfare to take care of those less fortunate. Better non-private schools. Healthcare as a safety net to all. (You can choose private care if you like and it's WAY cheaper than the US). Less "wild west" thinking: in the US it's every man for himself, self-made man stuff. I also prefer England's separation of church and state. You will not hear a British politician saying the word God! I still find American patriotism and religiosity embarrassing and backward. Also, in San Francisco, there is a huge influx of Asian and Hispanic. This effects the culture in many aspects. (I'm really tired of hearing 3 announcements on the bus: one in English, Chinese then Spanish, and having to read posters in a mess of languages. My voting card was nearly impossible to decipher! It's all so politically correct and I don't think it helps anyone out).

Well, sorry for the ramble. Got lots more to say... I think one has to experiment in life. Live here, live there. See how it feels. Have fun with it -- not worry too much. Don't take the so-called "news" too seriously -- it's just a point of view (if there's 10% unemployment, that means 90% are EMPLOYED!) . Anyway, I think I'm ready to get "unsettled" myself -- and try the UK for 2 months this year.

Re: Your comment on the influx of Asian and Hispanic people, and messages in multiple languages, that's pretty common in the UK too - not necessarily public announcements, but public documents, etc., are often printed in English, Hindi, etc. Same thing with local government offices - I think there is a lot of provision for non-English speakers here, including eastern European, etc., TBH.

And then of course there's all those Welsh language road signs ... but let's not get into that.

Don't forget Scottish Gaelic!

Actually, church and state are specifically NOT separate in Britain.

I guess the speakers of other languages might find the announcements useful.

[QUOTE=Sally Redux;9136255]Actually, church and state are specifically NOT separate in Britain.

QUOTE]

The churchgoing population is significantly smaller and declining in the UK, so there's probably little mileage in politicians ramming the religious rhetoric down their consitituents throats.

Legally speaking that's true. However, religion tends to play a much more intrusive part in American politics than it does in British.

It's one of those stange conundrums.

That's the best thing I've read all year.. and the hardest advice for me to take.

lol, I went to look up the definition of "first world country": "The concept of the First World first originated during the Cold War, where it was used to describe countries that were aligned with the United States."
That would sort of make the US the default ultimate first world country.

I wonder how many 'legitimate' third world countries you've spent time in.. poverty is never pretty, but I don't think the poorest parts of the US compare to some of the developing places I have been.

Yes, Canada can be pretty horrific...

While I usually roll my eyes heartily whenever anyone comes out with comments about developed nations such as the USA or UK being "third world" in any way, the one exception I can think of is when I visited the south west USA and was struck by how similar some of the indian reservations were to parts of South Africa I've traveled through.

Yeah, the reservation land in Washington state is Not Great.

I know, but I try to not rub it in on the relatives still living there.

It has to be said, there are some pretty grim areas in the US.

NFS. Check out the crappiest place thread...

I am a USC who has been living in the UK for 3 years. In my opinion, there isn't THAT much of a difference. I wouldn't worry too much about the gun violence...Brits I have spoken to seem to have this idea that everyone in the USA owns a gun and will shoot you as soon as look at you, but this is ridiculous. I'm from Washington DC, which has one of the highest levels of gun-related deaths in the US if not THE highest, and I have never been threatened by violence or known anyone who has been shot or even mugged. However just the other day, in my UK neighborhood, a man was run through with a samurai sword and killed. There are pros and cons with both I suppose, for instance it seems like employees in the UK have no concept of the term 'customer service' when compared to their US counterparts, but the UK has (in my opinion) much better healthcare coverage. All in all, I think that whilst both places have their little idiosyncrasies, both good and bad, neither country is 'better' than the other. So no, the USA is in no way terrible compared with the UK.

A very balanced view of both countries. Each different but unique in their own way. As for myself, think I could live in either and be equally happy