25 years for me. We came for a year or two because of my husband’s job. We always thought we would eventually go back to the UK. I wish our daughter had gone to uni in the UK…

Far too many people fail to realise that Trump is more of a symptom than a cause.

I've spent most of my life in the US,I will have been here 54 years this year, I've never had any great longing to go back to the UK, or romantic notions of how much better it would have been if I had stayed.
I don't find any great difference between the people, British or American, some I like, some I dislike and most I'm indifferent to.
My biggest regret is not being there for my parents in their last years. I have children, and grandchildren here and no one in the UK, so I'm here for better or worse.
On balance for the better,

Separation from children is the worst, I don't care how old they are. The pull doesn't go away.

Thank you to the original poster and the person who said "I just don't fit" it sums it up perfectly, no matter how hard you try that phrase always come back to haunt. Biding my time (not a joke) but it will be healthcare costs or the potential for them that will push me over the edge to return to the UK. And I have good coverage even into retirement still the prospect of thousands of $$$ each year in deductibles and coinsurance is daunting. Good luck to all and hope you meet your dreams.

I have to say, I don't agree with much of what has been posted here. I've been here for 8 years, have become fully 'Americanized' and have built a life for myself. Perhaps it's because I never had these back in the UK (I moved at 28, and had not really 'put down roots' in the UK) but I can't imagine upping sticks and moving again.

I live in a part of the world which is almost entirely full tilt right from my own politics (I only know of one other person that I work with that voted for Biden) and I will sometimes rant about it, but it's not so bad. People here are, on the whole, good people that would help anyone who needed it. Perhaps that's my experience because I am white, and it would be different if I was from a different culture.

As to the decline of infrastructure, that argument can be levelled at most developed countries, including the UK. Heathrow is not exactly in an 'as new' condition, nor is the M25. Capitalization is the same the world over. We all know that the truth of US healthcare is that it FAR surpasses the NHS in terms of quality, but also far surpasses the NHS in terms of cost. If you are affluent enough to make it work, the US is, financially, generally a better place to be, IMO.

At the end of the day, life is pretty much what you make it. People are as happy as they decide to be.

Some people fit, some people don't, some people live part way in-between. It's a dynamic between each individual and the country/culture in question, so it's going to be a bit different for everyone. As a country stuffed with first-generation immigrants from all over the world, there are people here who fall into all the categories and that doesn't make anyone right or wrong. Horses for courses, etc. It's only sad for the people who get stuck somewhere they don't really want to be any more and where they feel overall alienated. if you have the power to move when/where you want, it isn't really an issue either way.

You got that right. It is hard when one is here and one is in the UK.

You'd think that given how many billions of pounds a year they spend subsiding our public services and paying for out free prescriptions and free university education, they'd be absolutely delighted to see the back of us...

Don't get me wrong, I'm not unhappy with my move. People are the same wherever you go, even if the cultures or politics are wildly different, and I don't tend to dwell on the fact that moving to a culture with a minimal safety net will quite probably bite me hard in the ass as and when I can no longer do manual work, luckily I have the kind of skills that mean I will never have to be concerned about ageism in the workplace, I just need to keep fingers crossed that my body holds up and the accidents aren't too grim.
At heart, I don't have a lot of sympathy for whiners, sure life can be tough but many expats can usually return to their motherland if they don't like their adoptive country. My wife would love to live in the UK but the visa situation is unlikely to ever be a fiscally prudent move for us. If we ever get our act together we might well go squat with some of my siblings for a couple of months at a time so that madam can 'do' the UK while I grab some green...

Thanks to the OP, that was a great post.
Some similar experiences my self, been here 21 years so far.
3 more till State retirement then we will be traveling back and forth to the UK for hopefully 6 months at a time.
Narrow boat in the UK to live on, smaller house here in the States.

I was just talking about that very idea to some American family the other week.

Whereabouts were you thinking of in terms of the narrowboat?

If Brussels is willing to make up for the shortfall then problem’s solved.

Yup we are still tied down by a big, high maintenance house in the US. Most practical is to have a “lock up and leave” situation in each country (which we do have in England.)
But yes, this is a great thread- thanks to OP.

I originally went to the US 27 years ago to pursue an opportunity. Had a tremendous experience during the 25 years whilst there. If all had been well I would probably not have left and returned to the UK to pursue a new opportunity. Life is full of opportunities but only if one recognises them as such.