Originally Posted by asdasd12345

hello. i came to the USA from england when i was 15. i turn 30 today. i went back to england with the intention of living there in november 2005, but it was a giant culture shock and i absolutely hated it. the lifestyle of living in an upper class neighborhood in orlando, florida had totally spoiled me. i missed america a lot. i stayed in england for a while, then i went to visit my sister in houston but absolutely hated it. then i came back to orlando, and it doesnt seem as nice as when i lived here, but mainly because i am staying in a very poor area. i visited north carolina (raleigh) recently and it was very nice there, but im not sure how it would be for a single guy like me. im a bit confused about what to do right now. im not sure if i want to stay liiving in america, i like the weather and the cost of living here and america has a lot of cute girls. i dont want to go back to england because its far too expensive and i found most people there very rude, and the culture revolved around drinking. so maybe i will stay in the US or maybe try canada or austrialia. anyway, im very confused really. but living in america so long, makes england seem like a dump when you go back.

Originally Posted by gardnma

Welcome.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

Nice avatar....what a lovely hunk of a man....from my home town too....actually he used to live near me.

Originally Posted by gardnma

One for the ladies.
I used to live down the road from Pete Gabriel, in Bath.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

I sat next to Roger Daltrey...he was waiting like the rest of us for a US Visa at the US Embassy in London...May 1996.

Originally Posted by gardnma

........Who ?


I HAD to do that.

-All his money and he had to wait with the rest of us. He's cool though. Allways kind of liked the Who's stuff.

Originally Posted by Jerseygirl

Yep the one and only.

That's exactly what I thought.

Originally Posted by Tolos

I have good days and bad days here in the US. The difficulty for me is that I've never been material person. The things I treasure most in life are family, and time spent with good friends. So it's often tough to justify leaving all that behind for a bigger house, faster car, and more money in the bank. Sure, I love the food here, the weather, the outdoors lifestyle and my luxuries...but some days I'd trade it all to be back in the local 'hole in the wall' with my mates, enjoying that comforting smell of stale beer and urine in a true British pub.

Of course, when I have those bad days and I tell the friends back home that I miss them and am having second thoughts, I get the old "You're *****ing mad...I wouldn't give up life in America to come back to this sh*tty country". Then I remember how lucky I am and rejuvenate my love for the US.

I often tell people that if I could group up my friends and relatives into a big box and ship them over here, life would be perfect.

So basically, I run hot and cold. Some days I long for the comforts of home and a pan of my old mam's Irish stew while watching the match, other days I find myself sitting out by the pool, enjoying the sun and BBQing a steak..and wouldn't trade it for the world.

Originally Posted by asdasd12345

anyway, thanks for the welcomes. i will continue to drone. when i was in england, i thought all the friends that i had kept in touch with while i was in america, would want to hang out with me and stuff. none of them did. i guess they were too busy. i became aware that i wasnt really english anymore, i was more american than english. but then in america, i realized i was more english than american. so im drifting in some kind of limbo half way between cultures, with half an english accent and half of an american one, but just enough to stand out in either place. in america, im noticed as english, and in england im mistook for being an american (which isnt a good thing nowadays). i was thinking of returning to england to go to an access to medicine course to train to become a doctor. i figure if i become a doctor i will be employable and not poor whereever i go in the world.

Originally Posted by gardnma

It'll be 20 for me next April. Not much magic about the time from this perspective. England often seems very distant - yet occasionally very, very close.

Here's a thing I haven't dug up in this forum yet. About '90 to '92 there was a bloke at my job from UK also. We agreed that when we first came to US there were two stages. First, you became quite American (loses slang, talks with a twang to avoid confusion, etc) Second, you became very English - I mean fickin' ridiculous English, (watching crap from UK on TV you'd never otherwise watch) speaking more precisely, Union Jacks on the car, etc.

Anyone attest to this?

Originally Posted by jobyone1

Think I have been in phase 2 for a while now... I watch some serious crap on the Brit channel!

Originally Posted by gardnma

I actually watched Benny Hill the other day and felt guilty afterwards.

..............I'm doomed !!!

Originally Posted by jobyone1

nope.. won't do it, can't do it.. you really are doomed!

Originally Posted by jobyone1

Think I have been in phase 2 for a while now... I watch some serious crap on the Brit channel!