Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Hi everyone!

I'm taking some time off work soon for "personal reasons", which aren't my fault. I have to take probably a few months off. I don't know yet whether I can stay in the USA in the meantime, so this might be jumping the gun. But I currently work in Illinois, and I hate this particular tiny, very "Midwestern" city, so much. Since I'm supposedly on a "journey of self-discovery" or whatever, I have this thought that I might just move elsewhere in the USA for a while, and find a place I don't hate to prove to myself that America can be okay.

It needs to be:
1. Affordable (I won't be getting paid, so I'm living on savings, maybe get a job that doesn't take too much time)
2. Easy to get to and around without a car
3. Safe-ish... I'm a mid-20's woman and I'll be on my own
4. I'd really like somewhere similar to the UK. I haven't enjoyed this part of Illinois one bit. I'm not asking for Little England, just somewhere I can understand people a little more and feel like they're friendly and not overbearing, if it exists.
5. I like cities, but maybe this is the time for me to go to the countryside for a while. In that case, I'd definitely like something geographically resembling UK countryside, if such a thing exists here. And not full of, y'know, country American stereotypes, to be blunt.

(Sorry if this is a duplicate thread. I did some searching, but it was hard to know what to search for!)

Sorry too for the long post. I made a lot of stipulations, and I'm happy to work around all of them (except Points 1 and 2) if you have any ideas. I really just want to generate discussion and possibilities :)

Thanks just for reading :)
~SSG

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Boston is quite a "European" city and with it's strong Irish as well as British history there are elements of the culture that will be familiar to someone from the UK.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Your points 1 and 2 are contradictory - there are very few places in the US that you can get around without a car, and they are all expensive places. And in fact your point 2 eliminates almost everywhere in the US, unless you're willing to be confined to a few blocks in the centre of a couple of dozen cities you won't find anywhere that meets your wishlist.

If you're interested in "friendly and not overbearing" then I think towns in the South meet that criteria, but you may find them mixed with "country America stereotypes", though I'm not sure exactly what you mean by that. ..... How about Charleston, SC - historic, walkable in the center, though expensive compared to the South in general?

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Probably Portland Oregon, but in reality no where nice is likely to be cheap.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

No car is a tall order. My son is at college in San Luis Obispo and it's a delightful little town, it has a walkable downtown, buses, and there is even a rudimentary train line that runs to LA and San Diego.

Visit SLO | San Luis Obispo CA - the Happiest Place in America

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Portland, Oregon, yes, and other PNW places. I would have suggested Chicago, but OP lives in Illinois and wants to get away from there! Obviously Chicago has a dense network of public transport in the city, but also a relatively good network stretching out far (albeit catering to commuters so not comprehensive like in the UK.)

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I've always liked the sound of Boston! Probably pricey, but perhaps I can manage somewhere nearby. There's also a major conference in my field coming up in Boston, and I've been thinking how great it would be to tie this leave to going there. Perhaps I could also tie in living there! These are all very preliminary thoughts.

I actually can't drive though, have had one or two lessons, nowhere near close enough to getting a driver's licence, and don't want to dilute/stress my leave experience with fast-track learning. Perhaps a university town would suit me? After all that's what I know!

I didn't know anything about Portland, but now I've looked it up, it really sounds like a great possibility! I'll make a note :D

I loved California when I visited. Loved it so much. SLO sounds like an amazing possibility too, thanks!

And hey, this is all in the preliminary dream stage at the moment, although it will have to become real very very fast. So I can afford to be imaginative! Thanks, everyone so far!

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

What's your field?

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I would have suggested Portland too. Quite easy to get around without a car, a lot of people now do just that. If you need a car on the odd occasion there is Zip Car. Walkable, bike friendly, and reasonable buses and light rail. Places like Milwaukie, which butt onto Portland, are cheaper with bus or light rail into Portland.

The Willamette Valley and coast are like parts of the UK, but you need a car to see them. No real public transport outside of Portland and its suburbs

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

@Sally Chemistry. And I love your userpic!

I just realized that I don't know if there's some way I can get access to libraries of other universities like you can in the UK...? I just looked at my own institution's website and it doesn't seem like that is a thing! I was imagining myself holed up in a library 24/7, wearing glasses and Renaissance maxi-dresses. [Spoiler: I don't wear either of those things.] The library workers whispering "who is that woman? She's always here. Such an enigma!". ...Heh heh.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Thanks!

I don't know about the library situation but worth asking. Nice image with the maxi dress/glasses :D

If you did end up in SLO and were more biochemistry I was going to plug the nonprofit vitamin D group there. Oh, I will anyway:

https://www.vitamindcouncil.org/about-us/

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

If you have an ID from a university you can get a visitor library card at Harvard. Time was when they never checked IDs at Widner except to get into the stacks

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I used to work in the Harvard libraries and know a lot of the academic libraries in Boston and environs. Most are pretty liberal, in other words you can walk in off the street and use the resources, or you can get visitor privileges if you talk to a user services person and make nice, or show an ID from another institution. Harvard has over a hundred separate libraries, each with its own access policies, but, as nun mentions, Widener and Houghton you can only get into if you arrange access in advance. Many of the outlying Harvard libraries are easier to get into though ....

Tufts, BU, and Northwestern are superb libraries which I used to use with no problems, but maybe they've tightened their policies in recent years.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Amen to that!

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Yes, what I'm trying to say with the stereotype thing was trying to be polite without saying the whole "guns and racism, hell yeeeeeah!" idea. I have no desire to generalize an entire place on a stereotype, though; my idea is not at all to cut out the southern states - they're probably preferable in fact, as: great weather!
I haven't seen a lot of the US, but there are enough people like that in central Illinois that I know I don't want to see any more though. I have a friend who I think it's fair to say fits quite well with the other southern state stereotype, the friendly, outgoing guy who goes out of his way to be welcoming to new people, always up for a laugh and making friends. That's definitely not what I'm talking about here! I also have friends from Oklahoma who left and have told me all kinds of horror stories, saying they'll never go back, so they have probably biased me slightly.

I'll look up Charleston and add it to the list!

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

We were considering it in 2011, got a few members' views

http://britishexpats.com/forum/usa-5...rolina-700765/

Noticed this bit: "Yes it is republican, churchy, and all the stuff others have said, very true...but it does have a culture of sorts, it honestly reminds me a lot of England in the way the town is - it has history and a heart to the town that lacks in some other places, A walk down Kings street is just like walking down a high street back home except lots of palm trees..."

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Boulder Colorado... you could easily manage without a car, pretty liberal town, smart people, good food, good weather. Expensive place though obviously.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Boulder is a fun place, but small when compared to Portland or Boston.

Another MA place to consider for a stay would be Northampton and Amherst. They are small towns in beautiful countryside and have lots going on. The large number of local colleges makes them every vibrant.

The university libraries in Boston have got a bit tighter on security in the last few years, but the Boston Public Library is fantastic and open to anyone

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

As in, you are on a visa and don't know if time off will be allowed?

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Well, I'm on a visa but at my institution there are two different time off paths I can follow, and I'm not sure which yet. Time off is certain to happen, but there's a chance time off will have to be done in the UK.

"just like walking down a high street back home except lots of palm trees..." ...wow, where do I sign up for this?

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Sorry, I don't mean to be nosy, but by any chance are you a first-year postdoc who is well and truly ready for the summer? I only bring this up because summer is around the corner and three months off may be enough without extra time off. Obviously, any number of things could be going on with you, but if your issues are primarily job-/location-related, I would suggest not leaving it too long, lest you completely psych yourself out from ever returning.

I know this isn't what you came here to ask (so of course you don't need to reply), but I say this as someone who spend 3 glorious years as a postdoc in Oklahoma (followed by another 2.5 years in the midwest), and the burning need to run away sounds very familiar...

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Sigh, not a postdoc, but an early stage grad student. Who definitely does not get the summer off! :p I just have to go and work something out, haha. Hope it won't take too long. I imagine I'll go crazy without time in the lab and just want to be back. It was actually my boss's suggestion that I take time off, so I have to do it. But I appreciate your saying this.

So many academics here, and you guys have been so helpful. Why on earth didn't I use these forums all along?!

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

So Cornwall then:lol:
As some have mentioned, I think Portland might tick a lot of your boxes and summer is on it's way.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Unusual for anyone to get the summer off now.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I lived in Boston for four years and it is a lovely town. This is where I met my husband and he always says it is a poor mans London. We will be moving to the south which sounds not suitable for you but one of the reasons for us is the warmth and friendliness of the people which I found lacking in Boston, also it is cold with lots of snow.

If you are looking for a city with public transport and perhaps left leaning, have you thought about San Francisco? Has lovely weather too! :)

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Have you seen rental prices in San Francisco:sick:

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

How about Charlottesville, VA? Not sure how affordable, but there may be short term leases available when UVA students are away this summer. There is also reasonable transportation available, including rail links to DC and NY-Boston.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

They're out of sight if you are sight if you are standing on the ground! :nod:

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I would second Charlottesville, VA, the rolling hills of the Virginia piedmont are lovely. UVA Libraries are open to the public and you can check out books and CD's with a Virginia drivers license. Rent is probably going to run you $800 per month for your own apt, but as a University town there are plenty of opportunities for house shares with UVA students during the academic year for more like $400pm. CAT bus runs several routes around town and the fare is 75c or free if you are a UVA affiliate. Amtrak trains come through twice a week, and the town has a Greyhound bus stop, but Home Ride charge the same $70 fare round trip from Charlottesville to the Vienna VA Orange line metro station (2 hours), from which you can ride into DC, as Starlight bus charge round trip to New York City (6 hours)! Make friends with someone with a car and an interest in theatre, the American Shakespeare Center is only 40 miles west in Staunton, and UVA does run occasional trips to the Shakespeare, but otherwise the twice weekly Amtrak service is the only regular public transit connection to Staunton. There are some lovely wineries in the area but again you'll need a friend with a car, or pay for a wine tour bus, to get there and be driven(carried) back.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

You're not going to find anywhere that is exactly like the UK, but from what I've seen in pictures and heard from people who live there, the East Coast is probably going to get you closest. Anywhere from New England down to the Carolinas by all accounts.

That being said, there are a handful of places up here in NE Illinois that irrationally remind me of places back home for no good reason and I can't understand why :D

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I only advise time off for PhD students if (a) you have decided to quit; (b) you have an issue of physical health (not stress-related); or, (c) have responsibilities to attend to elsewhere. It sounds like (c) is out, so we're left with (a) or (b). I'm going to be very presumptuous and guess you have stress-related health issues and do intend to return eventually. Do not take time off! You will lose touch with whatever it was you loved about your work in the first place (if you never did, quit now!!). In my experience, dealing with stress issues arising from work or location only becomes more difficult if you remove yourself from the situation - yes, you feel better, but you are not developing any mechanisms for coping when you go back. So everything just goes back to awful when you return. There is also the issue of losing touch with your project/current research - you can say you'll study day and night 'til the cows come home, but nothing compares to being in your group and having access/being accountable to your advisor.

If you would actually otherwise quit, that's when you take a leave of absence, as a kind of cooling off period. Once the acute issues settle down, you will be in a better position to decide what you want in the longterm. I took 6 months off before starting my PhD and went off travelling, with zero intention of returning to start it. While I was away, I got a chance to decompress from a very difficult family situation and decided it was what I actually wanted to do. If you take time off with the intention of returning, I feel like you end up under all this pressure to feel better about everything just because you are away from it. You can't really force something like that, so (IMO) you just add another layer of guilt about not really using your time off to feel better.

Sorry, I'm banging on a bit - as well as suffering through a very difficult postdoc I have numerous friends who have struggled/are struggling with difficult PhD scenarios and I have spent a lot of time talking through coping strategies. As a result, I may be reading between lines that are not there in your situation.

Anyway - I am a foreign (Australian) female in the sciences (math), with bitter experience of the midwest in my 20s (arrived at 26). Happy to discuss more if you feel like it would help :)

Bad choice of words: time off from teaching. Even if you are tethered to a lab, summer let's you get back to the work that captivated you in the first place. Sure, you never get as much done as you'd like, but you generally get a rest from everyone pulling you in seven different directions, and finally a chance for blessed focus. (Until you get too senior - then administration wants a piece of you too!)

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

That has got unbelievably ridiculous now.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Doesn't sound like taking "time off" is OP's decision to make.

In fact, she says it was her "boss's suggestion" and that she will "have to do it".

"Suggestion" may well be her euphemism for "order".

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Not sure what the motivation is, but I agree with many of the points above. Watch your visa status, especially if you're taken off payroll / class registration. And don't burn practical training for this unless you're on the way out.

If you're looking for somewhere cheaper, and much, much smaller than Portland OR, you might look at Eugene OR. Good summer climate, walkable with a semi-decent bus service, and home of the University of Oregon. I spent my grad school years there without a car and did fine. UofO libraries will lend to the public too.

Edit to add: Excellent beer available too.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I agree she should be careful about what she decides to do. "Journey of self-discovery"/find a place I don't hate to prove to myself that America can be okay sounds like a stress/homesickness problem. Sorry to speculate.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Eenie, Meeney, Miney, Moe

Fifty states, but where to go?

Seems you crave a taste of home

And for that you'll have to roam

Fifty states compound the choice

Therefore, heed your inner voice

Heart has spoken clear and loud

Spend some time with Boston crowd!

Boston:
Has many elements you miss / The chemistry seems right;

You say you don't drive. Countryside would require a car and so, too, would a small walkable town - because after a few weeks - it might not offer enough within its confines.

Boston seems a no-brainer. I believe there's good public transportation, libraries galore and with it's colonial roots - it's architecturally reminiscent of the UK.

My college roommate was a Boston (Cambridge) native. I always felt I was visiting a foreign country whenever I'd go home with her during school breaks. I was utterly charmed by Boston
Trust your instincts and intuitions.
Beware a plethora of choices. It can becoming paralyzing like when standing at a self-serve buffet unable to decide......

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

I assume you left the UK because you were looking for something different. So why would you be looking for somewhere in the US that is most like the UK - if such a place even exists. Actually, I have a question for you - where in the UK do you consider to be most like the UK? Different parts of the UK differ from each other. Even in the same general area of the country, you'll have a different lifestyle depending on how rural/urban your particular area is.

This is true more so in the US where there is much greater diversity in terms of geography and weather. So maybe you just need to try somewhere different in the US without worrying about how much closer it is in lifestyle to the UK. Some people have already suggested the Pacific North West and New England. Good suggestions.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

You'll usually have a town with a recognisable centre, buildings from a range of historical periods, some pubs and public transport. I remember a Russian mum at my kids' school in LA bemoaning the lack of a 'proper town'.

Whether seeking somewhere like this would represent self-discovery is another matter.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

It gets tricky depending on what she thinks 'like the U.K.' means. For example, Santa Fe, where I live, is often said to be one of the more European cities in the US. It has everything you mention above, but I'd argue that while 'European', it's also one of the least like the UK.

Re: Where in USA is most like UK?!
 

Prob no WH Smith.