Yep, been to Davie, in fact had dinner in a diner (Was recomended) there last week, over priced & lousy food. Totally agree, with Boca being expensive, then again, the whole of South Fl is now as expensive as NYC. In fact some things are dearer then NYC. All of the things we do are East of I-95 + to much rain this side. Been to the Bass P store several times over the years, we once took a video, just to show our Brit family & friends, place is huge, boats to t shirts to ammo.
Reg. Frank R.

And lots of fat girls & guys. I did the tour twice with my son.

Reg. Frank R.

I agree, here. I did say "some". I have seen it happen that someone, desparate to go back, makes a contact here and another there, and becomes happier, that makes life more comfortable, and it has continued to build from there. Particularly, if you have something better to go to, and you are able to, you should do it.

Wow what threads!

I came here back in Jan '95 arriving with only 2 suitcases, not knowing a soul except for my uncle who I hadn't seen for well over 15 years... a complete stranger to me then. The novelty of "ooh - say "bottle"" quickly wore thin.

It was difficult for my first year here and there wasn't a day that went day where I would say to myself "am I bloody mad - what the hell was I thinking?" and call it quits and hop back onto a plane bound for heathrow. But, I realized I came here for a reason and I was determined not to let it get the better of me and run home with tail under my legs... afterall, what was I going to return to?? Simply, all the things which made me leave in the first place!! I had enough of the pissing rain, grey days, the apathy, pessimism, stiffledness, the can't be arsed general attitude...

11 years later and I'm still here albeit with more than 2 suitcases of crap. There are certain things I do miss from UK - warm pint, a chinwag about anything, decent Vindiloo, kebab after a binge; nothing I can't hop over to satisfy the craving. I don't regret anyting... I just look back and reflect where I am now as opposed to where I was when I first came here and what have accomplished over the past decade.

All isn't Roses though - I do compare and contrast and some of my observations are.(not intending to offend):
some Americans are arrogant... some brits are pompous. It equates in the long run.
Circle of friends... hard to break into in the UK but they tend to lifelong friends; here its easier to make friends but they tend to be shortlived.
Bush..(enough said). Blair..(enough said).
There are more but its to much of a bore to type them.

The analogy I use to describe the difference between us Brits and Americans is best described by putting them in a pub... the Brit would be happy to sit there with a pint and read a paper etc, the american would sit there and figit; Our sense of individualism and self is unmatched whereas the av american is too consumed about how they are perceived and what others are thinking about them.

In essence, the US is what you make of it; like anywhere I suppose. As it is said, Laugh, and the world laughs with you.. cry, cry alone. Still, there are places in the US where I wouldn't care to live... fish out of water in arkansas.

Would I do it all over again? Yes, but with improvements. The only thing I wish I had done sooner was to submerse myself in my area by getting out and about, volunteer somewhere to meet people, carve your niche and explore your surroundings, afterall, its where you are going to be living for a number of years.

Good post.
One of the main differences I observed was when I first came over to work for a summer at a camp. (Which is where I ended up meeting my husband)

Working at the camp were kids (by "kids" I mean early 20's to early 30's) from Ireland, Russia, Austria, England, Poland, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, Wales, Bosnia, Czech, Slovenia, and Spain. Night after night they'd sit round in a circle and talk, laugh, drink, all would be able to relate to each other. Throw an American kid into the mix and they'd be sat there like a deer in headlights unable to fully meld into the circle of kids.

I could never put my finger on what it was, what was different, why they didn't 'get' all the other kids and vice versa. Still have no idea, but am still aware of its existence.

I can help you there, with our experiences with our daughter....because socialising is a dirty word for them. They dont get play time at school, they are not allowed to integrate during lunch and when they come home they all go to their houses and do homework. Our daughters is an extremely active social kid and thats one thing she has found so hard to get to grips with...back home she would be out playing with her mates every evening and weekends. And I mean proper roll around in the muck having a whale of a time playing, not hanging at a mall or having a manicure style of "playing". It's sad to say but a lot of kids here just have no idea how to socialise and be kids.

From what I can gather, its because because of these crazy parents who push (and believe) their kids to be the best at everything, even if they are not interested. They seem to sign them up for this class, that class, etc etc etc. So the kids are bouncing from one hobby to another, trying to represent the parents hopes and dreams, and as such don't have time to have friends as you say.

Whatever happened to just goofing about with your mates, tresspassing on your local farmers land and sabotaging his bird scarers and getting chased by the game keeper on your dirt bike

They don't seem to be able to relax here - although I'm sure this can't really be the case for all States, I've got a good friend from southern Georgia, and by the sound of it his childhood was a bit more like my Lincolnshire country boy one.

The same is true of mine.

I certanly get the impression FL is state unto itself in a lot of ways. It does seem as if they are living the dream by proxy via their kids....and some of them seem incredibly neurotic by all accounts.

Still, my daughter will be picking up with her old mates in a month, back to a proper childhood spent charging around on her bike and getting covered in mud and snot in the rain....she's so looking forward to it. Everyday she's emailing them and telling us about how she's looking forward to it.

Enjoyed your post, cheers.

some Americans are arrogant... some brits are pompous. It equates in the long run.

Yeah, forgot about that one in this "classless" society.

the Brit would be happy to sit there with a pint and read a paper etc, the american would sit there and figit; Our sense of individualism and self is unmatched whereas the av american is too consumed about how they are perceived and what others are thinking about them.

Oh, that is good.

Our two young boys are allways out over one friend's house or another. I cant keep shoes on my youngest's feet; he comes back in like a coal miner sometimes. (helmet with lamp, picket, terrible Welsh accent)

I thought he might mean touche rather than wash perhaps he was calling her a shower.

Don't you ever watch south park ??

Why should you think we would all watch that crap?

Because its a satyrical look at the life of a typical disfunctional US town.