TracyTN

True. I am socially liberal but more fiscally conservative. Middle TN is traditionally democratic, so I do find it more to conducive to my liberal leanings. We're not religious in the slightest, either, and you do have to tread lightly because most everyone else is QUITE religious. But I wouldn't say that's exactly a problem though.

Hubby's posting here now so I'll get him to come by here and give his .02 on his 'happiness factor' in the US.

ChasUK

Yup, I have been here 3 years now and everything is still the same as when I first arrived. In fact it's as I thought it would be long before I even emigrated.

For many years I had become a "dissatisfied" Brit. As time went by I found there were less and less things for me to say "I'm proud to be English". Now, I know that lived about 25 miles from London and I wasn't in the cheapest area of the UK but I really do not miss the elevated prices on everything. I don't miss the lack of community. I don't miss the chavs. In fact I don't miss England one bit. All I miss are some "things". My mum, my friends and the convenience of popping round to see them. Decent beer readily available, the odd doner kebab, decent curries, the closeness of the corner shop etc etc.

I am much happier in the US. Yes, they have some of their own problems here but when compared to the UK they are less gruesome to deal with.

I am often asked, "do you miss England" or "do you ever want to go back?" and my answer has been the same all the time. You couldn't pay me to go back except for a visit.

I_miss_real_beer

I love certain things about the US, but hate others. I moved here 7 years ago when I was 17 from Norwich and joined the US navy. So far Ive lived in DC, Pensacola FL, Jacksonville FL, and now I'm living in San Diego.

Obviously I love how comparably cheap everything is here, I still convert prices into GBP in my head, so i always feel like I am getting a good deal. lol

Had I stayed in England, I would have never been as successful as I have been here. It seems you just get more payoff for your hard work here, than you would in England. I'm a helicopter mechanic, but i drive a nicer car and live in a nicer house than my step dad who is a GP.... Go figure.

It depends where your "transition" city/state is. If you first come from the UK to somewhere like "bug-knuckle", tennessee. then you will hate life... But if you go to the east coast, you will probably have a easier time getting used to the states. Its suprising how european the north east felt to me.

ChasUK

Agreed with almost everything. LOL
I myself arrived in a place just west of "bug-knuckle" and I love it here. heheh

SultanOfSwing

I go from one side to the other pretty regularly but mostly I am happy here. There are things I miss, the obvious - friends, family, food and that, from NI but there are those I don't (being that it was NI those are obvious too).

On one hand, I had a better job in the UK (civil service) but I get paid more here, and my money goes further. I'd never have been able to have afforded my own place at 30 in the UK. My 28 year old sister still lives with our mum, and doesn't look to be moving any time soon. Also, I have a beautiful wife, a cool 11 year old stepson and a gorgeous 5 week old daughter. I didn't have any of those things in NI

If anything, being here makes me appreciate the good things from back home, because I didn't appreciate them until I couldn't see them anymore - no mountains or Atlantic coastline in Illinois. Had I been asked maybe a few months ago I'd have said I wasn't happy here. I just got done reading Stephen Fry in America though and seeing all the states the way he presented them made me appreciate it here a little bit more. That and the weather getting nicer helps as well.

nettlebed

A really funny book (IMHO) is The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson.

Bryson was born and grew up in Des Moines (IA, not WA ), but moved to the UK when he was around 20, married a Brit and became a journo. His father died when he was in his mid-30s, and this book describes two immense road trips he took to try and revisit the America of his youth.

The fact that he is a native Yank, but whose adult life had been spent in the UK makes this book much more interesting.

After a while he moved back "permanently" to the US, but ended up returning to the UK, where he is now head of the CPRE.

SultanOfSwing

I've heard good things about him - I'll have to check that out. Thanks for the tip

kins

I was looking at Australia on Google Earth the other day and I was wondering why I moved to America and not the Gold Coast. But I am very happy here. I'm in Maine and it does feel like the best of 1950s UK in a lot of ways.

But I will never ever swim in the ocean here, it's just too cold.

nettlebed

Plus you don't want lobsters clacking their claws at your parts...

Englishtart

I have read all his books about travel, (more than once) They are brilliant!!

SultanOfSwing

I do have one book of his that my mum bought me but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. Not 100% sure of the title but something along the lines of 'The History of Everything' or words to that effect. I'll have to retrieve it from the book totes we packed up when we moved house last year and give it a go. I'm reading much more again now compared to what I did when I was bought it. Kind of let myself down because I used to read constantly back in the UK. I'm very happy to be getting back into that kind of routine again out here, even if it did take a couple of years!

Holy crap - way off topic there! Back on track again - still happy in the US! Not least because I received the notification that my N-400 has arrived and is under way

Englishtart

Don't worry about going OT, that happens a lot on BE Good news about the N-400

Bill Bryson wrote a memoir called 'the life and times of the thunderbolt kid', not one of my faves, but still a good book, one of my fave's is 'I'm a stranger here myself' :thumb'up:...I need to get back into reading too

SultanOfSwing

Yeah, I used to read way more when I got the train into work. Started driving and read a little less but still in my lunch break. Can't take quite as long a lunch where I work out here, and no morning/afternoon tea breaks like in the good old civil service either, so reading time is greatly reduced, what with less breaks in work and dividing my time between our 11 year old and 6 week old at home!!

Wouldn't have it any other way though.

kins

I'm sending mine at the end of the month. Weird feeling - I don't think I'll ever really feel like an American, but on the other hand I feel less and less British as time goes by.

HumphreyC

If you feel yourself getting all dewy eyed and nostalgic, I should point out it's probable the Civil Service job you used to work at is going to be brutally eliminated by whichever government wins the next election. Health and education are ring fenced, everything else is going to be a bloodbath with massive redundancies and wage freezes; though on the plus side a lot of jobs will get shifted from the south east to other parts of the country.

It was great in the old days though. I worked for Nottingham City Council for six glorious months and was never asked to do a stroke of work (the department was ironically titled 'economic development'). The guys next to me spent most of the time browsing martial arts websites and cracking jokes. Alas I sold out and went into the private sector but I still miss the banter.

On Bill Bryson, by far the best of his books was 'Made in America'; in fact I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best books on American culture ever written. Didn't really like Lost Continent.