Pro & Con between life in UK & US

I had this exact conversation with a taxi driver* on my way home from the grocery shop this afternoon:

Taxi Driver, slightly curious, slightly unbelieving: So, you're not from around here, are you?
Stella Marie, slightly deadpan, not very forthcoming: No, I'm not.
TD: Where're ya from then?
SM: California.
TD: You're living here now?
SM: Yes.
TD: How long?
SM: 7 years.
TD: Are you mad?
SM: Yes. (at this, the woman who was sharing the taxi in the backseat starts to laugh).
TD: You must be.


* Please note, I have this exact conversation with every taxi driver I ride with. Every. Single. Time.

So rather than object everytime someone calls me mad (to my face, even!) for living here, I just have learned to smile and agree. Because they are right, you know.

 

Kind of off topic.  When we were in Dublin the taxi driver asked us if we carried guns.  You know being from Chicago everyone carries a gun.  I told him I left mine at home that day.

I admire people who like living in the UK.  I wish we would have stayed a little longer, but I was really homesick and my dad was ill.

When it comes to beaches, I want loads of warm sand, a soft, barely noticeable breeze, hot sun, warm water, the sticky scent of salt spray and seaweed, all to the sound of the surf pounding the shore.

Hee Hee!  I'm a California Girl (born and raised in So. Cal.) and I hate those sort of beaches.  Give me craggy, windswept, foggy beaches any day!

Hee Hee!  I'm a California Girl (born and raised in So. Cal.) and I hate those sort of beaches.  Give me craggy, windswept, foggy beaches any day!

Yup!!

I really dislike most beaches. They're all.......beachy.. n'sh*t. 

Better?

Much. Tongue in cheek doesn't always translate well into internet-speak. 

I really dislike most beaches. They're all.......beachy.. n'sh*t. 

 

woof woof

Being poor sucks anywhere.

What really sucked for me being poor in the US, however, is that I had no healthcare insurance coverage.

I really dislike most beaches. They're all.......beachy.. n'sh*t. 

You made your Malibu Barbie live in the mountains, didn't you?

I'm with Chary.
I've said before that living here is not for everyone.
But it is definitely for me, and my life here is a damn sight better than the So Cal existence i left behind, so when people accuse me of being somehow 'not right' because i like living here, i take issue with that.

Good post!

warm sand, a soft, barely noticeable breeze, hot sun, warm water, the sticky scent of salt spray and seaweed, all to the sound of the surf pounding the shore.

I love all different kinds of terrain and coastline to see, visit, and spend time at.
But that's the kind of beach I want to live near. 

I like all beaches but I don't like spending lots of time on any beach. Sandy ones are too sandy, and rocky ones are too, well, rocky!

See I adore beaches... period and even better without lots of silly tourists with way too much suntan oil on...I love being able to have a BBQ on the beach here in the UK.

Give me a large expanse of Blue Flag beach on a mild day anytime (they are even nice to walk to dogs on in the dead of winter as you are buffeted by the winds and then head for a nice warm meal or cuppa by a fireplace later.)

In Virginia I loved locals areas of VA. Beach and State park beaches oh and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Outer Banks, NC... and here I love places like Wadebridge, Bude, and my three local favourites... Bigbury on Sea (Agatha Christie fans should go), Bantham and the National Trusts Thurlstone oh and Mothercombe (located a short hike downhill off the Flete Estate)...and I hear Hale in Cornwall has three miles of golden sands though I have yet to go there.

I disliked Atlanta in a large part because there was no beach.

I am moving back to the USA for now, but I will always return and consider the UK my home too. 

It's been many years since I have set foot on an ocean beach. I think any beach would be preferable to no beaches at all! And walking beaches in the winter sounds lovely!

The furthest you can possibly be from a beach in the UK, is 70 miles.  Another plus for the UK

I know that both countries have their pros and cons, and being British I do get a bit defensive when people state things they don't like about the country. But to be fair, there are several things about the UK that are not what they used to be or not as good as they could be (the NHS, for one), the same as there as aspects of the US that are not perfect.

I prefer quite a few things in the UK over the equivalent things in the US and I know that certain aspects of my life would be better if I continued to live here in the next few years, but unfortunately I do find my day-to-day life kinda boring and the weather a bit depressing at times, which is why I've chosen to spend the next 4 years studying in the US. Yes, there are things that I'm not looking forward to sorting out (bank accounts, health insurance, credit ratings, etc.) and food that I'll miss (British milk, cheese, bread, chocolate etc.), but at the end of the day, I can't wait to be in the New Mexico sunshine, have views of the gorgeous desert scenery and to be around the more positive attitude of US university professors (compared to the UK lecturers who are always telling you what you've done wrong rather than what you've done right - from my experience, UK uni students can never quite be good enough at their work).

Not only that, but, I really miss the paper towel dispensers that are in every public toilet in the whole of the US of A and I think it's a disgrace that we have to use those hot air blowers here in the UK and waste so much energy and do so much damage to the environment while doing so. It's a bloody disgrace so it is.

You know, I've never really got why everything changed to air blowers a few years ago. I seem to remember being told in primary school that electric hand driers were being installed to save trees (i.e. less paper towel wastage)... but did they not consider the energy consumption levels for electric air blowers?! The public toilets should all have washable towels on those roller things - no paper wastage and no exorbitant energy consumption from hot air dryers.