Why the U.K

Hi all, Im British born and bred but I am just curious to know why you want to come to the U.K.  Sometimes I wish I could move to Florida - warm sunshine. Here today its snowing cold and bleak. I love americans, your'e so forward and friendly. So what is it about us Brits that makes you want to come.  Its far from perfect here !!

Most of us on this board (with some exceptions) move here to be with a significant other or spouse.  The US is far from perfect though, and I love my new home.

I personally was a bit of a Britophile (I would say Anglophile, but it's not that accurate).  Most of my family is two to four generations from the UK, mostly from North Wales, but some from Scotland and Ireland.  We lived in an area where there was a high concentration of Welsh immigration due to the slate quarries, so even now there are a lot of families who use Welsh words for things, even if their grandparents or great-grandparents were the last fluent speakers of Welsh in their family.  Even though I always felt an affinity for the UK, I never seriously thought of living here.

The weather here isn't that bad, especially compared to some parts of the States which is much colder or much wetter.  And the summers, even in the north can be horrible.  Plus, no offence to any Floridinians, I WOULD live in Florida if you paid me, but it would be a pretty tidy sum.  And my husband would have to come with me.

Im moving to the UK to be with the man i love.....theres an old saying.....home is where the heart is......my heart happens to want to be in the UK.

Well we could certainly ask what brings you to a american expats forum too  
Anyway lol...

Im one that came for the desire to work and live here in Scotland. My gran was born here and moved to the states when she was young. I've always been interested and very into my scottish roots. I came over in 1999 on a work permit originally and worked my way up the immigration ladder to naturalisation and now hold dual citizenship.
I was born/raised and lived in Massachusetts on the NE coast of the US.. So for me the weather here wasn't bad at all.. The overall weather is more temperate. It never gets as warm here in the summer.. never gets as much snow as we got growing up in Mass..
There are good n bad things everywhere you go and decide to live.
Sometimes the grass is greener on the other side .. I think those that chose to come live here because they wanted to acclimate better than those that were "forced" to because of a significant other or spouse.
Just my spin on things.. Others milage may vary  

The weather here isn't that bad, especially compared to some parts of the States which is much colder or much wetter.  And the summers, even in the north can be horrible.  Plus, no offence to any Floridinians, I WOULD live in Florida if you paid me, but it would be a pretty tidy sum.  And my husband would have to come with me.

No offence taken! As someone born and raised in Florida (and still currently living here), I honestly can't wait to move somewhere more temperate. :-) I hate hate hate the disgusting oven-hot, ridiculously humid oppressive weather that exists here 7-8 months out of the year.

There are a lot of folks that love Florida, of course, and if you live near the beach and have lots of time off and don't mind the disgusting heat then I can see where you might think this is the ideal place to be! And while I do love the beaches, I pretty much detest everything else. Concrete everywhere, strip malls, flatness and swamps as far as the eye can see...

Ahem. Anyway, my reasons for moving to the UK are difficult to explain adequately. Part of it is that my DH has been living here for almost 5 years, and I feel it's only fair to give his home country a shot for at least that long as well - especially while we're still relatively young and don't have any children to worry about uprooting (well, apart from the furry ones). Not to mention, I am a huge Britophile, and I enjoy the way people live over there. I find that I think I can live without the beaches if I have access to things like National Trust properties and the most amazing countryside I've ever seen...

Hi all, Im British born and bred but I am just curious to know why you want to come to the U.K.  Sometimes I wish I could move to Florida - warm sunshine.

I guess the grass is always greener! We have actually had some lovely weather lately (not too hot, not too cold) and although I would always recommend a nice (short) vacation here - you might rethink wanting to live here when the "warm sunshine" turns into "oppressive heat" that you can't turn off or escape for months on end without staying indoors all the time in the air conditioning :-/.

This isn't really an answer to the original question, but since I'm making the move soon and I have people ask me a MILLION times why we're moving right now, instead of giving them the real reason I am always tempted to say I'm moving to England just cause I'm bored.

I guess the grass is always greener! We have actually had some lovely weather lately (not too hot, not too cold) and although I would always recommend a nice (short) vacation here - you might rethink wanting to live here when the "warm sunshine" turns into "oppressive heat" that you can't turn off or escape for months on end without staying indoors all the time in the air conditioning :-/.

And the bugs! Ohhh, the bugs!

This isn't really an answer to the original question, but since I'm making the move soon and I have people ask me a MILLION times why we're moving right now, instead of giving them the real reason I am always tempted to say I'm moving to England just cause I'm bored.

heck of a time to get bored! LOL.  I tell people in Texas - "Well the grass IS greener over there."

Im moving to the UK to be with the man i love.....theres an old saying.....home is where the heart is......my heart happens to want to be in the UK.

Couldn't agree more!

Well, personally for me, I hate hot weather and I hate America I was born and grew up partially in the south of Brasil, which is a lot more European culturally, and the first time I set foot on this side of the Atlantic I felt more at home than I had in the 18 years I lived in Ohio. I'm also very liberal politically and a rabid atheist, which makes most of America, and especially the part where I lived, a very uncomfortable place to be. I have very little family in the US, just my mum and sister a couple of uncles I'm not that close to, so I don't have particularly strong ties there either. I came to the UK to do my Ph.D., but always intended to stay, and now I have a Scottish partner (who fortunately feels as negatively about the US as I do and would therefore never want to make me move back), friends, a job and a lifestyle that I made for myself that all mean more to me and are more enjoyable than anything the US could ever have offered. To add to all that, I've recently been diagnosed with a chronic illness, which means the American health care system would just not be possible for me, while I've had nothing but positive experiences with the NHS.
And of course, it's not just the UK. Once I'm a citizen, I can live anywhere in the EU, a privilege of which I intend to take full advantage in future!

This isn't really an answer to the original question, but since I'm making the move soon and I have people ask me a MILLION times why we're moving right now, instead of giving them the real reason I am always tempted to say I'm moving to England just cause I'm bored.

I used this excuse when I first moved here.

I moved to be with my husband, but I must admit that one of the reasons I was soooo happy about the move (besides the wonderful DH) were things like the NHS and some of the cultural opportunities.  Right now, I have a friend struggling with breast cancer (she may need to have a  double masectomy) and in the midst of all of that, her family had to *set up a donation website* in order to afford all of the care she needs.

That. is. not. okay.

So, yeah, the main reason would be to be with DH, but there are other benefits as well.

I am here in the UK because this is where my husband was transferred to.  He is British, but born and raised in East Africa.  We met in Singapore and lived there for 15+ years, we loved the lifestyle there and it was very difficult to leave but we wanted a place where our children could call home.  A position became available in the company he worked for so here we are.  We have been here 8 1/2 years.  It has been a really difficult adjustment and I have spent most of these past years unhappy and frustrated but things have changed for the better and I am content to stay a while longer.  

I had always thought that I would want to move back to the States but having been there recently I see things through different eyes and now I am not so sure that is the place for us.  I am not sure the UK is where we will retire, other than our children we have no other family here and who knows where the children will wander to.  Both hubby and I grew up as expats so home is where we want it to be.

Easy, the quality of life here is pretty good. We have great benefits for families, the NHS is a brilliant system (okay, its not perfect, but its pretty good) and honestly, I just love it here. I love the people, I love the culture, Thats pretty much it! I don't think anyone should feel they have to explain why they love something, but remember, everyone is different and has different experiences. Thats it!