Why i left the US

Hi,i just moved here 6 months ago from Iowa to Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. I have to say,this is without doubt the best movement ive ever made. I just love it here. Already ive settled in to a great lifestyle in a great city and the people are just incredible. Already ive decided to remove my US citizenship and my mom and sister are house searching as well,plus 4 of my friends are to. Although i dont hate America,i never felt American,i could have been anything,but i chose to British for many reasons. I just want to know your reasons for moving here,what the UK does better than the US,and do you miss it (I dont) here are my reasons:

Goverment: Until my first trip here in 2007,I was aware of the somewhat sub standard goverment we had,but it hit me full in the face in the pretty town of Keswick in the lake districts of just how appalling it is. Bush had a warped,ignorant view of the world,and that reflected amongst other americans. Many refused to believe anywhere could do anything better than us and if they did go abroad they were a total embaressment. In Portsmouth i was visiting the brilliant Mary Rose,only for it to be destroyed by a bunch of my countrymen,who asked stupid questions like 'If its a boat why is not complete' (it had sunk during Henry VIII's reign and survived for centuries,which was said the moment you walked in) and arrogantly slammed Britain,calling it 'Old fashioned' and 'Misreable'. That was bad enough but in Keswick an American man spat at an elderly woman in the corner shop,calling the goverment and country which she lived in, a third world joke inferior in every concept to America. That was when i discovered that the goverment was just a joke and americans abroad were even worse,hence then i started my planned escape from the US.

Landscape: The rolling,green hills,beautiful skies,mountains,gardens and rocky cliffs make a nice change from the sandy deserts and crappy beach resorts in the U.S. In Scotland we saw dolphins in their own habitat,on a boat just outside the harbour,the feeling of the sea salt and natural beauty brought a tear to my eye,i couldnt believe that i was experiencing this. Unlike us,Brits dont use our landscape to rake in money,they use it more to boast about their stunning country

Healthcare: Even with the reforms,the NHS is a huge benefit,in the states i would be still paying off some of my injuries!!!

Culture/Houses: Houses in america are ok,but souless,they are built because they have to be,not because someone wants to take pride in it. I live in a Victorian Terraced house,with a beautiful tiled fireplace and an original water feature.Character,thats what i like. The whole pub culture,the fab archaeology,music festivals,mythical stories and just general quirkiness make Britain brill!!!

People: Friendlier,well informed,tolerant and caring,something which many Americans seem to lack.

I might be bashing America here but honestly i couldnt wait to leave. I love living here,i plan to raise a family here and spend the rest of my life here. The USA is a distant Memory to me now. But i want to know YOUR favourite things about Britain and why you moved here...

Thanks....

Hi and welcome to the forum. 

It's great that you're having such an easy time settling in and that you love it here so much.  However, I have to say that while it is wonderful here (I love it, too) there are plenty of the same bad things here that you mention about the US.

I'm from New Jersey, and I've seen plenty of dolphins in their own habitat there, at my family's beach house.  There are also bears, and raccoons, and skunks and all kinds of wildlife in NJ.  I've also seen plenty of landscape left to it's own devices rather than being exploited, because the government wanted it protected.  At the same time there are harbours and bays here in Scotland that have been dredged to the point of no return and forests that have been demolished for the purposes of sheep farming.  Sure, it was centuries ago, and it created the Sublime landscape everyone has come to love and respect about Scotland, but it doesn't change anything really, does it?

I live in Scotland now, and there are loads of things like castle ruins that you're just not going to find in the US.  I love that.  How many people in the US have castle grounds as the local dog park?  Not many.     But, at the same time, nouveau riche people are building tacky, tasteless, ginormous houses right on top of one another right next to that castle just so they can brag about the view.  They don't seem to realise that they are ruining the view they moved there for in the first place.  Not to mention that I live in an ugly, soulless, box of an end-of-terrace house that was built because it had to be, right here in lovely scenic Scotland.  Our neighborhood is the quintessential concrete eyesore from the 60s. 

The place where I am from in New Jersey is historical, colonial, farmland with tiny towns and beautiful old farmhouses and it is just gorgeous.  There are plenty of villages like that here, but there are also plenty of places that aren't like that at all.

The people here are generally friendly, but there are still bigoted, ignorant, sorry excuses for people here, just like the US.  Most chavs and neds are a good start, as well as the BNP.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, keep on enjoying it, keep on loving it, many of us here do, but just know that there is good and bad both here and in the US, and it's really just a matter of preference or a matter of circumstance.

Culture/Houses: Houses in america are ok,but souless,they are built because they have to be,not because someone wants to take pride in it. I live in a Victorian Terraced house,with a beautiful tiled fireplace and an original water feature.Character,thats what i like. The whole pub culture,the fab archaeology,music festivals,mythical stories and just general quirkiness make Britain brill!!!

Ok...I get that you're from Iowa, but even Iowa has some beautiful houses, especially along the river.  Downtown Dubuque, for example, is full of character.  I'm not disagreeing that the UK has some amazing historical buildings, but so does the US, if one bothers looking.

The reason I'm moving is to join my husband, plain and simple.  It's not that there aren't all kinds of things I'm going to appreciate about the U.K.; in fact, I'm looking forward to most of the things you mentioned.  

Maybe it's just my nerves talking, but as annoyed as I can occasionally get with the state of things in the U.S. at the moment, I can't imagine ever hating it, nor forgetting the things about it that I love.

I'm glad you're super-keen on Newcastle.  It's great that you've adjusted well and you're feeling really comfortable there.  And I don't think you'll get much argument from people here that the U.K. has some major advantages.  Just don't be surprised if some people take a more balanced view of the whole U.K. vs. U.S. issue.

I think these comments are fair,but at the same time,i cannot help but feel that Americans take advantage of their history. My main reason more than anything to move however was our political image and the attitudes of Some Americans,which although the whole chav thing in the U.K is bad,it doesnt compete with the awful way in which over patriotic americans act when abroad,its so awful. Like i said,i dont hate the states,but it has nothinh on the U.K,ive only been here for 6 months and i can see some real advantages over the USA...

Hi!
Did you come over here on a work visa? What do you like best about Newcastle? I'm glad you're having such a lovely time here! I agree that the UK is fantastic; I think that some of us (myself included) have tended to move over here for "life" reasons (marriage, a job) instead of trying out new country reasons, so, at least for me, that's why we still have a soft spot in our hearts for our native country.
As someone who travelled a LOT when I was younger, I hear you on the occasional annoying American, but there are MILLIONS of us all over the place--I think it's just the loud ones stand out SO MUCH that we forget there are tons we don't notice!
I love where I live now (Manchester), and I'm really enjoying learning about UK life as well. Welcome to UK-Y!

You're planning to 'remove' your US citizenship?  Wow, that's a pretty brash thing to do for someone who doesn't hate the states.

I really can’t understand why anyone would relinquish their US citizenship.  You might not like that we used to have Bush as a president or anything that’s going on here at the moment, but think of the past.  Your relatives came here for a reason and they made lives for themselves which were presumably better than those that they had left.  Maybe I only feel this way because some branches in my family are young enough for me to have retained contacts in ‘the old world.’  I have family that fought in both world wars, one of whom died at 19 on Omaha beach.  If I were ever to turn my back on the US, even though there are loads of things that I don’t agree with or like, it would be a slap in the face to those that worked so hard so that I could have the freedoms and life that I have.

I do love the UK as well and I know that moving there for my DF is the best choice for the life that we will be building together.  I intend on doing everything I can so that our kids will know that they aren’t just British, but also American.  There is a lot of good and bad in both countries and no reason not to be proud of being from or living in either. 

And keeping American citizenship just gives you more options in life.  Moving overseas is difficult, and I think, kind of a pain in the butt.  Besides finally being able to be with DF all the time, the opportunity to belong to more than country is one of the biggest pluses to me. 

Does the OP have dual citizenship?  Not that I'd ever give up my US citizenship -- I plan to go home some day -- but statelessness has always seemed completely terrifying to me.  A World Passport just isn't going to cut it. 

You can't give up your US citizenship if it will make you stateless.

I hold dual citizenship and became a naturalised US citizen in my 20s. I don't think I've made any secret of the fact that I far prefer the UK to the US in nearly every way ... but giving up my US citizenship is not something that's ever crossed my mind. Yes, I like living in the UK better and can't imagine myself ever moving back, but none of us knows what the future holds. Things change and I'd hate to see myself without the options that are now open to me.

I think the main reason that im relinquishing my US citizenship is because all my close relatives are abroad and already many of my friends are planning to move,2 to the UK,3 to Canada,1 to Italy,1 to Australia. If i ever did go back there,what would be the point in me living there. The other reason is that im an Archaeologist,with an interest in Anglo-Saxon arcaheology,i couldnt find a job relating to that in the states. Of course im proud of the US Army and everything they stand for,but ive never felt to attatched to the country itself. When i go abroad,i feel connections with them,and i just didnt get that in America. Newcastle is a reat city to live in,the nightlife is incredible,and rain or shine,the people here are friendly no matter what. Its clean,its cheap and good,its just my perfect city really. The comments i wrote are not to be offensive,but they are just my personal opinions,and just before leaving,i realised that many of my friends were not feeling like the US was as good as people think it is....

How exactly did you move to the UK and how exactly are all your relatives and friends planning on moving here as well? 

Because perhaps your family has a way to move here, but your friends are probably out of luck.

Okay,well i guess that i may keep my US citizenship,but i really cant see myself using it for a long long time...

How exactly did you move to the UK and how exactly are all your relatives and friends planning on moving here as well? 

Because perhaps your family has a way to move here, but your friends are probably out of luck.

 I used a working visa at first,but afterward i applied for British citizenship as i knew thatb the UK was perfect for me. Im not sure about my friends however,they all want to move,but the requirements differ per country....

I used a working visa at first,but afterward i applied for British citizenship as i knew thatb the UK was perfect for me. Im not sure about my friends however,they all want to move,but the requirements differ per country....

You applied for citizenship within 6 months of moving from Iowa to Newcastle?