Sick of being looked at like I'm crazy for moving to England!

Another Floridian here. I moved about 6 months ago, and I completely understand where you're coming from on this one, even my husband's family make comments like this and they watched us struggle through 6 months apart while we were getting the visa! I think being from Florida is worse because so many people have been there and think they've seen the "real" Florida when they went to Disney in December. I usually tell them about all the snakes, poisonious things, bugs, and alligators and heat in August and that usually does it. Never mind the strip malls, the lack of history, the having to have a car to get anywhere. 
The other question I get a lot that I really hate is "don't you miss your family"? Well of course I do, thanks for reminding me! 

Thanks for this discussion. Nice to know I'm not alone.

I'm beginning to have fun with that look of "Oh, something must be WRONG with you if you came here" after telling them I'm from Southern California. Next, I think I'll carry a picture of Watts or Compton or other inner city areas in my phone and see if they fall for "this is where I lived".

I'll be curious to see how national pride shows up on the international stage with 2012 Olympics - and what the locals are saying in the pub at the time.

I had another one really give me the 'you're crazy' routine last week. She was going on and on about the weather. I told her I didn't mind not having the tornadoes, severe storms and oppressive heat and humidity. She said, 'But surely that is better than the weather here!' Um... nope, tornadoes are not better than the weather here. Plus, when it reaches 71f and barely any humidity, everyone in town seems to start melting and complaining of the heat. I can only wonder what they would do with it 104 and a heat index of 120. I do agree most of them base their thoughts of the States on the tourist areas of Florida, California, Vegas and New York, plus what they see on tv and movies. It is the same with Americans basing our initial thoughts on tourist areas and what we see on tv and movies.

The other question I get a lot that I really hate is "don't you miss your family"? Well of course I do, thanks for reminding me!

I get tired of that one too. They either think I am heartless for leaving my family, or crazy for missing them but not crying all the time. When I try to expain that one or the other of us has to be away from family, the majority seem to think he should be the one to be over there in the land of perfect weather.

'I'm going to generalize here, but British people do not have the same patriotism and love for their country as Americans, and the negativity can be frustrating'

I agree that we can be terribly negative but that's just a national trait - it doesn't mean that we don't have the same patriotism and love for Britain that the Americans have for the US.  I guess the negativism is partly media driven but it filters through life in all sorts of ways and is not really about being negative; it's about not wanting to boast - something we feel uncomfortable with for some reason - which comes across as being negative. I do hope that makes sense to someone out there  

It makes perfect sense to me, but then I am a Brit awaiting my hubby to come over from the US and have people ask him why on earth did he move to Manchester  

As a Brit, I am probably guilty of asking such a thing to someone who has moved out to here but as the post says above, it certainly isn't meant to be negative or a downer on this country (and to be honest I am pleased hubby is coming here rather than me going over there) and I am sure when people say this to you they certainly aren't saying it to make you feel as you, well I hope not! I think it just stems from them possibly being interested in you and maybe some have never even met an American before, ne'er mind someone who has settled here.
And, although it may not feel like it, in some strange way they may be complimenting you - we can be a bit funny like that....

That said I do get questioned by my friends as to why on earth didn't I move out there and why is hubby coming here!  

Here in York, our local paper has the most ridiculous, sensationalist headines.  For example, if a traffic light was broken the headline would say something like

YORK DEATH STREET!

Headlines like this are displayed in front of all the newspaper shops and I think that if I were a tourist and saw these everywhere, I would never want to come back.

Oh god, you just reminded me of this. My wife and I ended up getting married in York this past December, and we spent a couple days down there as well. I made a point every day of going by the news stand just so I could look at the headline. I would just grin and start laughing out loud...she thought I was crazy.

Of course to be sweet, I told her that our headline would be
LOST
YANK
FOUND

awwwwwwwwww shucks, she bought me a coffee for that one

Oh god, you just reminded me of this. My wife and I ended up getting married in York this past December, and we spent a couple days down there as well. I made a point every day of going by the news stand just so I could look at the headline. I would just grin and start laughing out loud...she thought I was crazy.

Of course to be sweet, I told her that our headline would be
LOST
YANK
FOUND

awwwwwwwwww shucks, she bought me a coffee for that one

LOL! Loving these news stories! Do you ever notice how the news on T.V. starts off with "Good Evening" then continues on to tell you why it really isn't a good evening?? Sheesh!!

After reading all the flooding reports from back home (southern Indiana) being posted on Facebook by friends and family, flooding in several states and reading about the horrendous tornado outbreaks in the past few days, I believe I will start directing people toward news stories of the horrible weather every time I get the 'But surely the weather is SO much better over there!' speech.

I had a woman ask again last night how I could possibly leave the perfect weather of the States to come here. She said the weather here is so boring. I replied by telling her boring is better than tornadoes or heat waves that can kill.

She also asked why I moved here. I told her my husband was from town and he'd moved to the States for five years then we decided to come here. She said, 'Hmm... that's a bit random that he'd be from here.' Not sure why it is random. Everyone is from somewhere.

Just like rear-ends, everyone has an opinion. Some of them are just full of sh*t.

New Yorker putting in my two cents on this one.

My now-hubby warned me that I'd be getting two questions from every person I meet while here. "Where are you from?" "Why the hell did you move to THIS TOWN!?"  And yes, my answer is "for love"

Yes, for most people, saying I'm from New York brings up images of big city oohs and aahs.  And I lived a block away from Times Square - I understand this.  But this town (yeah its a typical smaller town) is beautiful.  And I find I'm constantly being awed by the natural beauty and friendly (for the most part) people.  My in-laws are constantly shocked by some of my facebook posts where I'm oohing and aahing over the town - and they post "You sure we are living in the same town?"  Its all about perspective.

I can tell you that when friends visited me in NY, I gave tours where I would blandly wave a hand "there's Rockefeller Center...Empire State Building" and yawn, while their eyes bugged out of their heads.  Most become unimpressed by what they see day in and day out.  It wasn't until I left NYC 8 years ago and moved up north to Rockland County that I began seeing Manhattan in a different light.  And now....being so completely out of the country, every bit of NYC is magnificent in its own right.

Howevah....and please don't yell at me for this because I do say this somewhat tongue-in-cheek.  I've noticed that, yes, Brits have a mighty big habit of getting their daily "Winge" in.  We Americans do it too, but this is a UK brand of complaining, and its different - so it can affect you.

What I found more saddening was all the friends and family back in the states treating me like I was crazy for leaving the US.  It made leaving both harder and easier, in a way.

Chin up - this place is absolutely gorgeous.  If you feel good about yourself here - let them have their daily complaints.

That said I do get questioned by my friends as to why on earth didn't I move out there and why is hubby coming here!  

This! DH is from Southern California so constantly gets questioned about why on earth he would choose to live here but I get the same crazy eyed looks whenever I tell anyone that my husband is from California and living here in England with me (why wouldnt you want to live out there!) There's a lot that goes in to these kinds of decisions and people just don't get it!

There's a lot that goes in to these kinds of decisions and people just don't get it!

Amen to that.

This! DH is from Southern California so constantly gets questioned about why on earth he would choose to live here but I get the same crazy eyed looks whenever I tell anyone that my husband is from California and living here in England with me (why wouldnt you want to live out there!) There's a lot that goes in to these kinds of decisions and people just don't get it!

I'm from Southern California and get the same exact responses when people ask me where I'm originally from. They say they'd move there in an instant, or that they've wanted to do what I did, except the opposite way around.

Upon discussing the weather, I went as far to say that we Californians get bored of the sunshine. Now those were some bewildered looks 

But yes, I do miss the sun here in the UK -- not so much the extreme heat, though.

But yes, I do miss the sun here in the UK -- not so much the extreme heat, though.

Exactly!
I went to a wedding in September last year with DH when the surrounding LA area was having an extreme heatwave. The day before the wedding we went to the LA county fair - i was there for about half an hour before i had to be taken into and air conditioned room and given a cool compress because i just couldnt handle the heat. Now whenever we get questioned about the "nice" weather out there DH gives me a nod and says 'How do you feel about the heat...." I could never live in that!!!!!

Exactly!
I went to a wedding in September last year with DH when the surrounding LA area was having an extreme heatwave.

I know that exact heatwave you're talking about! My DH and his friend had just traveled to CA at the end of last September for our wedding in October. One of the days it got to around 110 degrees Fahrenheit and they had no idea what hit them. Granted, it was a bit a unusual for that time of year, but they both got a taste of how ill those temperatures actual make you feel. I'm sensitive to that sort of heat as well and used to faint from being outside in it, so I won't be missing that.

But yes, I do miss the sun here in the UK -- not so much the extreme heat, though.

Same here, but Indiana's sunshine and horrible heat and humidity. The same people who ask me how I could give up 'the weather' are the ones who are melting and miserable when it hits 71f in town. I've explained the heat index that can make it feel 120 or more. In the middle of melting into a puddle at about 74f last summer, one woman said it sounded 'lovely'... then returned to complaining about how hot it was. I'm not sure how adding that much more heat would be lovely if you're already in misery.

I've noticed that, yes, Brits have a mighty big habit of getting their daily "Winge" in.  We Americans do it too, but this is a UK brand of complaining, and its different - so it can affect you.

I have noticed I've picked up the habit of complaining about things I probably would have never thought to before. I suppose it is one of those 'mob mentality' things where you start doing what the people around you do.