Does anyone prefer life in the UK to the US?

Yes, I do.  (So why does DH think I'm going to want to come back to the US eventually?)  Just looking at the retirement issues that are facing me within 2 months (eeek), I know I would have more enjoyable things to do back in Yorkshire ... And would find it easier to get to any activities via public transport ...  And not have to worry about signing on with a new doctor and having premiums and deductibles and co-pays ... And, oh yeah, it would be nice not to be on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

Mostly I prefer the UK. Today I went for a walk and the landscape was so beautiful that I couldn't imagine living anywhere else. My life here is good. That said, the winter here gets old fast for me. I miss the Florida sunshine, but whenever I go back to Florida I can't wait to leave. As a self-employed person you can't beat the healthcare. That is enough for me to keep living here.

I completely get Josephine Baker.

You should be so lucky...

I prefer the US. Financially, we will be better off, and I will actually be able to find jobs in my field. I don't like the tiny, box-like flats and homes. I don't like the drunken neds that walk past our flat yelling and screaming at 2am, I don't like the sectarian violence here and worry about wearing the wrong color to the wrong pub, I don't like how my husband was treated so dismissively by the dermatologist here, I hate the inconvenience of using public transpo, I hate cctv being everywhere (if I want to pick out a wedgie, I hate knowing someone has recorded it)...the list could go on, but I won't.

Of course there are things I don't like about the US, but I can live with it.

I'd probably feel less positive about the UK if I lived anywhere near Glasgow too. In our part of Scotland we haven't had those problems you've mentioned (well, on the odd Saturday there can be some noise, but no worse than when I lived in a US university town), and the public transport here, though a bit crap compared to cities, is still better than the non-existent public transport of the Ohio suburbs I grew up in. In both countries it can be a bit of a crapshoot as to whether your area is good or bad, but basically the Glasgow area is the a**ehole of Scotland (not just my opinion, it is the worst for crime, bad health, deprivation and every other statistic that brings Scotland down).

I like some areas where I lived in the US better than where I am now.  I liked some areas of the UK where I lived better than some places in the US.   

I really liked living in Glasgow, but it all depends on where you are. 

For instance, public transport has really been decreased in my area, so the area where I lived in RI had a better bus service and there aren't any trains where we are. 

But yes, in the US we'd be paid more, I could actually use my degree, we could afford a bigger house.  But then I'd get less holidays and the health care would worry me. 

It's all swings and roundabouts really.  In general, you have to make the best of what you've got.

But then I'd get less holidays and the health care would worry me. 

It's all swings and roundabouts really.  In general, you have to make the best of what you've got. 

Agree!! 

I have a nice life here - much better than I had in the US, but that's all down to having a great husband here who has a really good job & so we have a good lifestyle as a result of that.  I'm grateful for the NHS & lots of annual leave/holidays - things I didn't have in the US.

Nothing will ever make me prefer the weather here though.  I last lived in Tampa Bay & I love that kind of weather - there.

Until a recent trip back to the US to see family, I hadn't been back for 2.5 years and so I had kind of forgotten about some of the great things over there (IMO).  Like how much nicer driving is over there (to me), the roads, signage, etc - I just hate driving here & I wonder if I'll ever grow to like it, whereas I loved driving in the US.  Also the amazing choice when you go to the grocery store - TRISCUITS!!!  Endless flavour varieties of things like Triscuits and Cheezits, etc.  And I know it's just a perceptual thing (vs reality) - because I had 40 years' familiarity with the US, but things in general there just seem more convenient for some reason - to me.  There are probably both good & bad aspects of convenience, however.

So I was reminded about some of the good stuff in the US.  Even so, I wouldn't trade my life here for over there. 

Mrs. Robinson, I last lived in the Tampa Bay area too. I miss the weather desperately. That's the one thing about living here that really gets to me. I love the warm days and the beauty of the Gulf coast. If I could transplant Florida weather and beaches here everything would be perfect.

For instance, s some of you know, I love to do long distance hiking and somehow I have managed to land myself in the least hiking-ish area of the UK.  SIGH!  We keep getting those books about walks in the UK and every.single.one. has the same three walks for our county and they are ALL far away from where we are. Even the areas that have long distance paths usually involve some road walking (with no sidewalks, on the side of a 60 mph road, fun times!)

If I could I would move back to NH and the Whites in a flat minute.  But alas, here I am.  So we drive to get to some good walking areas. 

Mrs. Robinson, I last lived in the Tampa Bay area too. I miss the weather desperately. That's the one thing about living here that really gets to me. I love the warm days and the beauty of the Gulf coast. If I could transplant Florida weather and beaches here everything would be perfect.

Yes! 

Bookgrl, move to Yorkshire! 

So I was reminded about some of the good stuff in the US.  Even so, I wouldn't trade my life here for over there. 

Ditto. I miss TexMex, Marshalls, and Target.  But, my life is much better here. I am more at peace. If I ever moved back to the States, I would have to take all my in-laws with me.

... my life is much better here. I am more at peace.

This statement best summarises why I prefer life in the UK to the US.

I've loved every place I've lived. Wherever you go, there you are.

Yeah, this is me. I'm not expecting to settle in one place anytime soon. For now, the UK is good for me. I've lived in a few places and have left a piece of myself in each place, so I doubt I'll ever be completely whole no matter where I live

I know!  I hate Cambridgeshire.  So flat and so built up.    Which goes agaisnt what I was saying aobut being happy where ever you go! 

HA!

But I agree with Mrs Robinson.  I enjoy my life here and it is better than when I last lived in the US.  But when I last lived in the US I had just graduated from Grad School, had yet to find a job (because I knew I was moving here) and had moved back in with my parents in between the two. 

So living with my husband is preferable, but not because we are in the UK. 
The two lives are not really comparable.

I don't like the tiny, box-like flats and homes.
I don't like the drunken neds
I don't like the ... violence here
I hate the inconvenience of using public transpo

It is really all about where you live, isn't it? Because the list above includes lots of the things I didn't like about the US!