To wonder why anyone would want to live in America?

The news they get about the UK makes them feel the same about us and yet I love living here.
I’ve been to Australia twice and wouldn’t want to live there but people fall over themselves to emigrate without ever even visiting.

Everyone is different

A friend has just moved. He was sent originally as a contractor by his U.K. company but was offered 3 x his U.K. salary plus generous benefits and relocation package to move permanently to the us company. If you are offered $500k it’s hard to turn down

My quality of life as a Brit in the US is much better than it was when I lived in the UK. However I was moving from central London, living in a small flat. I now live in a Mountain West region state after living in California for 15 years. I’d did my research re healthcare, schools, housing, cost of living, but I can tell you for me, moving to the US is the best thing I’ve ever done.

I’m in a blue city, in a blue county, in a blue state, so I’m very insulated from gun violence. I also try to keep in mind that “The statistical likelihood of a specific child being shot in a U.S. school is extremely low, described as a roughly 1 in 614 million chance of being killed by a gun in school on any given day.” I do understand the concern re school shootings. And when I let my kids go to other peoples homes I always ask about guns (and pools when they were little).

I work in IT, got a job with an H1B visa, the company interviewed in London looking for programmers who use the language I know.

I initially lived in an apartment, then bought a small house and got my green card after a 4 year application. Met my husband at work, he has a similar experience in coming to America, but not from the UK, and between us we built a life and family together. Im in a mixed marriage with children, and we haven’t had problems with racism.

Our house is big by UK standards, 3,500sqft 5/4 MCM house plus casita on 3/4 acre, my backyard is a little resort with pool/spa, sauna, outdoor shower. Come Friday afternoon, we’re either hosting friends or over at theirs, and the teen kids are with us as our house has plenty to entertain them. It means we’re very close to the kids, while they still have their own friendships. My family are mostly in the UK, but they visit regularly and we have space in the casita and our home for them.

Our local libraries and parks are top notch. Most libraries and parks have community centers, and my children have benefitted from sports programmes, language classes, music lessons, parent and me classes, and lots of choice and options at very affordable prices. Think gymnastics twice a week for one daughter, for $40 a month. Our elementary schools all have reasonable priced before and after school care, and our school district gives us free schools meals breakfast and lunch.

Where I live, it’s sunny 300 days of the year. This has made a tremendous difference to my depression and health, as I’m more likely to exercise and get out of the house for some fresh air. This is major for me, as back in the UK I was probably affected by SAD, and often struggled badly with depression.

I’ve also lived in So Cal, and overall, I find Americans very friendly and welcoming. Many of my friends are also transplants (though not from abroad like me, usually from other states like the mid west), and we’re all happy to have a close friendship group with support to lean on, as we’re all far from home and family. And being British is definitely a plus to making friends, luckily.

I don’t find the cost of living to be more than the Uk at all. I mostly shop at Costco, high quality and great prices. I use my garage freezer and prep and organize, and I think we eat really well. And our current home was a fixer upper, we paid well under $500k, and improved it bit by bit over the last few years. We both drive Teslas so no petrol bill, it’s pennies on the electric bill.

I would to live in the US, I have relatives out there and I really envy their lifestyle and the sense of freedom.

I have a much higher standard of living in CA than I could ever have in the UK. CA is extremely diverse and we have a lot more of a social safety net than most states, paid leave, low cost healthcare options, employment rights. People talk shit about California but they are mainly MAGA and don’t want to pay taxes for a social safety net. I also live in a walkable town where everyone is outside all year round. Our public (state) schools are excellent and have facilities and opportunities that are way superior to most private UK schools. I realize this is not true for a lot of the country so that is a huge difference. I have never seen a gun except on a cop. I just hope things stay this way and the weird British republican Steve Hilton doesn’t somehow win our governor race

Which parts of the US have you spent time in?

I get the impression many posters here have at best spent a few weeks on holiday and are basing their views on TikTok videos.

Death by stabbing rates are actually higher in the US than the UK, but dwarfed by the gun figures. There were more than 160 school shootings in the US last year, I don't think there has been one in the UK since Dunblane. It's insane to suggest that the UK could reduce the already lower rates of knife crime by legalising gun ownership.

In London there’s a homeless camp near my office right in the centre of town. It seems to be tolerated by the police and the local authorities and we’re just supposed to accept the harassment that it brings.

I think the US has the best and the worse in the western world it’s a country of extremes

my family we’re living far more comfortably 10 years ago and even more so 20 years ago and that’s the same for many in the US

I can see the appeal if you are on the higher end of a middle income or above

I go to California every year and the cities have really deteriorated but there is so much wealth around. It’s a beautiful state but one that is over run with social problems that comes down to wealth distribution

I don't know how people can say its better health care. I'm on a fairly new medication which I initially had to pay for in the UK, this was costing me £300 a month. I've come across people in the USA paying the co-payment for the health insurance at a rate of more then $1,000 a month for the same drug. This is supposedly the co-payment not the full cost of the drug, the drug prices are way overinflated in the US.

I don't want to worry about my kids going to school and needing bullet proof back packs and I'd much prefer to face a possible stabing in the UK then allow everyone access to guns. Yes I appreciate that this isn't everywhere but when there is more than 200 school shootings a year in the US last year, its a big no from me.

The average annual cost for a non-subsidized employer-sponsored family health plan in the USA approaches $27,000 (roughly $2,250 per month).

When you account for exchange rate $90k would be say $5350 a month if say B in Washington but you’re going to be paying that $2,250 a month on insurance which we don’t have in the UK. The average deductibles for a family of 4 are $4,500-$4900 on top so $408 on top per month. Then there are the extra costs with tipping etc.

You also spend a massive amount on petrol (gasoline). While the price per gallon or liter is significantly cheaper than in the UK and Europe, total fuel spending is high due to massive driving distances and the popularity of large, less-efficient vehicles

That £2513 a month for £28k is looking very similar when you take off the above costs for health, tipping , petrol etc. I’d be saving my arse off too for medical emergencies.

DS has a friend who moved to NYC and he told her that she just Ubers back after a late night out

I love NYC. If I win the lottery I'd like to live there for a while.

Why did you leave?

Listen, I don’t even really want to visit the place under Trump, and I certainly wouldn’t feel safe sending my child to school there.

But I did live there for a couple of years from 2012 and it was brilliant. The people were great, the city I lived in was amazing (and I never felt unsafe), I had good health insurance, visited some breathtakingly beautiful places and generally had a wonderful few years. I was relatively well paid, well insured and yes, white, though so I don’t know if I’m proving the point. Definitely a lot of flaws but an awful lot of good too.

I’m another one who feels safer walking around NYC than I did walking around London (although I love London and think the danger/criminality of the city is completely overblown). I am going to a rave tonight in Brooklyn which finishes at 10pm and will be making my way back to Manhattan on the subway, as I’ve done many times before. I’m a petite woman in my 30s.

I lived in a major city in the Midwest for seven years and I felt comfortable walking home at night at 2 am. My friends and I were going to bars that closed at 5 am and would walk a mile home,

I used to go on solo walks in the middle
of night and never felt unsafe. TBH, there were quite a few 24 hours places around so it was rare that there was no one about. If I wanted pancakes at 3 am I could get some.

There are unsafe areas everywhere regardless if you live in a village, town, or
city. Heck, my in-laws live in a village outside Newcastle and they were telling DH about their area having an arsonist. Never had that when I lived in a major city or a suburb in the States.

It’s not!

Err no it isn’t

Health-related costs are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States, driving over 500,000 personal bankruptcy filings every year. Even though the majority of filers actually have health insurance, high deductibles, co-pays, and illness-related work losses regularly deplete personal savings.

The combination of a uniquely decentralized healthcare system and high out-of-pocket costs creates a significant financial burden for American families.The primary factors driving medical bankruptcy in the US include under insurance.Many commercial or employer-sponsored plans come with high deductibles. Once a critical or chronic illness strikes, out-of-pocket maximums quickly exhaust a household's emergency funds.

The United States healthcare system is widely criticized by citizens, doctors, and lawmakers as a profit-driven model that exploits patients through soaring premiums, complex billing, and artificial medication pricing. Unlike most developed nations that view healthcare as a public utility, the U.S. relies on a fragmented, commercialized market. This structure incentivizes private insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers to maximize revenue, leaving everyday Americans vulnerable to immense financial strain.

Americans spend the most on healthcare in the industrialized world – an estimated $4.9tn in 2023 – but have the worst health outcomes, according to analysis by the Commonwealth Fund.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jan/26/us-health-insurance-system-doctors

Terrifying! We’re so so lucky!

I moved there aged 24.

“Taxes at the till” is the equivalent of VAT. In my State this is just under 9% (with many things exempt), in lots of states it’s 0%.

Far lower than 20%….

“$$$$ for healthcare” would not wipe out the pay differential between £28k and $90k. Not even close. Especially with lower income tax

”Extortionate bills for medication” - not if she has insurance. 🤦‍♀️ And actually, far more medication is covered by standard insurance in the US than by the NHS.

But nice try.

If not white, then insanely rich and preferably in New York. And by New York I mean Manhattan, and by Manhattan I mean Billionaires Row or the West Village 😳.

That's good to hear. I know someone who gets scared when her adult DD goes out out on her own in London at night and is adamant that she'd be attacked when on her own.

And she’ll be paying $$$$$ for healthcare insurance for all her family, deductibles for any treatment on top, extortionate bills for medication, tips on everything, taxes at the till in some states whenever you buy goods …

There are some truly horrible and dangerous parts of Europe. But I appreciate that it’s a big continent with nice countries too so I don’t wonder at people choosing to live here.

The USA is vast - not one place where everyone and every place is the same. I’ve often thought that each state is like a different country.

Yes. I was probably out about five nights a week.

The roof bar in the Gansevoort hotel was a common choice, or a bar near there in the Meat packing district.

I’d go to museums, restaurants, concerts, or just to wander round the streets.

Then there were clubs, and parties.

Mite than once I’d go straight from a bar or club to the trading floor to start work.