American mumsnetters in the UK - would you consider moving back?

[sarahb083]

I grew up in the US but I've lived in London for 8 years, now married to an English man and I have a toddler. I never thought I'd want to move back, but I've been tempted lately. The standard of living seems so much higher, and I miss my friends and the space of the US. I wonder whether it's a better place to raise a family. Would you consider moving back?

Bump

We're dual nationals. We've lived there at times based on convenience (when the DC were small and we wanted to live near immediate family) or for career moves (salary and career progression move upward more quickly in the US for us.)

The standard of living isn't better or worse. Like anywhere, it depends on far more factors than geography.

Is it a better place to raise a family? That depends on what you can afford and what you consider important, like having family nearby. If you're reasonably well-off and the family situation suits you, then maybe. If you took our personal circumstances out of the equation, I would not consider it a better place by any stretch.

I thought about moving back a lot for the first 15 years I lived in UK. Now (15 years later) I struggle to imagine it. Mostly because adult DC live here, to be fair.

I always mention things I don't miss when people ask why I live in UK ...
Drive by shootings
Helicopters buzzing your house at night
Meth-house on the corner
anti-intellectualism
car-dependent lifestyles
the greedy materialistic lifestyle

And I grew up in a good neighbourhood !!

oh, and drugs. DC are mostly grown up so whatever. But when MNers complain about drug use by young people, I just laugh. I used a lot of drugs when I was 12-13 yrs old.

Cousin tersely reminded me that living in UK means I don't have to interview other parents inviting my DC for a playdate, about if they have guns, do they keep them locked up, etc. That was a sobering moment.

Depends where in the US

I'm a Brit in Canada and wouldn't consider moving back to the UK. Not with kids, no way

Drive by shootings
Helicopters buzzing your house at night
Meth-house on the corner
anti-intellectualism
car-dependent lifestyles
the greedy materialistic lifet Syle

^
Maybe don't choose this neighbourhood

I echo your sentiments entirely. 100%
Also, I love that here in the UK, I travel everywhere by bike. I don’t have or need a car. This would emotionally cripple me, giving this up and swapping my current mode of transportation for the dreadful freeways of California. One thing that always got to me growing up in the States is that everything happened outside a car window. I could never quite immerse myself in the California lifestyle. Traffic on the 405 sort of shits on that possibility. That and the near death experience of just daily life on the freeways. 😆
And guns. Guns are just too big a problem.

I'm American and have lived abroad for over 20 years, 15 of them in the UK. I wouldn't move back. Gun crime is a big problem but also I find the overly commercial, low culture lifestyle very dull.