If you had the chance to move to the USA right now, would you?

[HiddenGiraffes]

Context is it's a major city we've lived in before and liked, and we're currently in London, and like the area we live too. Some family in both countries.

I'm just curious if, given the opportunity to get out of the UK right now, people would consider the US a superior alternative.

If you have a problem with the way the UK is going, America won't be the answer.

We'd be living in Maryland

Absolute heaven - and yes, I'd move there like a shot
I spend months per year there anyway, but being retired and without family in the US they'd be unlikely to accept me on a permanent basis

To DC? In a flash! Couldn't afford it due to health insurance but it's the most amazing place ❤️

Yes, depending on where - it’s a big place!

There are plenty of other countries I'd consider living in and probably some parts of the USA - it's a huge and diverse country - it's not like it's one place, one town, like moving to Tamworth. Places in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine maybe but every big city the world over has its serious problems - I don't value city living enough - it's got it's advantages with big cultural events and public services but I prefer more rural living, solitude and less people. I'd consider Scotland, Finland, the Netherlands, parts of Spain, Germany, Austria - nowhere too hot. Education, health care, crime, political polarization, prevailing views on religion, climate, evolution, etc - the USA is not an attractive proposition to me overall but I'm sure there are good places to live. The America that we might think we know from books, TV and films largely doesn't exist - it's not the 50's and Jack Kerouac isn't hoping on to freight train boxcars or acting as a fire lookout in the Cascade mountains. I've got friends in Minneapolis, Baltimore, Nashville and San Jose, California and I've done business in upstate NY. There are plenty of places I'd like to visit but without more research I doubt if ever want to live there - commercial TV and radio are terrible.

Do they still take wretched refuse?

Not for me!

No

In a heartbeat (I’m from there, coastal city, though have been living in the UK for over a decade). It does depend on where you live, but if you pick a “good” place, then the quality of life in the US is heads and shoulders above that in the UK. The news really skews people’s perceptions of what it is like there. Cost of living is lower, healthcare is better (if you have health insurance, which you will if full time employed), and life is just so much more convenient. Laws differ by state, so while issues like abortion access and gun rights are certainly a big deal and divisive, the extent to which these issues will affect your life depend very much on where you live.

How do you want us to vote?

i would love an international move right now. So yes! From me.

No way and I’m from a liberal part of the US. I also feel angry with the UK and am often wanting to leave but still no.
Health insurance is great until circumstances change, I’ve known millionaires who still lost everything. Also I wouldn’t want my kids to be tied to the place, I’ve not lived there for decades and still have to file taxes.
It’s a “freedom to” culture and I prefer a “freedom from” freedom to have my gun, instead of freedom to go out without the risk of being shot etc. Oh and I have daughters who I believe should have access to contraception, sex Ed and all that too.

Sure, why not..

I would if I have a similar paying equivalent and if I could pick the location. Why do most people seem to not like the US?

Trump is supposedly running in 2024 again, I know we’ve had our fair share of batshit PM’s (especially over the last few years!) but would you honestly be happy living in a country that had someone as volatile and unpredictable as that in charge? I’d consider waiting a year or two and seeing how both countries go - America under Obama I would say go for it. I wouldn’t consider moving there with Trump in power and Biden seems a bit too dithery to stay in power longer than the one term.

Politics aside, the issue with mass murders and school shootings in the USA would put me off too. Same if you or your family are mixed race or black, I’d outright avoid even visiting the country. I can’t comment on the issue with drugs, I have no idea how that compares per capita with the U.K. but might be something worth looking in to too.

The U.K. has been in a shit place for quite a few years now but ultimately I’d still take it over the USA. As PP pointed out, women’s rights are in an abysmal state over there and you’ve mentioned you have daughters, it’s not a country I’d consider moving my own daughter to for that reason.

I’m sure it has its good points but the negatives over there far outweigh the negatives of the U.K. imo.

Best of luck whatever you decide though!

No. The political context is dire with all the Wokes and BeKinders out in force

@Everydayitsgettingcloser living in a solidly Democratic state means you are living in a state with a culture and outlook that's vastly different from what you'd find in a Republican state.

The US is nothing if not immensely varied.

Little bit, yes.

The DC suburbs in Maryland are gorgeous, with a great quality of life, excellent schools, etc.

I have lived in one, I know that but it's also not true that you are totally insulated from republican craziness.

I'm a British person living in the US, very happily, in spite of the justified criticisms that some people have made on this thread. I read the UK papers every day online and to be honest, am relieved that I am here right now, at least from a general lifestyle POV. But the question of what happens when parents get ill and need more help is HUGE, OP, and you are right to think really hard about what will happen if/when they do need more care.

This is a choice we have (dh works for a US company) but there’s no chance I would go - education system/dcs in exam years, gun crime, politics, but most of all my family and friends are here.

No, I wouldn’t, for many reasons, big, medium and small. The politics, gun ownership and healthcare system being some bigger issues, the work life balance culture, lack of holiday and maternity leave, being medium reasons. And then for small and petty reasons - tv/ads, I’d miss British humour and never been able to find a good cheddar there! 😂

I love some parts of the states, but I don’t think I’d want to live there.

Oh, goody, another America-bashing thread. We haven't had one of them in a whole week or two. Here's some truth:

School shootings--there were over 49.7 million school students in the US in 2022. 32 students died in school shootings. That is a rate of fewer than .0000006 percent. Your child is more likely to be attacked by a shark or hit by lightning than shot at school. No child should be shot at school, but it simply isn't the huge problem the media makes it out to be. Neither are...

Shootings in general-- almost all are confined to gang warfare areas in a few inner cities. Take certain inner city parts of St. Louis, Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit, and New Orleans out of the equation, and the US is one of the safest countries on earth. Just stay away from gang-controlled territory and you'll be fine.

Health care--health insurance plans are not allowed to have catastrophic maximums. There is, by law, no limit on the amount your insurer must pay for your covered health expenses. All US doctors know how to perform an abortion. It's the same as the D&C procedure, which is used for many other medical conditions, including miscarriage. An ectopic pregnancy is a medical emergency and must, by law, be treated as such. If not, the doctor will be sued and lose their license to practice. (Seriously, WHERE do you get this stuff?) Stop believing the media and you won't beclown yourself on MN.
My area's ambulance response time is 10 minutes or less. Emergency departments advertise their wait times, so you can choose a less busy one. Hospitals and doctors compete for your business, so care is wonderful. Doctors and hospitals are graded on the internet. Healthgrades is one site. There are no wards. Even semi-private rooms are rare. My husband was recently in the ER, and not only was he seen within seconds of coming in the door, he was put in a temporary private ER room until he got put in a regular private ER room. People want privacy when they're in the hospital and they get it. I could go on, but suffice to say I wouldn't trade the competitive American health care system for the NHS for love nor money. It's expensive, but worth it.

American expat in UK here. I'm very reluctant to ever move back with the kids.

The PP suggesting that children are traumatised by active shooter drills in school is probably correct. A family friend is a preschool teacher and she has had to do these drills with 3-4 year olds. They practice hiding in the closet and being very, very quiet so that the bad man can't find them.

According to my source, these kids cannot ever be told that it's only a drill. Because they are routine drills that happen as regularly as fire drills. And if an active shooter situation happens for real by the time these kids are aged 11-12, they won't take the alarms seriously and will gab, or play with their phones, or make noise and compromise their own safety.

There is no political appetite to fix this. None. Look up the video that a Texas newspaper put together with the words, "the sound of children screaming has been edited out". People know how vicious and destructive the gun situation has become. They know that an AR-15 obliterates internal organs. And they still double down.

Then there are people who get on the news and say that the surviving children and parents are paid actors. And people believe these liars.

The police are armed. A lot of police operate under the assumption that people of color are a threat to their safety first, unless they prove otherwise. Even Trevor Noah has said he's been pulled over by police multiple times just because (he has a Daily Show bit about this on YouTube).

Health insurance running out is a real thing. Happened to my mom's cousin, and he died of cancer because insurance stopped covering his treatment. I have friends with highly paid professional jobs who have been billed thousands of dollars for stitches. Excess fees on health insurance can be incredibly high. The ambulance will probably come quicker compared with the UK today, but the ambulance is private and you will be billed for its cost.

Look up the schools in the area you're thinking of settling in. Do you have to pay fees to enroll your kids in anything? Some high schools charge pupils a fee per elective and per Advanced Placement class.

The USA I would settle my kids in was pre-Brady expiration America.

I couldn't live in a country which elected a cunt like Donald Trump as president