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.

No cause guns

@TerfOnATrain No you really don't. All over 65s either have retirement healthcare packages or are covered under Medicare. There is SO much false info on the US out there.

Plastic wrapped supermarket bread is too sweet. Good bread is not, and like good cheese, is readily available. Most supermarkets have an in house bakery where you can buy many different types of bread. Where were you shopping? The 7/11?

Ok, happy to stand corrected. But why do so many clearly very elderly people still work in those places? I’ve seen it with my own eyes, year in and out. Don’t tell me it’s for the love of meeting people because I don’t wash it,

The same reason elderly people work here...to top up their pension...

The U.K. has had over 30,000 excess deaths since last summer. Ambulance wait times are horrendous. People are being treated in the corridors. The NHS is not a reason to stay in the U.K.....it really isn't. Our elderly US relatives won't even visit they're so afraid of not being able to access care here.

You need to understand both systems and the Us one is far more complex but also has lots more options with far superior care that you can actually access. The large US company I work for routinely now struggles to second American families to the U.K. because of lack of access to the healthcare.

The US is huge. Plenty of states still have access to abortion. You really can't compare the entire US to the U.K. You need to go state by state. Massachusetts has some of the strictest gun laws in the country and hasn't had a single school shooting since Sandy Hook. Less than 15% of households own a gun. I've felt far safer there than in London and statistics bear that out.

Maryland is not Florida or Texas. Throwing out I would never cuz "insert reason here" is just daft.

Do you just make this stuff up for kicks?

As an example - 72 year old friend in US has these government provided benefits:

• Housing
• Medicare - Her healthcare needs are covered
• Food stamps - all her food needs are covered - and she says it's more than she can spend in a month.
• An extra $200 per month in "health related" spending. This can be used at grocery or pharmacy. She can use this for personal products, paper towels and even fresh flowers.
• An aid that comes for 2 hours per week. She does laundry and cleans the apartment.

These are all benefits provided at the federal level so it's not different per state.

No.

I love the United States. It’s a country I know well, having visited many times, travelled extensively around and worked there for a period. I would not want to live there, in just the same way that I love visiting London, but wouldn’t want to live there.

I have lived in 5 different countries as a child and an adult.

To me the issue is less about money/guns/nhs and more about culture.

Whether you like it on not, we are all products of our cultural upbringing. We tend as humans to feel most at home in places where we share the same cultural language.
I know quite a few people who moved to the US and have been surprised at how different culturally it is from UK. (not better or worse, just not the same). Some have embraced it and love it. Some continue to feel on the outside and end up with friends who are mostly not originally from US themselves, some end up moving back to UK.

So I think how happy and settled you feel will depend on how much you tune in to US culture in the place you are in. (And obviously there are multiple cultures within US too.)

The practical stuff you can see from so many different perspectives as witnessed on this thread.
For me, I would be happy as long as there was a multi- cultural community, and I would struggle if I was the only Brit in an all America town.

As to guns/nhs etc. Well, I would be willing to take my chances as I am just as likely to get knocked down by a bus tomorrow, providing they aren't on strike of course!

No way. Terrible idea.

DH is American so we've seriously considered moving over there. We decided against it, but I wish we'd decided to go for it. Their economy is stronger than ours, and the salary for his tech job over there would be much higher. We would only consider living in certain areas, like California or New York.
The main things that put me off were the car culture and natural disasters. I think I could learn to embrace driving (and to be honest most of the UK has poor public transport too). Life can be tough in the US for those on lower income levels, but DH is a high earner and I think quality of life is pretty good for higher earners, better than in the UK.
We're a bit trapped in the UK though due to our eldest, who is an adult so wouldn't be able to qualify as our child under the visa rules.

God no. We could move tomorrow but won’t.
guns, crime, drugs, guns, healthcare, guns…
nice to visit but, no.

God, no!

Where?
Massive place.
I'd prefer the East Coast. Parts of California not LA.
If you are earning the dosh you will be protected from crap.
There are guns knives and the Tories here so yes anywhere is more appealing

I’ve lived in the US for many years. 90% of what Mumsnet says about the US is false or drastically off base. My quality of life here is far superior to the UK and my kids are getting an excellent public education at schools that have facilities and opportunities that exceed anything you might find at even the most expensive private school in the UK. I live in a state with excellent worker protections, a high minimum wage and healthcare options that are affordable even for those on a low wage. I know that isn’t true of everywhere in this country but it is impossible to generalize about a country as big and diverse as this one.

Only if or included comprehensive medical insurance and you had a decent holiday allowance.

No. I have had the option in the past, though not recently, and chose not to take it. In my case, however, there were two key factors that wouldn't apply to everyone: (1) I have had a 'pre-existing condition' since childhood, which would make affordable healthcare difficult; (2) I cannot drive due to a disability, which would be very restrictive in most parts of America. Also, from time to time things get very politically messy there - not that they don't here(!), but the worst tends to be worse there. I had relatives who had chosen to leave America for the UK in the 50s due to McCarthyism and the atmosphere that it created; and that added to my caution. And some of the Trump stuff recently... That being said, if someone has an ideal job there that wouldn't be possible here, or if their partner was there, it would be an important reason to go.

The no holiday allowance thing is really outdated. Not everywhere is overrun with gun violence, gangs and drugs! I live in the LA area and my kids walk to school and kids ride their bikes around starting at age 10 (they have also never even mentioned active shooter drills although I know they do have them). It is safe and more community minded than anywhere I ever lived in the UK. We may have a car culture in general but on weekends it is quite common for me to not need to use my car at all, I can walk or bike to everything. I realize I am fortunate but I find it frustrating that people seem to get on their high horse about how they could never live in the US based on principle or things that happen in other states that don’t impact your daily life. Obviously you are all morally superior to me as I choose to live in this terrible country and like it!

No, as I wouldn't want my children to be shot at, at school

Frying pan and fire

No. My children are here. I grew up in America and my sisters live there, and I don't think of it as the den of iniquity and violence. There's a lot I love about it.
My other issue, other than the life I've made in England, is healthcare. I'm a type 1 diabetic and I'm 60, and I don't want to change the work I do (self employed) so health insurance would be astronomical.

No but mainky because we only just moved back to the U.K. after 10 years in the states and I don’t really want to do another transatlantic move any time soon thanks!

@Spongehad

Is the adult DC the child of your H or adopted by him?
Ever registered as a foreign born child of a US citizen?

I live in the Midwest and I'd love to live in DC!