UK vs USA was your life better in UK or USA

[Cupcakeicecream]

Just out of curiosity really. For those who have lived in either country which did you prefer and why. I'm trying to weigh up the pros and cons. Eventually want to be living in the USA. It's always been a dream. I want to give my child a better quality of life and I feel that USA is better suited. I feel that there are more opportunities. But of course health care costs and gun laws put me off slightly.

I do have a dog and he does bark at strangers [helpful]

I have lived in a few different parts of America.
CO heavy snow everywhere from Oct for months and months all winter
SD heavy snow then terrible humidity in summer
Florida terrible humidity at times as well.

We don't really get the longterm snow and endless humidity here in England our weather is so much more changeable

Not endless months of snow upon snow or humidity day after day all summer

lol I have actually had american's say my English is so good more than once.

Them not realising we speak English in England

Oh and having to be polite and wait for them to finish a sentence for 10/15 seconds every single time, even though you know what they are going to say. They take forever to finish a sentence compared to us

I have kids now idk if I would move back unless it was for the outdoors lifestyle in California

I've lived in 3 different states over a few years but being white, South Dakota was very very racist and they don't even try to hide it.

We have a dog and she's the firearm thing from a Baird dog ever!

What the fuck are some of you talking about?! It sounds like you're drawing from one specific area because it sounds nothing like the places I've lived

No kidding. Nobody walks anywhere? I've lived in New York and in Boston. A LOT of people don't even own a car, let alone drive a pickup. We don't need to, public transportation is very good, buses included.

I have had more than three drinks many times with friends and coworkers, nobody ever mentioned AA. I know nobody with a guard dog.

Most homes do have a guard dog signs up, depends on the areas I guess and house value

Yeah street lighting compared to the uk. Once you are outside a city it's sparse

Obviously not every single city or state is the same!!!

But the culture aspect I found is unless you like sports

I live in rural Maine and people still walk everywhere. I walk ds to school and back (4 miles) unless there's snow on the road. Most people do similar.

Jeez I did say unless you live near a subway system. Such as in major cities

Which why would you want to with children?

Most homes in the US have guard dog signs up?

Sorry but that's utter bullshit. I've NEVER seen one in the 7 years I've lived here. And I've travelled a lot.

So do you walk to the corner shop if you run out of milk at night as well? No didn't think so but of course you'll say you do now

Have you guys just lived in one area or been on holiday and have no other family in America?

Rural Maine I have never been to

Does it have adequate street lighting so you can see the footpaths at night time!

So do you walk to the corner shop if you run out of milk at night as well? No didn't think so but of course you'll say you do now

I do. Except that the corner shop is an excellent Italian deli that also sells wine so I can kill two birds with one stone.

US, hands down for me. Having lived in four countries (Canada, (Republic of) Ireland, USA and most recently the UK).

To be fair, the UK just wasn't for me. I found the houses small, cramped and damp (even the new builds that cost upward of £450k.. I hated the box rooms, lack of built in wardrobes and the apparent hatred of open plan spaces). I found the salaries higher in the US while the cost of living lower. Again, depends where you lived. I lived in Arizona and I was on $90,000 a year and my four bedroom house with a pool cost $192,000. I found the schools requiring uniforms and the inability to take kids out during the school term without a fine oddly restricting. I didn't like the stress of A levels for older children.

Where I lived in AZ you definitely had to drive, which I enjoyed. But getting licensed isn't as expensive or hard as in the UK. I felt perfectly safe in the US. I also found is less classist than I did the UK. I hated waiting weeks for a suitable GP appointment. Etc etc.

But it's all personal preference as you well know.

@choli

Obviously different if you live in a major city isn't it

From where I've lived I wouldn't walk to the nearest 7/11 and back again in the evenings like you can in the uk, in America I'd have driven to it and most places not safe to walk alone outside/around a gas station but here people do just pop to the local shop and back

Thanks for educating me that New York or wherever it is has deli's. Wonders never cease

So do you walk to the corner shop if you run out of milk at night as well? No didn't think so but of course you'll say you do now

When I lived in Bristol, London, Wales, anywhere in Britain I've lived - yes.

Now I live 8 miles from my nearest shop- so, no.

The reason a lot of people seem to drive more in the US is we're the size of fucking Europe. The same reason why many people have mail boxes at a post office rather than having it delivered to their house.

As to lighting, my road is 6 miles long, there are but 4 houses on it. Is it as well lit up as Britain? No. And I'm glad because it would be a waste of electricity and light pollution.

Not safe?! I haven't locked my front door or taken the keys out of my ignition in the years I've lived here.

There also hasn't been ONE violent crime in the town I live in for over 8 years.

Terrifying.

The last five years I lived in the UK I got mugged twice. Once broke my cheek bone and four ribs.

I'm sure people who live in rural parts of England don't have the same burglary rates either, hence why they don't lock their doors

It's not about living somewhere rural or a built up city

Just trying to point out general differences I experienced living there

And actually most American towns were designed and planned hence the grid basis. So it's not the size of America in total it's how it's been built like that.

In the uk towns and cities built up organically around rivers/lakes because they needed a water supply and transported goods on rivers way back then

Sorry to hear you got mugged though. That is terrible!! Hope you recovered ok and karma gets them back

So do you walk to the corner shop if you run out of milk at night as well? No didn't think so but of course you'll say you do now
Of course not because milk comes by the gallon and lasts for about 2 months before expiring so you don’t tend to just ‘run out’. But sure, for other stuff I’d totally walk to the shop after dark. The streets are well lit and the neighbourhood dogs, which appear to be mostly toy breeds, have never attacked me. I live in Chicago.

I have to say, I was born and lived most of my life in the US and don’t recognize a lot of what is described here. I don’t know anyone who has a guard dog, the vast majority of people in my life have probably never seen a gun. Street lighting was never an issue whereas it seems to be a point of contention here where I live in the UK, cuts from the council.

I laughed when people first told me how changeable the weather is in the UK because it’s absolutely not compared to where I’m from. But that’s because the US is so vast and so many things can vary depending on where you live. I moved to another area in the US and it amazed me that I didn’t need to check the hourly forecast every day.

I’ve found it more difficult to make friends in the UK but I put that down to being from a different culture. I’ve dealt with racism in both countries, unfortunately.

I do think it really depends on where you live in the US. It’s like comparing life in London to anywhere else in the UK.

mumto2babyboys

Another rural Mainer, no street lights at all, and no pavements anywhere. I think our closest (lone) street light is about 8 miles away!

TBH that’s how I want it, I hate the thaught of living in a town or city.

josella Its not the corner shop, it's the bodega.

Sorry meant to say 'you forgot to say it's...'

UK for me, just. I love both though. I spent four years in Silicon Valley. Now I’m in London.

In Silicon Valley I had amazing weather, a more out doors life, access to great schools with no ridiculous requirements for specialising early, mountains and sea nearby. I loved all that. I didn’t find Americans easy to make deep friendships with though, eventually I managed but in general I found the superficial friendliness misleading when it came to making actual friendships. The other thing I found hard was the lack of annual leave, work dominated life.

In London I love the culture, the integration, the food, the cheaper day to day life. I have many more friends and my neighbourhood has more of a sense of community. But I miss the weather, the education, the sporty lifestyle and the ability to be outside all year round.