Americans living in or wishing to live in london?

Question

I have lived in london at various points in time over the past 5 years (tend to travel a lot due to work) and will be moving there permanently in the medium term. I am a fan of london because: i) Tons to do, ii) Multi-culti atmosphere, iii) Job ops.

I am not a huge fan of the city because of what feels to me as: i) cold / reserved / formal behaviour of londoners ii) binge drinking behaviour iii) feeling of cramped and damp everything iv) miserable and bitter looking faces in the tube and in many other places. iv) lack of quality nightlife unless you are rich. To be perfectly honest, the best fun, friendly, lively people i have met in london are people who have emigrated from the US. They seem to adore the city and many wish to live here which is wonderful.

So this question goes to the friendly, lively americans who love london:

Why do you like it so much more than say NYC? What is it with london that would make you want to live there?

Many thanks in advance for your views

Answer 1

I am a New Yorker who has lived in London for almost 7 years now - I moved after 9/11.  My husband is English.

I love that I get 4 weeks vacation per year.

I love that if I am sick, I get taken care of, without an insurance company to deal with.  I love that my healthcare is not dependent on what my company pays for; I love that I don't have to switch GPs everytime my company switches plans.

I love the decent public transport we have; where I was from on Long Island, trains to NYC were once every 90 minutes on the weekends!  Ridiculous!  We have trains every 10 minutes here in London, even more in peak times.

I love the fact that there is no snow, no hurricanes, no extreme temperatures and no mosquitos.  I love that I can explore Europe so easily from here.

And I love that I can have a family and a career that I love, without having to sacrifice one for the other.  I love that I got to stay home for 14 months with my son after he was born; in NY I'd only have gotten 8 weeks maternity leave or up to 12 unpaid for FMLA.

Answer 2

New york is probably more expensive. I'm an American teenager who wants to move to London (Hopefully I can have duel citizenship) Also, people in England are generally more intelligent, interesting, and fun to be around than Americans.

Answer 3

If you make a lot of money and live in Kensington, and are with other Americans in a cultural ghetto, yes, you will be happy.  There is quite a lot to do, and, there is a large financial sector here- (where most non-student Americans are).If not, you may not be.

There are many cultural, social, and other adjustments you will be forced to make.

Firstly, many British and Europeans do not like Americans, and you will be treated like c**p.  The American way of making friends -- being cheerful, open and friendly is bitterly scorned and derided, almost as much as GW Bush.  In short, expect to be stereotyped as a rich, arrogant, overly friendly, swaggering war-monger. Oh, I forgot...stupid as well!

Break through these barriers, or find someone who does not put up these barriers, and you will have made an acquaintance. (making 'friends'- not just acquaintances is very difficult, as, in many big cities, 'birds of a feather flock together'--nationalities and ethicities live in semi-separate clusters throughout London.

Secondly, it rains between 200 and 250 days a year (check some weather almanac on days with precipitation if you don't believe me), so you'll have to get used to that.  Also, the difference in day length is much more pronounced here-- much shorter periods of day/sunlight (if it isn't cloudy) in the winter, and much longer periods of sunlight in the summer.  This is just a consequence of latitude, so if you can afford to get away a few times each winter to continental Europe for some sun, or if you can deal with the dreary winters, you'll be fine.

I know many unhappy Americans here (simply troll some of the expat forums, and you will find reams of people complaining about this, only to be accused of being an ugly American or wrong).  The ones who aren't unhappy are married, affluent (live in west London), or have found their niche somehow--sadly, the internet a fast-growing way for foreigners in London to find a way out of unhappiness (what this says about the real world, I'll leave that up to you...)

Nevertheless, if you have a good job, some friendly co-workers, give it your best, enjoy your time here.  Everyone's experience is different.

p.s. Please forgive my honesty (I'll get many thumbs down for not being overly rosy).  Enjoy your stay, no matter what.