What would it be wise to move to England from America?

Question

I've lived in a small town in the U.S. for most of my life. In order to experience different culture and see new places, I was considering relocating to England in the future. I have always been interested in British culture. This may sound silly, but it seems like every band I have ever liked is English.

Is it expensive to live in England? I currently work in graphic design and web design and I am not rich. Would I struggle more financially in the UK? I plan to save up money and perhaps search for jobs before I would take the plunge and move.

What about the cost of living in general? Rent, food, gas, etc? I am single and do not have any children, so I could rent an apartment. Also, would it be necessary to have a car? I heard gas is a lot more expensive.

Are people nice and do they accept Americans? I may be stereotyping, but from what I see on tv...most British people seem very articulate and eduated and I really like that.

Is there a lot of crime?

Answer 1

i think people are being pretty sceptical about moving to england!

yes, there are rising prices.

yes, things a 'tougher' than usual.

but if you love the culture and find a well-paid job, then i don't see the problem. every country has it's problems.

plus, depending on the area you're from in america, our weather might actually not be too much of a shock. everybody knows british weather is mostly rain, with minimal sun!

as everyone say though, you should certainly check out different areas before picking the obvious choices. london is always the choice for anyone outside the uk. while anyone in the uk knows how EXPENSIVE london is.

and are you a country or a city girl? our country area's are extremely quite. the film 'the holiday' with cameron diaz shows how quiet our country life can be. whereas our citys are lively. somewhere like leeds, liverpool or manchester might be the perfect inbetween. they're cities, therefore being lively, yet aren't as chaotic as london.

as for crime, it's all about location. look up our crime rates for each city. i'm from liverpool, the place everyone says is crime crime crime. they're so wrong! if you live in rugher areas then yes there is crime. just find an area you're comfortable in, where ever you choose.

i'll have to go through the same thing one day. i'm 18 and have always dreamed of moving to new york!!

Answer 2

currently it is very expensive to live in the UK

as a rough estimate, our cost of living here, is probably double what it is in the U.S

The price of Electricity is about to rise by about 40% by some estimations. The price of food has been going up alot recently. And petrol for cars is at about £5.50 a gallon, so that's about $11 a gallon.

we are also apparently just about to go into a recession, so the outlook for the near future is not so good for us.

Also you have to remember, you will basically lose half of your money in the exchange rate as £1=2$.

There also does seem to be a lot of crime at the moment. Most of it young people getting stabbed.

And it is just a stereotype that we are all well educated and articulate, i can assure you, that is not true, we have our idiots just like everywhere else. A recent study showed that 1 in 14 children growing up in the UK can't communicate in the English language to a satisfactory standard.

Also, getting a working Visa and work permit in the UK is very very hard at the moment, so I'm not sure how you will go on with the qualifications you have.

maybe the best thing to do would be take an extended vacation here and make sure it is something you would want uproot your life for, because the UK you see in the Movies, is not the UK that really exsits. Also it might be advisable to not make this move while we are in a bit of a sticky situation with our economy.

Answer 3

Check out this website:

http://www.uk-yankee.com/

Answer 4

if i had the oppurtunity to go to England i would do it in a heartbeat, i say go for it

Answer 5

That's a pretty good answer from Seb, and not to pick on anyone but the first answer, this part: "just don't be too loud like most of your fellow Americans" - that's how most people think of Americans, I have been thumbed down so many times on here for saying that but I am married to a Texan and people are just plain rude about Americans - to his face quite often, and they seem to think he will find it as funny as they do.

This is not a good place to live, it's cold and it rains a lot. Whatever you are paying for stuff in dollars, switch it for a pound sign and you'd be about right, so if a DVD is $8 it will be £8 - that's $16. Shopping is expensive and the cost of living is very high.

Honestly, I never recommend Americans to come here, your lifestyle is so much better where you are, you'd really be giving up more then you'd gain.  Come for a visit on holiday instead. See what you think.

Answer 6

First, the UK (we're made up of four countries, not just England) is extremely expensive. You will need a work permit which means getting a job here before you arrive. It all depends where you want to live - London is most expensive but you won't need a car if you live there. We judge people on who they are, not their nationality (just don't be too loud like most of your fellow Americans). It's a major decision to make but it could be life changing. If you find the prefect job then go for it.

Answer 7

americans are well liked here in uk. you'd blend in nicely, but don't fall into the trap of thinking London is the only place to live, there's lot's of great towns and cities that you would like and find work,London will just swallow up all your money, unless you have an exceptionally well paid job, lots of nice little villages too, usually easy to comute into most towns, CRIME ,well the the government say no, but everyone else seems to think other wise, like anywhere most crimes are commited by a minority but coming from america you will know that, good look to yer