Reply #3: I moved to the UK last year

[harmonicon]

I really love it there. I'm back in the US for six weeks right now.

How did I go about getting there? Well, the exact details are sort of long and complicated, but the short version is that I'm getting a Phd at a british university, so I only have a 3 year visa. However, after just one year, I really think that I would stay there over the US if I could once my visa is up. For two years my girlfriend was living in France, and I loved it there too... I'm going to look for jobs in Europe over those in the US when the time comes, bur really I'll go anywhere where I can get paid for doing what I love.

Differences.... well, the first thing is driving: I don't drive in England, and I love it. Not driving has radically improved my quality of life. Having a car created a load of things to be neurotic about, which is a problem for a neurotic person like myself. As a result, I am a far more calm and relaxed person. The town I live in is less than 200,000 people, but it's still easy to walk there. If I'm going out of town, the train station is just a 20 minute walk, and I can be in loads of different cities in just a few hours, with very little planning needed.

What do I miss? Some of the food that I love - there is no real mexican food in the UK, so far as I can tell. No maple syrup either. Mac and cheese comes in a can, and I'm too scared to even try it. Being on an island is also hard. When I lived in the US, if I wanted, my friends and I could drive from Chicago to New York in a day, just for the hell of it. As the guy who did the opposite pointed out, the 24 hour stores in the US are fantastic - I really miss that. I live close to the one 24 hour store in my town, but lots of places don't have them. Opening hours are generally shorter in the UK.... the pub that I like to go to closes at 11 on week nights and 12 on weekends. I also miss coast to coast am.

I don't know if that helps - if you have more specific questions, just ask.