I've had several people ask me what it's like since moving to England because they've been thinking about doing a similar move. At first, I was always hesitant because I didn't think I had spent enough time here yet to come up with a really good description but now that I'm approaching the 6 month mark (March 9 will be 6 months) I think I could give a general idea for you curious friends back in the states.
Firstly, I'm really glad I moved here. It hasn't been perfect by any means, quite inconvenient in fact (I'll get into that a bit later) but all in all, a wonderful experience I wish I had taken advantage of sooner. In 6 months I've found these things to make the move more than worthwhile:
- A great group of friends. They've taught me the ways of British culture with both their sense of pride and their sense of humour.
- The UK is wonderfully diverse. I'd even go so far as to say more diverse than when I lived in California. In San Diego, sure there were lots of races and what not but in the end they were all "San Diegan" (which is like Californian with a bit of guacamole on the side) but here, there's a ton of people from all over the world and people hold onto their backgrounds a little firmer, so that's pretty cool. I should say though that this is more true the closer you get to London. As you go west and north it dips down quite a bit in diversity.
- Awesome music scene. Hollywood churns out movies faster and they take forever to get here, but I think the UK is currently leading in music (except for Hiphop/RnB, oh woe is me).
- Easy access for travel. Scotland was great, France in 3 weeks, Scotland again in April, Boston in May, and I think Ireland in August. Plus a little more travelling if my parents visit in July. I can't say I traveled that much my whole time living in San Diego and even then it was mostly to Vegas or Mexico.
- This one is stupid but I love that you get to pick your seat at the movie theater and pre-booking online is quite normal. No more waiting 3 hours sitting on a stinky floor at a movie premiere. Although that can be fun for movies like LOTR and Harry Potter, it's just dumb for the newest comedy. You can walk in during previews and know your prime seat is waiting for you. No wonder they don't have The Twenty here. You can spend those twenty minutes getting another pint. BTW, I recommend Hot Fuzz if you enjoyed Shaun of the Dead at all.
- Fashion is fun here. Being so close to London and the rest of Europe makes the retail stores quicker to get fashion trends and experiments and it shows on people. I suppose it's similar to New York but I always thought the Californian lifestyle was really too casual and warm to take up 75% of the fun things clothes can be.
- I like that prawn crackers are a staple of Chinese take away. Much better than the fortune cookie, which I haven't seen once here.
That said, there's still a number of factors I think people need to consider before taking the plunge in what seems like a fun adventure.
- Are you a positive person? No, really, are you? Because you need to have as much positive energy as you can muster when all you want to do is buy food on a Sunday but you can't because of some ridiculous law that makes the grocery store close at 4pm. And the banks open from 9-4 only. And when they give you 8 hour delivery times so you can't even so much as take a shower while you wait for your package (which is ultimately not even delivered after you wait 10 hours, fuck you Argos!)
- Do you like meeting new people? Especially with accents that can be hard to understand even if they're speaking English and they look at you 'cause YOU'RE the one with the funny accent? Can you take a joke when they make fun of you for it and know that taking the piss is really a sign of affection?
- Can you give up football and take up football? Because you know how much they play football on tv in the states? Well, it pales in comparison to how much football is on here. And rugby. And cricket. I've taken a liking to football, although I don't think I could watch more than 3 games a week. But I'm definitely still not into rugby and I have yet to be exposed to cricket (thank God). There's almost no basketball (saw 2 minutes of the all star game) and no baseball at all.
- That last one can be expanded to just about everything that's different here than in the states. Can you give up instant noodles? Because they are RUBBISH here. Can you give up clothes dryers? They are rare here and usually quite small. Can you give up having your hair dryer, electric toothbrush, electric shaver, etc. being in the bathroom? Because there are no electric sockets in the bathrooms. I know, it's weird and it's inconvenient but there you go. Can you give up the familiarity of something as little as a lightswitch? Because they go the opposite direction here and on top of that every electric socket has its own on/off switch. Can you give up Tar-jay? Because they do have Tesco but believe me, it's not the same nor nearly as cute.
- Can you give up your love of money and a good deal? Because the dollar is very weak and everything is just more expensive here. Everything. So if you go through life converting back to dollars you're going make yourself and everyone around you miserable just because you can't stand the fact that the double cheeseburger at McDonald's here is actually $2 and therefore, not a value. Just accept that dinner is normally going to cost you $14 (£7) (without drinks) and just concentrate on having a good time with your friends who are kind enough to make fun of your trendy shirt that looks awful on you.
Keep in mind, all this is mainly applicable for England (South England to be even clearer) so your mileage may vary. But even given all this, if you're still interested, and it's not something that can be satiated by a long extravagant vacation, go for it! Like I said, I have no regrets. I look forward to sharing a Cornish pasty with you.