I have lived in both places and I'd like to debate which is better. I have the right to live in either place but choose the USA.

At first, I thought that the UK was a better place to live but now think the opposite overall.

I don't think that the UK can offer very much that USA can't and I think that the USA is better overall.

UK folks have a several hour headstart........

Here are my observations/thoughts/viewpoints:

1) USA has more affordable housing (single family homes) than the UK. You can have a yard and/or real land yet still be more easily commutable to a city (in many circumstances) without going broke.

2) I think that overall the UK has less materialistic people than the USA. I think that people are generally a bit more sincere, down to earth, honest in the UK but not much.

3) Wages are overall higher in the USA than in the UK and taxes are lower especially when you are solidly middle class.

4) I think that you have more freedom of speech in the UK. We can legally own guns for the purpose of self defense (while not always used that way unfortunately).

5) I think you all get better vacations/holiday in the UK overall, but for some Americans that can be mitigated by choosing a job with similar benefits.

6) I think the food is better in the UK...better bacon, Chinese, and Indian food overall.

7) There are pros and cons to the medical situation in both places, I think the UK is better overall but I think you get better healthcare here if you can afford it even though it is hit or miss.

I think the job market is better in the USA than in the UK. I think that the job market in the UK is hurting worse than in the USA.

9) I think that poverty in the UK is worse than the USA from personal observations.

10) I think that crime is worse overall in the UK than in the USA (besides gun violence). The UK seems to have quite a bit of knife slashings and beatings don't seem to be penalized like they are here. Someone beats someone up in the UK nothing generally happens. If you do that in the USA (even over a single punch) you will probably go to jail/prison for a while. It doesn't seem that there are deterrents for beatings in the UK. (I kind of like that actually but I am sure that it makes for unjustified beatings as well). I think that people may be less inclinded to screw around with each other for no reason because they could get a beat down. Here, we have to "fight with our heads" which I don't always like.

11) Public Transport is better in the UK but I fundamentally dislike public transport due to getting sick more often on it.

12) I think it generally safer for kids to grow up in the USA than in the UK. The judicial system doesn't tolerate neds etc.

13) I think that the UK has a much better safety net than the USA, but I avoid living in areas where a safety net is required.

Conclusion: You have more choices in the USA. If you like something about the UK that you can't get here, you can generally pursue it. It seems that in the UK most of your decisions are made for you and it is harder for the average person to climb above a certain rung in the ladder. In the USA, you can make more decisions for yourself if you are willing to put just a bit more effort into it

This would have been a very good and insightful article, but unfortunately, it is not properly outlined. All look jampacked somewhat!

modelmike7:
This would have been a very good and insightful article, but unfortunately, it is not properly outlined. All look jampacked somewhat!

I don't think the objective of this topic is to educate since the OP didn't include any metrics to guide the discussion.

The solution to any problem is recognizing that their is a problem. America is no longer the best country in the world. 3rd in mortality rate, 7th in literacy etc. They are only 1st in three areas viz: highest number of citizens behind bars 1:7, highest number of adults who believe in angels and atlantis and highest defense spender - actually the next 20. Combined together.

I have lived in both places and I'd like to debate which is better. I have the right to live in either place but choose the USA.

At first, I thought that the UK was a better place to live but now think the opposite overall.

I don't think that the UK can offer very much that USA can't and I think that the USA is better overall.

UK folks have a several hour headstart........

Here are my observations/thoughts/viewpoints:

1) USA has more affordable housing (single family homes) than the UK. You can have a yard and/or real land yet still be more easily commutable to a city (in many circumstances) without going broke.

2) I think that overall the UK has less materialistic people than the USA. I think that people are generally a bit more sincere, down to earth, honest in the UK but not much.

3) Wages are overall higher in the USA than in the UK and taxes are lower especially when you are solidly middle class.

4) I think that you have more freedom of speech in the UK. We can legally own guns for the purpose of self defense (while not always used that way unfortunately).

5) I think you all get better vacations/holiday in the UK overall, but for some Americans that can be mitigated by choosing a job with similar benefits.

6) I think the food is better in the UK...better bacon, Chinese, and Indian food overall.

7) There are pros and cons to the medical situation in both places, I think the UK is better overall but I think you get better healthcare here if you can afford it even though it is hit or miss.

I think the job market is better in the USA than in the UK. I think that the job market in the UK is hurting worse than in the USA.

9) I think that poverty in the UK is worse than the USA from personal observations.

10) I think that crime is worse overall in the UK than in the USA (besides gun violence). The UK seems to have quite a bit of knife slashings and beatings don't seem to be penalized like they are here. Someone beats someone up in the UK nothing generally happens. If you do that in the USA (even over a single punch) you will probably go to jail/prison for a while. It doesn't seem that there are deterrents for beatings in the UK. (I kind of like that actually but I am sure that it makes for unjustified beatings as well). I think that people may be less inclinded to screw around with each other for no reason because they could get a beat down. Here, we have to "fight with our heads" which I don't always like.

11) Public Transport is better in the UK but I fundamentally dislike public transport due to getting sick more often on it.

12) I think it generally safer for kids to grow up in the USA than in the UK. The judicial system doesn't tolerate neds etc.

13) I think that the UK has a much better safety net than the USA, but I avoid living in areas where a safety net is required.

Conclusion: You have more choices in the USA. If you like something about the UK that you can't get here, you can generally pursue it. It seems that in the UK most of your decisions are made for you and it is harder for the average person to climb above a certain rung in the ladder. In the USA, you can make more decisions for yourself if you are willing to put just a bit more effort into it

If you are very competitive and value work and money over quality of life, live in the US.

If you value family and leisure time, opportunity for travel, esp. to Europe, and aren't that competitive and hung up on money and material goods, choose the UK.

Weather in the US is usually either too hot or too cold. You might get a few months of good weather but it's balanced out by months of horrible weather. Weather in the UK is horrible in the winter but the summers can be really beautiful and mild.

If you are rich you are better off in the US. If you are poor or average, you are better off in the UK.

I don't like the drinking culture in the UK--too many kids out drinking and beating each other up all weekend. I don't like the gun culture in the US.

There's a whole lot more to it than that but those are my highlights.

If you are poor or average, you are better off in the UK.

really?