I am an American never been anywhere except Mexico.Would I like living in England?Are private homes expensive?

Answer 1

Maybe not. I was married to an American and one of my best friends is American but lived here in the UK for 5 years, so I have a fair idea of some of the things about England that an American may find challenging.

Everything is very expensive here in comparison with the States. House prices are ludicrous (where I live in London for a 3 bedroomed house, which would be judged pokey by US standards, with a small garden, you need £500,000). Food, clothing and fuel also cost more.

Everywhere apparently seems very cramped - congested roads, small houses, often joined together in terraces, smaller cars, smaller food portions, etc.

Americans tend to be used to a pretty much 24 hour culture in terms of shops, restaraunts, and so on. Here unless you live in the centre of a big city lots of shops close at 5.30pm and 4pm on a Sunday.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that because we speak the same language, the two cultures are anything like similar. Tastes, sensitivities and codes of politeness differ greatly. Hence Americans have complained to me that they find most English people cold, sarcastic, rude and unfriendly (the flip side of the fact, I guess, that many English people find even the most well-meaning Americans can be a little too "in your face", overly friendly and way too direct).

Answer 2

Private homes are expensive and the prices seem to have increased a lot over the last few years. It depends where you live, but there are some beautiful places, but the government has ruined this country. The UK is quite tolerant and broad-minded, but that doesn't mean there aren't racial tensions. The cost of living is higher than the USA, if you live in smaller places then shops aren't open 24/7. Crime has risen and I think our judicial system is a joke e.g. mental health workers are releasing people with mental health problems when they shouldn't and one person a week is killed by a person with mental problems. Our NHS is in worse conditions, with MRSA rife, waiting lists for operations very long and not enough beds. We have the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Europe and our immigration policy is awful and no proper control. Immigration workers were letting people in without checks if women had sex with them. Gun crime is up, you don't see police out and about and the weather is mainly dull. There are some nice things like our rich history, beautiful buildings, the range of accents, some stunning scenery and we have some good universities. Britain has it good and bad points, but people are having their local council tax increased with proposal from the Labour government to charge more if people have a nice view!

Answer 3

The average house price in UK is thought to be about £250,000 - a great deal of money. House prices continue to rise at varying rates in different parts of UK. I bought my present house ten years ago for £116,000 - it would now sell for around £400,000. You can see the problem. First time buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to impossible to get on the home ownership ladder.

There are about half a million Americans living in London. Not sure what the figure is for the whole of UK.

I'd say you could quite easily fit in, certainly in a city like London. It is multi cultural and multi ethnic a very cosmopolitan place - probably more so than any other city on earth.

Answer 4

Depends what your looking for in a home. This country takes the piss with regards housing prices, for the price you'd get for a 5bedroom house in 1 acre of grounds in America you'll be looking at a 3bed mid-terrace house in an average area here. You get the benefits of less crime, a completly new culture, a lot of history to learn about, many friendly areas to live in that offer both the benefits of the olden days with the benefits of modern times, and easy access to all of Europe.

On the downside the cities are no more friendly than America, the Suburbs are safe but much less friendly than in the States, much more expensive houses, and the sight of Tony Blair on TV regularly (believe me the screen regularly cracks!!!!!!)

Answer 5

With the £1worth almost $2 the UK is expensive, a medium 3 bedroom house outside London can cost £100 upwards depending where you live, most Americans coming to the UK move to London.

Answer 6

Yes I think you would like England. Its a beautiful country.Yes private homes are very expensive,especially London and most of the surrounding area.It really depends what type of property,and which part of England you would decide to settle in.

Answer 7

Hi I live in Easbtourne in the UK and the house prices are VERY expensive over here.

below are a few websites for you to look at i have even added a currency converter for you.

Right move helps you pick an area to live in www.rightmove.co.uk

www.privemove.co.uk (same as righmove)

http://www.travelexmoney.co.uk/converter.asp

Answer 8

yes you would its a very diverse country with a lot of weather and things to do and see and yes the private housing market is very expensive to buy and rent most people just thing that england is london is not and we also have scotland wales and ireland nearby or attached to england and they are fantastic too why not visit us for a while and see what you think

Answer 9

VERY expensive. Most Brits don't own their own homes, especially in and around London. Expect to pay 2x or 3x what you would in the States.

Here's a real estate site:

http://www.findaproperty.com/AgentProps.aspx?edid=00&salerent=0&agentid=01595

Answer 10

First its nothing like Mexico, but we have got some good Mexican restaurants.
Housing is cheaper the further north you go, London is crazy prices. (land).
Its not the house but the land that makes the housing expensive.
Welcome, most USA citizens like the UK, even Madonna lives here (the singer aswell)