First, my (relatively privileged) perspective: - American citizen (double taxes, etc) - Self-employed software consultant working remotely for US clients - N

First, my (relatively privileged) perspective: - American citizen (double taxes, etc) - Self-employed software consultant working remotely for US clients - Not living in London - Live in a small town near Cambridge, where I commute via train to work in a coworking office A lot of the "good parts" are not specific to the UK, but to the lifestyle of a software consultant. So I'll leave those out. Also, it's worth noting that I've traveled and lived in many countries and cities. I've lived 3+ months in SF, NYC, Taipei, Seattle, Houston, and the UK. I've lived 1+ month in Budapest, Belgrade, Zagreb, and probably some others I'm forgetting. In the end, every place is really the same. Yes there are subtle differences, but you're still the same person with (hopefully) the same routine, etc. Especially when the language is the same, there are little to no major differences. Still, there are some subtleties so I will try to flesh some of those out. ----- THE GOOD PARTS of living in the UK: ----- - My girlfriend lives here (obviously the #1 benefit!) - The GBP/USD exchange rate has been trashed the last two years. Since I work primarily with US clients and receive payments in USD, this is good for me when transferring. Although it's been climbing back up. - I'm not surrounded by US politics everywhere I go, although it's still hard to avoid. - My US rates give me a lot of relative spending power in the UK (but also see cons) - UK.gov is actually a surprisingly helpful resource and really smoothens interactions with the government. Local government websites are another story. - English breakfasts - Banking is simpler than in the US, but regulations can be a pain, and often times it seems like something is "for your security" but it's just poorly thought out and implemented. - The trains are great, but also pretty expensive. - Cheap and fast mobile data plans. Reliable broadband. ----- THE BAD PARTS of living in the UK: ----- - The weather, except for 3-4 months in the summer. At least winters are mild, though. - Missing my friends, family etc. Missing New York. - Terrible, terrible wages in tech, typically half of US salaries even after adjustments. This isn't too much of a problem for me since I'm self-employed, but it does effectively take the option of employment off the table. Note that as a founder, this could be a benefit. - Council taxes, TV licensing, needing a license for tons of things, and generally over-bureaucratic systems in banking and government that cause more problems than they attempt to solve. Sometimes it feels like you need a full background check just to walk down the street. The amount of private data I had to give to landlords is astounding. - Massive surveillance, both online and offline, and especially on the motor ways. Few protections on freedom of speech. - Groceries and restaurants are typically more expensive than in the US. In general the cost of living is higher, but this is somewhat offset by my living in a small town. - No Chipotle. :( - Classism, racism and sexism amongst the ruling/elite class. This doesn't affect me directly but I've seen it second-hand for sure. - Very poor, uneducated population with astoundingly high rates of addiction to gambling, cigarettes and alcohol. [EDIT: Ok, this point is a bit unfair and hypocritical of me to paint with such a broad stroke. This criticism certainly does not apply to the entire population. However, where I live, in a rural area dominated by the horse racing industry, it definitely holds true. And I say this as someone who is friends with many people who fit this description. If I were a UK politician, I would eliminate gambling, raise the drinking and smoking age to 21 and require students to stay in school until age 18. This would solve a lot of problems IMO.] - Extremely narrow, dangerous roads. - Double taxation (this is a US issue and really not that big a deal, just more paperwork) - Antiquated drug laws akin to 1980-2000 in the USA.