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Chapel Hill is a university town in North Carolina, home to the University of North Carolina's flagship campus. It's in the Raleigh/Durham area and, of course, nowhere near the magnitude of London. Only NYC and L.A. can compare to London
In terms of size, yes. LA is a dump.
Any big city is a matter of taste. Having lived in London myself I would not choose to live there again over somewhere in North Carolina - the standard of living in London would be far lower.. unless you have the money to fund a similar lifestyle. North Carolina is beautiful, has city stuff if you need it and beaches. The weather is far warmer too!
You can live quite nicely on 80k in London. Except that "quite nicely" depends on how you feel about having a much smaller house than you would in NC and have to put up with a lot more noise.
Regents Park isn't really "downtown" London, although it's not exactly rural either.
From your inputs and whatever little I have been able to gather after talking to people, I get a sense that the money will be enough for our lifestyle.
Regarding regents park, I get a feeling that its a choice between living in a small space.more rent.less commuting vs. moving to suburbs.less rent.more commuting. But either ways its doable and still save some money, definitely less compared to Chapel Hill, NC.
But I am getting more and more inclined towards Chapel Hill. Few years back I would have simply gone to London. Not anymore! I cant handle standing in queues, rush hours, traffic, grey skies, less money!! i would rather be in NC enjoing the good weather and saving some money for a europe vacation
Once I move there, will update you guys on how I like it in NC and if I truly like it (I will be honest)
"I cant handle standing in queues, rush hours, traffic, grey skies, less money!!"
Then why even ask the question? when you have just basically said you wouldn't enjoy London for those reasons. I would personally go for it, you can't be passed the age for a real adventure if your daughter is only 16 months, best to do it now whilst your child is still young, experience the different culture, sure your home will be smaller than what you will get in NC, but that's part of living the experience and I'm sure you may get a different perspective on housing, and realize for a small family of 3 homes don't have to be in a 3000 sq ft to feel comfortable. You will be a 2 hours drive from the coast, actually the towns are seasides, a completely different experience than what you will find in the US, it takes just over 2 hours by train to get to the city of York, (North Yorkshire) and other major cities. You have Wales, Scotland next door..and of course flying around Europe is a lot cheaper than traveling around the states. Sure it's grey a lot of the time, but the culture, like pubs, nightlife, restaurants, museums, car bootsales, Sunday lunch, history, easy transportation, and architecture really sets London/UK apart from the states. Do it, experience it, and if it's not for you then you will never have the regret of not even trying.
"I cant handle standing in queues, rush hours, traffic, grey skies, less money!!"
Then why even ask the question? when you have just basically said you wouldn't enjoy London for those reasons. I would personally go for it, you can't be passed the age for a real adventure if your daughter is only 16 months, best to do it now whilst your child is still young, experience the different culture, sure your home will be smaller than what you will get in NC, but that's part of living the experience and I'm sure you may get a different perspective on housing, and realize for a small family of 3 homes don't have to be in a 3000 sq ft to feel comfortable. You will be a 2 hours drive from the coast, actually the towns are seasides, a completely different experience than what you will find in the US, it takes just over 2 hours by train to get to the city of York, (North Yorkshire) and other major cities. You have Wales, Scotland next door..and of course flying around Europe is a lot cheaper than traveling around the states. Sure it's grey a lot of the time, but the culture, like pubs, nightlife, restaurants, museums, car bootsales, Sunday lunch, history, easy transportation, and architecture really sets London/UK apart from the states. Do it, experience it, and if it's not for you then you will never have the regret of not even trying.
North Carolina is on the coast - that sure beats driving to some trashy seaside town. Aren't pubs, restaurants, nightlife and museums everywhere? As for Sunday Lunch - is that what you would consider good food??
London is great for many things. A longer term quality of life it is not, unless you make a great deal of money. Day to day, how often do people visit York? Or Wales (I can't think of why you would want to!) or Scotland?? Life tends to be the immediate vicinity for most people - the best fit is the one that best suits your lifestyle.
People must what is right for their family situation. Maybe if they had been childless or single...
When my American cousins visited London they commented on how great it is to have railways radiating out to all parts of the country; imagine having Paris just two hours away by train.
North Carolina is on the coast - that sure beats driving to some trashy seaside town.
NC has its own trashy seaside towns too. Both coasts have their own natural qualities. You can drive to a quiet beach in less than an hour from London, most of the population of NC lives a good 3 hours away.
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Aren't pubs, restaurants, nightlife and museums everywhere?
No, they aren't, although NC probably has a bit more than most but nowhere near as much as London.
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As for Sunday Lunch - is that what you would consider good food??
Now you've gone too far. Sunday dinner beats the socks off all other meals!
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London is great for many things. A longer term quality of life it is not, unless you make a great deal of money. Day to day, how often do people visit York? Or Wales (I can't think of why you would want to!) or Scotland?? Life tends to be the immediate vicinity for most people - the best fit is the one that best suits your lifestyle.
If it was easy to do, then it should be a no-brainer to do it if only for a short time. Being that close to so many places and cultures is great. Being able to take a short flight to Prague or Greece, or even just driving to any of the historical buildings in the UK. It's a great opportunity. But if you aren't into any of that stuff then it would be a wasted journey.
Great response Transmition to Ian, I moved from the UK with a 3 and 6 year old, sure it was scary, a huge culture shock...but we gave it a chance and fell in love with California and became settled. It was about starting a new chapter in our lives, experiencing something new and different, sure we miss home all the time, who doesn't as an expat? but we wanted to do this, try it out... if it had ended up badly then we could had simply gone back home with a ton of experience and stories to tell. Yeah, I don't know why Ian would put down a British Sunday Lunch...guessing his mum must had burnt his Yorkshire puddings.
Great response Transmition to Ian, I moved from the UK with a 3 and 6 year old, sure it was scary, a huge culture shock...but we gave it a chance and fell in love with California and became settled. It was about starting a new chapter in our lives, experiencing something new and different, sure we miss home all the time, who doesn't as an expat? but we wanted to do this, try it out... if it had ended up badly then we could had simply gone back home with a ton of experience and stories to tell. Yeah, I don't know why Ian would put down a British Sunday Lunch...guessing his mum must had burnt his Yorkshire puddings.
Haha - thats funny! I just think that Sunday lunch is what - meat and boiled veg!! Its boring and really not good. But, each to his/her own..
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