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It's interesting isn't it that however much we might be defined or "nurtured" by the countries we grew up in, we can still transcend that and feel we belong in another place better.
There's a variety of things I miss, one being the ability to explore new places.
I especially liked the small towns in Texas and loved the Hill Country as well as the wider open spaces further west. Big Bend NP is a definite fave as is the Davis Mountains. It was also nice to hop over to New Orleans.
Apart from travelling I did (guilty pleasure here) enjoy living in a house far larger than ours here in England. Despite the savage summers in Houston it was nice to enjoy the other seasons and not suffer our winters.
I guess overall it was experiencing a different culture and there were friends we made that I miss.
I would keep homes in both. I lived in New York, had to leave and desperately missed it so I bought a flat in New York and have my home in London. Best of both worlds.
If you want to overcome your infatuation with London, try visiting during January or February when the weather is the gloomiest and the city is looking its absolute worst, and go stay somewhere horrible like Putney or Newham. If you visit during the warmer months you're pretty much done for.
I would keep homes in both. I lived in New York, had to leave and desperately missed it so I bought a flat in New York and have my home in London. Best of both worlds.
London is indeed much improved and I hate to say it with the recent Tory election its prosperity is assured for now. No new ill thought out property taxes to jeopardise house price growth.
In the 1980s and 1990s London didn't compare to NYC. But nowadays London has caught up. It has all the stores in NYC coupled with European boutiques that aren't in Manhattan.
The food scene is the arguably the best in Europe and easily matches that in NYC and certainly beats the food scene in LA.
The only issue is that housing as with NYC and increasingly even in LA is becoming very expensive. Unless you are at the top table at an investment bank or large corporation a standard six figure salary will not get you very far in terms of housing.
I like NYC, London and have a soft spot for LA. But as the OP mentioned there is a lot to be said for free art galleries and museums..
LA is in real flux right now so with ongoing gentrification in places like downtown and echo park, coupled with the great weather you may never come back.
There's a variety of things I miss, one being the ability to explore new places.
I especially liked the small towns in Texas and loved the Hill Country as well as the wider open spaces further west. Big Bend NP is a definite fave as is the Davis Mountains. It was also nice to hop over to New Orleans.
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Can't you do that in Europe though? You have some of the most stunning landscapes, big metropolitan cities, small towns and old architecture a couple of hours away. Flights are ridiculously cheap, as is accommodation in a lot of places (particularly compared to the UK and US). Plus the UK has decent vacation time, in America you are often restricted to 2 weeks vacation time a year!
Can't you do that in Europe though? You have some of the most stunning landscapes, big metropolitan cities, small towns and old architecture a couple of hours away. Flights are ridiculously cheap, as is accommodation in a lot of places (particularly compared to the UK and US). Plus the UK has decent vacation time, in America you are often restricted to 2 weeks vacation time a year!
I find it quite difficult to drive to Big Bend National Park from Europe.
Vacation time over there wasn't an issue as we were working as ex pats with UK vacation allowances.
Also our daughter was in a British school over there meaning that we could go away at times that American children were still in school.
Back to your comment about visiting various places- I loved the opportunity to visit places in the US that I possibly wouldn't go to from Europe and I miss those places.
There are things here that aren't in the US. I work in a Tudor house for starters.
If you want to overcome your infatuation with London, try visiting during January or February when the weather is the gloomiest and the city is looking its absolute worst, and go stay somewhere horrible like Putney or Newham. If you visit during the warmer months you're pretty much done for.
Really. I have been to Putney in dreary winter. It's still awesome.
Can't you do that in Europe though? You have some of the most stunning landscapes, big metropolitan cities, small towns and old architecture a couple of hours away. Flights are ridiculously cheap, as is accommodation in a lot of places (particularly compared to the UK and US). Plus the UK has decent vacation time, in America you are often restricted to 2 weeks vacation time a year!
Are air fares cheaper in Europe if your point of departure is London?
In the 1980s and 1990s London didn't compare to NYC.
New York in the 1980s was even more of a cesspit than it is today. Most New York hype is just a trick by natives to convince as many new warm bodies to get between them and the constant spray of feces and horror that amounts to living there.
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