I have made a few corrections to this post
I realize I am posting this reply extremely late, and that you have almost definitely made your decision in regard to your post. Nevertheless, I shall post this reply should it come to help others facing a similar dilemma to the one you faced.
I am a student having lived for extended periods of time in both the USA and the UK. As such, I am aware of the various pros and cons associated with living in New York and London. Firstly, with regards to your salary in the UK taxes are generally higher (eg income tax.), however the tax-funded benefits provided by the state in the UK compared to those provided by the state in the US far outweigh this. Though you may face higher taxes in the UK you do, as I'm sure you're aware, enjoy things such as free healthcare etc. that will not be found in the US. For example when living in the US, my family- a family of two adults and four children- had to pay approx. $600 per month for health insurance alone. Additionally, you may want to take into account what each government generally spends its tax revenue on. For example, the US spends approx. 40% of citizens taxes on the military alone, encouraging the argument that those who may rely more on state benefits suffer more in the name of defense. You may or may not necessarily agree with this.
In response to your more pressing questions, there are obviously pros and cons to living in both New York and London:
1. Which country offer a better quality of family life?
In short, my opinion is that the UK offers a better quality of life overall. There is a greater degree of social equality not found in the US. In the US, there are more wealthy people than in the UK, however, there are also a lot more impoverished people than in the UK. Poverty is much more widespread in the US. However, living in a town outside New York city, I doubt you will encounter firsthand any poverty as most NYC suburbs are fairly well-to-do areas. In regards to quality of
family life I think it very much depends on where you live. As two very large cities, neither central NYC or central London are the best places to raise a family. However , both cities are surrounded by very nice, respectable communities not too far from the cities themselves. My suggestion would be to find some places you may want to live in, visit them, look up some statistics, and develop your own opinion.
2. Which one of the two is the most secular?
Statistically more individuals are actively religious than in the UK. However, the US government may be seen as more secular as it makes a point of not mixing religion with politics. The UK government, though also secular to an extent, could be seen as more religious. For example the religious Lords in the House of Lords are all Church of England, as is the Head of State (the Queen). However, both countries offer freedom of expression, and a lot of it comes down to whether or not you and your family are religious, and if so, whether you are able to find a religious community close to where you may be living that is able to suit your needs.
3. Which nation is still holding on a few values?#
This is a very broad question. In terms of the governments of the two countries, both posses nuclear arms and both are participating in the war in Iraq. I think these things speak for themselves. In terms of the people, again it largely depends, for both countries, on where you live. For example, an inner city environment will most likely be rough with high crime etc. whereas an upper middle-class suburb will be much more value-oriented. It could also depend on which parties may be in power at any one time. For example, in the UK, the Conservatives (who very much look poised to become the next party in power) are strong on social justice, community service for young offenders etc.
4. Which school system is best?
Recently the USA has been ranked as having the worst state education system out of all modern, democratic, and industrialized nations in the world. I apologize for not being able to provide the link to this fact, but I'm sure that with a little research it can be found. In both the US and the UK the quality of state schools your children may end up in can very much depend in what catchment area you end up living in. I strongly advice that before settling anywhere, you make sure, for your children's sake, that the local state school/s are of an acceptable standard. However, in my opinion, there are more good quality state schools in the UK than in the USA. When growing up in the USA for example, my family ended up having to pay $12,000 per year to send me to a private school due to the poor quality of my local state/public school.
5. Which one can offer better opportunities to the children?
There are more state run or provided programs it seems, in place in the UK aimed at benefiting children than in the US. For example, in the UK, programs like EMA provide learning funds (in the form of money) to students who are eligible for it- and this is not only people in extreme situations. You would be surprised at how many people are eligible. In addition there are organisations n the UK such as the navy sea scouts (similar, I'm sure, to the US' boy and girl scouts) which can provide training in many values and skills. However, both countries have opportunities for children in terms of recreation in the form of YMCA's and leisure centers. Finally, if your children end up going to University in the US, you will likely end up footing enormous bills, whereas in the UK the current annual fee for University education is £6000, which, believe me, is far less than you will be expected to pay for further education in the US.
5. Which of the two places is best to raise the children?
You may want to formulate your own opinion in regard to this question based on my replies to your previous questions:
Which nation is still holding on a few values? Which one of the two is the most secular? Which school system is best? Which country offer a better quality of family life? Which one can offer better opportunities to the children?
However, in short, my own personal opinion is that the UK is the better country in which to raise children for a number of reasons too extensive to include in this already veery extensive reply.
I hope this helps.
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