This was, more or less, what I was open to hearing.

I am a cynic and a realist, so I made sure to include the whole "I got the visitor's experience," as I've seen people come into my city here with rose-colored glasses only to have them broken to bits.

I will say that I looked for jobs in my field and the pay was somewhat lower. I just figured that was the exchange rate at play.

I was raised by a Brit, and my girlfriend is English, so I'd consider myself fairly well-educated in many of the cultural differences. I consider myself much more of an outsider here in the States, and much more at home when communicating with the British. I keep to myself, I am not competitive by nature, and don't like engaging in politics debates. Everyone here is opinionated as hell, and loves to share that opinion openly, and often.

I find the business culture here to be, more or less, broken. It's all ego at every level, and a lot of good ideas and innovation are shot down because the right person didn't think of the idea first, or they think their idea is better, right or wrong, and don't want to be upstaged. Also, aggression, paranoia, and alpha-male behavior are rewarded. I have a job that doesn't require much participation with others, and I am going to continue in this field over there, so I'm not entirely worried about integrating into UK business and workplace politics. I am well-liked and personable without being brash or overly outspoken, people I am not worried about getting along with, even in another country.

I've immersed myself in British culture a lot, and I only spent one of my days there in the more "posh" side of London. I'm aware of the dirt, the grime, the overcrowded trains, and the ugly - I didn't mind it, maybe I will over time, but I'm pretty over America for myriad reasons and have other friends who have moved overseas and are quite happy to have done so.

Thank you, hope that didn't come across as me disagreeing with you, just opening up the conversation a bit.