In 2023, I moved our family to England from America in pursuit of a simpler, more peaceful life. These are the reasons I think life is better in England.
In 2022, we were average, middle-aged Americans with two teenagers, a dog, and full-time jobs. I had a wonderful life, but it felt like I was in a constant state of busyness, trying every day to get to the bottom of an ever-growing to-do list.
I put a sign on my bathroom mirror with one word on it- SIMPLIFY. I was craving a simpler, more peaceful life but had no idea where to start. I read books on self-care, meditated, ran, hiked, made schedules, and meal planned.
No matter what I did I always felt like I was drinking from a firehose.
We decided that we if we wanted to live differently, we would need to make a big change. In 2023, we sold, stored, or gave away everything we owned and moved our family from Colorado to England.
If you asked why life is less stressful here, I don’t think I could give you one, simple answer. Just like my stress in the States was made up of many little things, so is the calm I experience here.
These are some the things I think make my life better in England.
I spend more time with my family.
When visiting European cities, such as Paris and Amsterdam, I noticed that the parks were filled with people relaxing together every night of the work week. Parents were lying on blankets readying books while their children played, friends were sharing bottles of wine and making actual eye-contact.
How were they all just lounging around on a weeknight? Didn’t they have laundry to do? Homework? Chores? The French need clean socks, too, right?
In America, it wasn’t uncommon for me to be running errands until late in the evening. Where I live in the UK, most of the stores close between 5 and 6 so that everyone can go home and be with their families.
This is common all over Europe and it creates boundaries about family time. We eat dinner together now most nights, something that was somehow always hard for us in the past.
After living in Europe for a year, I understand how all those people were relaxing in the park. Most stores close by dinner time and the streets feel empty compared to during the day. People go home to share a meal and spend time with their families.
I don’t spend as much time in my car.
In the US, we had three cars- two for my spouse and I to get to work and one for my teenagers to get to school. For 8 years I had a one-hour drive commute to work each way. We spent a lot of time in the car.
In England, we have one car, and we don’t even use it every day! We walk to work, school, and university past historic building and beautiful gardens, and many days it still feels like I’m on vacation.
Exercise and time outdoors in nature are naturally built into our day and this alone has made a big difference in my stress levels.
If we go to London or Edinburgh, or even the beach for the day, we take the train. Trains are comfortable, reliable, and much more relaxing than driving. We sit at a table with our coffee and snacks, enjoy the view or a book, and chat until we arrive.
The pace of life is slower.
When I first arrived, it took me months to recover from the operating speed of America.
Shortly after we moved here, I was getting a liter of paint and I explained to the girl at the counter that we had just moved here and asked her if there was a good grocery store nearby.
She offered to write down all of the grocery stores in York in order of most to least expensive. As a line began to form behind me, I started to worry they would all curse the rude American that was keeping everyone waiting.
But then the people in line started chiming in, “The bakery at Lidl is very nice, write that one down.”
No one cared. They stood patiently like it was the most normally thing in the world.
When people have time to talk to one another, to be polite, to ask how you are, it changes everything. You feel more connected, less alone, and generally happier throughout the entire day.
When you surrender to the pace of life here, it is nothing short of miraculous.
There are beautiful shops, restaurants, and cafés everywhere.
Europeans generally don’t eat on the road or guzzle large sodas in their cars. You rarely see people walking around with to-go coffees. There’s no rush. There’s time to sit and eat like civilized humans and let the food digest.
Europeans sit for hours together, slowly enjoying a meal and coffee or tea. Everywhere you go there are pretty, little cafés that invite you to sit and take a break from your day.
I am learning to slow down, too. In America, I would get large coffees to drink in my car while running from one place to the other. Here, I take time to enjoy our drinks slowly so I feel like I am getting a real break during the day.
Everyone gets 5.5 weeks of Annual Leave Every Year
All workers in the UK get at least 5.5 weeks of annual leave (paid time-off), not including sick time. If you are unlucky enough to get sick while on holiday the annual leave will be credited back to you.
Taking time off to spend time off to travel and spend time with your loved ones is the cultural norm. It is expected and the reason why people work. Your job isn’t your life. It’s how you pay for your life.
There is no expectation that you prioritize the needs of your workplace ahead of time with your family. That time is sacred.
Traveling to mainland Europe is CHEAP
What’s the point in having all that time off if you can’t afford to go anywhere? One the biggest motivators for moving to the UK is travel was cheap to the rest of Europe.
The cost to fly between counties in Europe is cheaper than any regional flights you could take in the United States. The first time I flew to Paris for $36 roundtrip, I felt like I had won the lottery.
In the last year we have gone to Wales, Scotland, Italy, and France. The opportunity to travel together more, and to have the time off to do it, is one of the biggest reasons my life is better since moving to the UK.
Life has finally become simpler.I have time to stop and enjoy the day and be with the people that I love in meaningful ways. I rarely “run” anywhere anymore. I don’t know what happened to the never-ending to-do list I had in America, but I sure don’t miss it.