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I didn't believe it until I actually came here (same town as you) and the anti-social behavior is pretty bad, particularly at night when school is not in session and Friday and Saturday nights
You're in Windsor? It's a great little town! I do miss the Two Brewers, The King & Castle, and the Tiger Garden in Eton. I lived on Sheet Street and whilst I loved the area (and being close to the Long Walk) it was pretty unaffordable for me long term. Like you say, there was a certain amount of anti-social behavior mainly at the weekends. I actually called the police a few times (sounding old now!) because of violent fights outside my place. I saw a guy beating his girlfriend once, the soldiers in brawls and one time the soldier at the entrance to the barracks actually came out and waved his rifle at some guys fighting in the street!
It was mostly a great place though and I often thought if I had some serious cash I might have stayed.. But then for the same amount I could live in Hawaii!!
I lived in London for 7 years and left UK in 2002. Based on what I see here in the US I would say it is much more safer and better place to raise children then in the US, specially when it's comes to education.
So, I definitely think you made a right decision. Congrats to both of you for your future !!! MAY LOVE BE WITH YOU ALWAYS AND FOREVER. AMEN
First off I want to say my future husband is British and I'm American. We have decided that we are going to live in England when we finally tie the knot. (will work on getting a visa when we are engaged) I am curious to know if England is a better place to raise youngsters then America? To be honest I am scared to raise my children in America. Right now we are thinking about living in Dorking, Surrey near his sisters
Let me just add that I am really excited because my great great great great grandparents came from England. My Heritage is about 70% British so I am technically going home I love everything British. The culture, the country, and most importantly the people. I hope to visit your BEAUTIFUL country soon.
As with anything, your experience will vary by location. There are places in America with great schools and quality of life, and there are hellholes. The same holds for the UK. Fortunately for you, Dorking - in spite of the name - is a pretty good location.
If I were you, I would hope for the best but make sure you build up a nestegg to send your kids to public school. I've had personal experiences with state schools in Britain that would make Lord of the Flies look like a parents' night.
I know a woman who was an elementary school teacher in Monterey, California. She married an English guy and moved to Chesterfield (where he was from). After taking the necessary courses to teach in the UK she got a job there with the younger grades. She said that while she enjoys it, the kids are generally unrulier and ruder than the kids in Monterey were. Things like that are anecdotal and you can't base anything on one person's experiences. You'll probably have to spend a decent amount of time in your fiance's hometown to decide for yourself. Check out the hard information and statistics, but trust your gut too. Pick your future husband's brain - he's lived in both places and should have a pretty good take on which would be better.
jeffredo hits an important point. Anecdotal evidence is nothing to go on. To that I'd add that personal stereotypes are nothing to go on either.
In spite of the somewhat educated stereotype associated most British accents, the average Brit is no better educated (and frequently much worse educated) than the average American. The original poster certainly already knows this. Nonetheless, the worst British state schools would easily compare to the worst American state (public) schools, whereas even the best British state schools would not measure up to the best American state (public) schools.
In fact, many Americans lucky enough to live in a good zip code get an education with their taxpayer-funded school that some Brits pay tens of thousands of pounds to secure for their children.
And I do agree, British schoolchildren are on average less well behaved than American schoolchildren.
State Grammer Schools, Faith Schools (mainly Catholic) do particuarly well, although there are also some very good ordinary state comprehensice schools as well.
jeffredo hits an important point. Anecdotal evidence is nothing to go on. To that I'd add that personal stereotypes are nothing to go on either.
In spite of the somewhat educated stereotype associated most British accents, the average Brit is no better educated (and frequently much worse educated) than the average American. The original poster certainly already knows this. Nonetheless, the worst British state schools would easily compare to the worst American state (public) schools, whereas even the best British state schools would not measure up to the best American state (public) schools.
In fact, many Americans lucky enough to live in a good zip code get an education with their taxpayer-funded school that some Brits pay tens of thousands of pounds to secure for their children.
And I do agree, British schoolchildren are on average less well behaved than American schoolchildren.
jeffredo hits an important point. Anecdotal evidence is nothing to go on. To that I'd add that personal stereotypes are nothing to go on either.
In spite of the somewhat educated stereotype associated most British accents, the average Brit is no better educated (and frequently much worse educated) than the average American. The original poster certainly already knows this. Nonetheless, the worst British state schools would easily compare to the worst American state (public) schools, whereas even the best British state schools would not measure up to the best American state (public) schools.
In fact, many Americans lucky enough to live in a good zip code get an education with their taxpayer-funded school that some Brits pay tens of thousands of pounds to secure for their children.
And I do agree, British schoolchildren are on average less well behaved than American schoolchildren.
Your mileage of course will vary.
I couldn't agree more with your post. In Las Vegas, public schools are not good but in my wife's hometown they have a fantastic school system. It's well funded, they have first class sports facilities, music programs (you can actually watch the school band performances on local TV stations), an observatory and an Internet station/library that was probably better than my university!
deinitely NOT.
If you're rich then it doesnt matter where u live in the world. but overall if i ha the choice to raise my children in UK vs USA i would definitely do it in America
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