The weather itself is fine. It doesn’t get super cold (rarely snows) and doesn’t get super hot except for a couple heat waves. I’m from California and got used to the temperature fairly quickly.

The worst thing is the constant gloom and darkness. It’s very often overcast so you feel you never get the sun and many people supplement with vit D. And the winters are pretty bad due to the short days. London’s latitude is higher than nearly every major North American city (on par with Calgary) so the sun sets around 3-4pm for months at a time.

Horses for courses I guess. It really comes down to a person’s expectations and tailoring their night out in London. Whereas in NYC where essentially every nighttime establishment closes as 4am. In London it really comes down to type of place and location.

Pubs can be anywhere from 11pm to 2am. Bars anywhere from 12am to 3am. Clubs almost always go from 4am to 6am (and sometimes longer). In London you just have to do a bit more homework but I find the club scene better while the late night cocktail lounge bar scene to be lacking.

I would say people come and go a quicker rate. Lots of Europeans/Aussies/Kiwis come for a few years to get their master’s or work a bit and then leave. It feels like the turnover is really high and it took me about 3 years before I felt I had a solid friend group.

Even going on 7 years here, most of my friends are other expats/immigrants. Most Brits have their friends from growing up or uni and aren’t interested in expanding it.

I’m American, gay and have lived in London for 6 years.

I can’t speak first hand to the dating scene as I’ve always been in a relationship here but from what I’ve heard from my lesbian friends it’s incredibly difficult. London is a transient city (40% of the population is foreign born) so people come and go all the time. And in NYC where I feel the mentality is to stay in the city as long as possible, in London the goal for most Brits is to eventually own a house in a leafy suburb or commuter village.

Regarding cost you will almost certainly take a pay cut. Most of my American friends that have been transferred have had this happen. That said, NYC is significantly more expensive for rent, food (groceries and eating out), travel and healthcare. You’ll save less in real money, but your take home will be less consumed by the COL.

Pace of life is slower. London is twice the size of NYC geographically which the same population. It’s less dense and outside of a few neighbourhoods in central, it feels slower and calmer. There’s way more parks and most people live in actual houses that split into flats. That said, London is still a global city and affords all that has to offer. Food, culture, history, nightlife are comparable to NYC if not better. It just won’t be exactly on your doorstep or 24/7.

Travel. London wins hands down. With 6 airports + Eurostar it’s incredibly easy to travel abroad and London is in a much better location geographically. I typically travel internationally 5-6 times a year and that doesn’t seem too uncommon here (at least amongst immigrants/expats).

Overall I love it here and don’t see myself moving back to the US. I think NYC is a better city in your 20s but 30s+ London is hands down.

I’m American but have previously lived in France and now in the UK. Industry is tech/consulting.

The US (particularly the Silicon Valley where I worked) is extremely fast paced. It’s an unforgiving place that requires constant hustle, showmanship and ‘up and to the right’ mentality. The glass ceiling is so high in SV tech companies but VC firms have become increasingly stringent in funding rounds which puts pressure on KPIs and deliverables. It’s incredibly exciting and I often felt I was helping to create the ‘thing of the future’ but the pace of work was ultimately too demanding for me. I regularly worked 60 hour weeks, the company paid for breakfast, lunch and dinner because that was expected and it was all consuming. Pay was amazing though.

France was almost the complete opposite. A 35 hour week was standard and colleagues adhered to this stringently. We had 33 days PTO + 11 national holidays each year. Companies essentially shut down for most of August as everyone went to the seaside. 2 hour lunch breaks was common and we almost always had wine. Parents would often go pick up their kids from school during lunch break and cook for them before coming back. That said, as an American, it felt like everyone was coasting and that no one cared about entrepreneurship or innovation. Going above and beyond / pushing the limits was seen as a bad thing and I felt decreasingly motivated about work due to the ‘it is what it is’ mentality.

The UK (particularly London) feels like it has one foot in North American culture and one foot in European culture. I still get a ton of PTO (30 days + 10 bank holidays) and the work day is a standard 40 hours on average. The tech scene feels exciting for Europe, but nowhere near the same levels entrepreneurship or innovation as California. It feels like a healthy mix of work and play, people are motivated when in the office, but they actually turn off when outside the office. If only the pay was better it’d be the perfect working conditions for a driven person.

I did my master’s abroad at Goldsmiths, University of London. Though I studied Politics, the school is most known for its degree programs in design, media, comms and art. It’s pretty decent across most social sciences.

I enjoyed my time there and felt the cost was worth it. I did a taught master’s so it was theory based, however there was a work placement component so I got hands on experience as well.

London is expensive but Goldsmiths is located in one of the cheapest areas in South London. And unlike most London unis it has a true campus (plus you get to use all the other UoL campuses). I actually still live in London 5 years later so can attest to the degree helping in my career.

I’m American but live in London. For the majority of the things you listed that you prioritise, London nearly always comes out on top. Here’s my take having lived here for nearly 7 years.

London pros:

• Work life balance / vacation days - most people get 25-30 days annual leave + 10 bank holidays.
• Parks / green space - London is significantly more green and there are a number of large parks spread across the city. The countryside is also more accessible via public transportation. You can take some tube lines to the end and there’s trailheads from the station.
• Ease of traveling - London is better situated geographically and has 6 easily accessible airports. Quick and cheap flights are common to Europe and Eurostar is also a great option. If you’re wanting to go back home to Japan, those long haul flights will also be a bit quicker and cheaper than from NYC.
• Ease of getting a master’s - UK definitely. I got my master’s here and it was significantly cheaper and quicker than doing it in the US (they’re typically only 1 year).
• Safety - London is more safe both from a statistical standpoint and also from a perception standpoint. Less random crazies on the street or public transportation, mental health is taken more seriously, and there’s not nearly as big of an opioid crisis. And of course essentially no gun violence (police don’t even carry guns).
• Cleanliness - From the streets to the public transport, London is MUCH cleaner hands down. I’ve lived here nearly 7 years and have never seen a cockroach, never seen a rat (though mice are common), and the city just feels significantly less grimy than NYC.

NYC pros:

• Salary - you will definitely make more in the NYC than in London, particularly for tech. Salary will be higher and taxes lower. However COL is higher in NYC (particularly for rent, groceries and travel) so it could even out.
• IT - while it’s still not the Bay Area, the NYC tech scene feels more accessible and vibrant. My and my partner work in tech here in London and the market feels like it’s continued to stagnate. Redundancies are still very common, companies downsizing, and the overall feel in the market is pessimistic.
• Diversity of food - NYC wins on eating out. In NYC you can get literally any world cuisine and it will likely be decent to amazing. London falls short on this, particularly for South American and East Asian cuisine (it’s just not that good here and selection is nowhere near as big as NYC). However London groceries are significantly cheaper and higher quality.

Toss ups:

• Weather - this is very personal so it really spends on what you appreciate. London is fairly moderate year round with mild seasons. In the winter it rarely goes below freezing and rarely snows. In the summer it’s moderate though we’ve been having some heatwaves the past few years. It’s often grey and overcast which is the real downside. It actually rains more in NYC in terms of precipitation amount, however London has more overall days of rain. Also NYC summers are notoriously hot and humid which requires AC for months on end.
• Making friends. Both are huge cities with lots of transient people. I would say Americans are slightly more easy to befriend on the surface. But London is so international that the expat community groups are strong and robust.
• Dog culture - no idea as I don’t have a dog but I’d imagine pretty similar between the two cities.

I’ve lived abroad for 6 years and have been home twice. When I was in grad school here I didn’t go home at all during the program.