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As of 2025, would you rather live in the UK (London)or US?(New York, California, New Jersey, Florida)
Main Post: As of 2025, would you rather live in the UK (London)or US?(New York, California, New Jersey, Florida)
Top Comment: I'm from California (Bay Area) and now live in the UK (London). I 100% prefer where I am now. Things I miss about the US: The higher salaries Mild, moderate year round climate True wilderness and the geographical diversity of California (I could go skiing and surfing in the same day) Good mexican food and amazing fresh produce year around Things I love about the UK: Career progression (for my particular area of work) Public transportation / walkability - I haven't owned a car in the 8 years I've been here and have probably needed to use Uber less than 10 times Travel - this is a big thing for me as it's my main passion. It's pretty expensive to fly most places from the Bay, even on the West Coast. London has 6 airports plus an international train station so there's a ton of competitive options that go all over Europe and beyond. I've been able to get <£50 return flights to Spain, Greece, Morocco, etc. Much better work life balance - you really can't put a price on mental health Healthcare - even with decent health insurance at my tech company in SF, I still had a sizeable deductible and co-pays for visits and prescriptions. Despite the NHS's shortfalls, everything has been free in the UK. Entertainment - nearly all of London's museums are free for their perm collections. And things like theatre, concerts and music festivals tend to be much cheaper than in SF. Politics - while also polarising in the UK, it feels way less dystopian and soul destroying than it does in the US
What's the best thing about living in the UK?
Main Post:
There's been so much talk on this forum and others about the soaring cost of living, stagnating wages and falling quality of life especially in places like London. Is there still anything about the UK that would make you choose it over the US (not including obligations that force you to be in the UK.)
I've been thinking of making a move from the US (work visa is not an issue). I have gotten very tired of how isolated the US feels + travel distances (most of my family lives in Asia). But reading about how bad things in London have gotten is making me reconsider --- especially if an exodus in London means it'll end up getting gutted of its life like what happened to San Francisco. So wondering if there's still things in the UK which people stay for...
Top Comment: I'm going to leave this thread up since it's already got over 50 comments, but this is a more appropriate thread for r/iwantout , OP. See the text for rule 7. A reminder to all that politics is banned under rule 5, and that cuts in all directions.
MEGATHREAD: How to watch Love Island outside the UK
Main Post:
What is this megathread for?
This megathread is to allow users to share ways to watch Love Island outside the UK, and to reduce the amount of posts on the front page asking for links. We will keep this thread active throughout the 2021 season of Love Island, so please sort by 'New' to find the most recent links and streams.
Ways to watch
1. VPN and ITV Hub
Use a VPN (such as ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Surfshark etc.), set your location to 'United Kingdom' and watch via the ITV Hub.
2. Links/streams for individual episodes (sort comments by 'new' for latest links)
This thread is used to share links for individual episodes. Check the comments to find working links!
Some sites people recommend are:
If you're posting a link for others, make sure you say which episode it is so people know what they are watching! Sometimes the automod removes links thinking it's spam - if this happens, just message the mods and we'll approve it for you.
Country-specific
Country Method Link Notes UK ITV https://www.itv.com/hub/itv Love Island is shown at 9pm on weekdays on ITV2. USA Hulu https://www.hulu.com/ Love Island UK is set to air on Hulu on July 12th - two weeks behind the UK series. Sign up for an account (or use the free trial) and watch via the platform. Canada Hayu https://www.hayu.com/ According to u/MEC3273, you can usually watch via the Hayu app the day after it airs. Australia 9Now https://www.9now.com.au/ According to u/spookyjess666, you can watch episodes online via 9Now. Apparently there are loads of adverts though...Please let me know if there are any more, or if you have any more information, and I'll update the table above.
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This megathread will be updated continuously throughout the season. If you want to see how it works, check out the megathread for the 2019 season here.
If you know of any other ways to watch the show, please comment and I'll update the post.
Top Comment: Will anyone be posting links for All Stars here? I saw there was a pinned thread for LI All Stars. Is this thread going to live on?
What is nice about living in the UK that nobody talks about?
Main Post:
There seem to be a lot of British perks out there
Edit: Thank you all for your engagement and wonderful awards!! At first, I was very happy and pumped to get 100 replies and was trying to happily reply and upvote every comment. And before I know it, .... we are at 2k comments!! Many things mentioned here about the UK I've never heard before! Thank you!!
Top Comment:
Stuff just works. I don't need to think about tax - my employer deals with it, and VAT is included in prices. I can give suppliers the ability to unilaterally take money out of my bank account through direct debit and be confident they aren't going to steal all my money.
Even petty things: I can look up stock levels at my local B&Q and most of the time when I show up the things I want are available. Shop websites show opening times that mostly agree with reality. My bins are emptied consistently, and there is a low chance that they will be nicked or even pushed over overnight.
Best online streaming Irish and UK TV
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Can anyone recommend the best tv streaming website, I don’t have a tv and would like to indulge in Christmas tv. Would be looking for the usual stations, I can use rte player for Irish but would like bbc, utv, channel 4 etc too. I found this p, which is good but seems to pause every 5 minutes:
http://www.freeintertv.com/view/id-2119/United_Kingdom-Entertainment-0-1
id happily pay for a few days if there was such a service either, thanks for any tips.
Top Comment:
so far the best vpn that actually works on rte is Private VPN. NordVPN is great on everything but doesnt work on RTE. So Far only Private VPN ive found works on rte. Another service I use is https://expatprime.tv/ they stream all the UK channels as well as the irish the virgin media channels are only available sd tho, and its not perfect but for the most part it works, you can record stuff and they do have a catchup that provides everything played over the last 7 days. only problem is you cant download any of your recordings. Price is 15 euro a month for that one although they have a 14 day free trial . havent found any better service yet but always on the lookout :)
UK live TV streams
Main Post:
Hi all
Anyway to watch UK live TV via a single app on the shield. BBC / ITV / C4.. etc...
My 11 yr old amusingly calls it "Boomer TV".
Thks
Top Comment: Tivimate and https://techzyon.com/epg/
What sites do you use for live TV?
Main Post:
I normally like to watch live TV through the Xfinity tv app, but since I'm not at home I can't watch most channels. The premier for Batwoman and Supergirl's new season is tonight, and I'd like to watch live. Any recommended sites?
Top Comment: Ustvgo.tv
Why would I not want to live in the UK?
Main Post:
American here. I, like many others have a rather romantic image of the UK. I watch TV shows and movies from there, and probably only see the best places and most beautiful people. Give me some good reasons why I wouldn't want to spend a lot of time in, or move the the UK.
Top Comment:
Lived here all my life but travelled a lot so...
- Its too crowded in cities. I live and work in London and when I went to visit my folks who live 100 miles away I was genuinely surprised to hear everyone in their town speaking English. Not that I am against immigration per se just shocked me how used to not hearing English I was.
- An American I worked with hated the work culture over here, yes we work less hours and get more leave but she thought she could get ahead here by being more motivated and driven than anyone else. Apparently if you are used to being recognised by ambition you are in for a nasty shock.
- Its expensive and you will get taxed a lot. In the US you probably pay around $3.50 per gallon for petrol? In the UK its the equivalent of around $11 per US Gallon (taking into account exchange rate and differences in gallons!)
- Property is small and very expensive.
- The weather is shit.
Am sure others will add more...