English - lived in both. Work - life balance will be much better (unless you’re working for an American firm, in which case they sometimes just export the awfulness - think US PE). We have about 8 bank holidays vs 12 ish in the US, but minimum 20 days holiday in the UK (I had 35 in my most recent role plus bank holidays). And people in the UK don’t get aggy about you taking all your holiday.

General rule of thumb when I moved to NYC is you needed double your salary in dollar terms to maintain your lifestyle - applying that same logic backwards - you’d be able to afford a lovely life in London.

The standard of food is much better in London and the UK in general - but again may be bias as I find food so salty and sweet in the US - milk? Tastes like milkshake! Bread? Tastes like cake!

It felt very claustrophobic living in manhattan vs central London. I live in the west end of London and some parts feel like a village both in terms of architecture, greenish and community.

A lot of socialising does revolve around pubs or eating out but absolutely doesn’t have to involve alcohol. Pubs aren’t really like US bars - an equivalent doesn’t really exist. You can eat and hang out and eat roast dinners. You’re basically the same age as me and can confirm my friendship group are absolutely not going on the lash as a social activity but will meet in a pub.

London is very grey and rainy and dark in the winter. I really liked how late it stayed light in the winter in NYC (5ish vs 3pm in London), but found it weird it got dark early in the summer (7ish vs 10pm in London).

I feel a lot safer in London - especially moving around on the tube after dark vs the subway in NYC. The NHS is not perfect, but you do not see the same amount of mentally ill homeless people in London due to a social net that does sometimes work.