It’s been about six months since I officially moved to the UK, and now that I’m visiting my family for the first time since then, I keep getting asked what it’s like to be home.

I guess the thing is that it doesn’t really feel like home anymore.  Six months isn’t such a long time, but I spent a lot of time over in the UK before I decided to move there forever. Deciding to live somewhere forever is a pretty big mental shift, and you can either pine away for the home you knew or roll with things and make yourself a new home.  I’m not a big fan of pining away.

So, at the risk of sounding like a jerkface holier-than-thou ex-pat, I have to say that I am feeling kind of America’d-out, and more confident than ever that I made the right decision for me.

Don’t get me wrong - I am doing my absolute best to use my British paycheck to revive the American economy, because if there is one thing America is awesome at, it’s selling stuff.   We were lucky to arrive during all the 50% off summer sales, and even with the exchange rate being less awesome than it once was, it’s still cheaper to shop for clothes in the states, and with better selection, too.  Zappos.com ships to America for free, too, and hey hey Zappos, woo!

But on the other hand, I cringe at all the angry drivers and the food additives.  I cannot believe how much food packaging I have thrown away since I got here.  I feel brainwashed by all the commercials on the television and the way they try to make every product purchase some kind of life-affirming expression of your personality… as though your existence means nothing beyond the flavor of air freshener you chose.  The prescription-only drug commercials really make me sick to my stomach.  The commercialism of everything and a nation of people who so often seem to take their convenient lifestyle completely, totally and utterly for granted.  There is a serious sense of entitlement in America that I have yet to encounter commonly in the UK.

I guess that’s why I moved.  Please don’t hate me.  I still think America is an awesome place to be from.