I spent 4 years in the US, but now I live in the UK. Here are 6 reasons I have no regrets leaving.

Maria NoyenMar 26, 2022, 16:37 IST

I graduated from Boston University in 2019 and have lived in London ever since.Maria Noyen/Insider

I live in the UK but I spent four years in Boston, Massachusetts, for college from 2015 to 2019.
My mind was pretty made up midway through college that I would be moving home after graduation.

I moved to the US at 18 for college. After four years away, I came straight back to London.

Maria Noyen's dad dropped her off at Heathrow Airport for her first solo flight to Boston in August 2015.Bob Noyen

Before I get to why I moved back home, it's only fair to mention that there's a lot I enjoyed about my time living in Boston.

Food and friends are just some of the things I miss about Boston.Paul Marotta/Getty Images, Maria Noyen/Insider

Boston, and the US in general, just felt worlds away from home.

The flight to Boston from London is over seven hours long.Google Maps

Everyone I knew in college was either staying in Boston or moving to New York City, a place that felt too overwhelming for me.

After four years, Boston felt a little small to me, but New York City seemed too overwhelming.ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images, Maria Noyen/Insider

Public transportation in the UK is way more efficient than in the US, even though we do have the odd Tube strike.

The Boston "T" was pretty slow compared to the London tube.Maria Noyen/Insider, Robert Alexander/Getty Images

The UK has a reputation for its gray rainy days, but I prefer them to the winter snow storms on the East Coast.

Weather in the US is generally more extreme than in the UK.Maria Noyen/Insider

While the UK isn't crime-free, the frequency of gun-related violence in the US put me off living there.

Protestors gather for the March For Our Lives in Boston, 2018 (left); protestors gather for the March To Stop Knife Crime in London, 2019 (right).Craig F. Walker/The Boston Globe via Getty Images, Hollie Adams/Getty Images

Traveling anywhere outside of the US felt like a long haul. I love the fact I can get on a train or plane in the UK and easily get to countries in Europe within a couple of hours.

Recent trips Maria Noyen has taken include going to France and Austria.Maria Noyen/Insider

Traveling anywhere outside of the US felt like a long haul. I love the fact I can get on a train or plane in the UK and easily get to countries in Europe within a couple of hours.

Four years living on a separate continent from my family was more than enough of a reason to move back home.

The author and her father.Maria Noyen/Insider

This once-thriving Baltimore marketplace has been mostly abandoned for the last 40 years. I visited and thought it felt frozen in time.

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I spent 4 years in the US, but now I live in the UK. Here are 6 reasons I have no regrets leaving.

I moved to the US at 18 for college. After four years away, I came straight back to London.

Before I get to why I moved back home, it's only fair to mention that there's a lot I enjoyed about my time living in Boston.

Boston, and the US in general, just felt worlds away from home.

Everyone I knew in college was either staying in Boston or moving to New York City, a place that felt too overwhelming for me.

Public transportation in the UK is way more efficient than in the US, even though we do have the odd Tube strike.

The UK has a reputation for its gray rainy days, but I prefer them to the winter snow storms on the East Coast.

While the UK isn't crime-free, the frequency of gun-related violence in the US put me off living there.

Traveling anywhere outside of the US felt like a long haul. I love the fact I can get on a train or plane in the UK and easily get to countries in Europe within a couple of hours.

Four years living on a separate continent from my family was more than enough of a reason to move back home.