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

Even though I'm half-American, I never actually lived in the US until I was 18. In 2015, I took the step of moving to Boston to attend Boston University, also known as BU, for a four-year bachelor's degree.

Growing up, my parents and older sister gave rave reviews about college and life in general in the US, so going to university there was my top choice.

But during my time in Boston, I quickly came to the conclusion that I wanted to move back to the UK after graduation. Three years later, I don't regret my choice.

There's a lot I don't regret about the four years I lived in Boston. I can't say enough about how warm the Americans I met from the outset were. For a nervous 18-year-old, their friendliness made the transatlantic move that much more seamless.

A few other things I miss include the food (I still dream about the cannoli I used to get from Mike's Pastry in Boston's North End), the buzz at my university during big events like the annual Boston Marathon, and the picturesque walks to class during the fall with views of the Charles River.

I found a lot of love in Boston, which is why it'll always be a special place for me. It's where I met some of my best friends and my boyfriend. Though he now lives in the UK too, we both plan on visiting Boston at some point soon as our younger siblings go to college there now.

Sure, I was excited about starting college. From the moment I got my acceptance, I remember dreaming about what it would be like to be a college student in the US.

But on that first seven-and-a-half-hour flight from London Heathrow to Boston Logan, I remember not being able to concentrate on any movie or book. As the hours passed on the flight, it reminded me of how far away I was going from everything and everyone I'd known. Though at the time I thought that feeling was excitement, I can now admit that it was mostly nervousness.

Leading up to graduation, when I'd already decided I was moving back to the UK, everyone I knew at BU seemed to want to stay in Boston or move to New York City.

After four years at BU, I'd felt like I'd explored most of Boston. I'd also visited New York City for weekend trips, and always left it feeling overwhelmed by the size of the buildings and how rushed everyone who lives there seemed.

London is geographically bigger than New York City, but there are plenty of parks, low-rise buildings, and open spaces that make me feel a bit more at ease.

In London, I've come to appreciate how efficient public transportation is. The bus and the London Underground, known as the Tube, are pretty seamless besides when workers go on strike, interrupting service. The longest I generally have to wait for the underground is just a few minutes.

By comparison, I remember waiting up to 15 minutes for the tram to arrive in Boston when commuting to my senior-year internship. Friends who stayed in Boston have told me about spending money on Ubers or having to lease cars to get to work.

However, there is a lot of progress being made to renovate the city's public transportation, including an $8 billion investment plan by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority to renovate and modernize it to improve accessibility.

I'll admit the UK isn't known for fabulous weather and has had its fair share of turbulent weather like Storm Eunice in recent months; scientists speaking to the BBC say such weather conditions have worsened with climate change. The same can be said for the US, where ABC News reported climate change has contributed to the frequency of raging wildfires, dangerous flooding, and Arctic snow conditions.

But on the average, I prefer London's standard endless rainy days in the fall and winter to the snowy conditions on the East Coast, which lasted well into the beginning of spring while I lived there.

Weather in the US and the UK can vary massively depending on where you are, but I've definitely warmed up to London's stereotypical cloudy, drizzly days.

From 2015 to 2019 — the years I was living in the US — there were over 1,800 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. One that sticks out from my time living in the US — since it happened during my freshman year shortly after I moved — was the Orlando Pulse Nightclub shooting, in which 49 people died.

People can still apply for licenses to own and shoot shotguns and rifles in the UK, but handguns were made illegal in 1997 following the Dunblane school shooting in 1996, in which 16 children died. While President Biden has referred to gun violence in the US as "an epidemic," the UK deals with mostly knife-related violent crime. According to Statista, between 2014/2015 through to 2019/2020, over 1,400 homicide offenses involving a knife or sharp instrument took place in the UK.

Violent crime is still pervasive in the UK, but speaking from my own personal experience I've felt safer here with the relatively strict government laws on guns compared to the US.

Travel has come to be a major reason why I don't regret leaving the US. In the UK, it's relatively easy and inexpensive to visit continental Europe. I've hopped on a two-hour train to Paris and taken a similar-length flight to Barcelona to see my parents who live there. And it's just a two-hour flight to get to some of the world's best skiing in Austria, where I spent 10 days in February.

In comparison, most of the travel I did in the US was domestic. That said, America is way bigger, so it did feel like I was in a different country whenever I was in a new state. Trips I took included a four-hour train to New York City, and a three-and-a-half hour flight to Miami.

The furthest I went to different countries included Playa Del Carmen in Mexico for Spring Break — a nearly five-hour direct flight from Boston — and Puerto Rico, a four-hour flight away, during Thanksgiving. Of course, it's worth noting that depending on where you live in the US traveling to those destinations wouldn't take as long.

Four years of missing birthdays, milestones, and general family time was more than enough for me. In the UK, I love the fact I can see my parents and siblings regularly for dinners, lunches, or just to hang out.

While there are plenty of things I miss about living in the US, the ultimate reason why I don't regret leaving is the fact that I now can spend more time with the people I love the most — in the city I love the most.