Steve Cameron: U.S., especially California, is home

Once in awhile, a reader will send me an e-mail to express disagreement with something I've written.

OK, I'll confess.

Lots and lots and lots of readers type out angry messages. And that's fine, because part of a columnist's job is to spark debate.

Agree, disagree, embrace a completely different point of view...

Excellent.

Let's hear it.

But the point today is that, from time to time, readers bring up the fact that I lived three years in Britain. It's a point of conversation because I've written about the difference in language, about universal health care systems common in Europe, etc.

And when somebody is REALLY angry at me, occasionally they'll bang out an e-mail and say: "If you liked everything in Britain so much, why don't you just go back?"

After the first few dozen e-mails demanding that I just hop on the next plane back across the Atlantic, however, I started thinking...Why not?

What are plusses and minuses of living in California's Central Valley -- with occasional domestic and overseas trips for work on magazine and book projects -- as opposed to settling down once and for all in the United Kingdom?

There are some really cool things I miss about life "across the pond" -- which I spent mostly in northern Scotland.

Britain is fun, the people are civil, and I suspect that -- generally speaking -- Brits have a better sense of humor than Americans.

I've mentioned before that I'm a soccer junkie, and the team I follow (Arsenal) is based in north London. I really, really miss taking the train down to games with my mates.

So what else?

Well, with a little effort you can live almost anywhere in the UK without owning a car -- which I think is a giant plus. I've never been a "car guy" and when you remove auto maintenance and insurance from your monthly budget (along with medical and prescription costs, naturally), there's a surprising amount of fun money hanging around.

Public transportation is terrific, and free if you're old enough (which I am). And Brits walk just about everywhere. Once you get used to it, your overall fitness just naturally improves.

On the down side, you DO need to carry an umbrella most of the time.

Most of Great Britain gets gray and rainy too often for most tastes, including mine. The flip side of that, though, is that despite northern Scotland being about the same latitude as most Scandinavian countries, it never really feels seriously cold.

Golf courses are open year-round. Even in the dead of winter, temperatures rarely dip to freezing.

Compare that to Minneapolis, Chicago or even New York.

Yikes!

I would rather not spend the rest of my life alone -- having the right partner is a MUCH better arrangement -- but just for the sake of argument here, let's say I get stuck by myself.

So then...

Stay in the Valley, or return to the charms and social safety of Britain?

I'm not a "city guy," either -- so mid-sized communities like Merced or Buckie on Scotland's Moray Coast are right in my comfort zone.

So it comes down to choosing.

And here, perhaps surprisingly, I realize how much I enjoy writing for the Sun-Star. And that's a professional treat NOT available to me in England or Scotland.

Not sure why, but Brits don't have much use for American journalists.

Is that a strong enough reason for choosing one continent over another?

Maybe not, but there's another factor that seems to trump everything in a close decision.

Remember those bumper stickers so many rednecks used to put on their cars, the ones that said: "America: Love It or Leave It"?

Well, I've loved it AND left it.

The best I can do to explain why I returned comes down to a single, simple word.

Home.

Steve Cameron is a freelance columnist for the Sun-Star. He can be reached at stevecameron1000@gmail.com.