Why I left America to study in London – and might not go back

The first time I seriously considered leaving home for university was on November 9, 2016. I was ten years old, and I had gone to bed believing Hillary Clinton would become the United States’ 45th president - and the first woman to enter office. You can imagine my dismay when I woke up the next morning to a different reality.

Nine years later, and I’m here, studying and living in London. Without fail, whenever I tell someone that I grew up in the US, they ask, “Why did you choose to study in the UK?” It’s a good question, but I don’t have a simple answer. It feels like it just happened, out of the blue, and suddenly I was packing bags and moving into dorms halfway across the world. I always knew I wanted to be at least two hours away from home, but sometimes I find myself wishing I could hop on a bus to go home - not board a plane.

I used to feel proud of where I came from. I’m not sure I can say the same now.

In many ways, moving abroad felt natural. Both of my parents immigrated to the United States, in part looking for better opportunities than they could find in their home countries. I know how hard they worked to adjust to a new reality and live in a language that wasn’t their mother tongue. Many of their friends also immigrated to the US, travelling back to their home country to visit family on the holidays. The idea of leaving home never seemed unusual to me. I had met so many expats that becoming one myself felt inevitable.

Finances were also a contributing factor. Studying in the UK is much cheaper than any US college - even with London prices. I’m planning on applying for a postgraduate degree, so it’s important to think long-term about financial sustainability.

Now that I’m in London, I absolutely love it. I’m still shocked by how big of a city it is, and British accents sometimes throw me off, but it’s still been an incredible experience. That said, I still feel out of place sometimes - but then again, I often felt out of place back home, too. I don’t fit the stereotypical image of an American, and ironically, I sometimes feel more American in the UK than I do in the US. At the same time, when I visit home, I feel more international than ever. I imagine many people at Imperial can relate.

I had only ever planned to stay in London for a couple years, earning my undergraduate degree then going back home, but lately I’ve been reconsidering.

The news has become my new internet addiction, and reading headlines like, “The Pharmaceutical Industry Heads Into Musk’s Wood Chipper” and “Trump’s Cuts Target Next Generation of Scientists and Public Health Leaders” gives me pause. Not only do these budget cuts target research institutions, but they’re having widespread effects on universities across the country. The postgraduate program I once envisioned attending in the US might not exist in the same way by the time I graduate.

I always knew I wanted to be at least two hours away from home, but sometimes I wish I could hop on a bus to go home – not board a plane.

Beyond that, I’m thinking more about the environment I’d be returning to. The longer I stay in London, the more I appreciate what I had growing up in the US - the quiet suburbs, the big front and back yards, the sense of home. But more than anything, I used to feel proud of where I came from. I’m not sure I can say the same now.

This past November, on Election Day, my mom texted me pictures of boarded-up shops near the Capitol building she saw on her commute to work. The news worries me - firing and replacing of federal personnel, rollbacks on DEI initiatives, sweeping changes to the education system, cuts to foreign aid, I could go on. And for me specifically, as someone considering a career in medicine, I wonder if I want to work in a system as deeply broken as healthcare in the US.

At the end of the day, I don’t know what’s next. I don’t know where I’ll end up or what I’ll be doing in a few years. Lately, every day seems to bring a new, almost unbelievable development, and all I can do is stay informed and take things one step at a time.