Meet the Americans moving to Britain - MSN, 31/03/2025 | Stacks Property Search and Acquisition

MSN, 31/03/2025

As the South East falls out of favour with commuters, Bristol and Bath take the lead

Quoting Sharon Barnard of Stacks Property Finders

Shawn and his wife, Marcia, have just landed back home in Atlanta, Georgia, after several days spent house hunting in the Cotswolds. The couple, who are in their late 50s, started looking for a holiday property in Europe a couple of years ago. Now, however, they are considering making a permanent move across the Atlantic.

“Safety is what drove our initial search in France, but then our son recently spent part of his university studies in London and we realised it would be nice to speak to people in our native tongue – so started looking in the UK,” says Shawn, who owns an accountancy firm and doesn’t wish to give his surname. “Although we live in a very safe community, we are near downtown Atlanta and there’s a lot of gun violence. Also, with the current political climate, I truly think we are in a downward trend in the United States right now.”

Sharon Barnard, of Stacks Property Search, has been helping Shawn and Marcia with their property search. Buying in the Cotswolds gives them a chance to enjoy an outdoorsy lifestyle. “We both enjoy hiking and walking and we don’t really have that where we live,” says Marcia, a self-employed bookkeeper. “We also have two dogs and it’s great that so many of the pubs in the UK are dog-friendly. In the States, many places don’t allow them – they’re worried about lawsuits.”

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