hmmm, I would say that, with the exception of the cost of living (to be fair, I moved from North Carolina, USA --not exactly new york city -- to Melbourne Australia), I have found the opposite of almost everything you were told to be true.

Sure, you'll get homesick, and it is EXPENSIVE to go back home and it's not something you do for a weekend, but I have found the people to be extremely friendly in all manner of situations, and even though the cost of living is high, so are salaries. My partner and I save about as much in Australia as we did back in the US. I still find a $140 theatre ticket to be prohibitively expensive, but there's plenty of free stuff to do and bargains to be found if you know where to look.

I don't blame you for deciding to stick with home, but just remember the ones who "took the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference". For our part, we came out here because, in spite of moments of intense regret about the decision (we moved here four months ago so we still have some adjustment issues!), they are just fleeting moments. If we HADN'T come, we would've regretted it for the rest of our lives!

Good luck in the UK though There are worse places to live than England for sure! (I lived there for three years and loved it, although I wouldn't live there again because I'm a child of the sun and I couldn't handle the dreary cold weather!)