When Michael Rosenblum retired from a successful career in television production last year, he could have followed the path of many wealthy Americans to places such as Panama, Miami or another retirement hotspot. Instead, the 71-year-old and his wife Lisa, 61, chose a village in the Cotswolds.
Until a few years ago, Michael lived in Midtown Manhattan, in a prime-location apartment above New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). But in late 2022, he and Lisa swapped city life for a bucolic corner of rural England.
The move transformed what their money could buy as he believes the UK is a bargain compared with America. In New York, the couple had a two-bedroom apartment.
In the Cotswolds, near Burford, they have a 5,000 sq ft home with three acres of formal gardens that cost roughly the same – in the region of £3m.
Michael says the timing helped. The couple bought shortly after the mini-Budget in September 2022, when the pound was valued at $1.07 against the dollar, giving American buyers like the Rosenblums a major currency advantage.
For many Britons, the Cotswolds is one of the least affordable parts of the country. But for wealthy Americans leaving New York, California or the Hamptons, prime rural England can offer good value.
Michael says a four-bedroom detached house in the Cotswolds, an area increasingly popular with Americans and celebrities, can cost around £2m to £3m. A comparable property in the Hamptons, he says, could easily be $15m to $20m.
“People talk about retiring to Costa Rica, Panama or Miami, but the UK offers extraordinary value compared with New York.”
Michael spent much of his career building news operations around the world. His clients included the BBC, NBC and the Guardian and he partnered with Al Gore to help the former US vice-president set up his own news channel.
He says he made and invested money carefully over many years, and he and Lisa now take a regular income from savings and investments held with an investment bank in New York.
The couple have no children, which simplifies their financial needs, and they have very comfortable retirement income that goes further in the UK than back in Michael’s home city.
In New York, some of Michael’s costs included $30,000 a year for private health insurance, $1,200 a month to rent a parking space, and $1,000 for dinner for two at his favourite sushi restaurant.
In the UK, Michael uses the NHS through a highly rated local surgery and says he has been amazed by the quality of care.
A few years ago, he fell over while out walking, which resulted in a brain bleed that had to be treated with neurosurgery at a hospital in Oxford. In the US, he believes the treatment could have cost more than $100,000. In the UK, it cost him nothing personally at the point of use.
He says: “I’m astonished at the quality of the medical care. The NHS is fantastic. Everybody complains about it, but you don’t know what the alternative is. I go to the dentist and have a tooth worked on, I’ll come out and they’ll say, ‘I’m really sorry, but that’s £140’.
“It was $500 just to walk into my dentist in Manhattan and get my teeth cleaned, and the same treatment would likely have cost $1,200! I get a haircut at a great place locally for £25 (plus a £15 tip), In Manhattan my barber was $150, before tip.”
Michael still has private health insurance, largely to cover him while in the US, at a cost of about £20,000 a year, but says he is considering dropping it.
Tax is more complicated for Americans looking to retire abroad. Michael has to navigate both tax systems and the double tax treaty between the US and UK. However, he says his overall tax rate is lower than it was in New York, where federal, state and city taxes combined meant he was paying tax of around 52 per cent.
He believes UK taxes also offer better value in return, including free healthcare, help with childcare costs and cheaper university fees than in the US.
There is one negative Michael has about the UK though, and that’s support for young entrepreneurs.
“I wouldn’t have built my business in the UK. I built three or four companies on my own starting from a young age. It was easy to find investors, and it was easy to find people who take risks. Here I don’t think you get that. I don’t think I could have had the same opportunity here starting out.”
But as a place to retire, Michael says Britain is hard to beat. He praises the countryside, the proximity to Europe, and the country’s variety despite its small size and the friendliness of the people in his village. Despite the Cotswolds’ reputation as a magnet for Americans, he says he has not met many other US expats locally.
“I lived in Manhattan most of my life. The people there are extremely distant, cold and rather unfriendly. Here in this village everyone is very, very friendly. In one of the places I lived in, I didn’t actually say hello to my neighbour for the first 10 years.”
Michael now spends his retirement playing golf, walking the dog, writing books and travelling. He recently spent a week in Portugal and is next planning a holiday to Cornwall.
He and Lisa are fully involved in local life. They edit The Wychwood Magazine, which publishes news and information for West Oxfordshire communities, and help manage a local art gallery.
Michael says he is deeply disillusioned with the US, particularly politically, and cannot imagine moving back. He is due to obtain UK citizenship this year.
“I would never move back. The UK is a fantastic retirement destination,” he adds.
