> I can't say that banks here provide a much better service than I received in the US.

Really? "ATM" withdraws are free in the UK, money transfers are instant, checks are dead, and account data easily downloadable as e.g. CSV.

I've had US and UK accounts and it is night and day. Who were you banking with in the US who gave you as good of an experience as a UK bank because I'd love to move to them?

Ally is Good. Schwab is another one. The problem is that you will be hard pressed to find a excellent bank that has a large physical presence.

Get a local credit union and you should be more than happy.

Another shout out to Ally. Not affiliated with them; have just used them for many, many years. They reimburse ATM fees (used to be unlimited; now capped per month); no minimum balances; and have interest checking.

The only times I get frustrated are when you need a lot of cash (think buying stuff from Craigslist). Incoming wires are free; outgoing wires are reasonably priced (and is how I submitted funds to the attorney in a different state to close on our house).

The few times I’ve had to contact customer support my wait time was in the single digit minutes.

Many other things I could add, but I already sound like a shill. Schwab is also great for ETFs. No experience with their other banking products.

I never lived in the UK but I've heard good things about Monzo and Starling.

If you look into the fintech space, there's a stark difference between Europe and the North American market. We have several players entering retail banking every year in Europe, and that's partly thanks to regulations.

+1 for Monzo. Used it since it was in beta and now as my main account. Not quite ready to shut my other account yet...but maybe in a year or two

Yeah, and when did cell providers stop sucking...?