Welcome to Shrewsbury - USA

Former Telford resident Brian McInnes has moved from Telford to Shrewsbury. So why, asks Andrew Owen, has he had to travel several thousand miles?

It's not unusual for people to move from Telford to Shrewsbury.

However, the case of Brian McInnes is slightly more unusual – he's gone from Telford in Shropshire, to Shrewsbury in Pennsylvania.

And while his new home may share the same name as Shropshire's county town, Shrewsbury Pennsylvania is a very different place to live. For one thing, it's tiny, with a population of just 3,700, according to the latest figures.

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"It's a lovely little town," says Brian, who moved there from Ketley Bank just over six years ago. "I feel very much a local here."

Brian lived in Telford's Hollinswood for 24 years after serving in the Royal Air Force.

He upped sticks to the US after meeting an American lady, Linda, whom he married in 2003.

Although Brian's three children remain in Britain – one son, James, lives in Leegomery and runs a carpet and flooring business – he is very happy with his decision to emigrate.

"I love living up here," he says, down the phone from Pennsylvania. "The people are fantastic and I've made some very good friends."

Brian's US home is in a rural town on the Susquehanna Trail, a route leading from Upstate New York to Baltimore and the Chesapeake Bay.

Shrewsbury is 45 miles from Baltimore, in the neighbouring state of Maryland, and has become popular with the city's commuters, partly because of the space and lack of crime, and partly because Pennsylvania has lower taxes and its homes are cheaper.

"The US is not as united as people think it is," says Brian. "Different states have different taxes and laws."

They can also have very different weather. "We're 1,000 feet above sea level," he explains. "It can be clear in Maryland but snowing in Pennsylvania.

"You also don't get that gradual change from winter to summer that you get in England. It's like it's winter one day and summer the next. And you don't get long weeks of cloud, not even in the winter, and the snow can stick around for months."

But the weather also has its disadvantages. Brian says that in the summer it can get so hot, and the nights so humid, that air conditioning is a necessity, not a luxury.

"And air conditioning is expensive. There's not much of a break between the winter and the summer energy bills."

And there have been other adjustments as part of life with Uncle Sam.

Brian, who works in factory maintenence, was shocked at how little holiday American workers receive: "You're lucky to get two weeks off in a year."

But, he says, the standard of living is very good. Take his home, for example.

"My house over here is what is termed as a 'Rancher'. It is a bungalow with a full basement. I think it's a tax dodge to get more space for nothing, as the basement has a family room, bedroom, laundry, shower-room and bathroom, a gym, which I built myself from a play room, and a small workshop.

"Unlike in the UK most backyards are open plan. There are no fences. The only part of our back yard that is fenced in is the area around the swimming pool and deck. This is required by law for safety reasons – to stop young children straying and getting access to the pool."

And there is virtually no crime where he is – partly because of America's gun laws, and partly because it's a different culture. "You can leave your car windows down at the supermarket and if you're going out at night you don't worry about locking the front door."

Mind you, it's not all good news. The Pennsylvanian Shrewsbury, unlike its Shropshire namesake, is a dry town. No bars, no pubs, just a liquor store and a beer store. The nearest proper bar is more than four miles away, in the aptly-titled New Freedom.

But where did this Shrewsbury get its name? Brian has looked into the history of his new town and says it was called Strassburg by the original German settlers.

Strassburg became Shrewsbury in 1830. By that time the town's inhabitants were mainly of English origin, but Brian doesn't know if there is a direct link between those people and Shropshire: "I don't know where or how the naming of the town as 'Shrewsbury' came about. One can only guess."

As for going home to England, he's quite happy where he is, thank you very much.

"If I ever came back to live in the UK I doubt I would move back to Telford. Going by what my son says and by what I have read in the Shropshire Star online, Telford has become a nightmare for motorists, with ill-conceived traffic patterns and lights and charging for parking wherever you go.

"Over here charging for parking at shopping centers is virtually unknown. Parking in large cities is a different matter. There are parking meters and multi-story parking which can be fairly expensive. However nobody goes grocery shopping in a city."

Anyway, he says, he can stay in touch with family and friends back home quite easily. His children have been to visit and there is always the internet.

"I have fond memories of Telford and its people," he says. "And I read the Shropshire Star online every day."