Burger here, I’ve been living in Yurp for a while now but still haven’t made it to the UK. As a 'mercan I take it with a grain of salt when Euros tell me transit is “bad” anywhere, but I do hear its supposed to be “bad” outside of London.
Do you guys own cars? Is owning a car necessary to live where you are?
I find trains are often relatively affordable but you have to have a good understanding of the system. For example, an anytime return between Manchester to London on the direct train can be £300 which people are rightly outraged by.
But you can buy Split Tickets for part of the journey, and/or take different trains to cut the costs down. You can do Manchester to London return, even booking only the week before, for £50, if you go via Crewe and take the comfier and less crowded, but slightly slower, West Midlands Rail train.
You shouldn’t have to know the system so well to get cheap fares, but it’s not impossible to do