The costs that surprise me most here are
the taxes (over 1/3 of your income, poof, gone and never ever to be seen again.) Taxes also pay for the NHS - and while a lot of people in the US suffer with no health insurance, the NHS is sometimes boosted up for more than it is. It's really not fantastic. Better than nothing, but only just. My husband and I pay for private health insurance, by the way. (£90 per month, and worth it.) That should tell you something about the NHS.
I'd love to know what you base this opinion on. The NHS is a fantastic service and like nothing else in the world.