I have flown hundreds of GA hours all over Europe including the UK, hundreds of hours all over the USA (42 states and counting), and hundreds of hours in Africa (26 different countries there). I have come to the conclusion that, for basic "ease and joy of flying", the USA cannot be beaten (I am not from the USA, if that matters).
Go for it, do the PPL in the USA. Yeah, you have to pay a bit for accommodation but the cost of the actual flying is SO much lower that you can comfortably put in more hours, and not always be watching the hobbes etc. People are generally much friendlier and more open than in the UK too.
I can strongly recommend both Channel Islands Aviation (Camarillo, CA) and Cirrus Aviation (Sarasota, FL) if you want to do an FAA PPL. They can both accept foreign students.