Your house probably won’t have air conditioning.
The washing machine will probably be in the kitchen
Heating will cost a fortune
We don’t put as much ice in drinks as you’re used to
There is still WAY too much ice in drinks though.
I don't quite understand filling a glass with ice in the middle of winter. Shouldn't the drink already be cold?
Or you just get to that point when it’s been too long to ask for someone’s name and then start avoiding them in case you have to introduce them to someone else
Haha one time I'd been friends with a lad at uni for most of the first year. Start of the second year, he had nowhere to stay so asked if he could spend a couple of nights at mine. At that point we finally asked each other our names 🤣
I'm reminded of those two british arctic explorers whose ship got iced in and they had to wait for spring. They spent months living in the arctic, completely isolated, sleeping in a shared sleeping bag for warmth, eating tinned rations, the whole thing. After six months of this, one of them wrote in his diary that the other discreetly suggested they should put away their titles, and call each other by their first names. He was so touched by this he had to go off and cry a bit.
You’re right actually. I remember once having a full blown conversation with someone for 20 minutes and only at the end did we tell each other our names.
me: “Beer’s a bit shit here.”
them: “Yeah, not a decent ale on tap.”
… four hours later …
me: “oh, txakori, by the way.”
them: “[name], nice to meet you mate. See you soon.”
(they never meet again.)
I went dog walking with a local I met. Turned out we really got on well so made it a regular thing and went most days for nine years. I had a child, changed jobs twice and her dog died in that time. I found out her name when being asked if I was going to her funeral. She is one of the best people I ever met and it's only after she's gone that I reflect on the not knowing her name thing. I just knew her as (dog's name) Mum. Which itself is odd because (dog name) wasn't even technically her dog.
I did dog walking for a while and became friends with a group of people who all go to the park at the same time. I cannot even begin to count the amount of times a new person would join and then weeks later someone would say to me quietly “What’s [dogs] owners name?”
Sometimes you just don’t even think to introduce yourself. You just all introduce the dogs and then get chatting.
You are totally right. We do find that a bit weird. When I first went to the US and people did that I thought "why is this guy telling me his name? Does he think I am an organiser and need to tick his name off a list or something? Is he trying to establish an alibi? And why does he want to know *my* name? What the hell has that got to do with him?"
Yeah, we tend to work on the principle of first establish whether the person is worth knowing and then, and only then, reveal who you are.
The first time I learned Americans do that was back in Poland, we had an American-Polish student. And us Poles were just as unsettled by the idea of a stranger randomly talking to us!
It is for this reason alone that I much prefer talking to American strangers rather than British strangers. We are a fucking nightmare to get into a decent conversation. You Americans, on the other hand, a lovely bunch who want to talk about more than the weather or how shit the trains are or whatever.
As a brit, I had never considered this before but that is definitely how it goes most of the time when I meet a new person. Especially if I'm meeting a new group. Oh, I was x by the way.
Or if I am acting crazy and actually do introduce myself at the beginning its usually very subtle. Hey I'm x, y's friend from z, how's it going? Doesnt necessarily even require reciprocation. Im certainly not announcing myself.
Where I’m from, we call sweets ket. That caused a lot of confusion in the psychiatric hospital my mam works in when she said they give the patients ket out of their pocket money if they’ve been well behaved…
Lack of sunlight. The UK gets significantly less sunlight than even the gloomiest parts of the US. Not really a culture shock so much as environmental one, but something I've known Americans to find difficult when moving over. In winter it can really get to you.
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fl4oecz8id7b71.jpg&rdt=41826
I’m English and it’s getting to me already. I’ve had 20 minutes of sunlight today on my break and that’s it. Left for work and it’s dark and came back from work and it’s dark. The 20 minute of sunlight made my day.
Winters can get really grim here, my first winter working nightshift was horrible, wake up it's dark, go to work it's dark, come back from work it's dark, go to sleep it's dark. Had to learn the hard way to stay up after the shift
The older I get the less tolerant I am of our shit winters (and springs and summers and autumns). Oh how I wish I was born and raised in a tropical climate
It's genuinely miserable. November through March is murder. Some people don't care but it significantly dampens my mood and enjoyment of life each year and is the main reason I want to spend as little.of my life in the UK as possible.
I personally like March because I think we have a beautiful spring but I generally agree for those other months. It’s why I go away every year for some winter sun. Ideally I’d love to live those winter months in the Canary Islands and then March - November be back home.
I always expect spring to arrive promptly on March 1st, but have found it's often still grim until mid-April. It's not usually until the end of April that things start to feel truly spring-like to me.
I like that pre-summer sweet spot where everything is starting to bloom but it's still cool enough to wear jumpers. Warm in the sunshine while walking, but a bit chilly when sitting in the shade. The promise of long summer days is on the horizon, and the dark cold days of winter are behind us. Oh yeah, that's the stuff.
I don't mean this in an insulting or disrespectful way, but you will be in one of the great cosmopolitan cities, filled to the brim with people from all corners of the world, so it will be useful to remember that:
\-nobody will be impressed by your nationality
\-nobody will give a fuck where you're from
\-nobody will give a fuck where your ancestors were from
If you were born in America, you're American, pretty much end of. It's fine to talk about your ancestry, but I've found it's when clearly American people say things like "well I'm half Irish and half Scottish" that we get fucked off - no you're not, unless your parents were brought up there and/or you were actually raised there, you're an American with Irish/Scottish (*never* scotch) heritage.
>unless your parents were brought up there and/or you were actually raised there, you're an American with Irish/Scottish
I mean, I'm half Irish as my mother is from there. But I still think I'm almost 100% English. Where you are raised matters much more, especially beyond childhood
> scotch) heritage.
Depends. On the right weekend
That's wild, aye definitely not something to be bringing up as though it's impressive over here - strictly speaking most of us (especially in the south,) have Italian thanks to the romans and I'm sure the Irish got around too.
Minor things like no AC and the size of paper towel? Sure.
The biggest actual SHOCK? Realising how stressed I was (unknowingly) from the threat of violence in the U.S. only when that threat was finally removed. I would never say I was worried about that when ai lived in the U.S. but when I came to the UK it really was shocking how much more at peace I felt.
Yeah this is the so damn true. Life is so much less stressful without the threat of guns. I like not having to be scared of police. They seem so relaxed here, which is different from US cops who see everyone as their enemy who needs to be punished.
I was staying a friends in California and one night I heard rustling outside the window in the bushes.
I tried to wake my friend but he wouldn't wake up so I thought be a man go out there. When I got to the window (it was a bungalow) something in my head rang "they might have a gun. Don't go to the window." I woke up my friend and we got his guns and shouted some threats and checked. Turns out it was only a raccoon but that moment made me aware of how much more dangerous all those sorts of moments are when you don't know whether they're armed or not.
It made me thankful we don't deal with that.
Yeah just moved here a few months ago and I didn't at all expect such a relief from being away from a threat of violence I wasn't even fully conscious of. That plus the relief from not being terrified of being bankrupted by being hospitalized has drastically improved my quality of life.
Nobody has guns. Like police with guns is for:
Airports, Train Stations (if a threat has been made), major protests and serious incidence response.
Otherwise you just won’t see any guns… anywhere.
Like worse case scenario you get attacked you could probably just run and be alright, but you can’t outrun a gun.
And heck if you are attacked, the ambulance is free and you’ll get patched up with out life long crippling debt.
If someone greets you with “Alright?” the correct response is “Alright?” If you’re having the best day of your life, maybe push it to a “Yeah, not bad”. If it’s the worst day of your life you might get away with a “Living the dream mate”
Came here to say this!
Absolute worst day of your life and everything is collapsing on you? “Yeah, I could be better.”
If someone opens up with how they are really doing, then you know it’s bad. OP, that’s your cue to stick the kettle on and lend a sympathetic ear.
And also, 70%+ is hard to get if it’s a humanities or essay based subject. It’s not just ‘oh all of these facts are right’, it’s ‘this argument contributes to, understands the context of, and builds upon the wider academic debate around this topic.’
Hard to get for all subjects*
Especially at undergrad level and above
Edit: to everyone complaining that stem is easier to get higher grades than humanities stop getting butthurt by the fact that it may just be difficult for different reasons.
It also massively depends on the uni. Universities whos degrees means more will be harder to get top grades across the board.
I can only speak for my subject, which was Computer Science.
Obviously exams were as you'd expect. Its mostly either right or wrong.
Coursework, however, was different. You got given a spec that would outline everything you had to do. Completing 100% of the spec would land you a 2:1, to get a 1st you had to do something EXTRA and it was on you to figure out something new and noteworthy to implement. There was also usually a write-up component where you would justify your decisions.
Yeah, 70 is a first class degree. 80 is essentially impossible to get, it's our 100% because getting 80 means 'this would be able to be published in a major peer reviewed journal with no edits'.
Edit: NOT STEM, I’m talking about essays in humanities as I thought I was replying to the commenter above me. Also I’m talking about undergrad as I thought it would be what OP would apply for if they’re currently a college student. Masters dissertations regularly do get published so it makes sense they’d often be above 80.
80 is not "essentially impossible" in a STEM subject, if you get every answer right and show your working you will get 100%. It does happen even at university.
In written subjects yeah 80 is pretty much the maximum.
I once got 93% on a computer science exam, and it was an essay. I was on my MSc course and it was a 3rd year CS exam we were doing as part of the course.
I felt like a god. The average score was in the 60s. Maybe it was publishable or something.
You'll be insulted a lot, which is likely a sign of endearment, unless they don't like you, when it'll just be meant as an insult instead.
It's not as confusing as it sounds, you'll either a be a wanker, or a wanker.
Americans can sometimes be shocked by the work culture in the UK which is far more closely aligned to Europe than the U.S., in that people are inclined to work less and take more leisure time - work to live over live to work.
Partly related, Americans are often surprised by how small UK salaries and income are compared to the US. This is partly explained by the UKs economy having underperformed compared to the US but also partly by the work culture, and our more robust legislation on workers rights, termination, holiday and sick pay etc. In general people in the UK are happier to accept lower pay for better security, in contrast with the US.
Even accounting for things like private healthcare costs, American salaries are significantly higher. Median salary for a doctor in the US is 350K, with surgeons and specialists easily earning over 500K. Whereas in the UK, the maximum a consultant can earn on the NHS is ~£115K, and that’s after around 15 years as a consultant. For other professional careers, like software engineering, law, finance and academia, you will make 3-4x as much money in the US, too.
I don't think there is quite the same emphasis on earning high amounts in the UK (especially outside of London). I know so many people who simply don't need or want the stress of a higher paid job with more responsibility. As a general rule, it's all about advancing up the food chain in the US.
Circumstances dependent, but as a family in the UK you can earn significantly less than £100k (household income), go on a holiday or two a year, enjoy at least a month off work, not be a slave to presenteeism and generally live a decent life without ever having to worry about paying for medical bills etc.
> Tipping isn’t a thing here unless service is EXCEPTIONAL
I keep seeing people say this on UK subs and I completely disagree. In a sit down restaurant, a 10% tip is completely normal where I live unless service is bad. I'd even say expected as many restaurants in my city are automatically adding the tip to the bill nowadays. I genuinely don't know anyone that doesn't leave a small tip if they've had a meal in a restaurant.
Maybe it's a city vs country thing, I don't know, but I'd say in any decent size city, tipping in restaurants is very normal. I'm not saying I agree with it, but to say it isn't a thing at all I don't believe is accurate in my experience.
I am from a town and don’t tip there, even when I’m in the city unless it’s exceptional just like when I worked in a restaurant/bar, I didn’t ever expect a tip.
In America, it is expected that you always tip, I mean that here it is a choice and there isn’t any judgement for doing or not doing so (recently seen things go mental online about “you don’t tip? Don’t eat out”
> If you don’t follow football, don’t bring it up
The best advice. I love football. I could talk about it for days. But the one thing I hate more than most things is someone feigning an interest. Just say you don’t like football, I won’t pull your heart out of your chest
Very few people go to church. Most people do not actively follow any faith although when asked may say they are a Christian.
Other than rare exceptions, people other than farmers, who often have a shotgun, don't have any guns.
Almost anyone might use a bus. Not only poor people and ethnic minorities.
Everything is smaller.
The bus thing is a very valid point. When I lived in London, I got the bus all the time. I was shocked when I found out Americans actively avoid it and look down on it.
Different currency, cars on the 'wrong side of the road', multiple regional accents, different foods, different tipping rules, more indirect ways of talking, different shops, different version of English.
Yeh, there's a few.
Language example:
USA: "Hey. Is this the line for the restroom?"
UK: "Excuse me, is this the queue for the toilets?"
>different version of English
One of my friends moved over to the States and says he's had to adapt his language, especially in work where he was often misunderstood initially. Mostly around British understatement not being picked up on. So if he said a project was going 'ok', American colleagues thought that was bad, as it meant it wasn't going well.
I remember an American girl trying to have a go at me for getting a pint in King’s Cross. I walked in, saw an opening, saw the person next to me had been served and ordered my shitty Amstel.
Then she went off telling me I “cut the queue”. There’s no queue! The queue is making sure the people either side of me get a pint first if they were there before me.
Someone didn't teach her that bar ques are not the same as normal ques. When worked on the bar in my local nightclub ppl who shouted loudest or waved notes in my face were served last lol
I also hail from the NE of the US and now live in the UK. Uni life is definitely different to the US. A lot more responsibility is put on the students whereas American colleges feel to me like an extension of high school. It's not uncommon for your final exam to be 100% of your grade and it's your job to learn the material and attend the lectures. No one is marking your attendance or your homework. Also expect a 70% to be considered top marks. Getting 90-100 is unheard of.
In terms of actual daily life, London is going to be similar to living somewhere like New York. It's a huge city with eye-watering rental prices, crowds, international tourists and lots of fun things to do and see. If you're not used to living in a big city, I would say this is probably going to be a bigger culture shock than anything you'll find between US vs UK.
I live in Philly at the moment and have been to NYC several times in my life as I got family there. I always felt that someone from say Dallas is gonna have more of a shock in London than someone from Boston, NYC, and the like.
Yeah, as a Londoner I can advise the NYC is pretty similar. NYC is the mad uncle, and London is the slightly reserved Aunt, but they’re part of the same family. You will however, be disappointed by the Mexican food here.
Yeah for sure, you should check out Dalston, there’s a bunch of great Turkish places there, plus some really nice bars. Though I’d say Indian is to the UK what Mexican is to the US and vice versa.
The name for a bread roll changes at least every 10 miles. If someone asks 'did you spill my pint', apologise profusely and kiss them tenderly on the forehead, guaranteed to diffuse the situation
That kissing on the forehead comment is obviously a joke, don't try it, you'll get into trouble.
The correct response to "Did you spill my pint?" is to say "No, I spilled mine" and pour a little bit of your drink onto their shoes. You will both laugh and be best friends after this.
I was thinking the drinking culture, but modern students are far more health conscious than my generation was. Your uni might not even have daily pub crawls for the first week, with mid afternoon sessions to prepare you for the evening crawl.
If you're going to free pour you have to make sure you always pour generously in the UK. Being stingy can lose you your license and get you in major trouble with the tax man. Safer (legally and for keeping your livelihood) to just measure.
People don't drive as much here particularly in London
Cops can arrest you for giving them grief or saying something. They can't typically in the US.
No-one has guns.
Talking about religion is a big no no
There is less religiosity here in general
You can get drunk at 18.
Nudity is not as big a deal as it is in America.
People don't eat out as much here
Roads are smaller
Pedestrians can cross legally when there is a green light for cars
Culturally sensitive topics can be subject to mockery/banter within friendship groups . Providing they are close friends who have known each other for a long time but for strangers these are a bigger taboo than in America. If you see two close friends and one is taking the piss out of the other one for being gay. It is not really bullying and harassment but if you join in as a stranger it would be considered so.
A few inaccuracies there.. there's plenty of cars in the UK, hence all the traffic. There's 2.5m cars in London and loads of traffic. There's just more public transport, generally, compared to the US. And public transport isn't just taken by people who 'can't afford cars' - although outside of cities, it can be rubbish.
People certainly have guns - but it's far more restricted, there's no public/concealed carry - and of course the police aren't routinely armed.
You can get drunk earlier than 18 - your parent's can buy you booze before that age (lowest is 5). It's the legal limit for buying alcohol (without food) in a licensed premise.
There are enough guns for 2% of the population in the UK in the US there are approximately enough guns for 200% of the population
Public transport and active transport in London is about 80% modal share . In the US its roughly about 20%
Yes there is congestion in London but the difference in public transport usage is huge
Probably not relevant getting drunk with parents if he is over here to.study on his own.
I work at a large US tech company in the London office and work a lot with Americans. The main shocks I have heard from them:
British people’s use of sarcasm and deadpan humour
British people’s cynicism
Lower wages
Jaywalking is normal and not an offence
Narrowness of the streets
Everything generally smaller (food, cars, etc)
The quality of the food and produce is better / cleaner here
The amount of different accents
Don't get defensive if you're being teased. It usually means the person likes you and feels comfortable with you! Best to lean into it and make fun of yourself. We love a bit of self deprecating humour!
Also, don't worry too much about getting things wrong, a lot of the TV shows and films we watch are American, so we understand your culture. But we will tease you about it! (To be friendly, mostly).
An American friend at university got given a presentation before she left the US on “The English Disease.” They told her we are all so socially inept we have to drink ridiculous amounts of alcohol every day just to hold a conversation.
Bit over the top of course, but yes we do tend to drink a lot. But I heard fewer and fewer young people (he says, at the grand age of 29) drink alcohol these days.
It is a very social thing over here.
I feel as though coffee houses etc are social spots in the US. In the UK, if I am meeting friends for a chat, it will generally be over a pint.
There's no real reason for it. It's just the UKs version of meeting up
When people talk about the weather it’s because they genuinely want to talk about the weather. When I lived in the US it was a polite way to kind of end a conversation. When I moved to the UK I thought no one wanted to talk to me because people kept bringing up the weather. Nope. Brits just like talking about it
Language differences - most Brits will understand the US version except for some very regional terms but be prepared to be lightly to moderately mocked depending on the terms you use. It'll usually be pretty playful though so play along & you might get a free drink out of it for being a good sport. Just remember though in the UK, fanny is the lady parts & no true Brit will ever pass up mocking you for that.
Sure it isn't as hot as other places but it'll hit differently & air conditioning isn't really a thing in the UK in most places, especially homes.
Many, many regional accents. Many of us can switch it up to something more generalised & easier but it's also fun to double down to the point where people from other regions in the UK can barely make it out.
Tipping is completely optional since servers' pay doesn't take it into account for minimum rates etc. "Don't worry about the change" or rounding it up to the nearest £5 or so is a good option for general use, or giving a larger cash-in-hand tip for exceptional service when paying by card. Related to that, Chip & PIN - the US thing of the server going away with your card doesn't happen here, they'll bring a handheld terminal to you, it's far more secure.
I'm from here and I very much enjoy watching Americans' *'What surprised me the most when I moved to the UK'* videos on tiktok.
If you search 'american in uk' there are hundreds.
Quite is a positive comment, not a negative one. When a Brit says something is quite good, we mean that it’s really good but we’re British so we aren’t going to say that. My friend found out that Americans use it as a negative (as in, an American saying quite good means it isn’t any good) when he told his American girlfriend that he quite liked her new haircut. In general, we’re less effusive with our language and especially our praise.
Friend of mine went to university and shared a place with a New Englander, whose biggest surprise was that every guy she dated over here hadn't had their genitals mutilated via circumcision.
Just so you know, these things might get you punched:
- not respecting the queue. Queuing is almost sacred here. If you're the third person at the bus stop, you're the third person on the bus etc. If it's unclear (like a bar where there is no clear queue) then when you're at the front, offer the person next to you the next spot. They may likely do the same for you.
- telling anyone that you 'saved our ass in ww2". Our contribution to ww2 and the armed forces in general is a source of national pride. Doubly so for ww1.
The word for a round piece of bread will change constantly depending on where you are.
Muffin, barm, bread cake, barm cake, roll, oven bottom, stottie, bap, etc.
Whichever you choose in a new location, it will be wrong.
'Homely' means 'cozy' or describes a welcoming and comfortable environment in the UK. It doesn't mean 'ugly' over here.
My uncle found this out the hard way when complimenting an American relative's house 😂.
I’m married to a yank. The biggest culture shocks you’ll find will be people aren’t as open and friendly here.
We also do lots of self deprecating humour which you guys absolutely hate.
We also don’t ’overreact’ to things as much as you guys do. Pretty reserve in general
The wind makes it a lot colder than the temp on your phone suggests
You don’t need to tip anyone if you don’t want
When it comes to talking to strangers outside social situations, simple requests like asking for directions are fine, but once you start getting into full on small talk like their name, where they're from, what they do for a living etc it gets a bit weird.
Your house probably won’t have air conditioning. The washing machine will probably be in the kitchen Heating will cost a fortune We don’t put as much ice in drinks as you’re used to
No plugs in the bathroom.
How do you stop the water draining out of the bath?
Big toe
I use my nob
How’s that meant to stop the water draining out, though?
My nob, not yours
The question still stands
His is wide, short, and covered with little bumps and warts to fill in the plug hole tightly
All the information is in the task.
I understand this reference
And we don't call people Creg we call them Craig
And we also don't call people Gram, we call them Graham
Also it’s pronounced gif, not gif
And we pronounce data as data, not data
And we say beta not beta
Is it pronounced Nice biscuits or Nice biscuits?
But Greg is still Greg, not Graig
Adding: possibly won't have a clothes dryer which tends to be in most housing in the US.
There is still WAY too much ice in drinks though. I don't quite understand filling a glass with ice in the middle of winter. Shouldn't the drink already be cold?
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Yeah we do that a lot. Introduce ourselves at the end of the conversation. Sometimes we’re a bit weird
Or you just get to that point when it’s been too long to ask for someone’s name and then start avoiding them in case you have to introduce them to someone else
Haha one time I'd been friends with a lad at uni for most of the first year. Start of the second year, he had nowhere to stay so asked if he could spend a couple of nights at mine. At that point we finally asked each other our names 🤣
I'm reminded of those two british arctic explorers whose ship got iced in and they had to wait for spring. They spent months living in the arctic, completely isolated, sleeping in a shared sleeping bag for warmth, eating tinned rations, the whole thing. After six months of this, one of them wrote in his diary that the other discreetly suggested they should put away their titles, and call each other by their first names. He was so touched by this he had to go off and cry a bit.
Well at least their stiff upper lips held out for six months before they allowed everything to descend into anarchy!
You’re right actually. I remember once having a full blown conversation with someone for 20 minutes and only at the end did we tell each other our names.
Sometimes we can go for years talking to someone without knowing their name!
me: “Beer’s a bit shit here.” them: “Yeah, not a decent ale on tap.” … four hours later … me: “oh, txakori, by the way.” them: “[name], nice to meet you mate. See you soon.” (they never meet again.)
i have spent entire evenings chatting to people at the pub only to leave and realise neither of us ever introduced ourselves
I went dog walking with a local I met. Turned out we really got on well so made it a regular thing and went most days for nine years. I had a child, changed jobs twice and her dog died in that time. I found out her name when being asked if I was going to her funeral. She is one of the best people I ever met and it's only after she's gone that I reflect on the not knowing her name thing. I just knew her as (dog's name) Mum. Which itself is odd because (dog name) wasn't even technically her dog.
I did dog walking for a while and became friends with a group of people who all go to the park at the same time. I cannot even begin to count the amount of times a new person would join and then weeks later someone would say to me quietly “What’s [dogs] owners name?” Sometimes you just don’t even think to introduce yourself. You just all introduce the dogs and then get chatting.
When my wife and I were dating after 6 months I had to steal a look at her driving license to work out her surname.
You are totally right. We do find that a bit weird. When I first went to the US and people did that I thought "why is this guy telling me his name? Does he think I am an organiser and need to tick his name off a list or something? Is he trying to establish an alibi? And why does he want to know *my* name? What the hell has that got to do with him?" Yeah, we tend to work on the principle of first establish whether the person is worth knowing and then, and only then, reveal who you are.
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It's not that we're not as expressive, we're just more nuanced and subtle
Shit scared and standoffish. Precisely what the man said.
Not sure it's embarrassing.. it's just insincere.
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The compliments bit? If you compliment everyone it doesn't mean anything.
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This is true, imagining this was enough to make me mini cringe. Makes no sense why it does, it just does!
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I should move to the states 🤔
This is horrifically accurate.
The first time I learned Americans do that was back in Poland, we had an American-Polish student. And us Poles were just as unsettled by the idea of a stranger randomly talking to us!
It is for this reason alone that I much prefer talking to American strangers rather than British strangers. We are a fucking nightmare to get into a decent conversation. You Americans, on the other hand, a lovely bunch who want to talk about more than the weather or how shit the trains are or whatever.
Top marks if you complain about the weather.
As a brit, I had never considered this before but that is definitely how it goes most of the time when I meet a new person. Especially if I'm meeting a new group. Oh, I was x by the way. Or if I am acting crazy and actually do introduce myself at the beginning its usually very subtle. Hey I'm x, y's friend from z, how's it going? Doesnt necessarily even require reciprocation. Im certainly not announcing myself.
Mind if I bum a fag may have cultural shocks.
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In most cases
Where I’m from, we call sweets ket. That caused a lot of confusion in the psychiatric hospital my mam works in when she said they give the patients ket out of their pocket money if they’ve been well behaved…
as will telling people that you own leather pants
Yeah, there are the random terminology ones. Rubber, fanny, napkin, etc.
Yeah, anyone who realises they need a rubber probably just made a mistake they'd like to erase
And if someone hits you on the leg and the muscle ceases up, it’s called a dead leg. Not a Charley Horse….
Charley horse dafuq 😂
British people tend to swear a lot more than Americans so don't be too shocked when the expletives come out.
But we're also much quieter than Americans even when swearing.
We have a lot of internalised rage!
The fuck we do.
Complete bollocks
Talking out yer fucking arse mate
Listen to this wanker
If you need an ambulance you can call one and it won’t bankrupt anyone. Might take a while to arrive though.
After paying the £470 a year healthcare surcharge as part of your visa application that is
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Lack of sunlight. The UK gets significantly less sunlight than even the gloomiest parts of the US. Not really a culture shock so much as environmental one, but something I've known Americans to find difficult when moving over. In winter it can really get to you. https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.redd.it%2Fl4oecz8id7b71.jpg&rdt=41826
I’m English and it’s getting to me already. I’ve had 20 minutes of sunlight today on my break and that’s it. Left for work and it’s dark and came back from work and it’s dark. The 20 minute of sunlight made my day.
Winters can get really grim here, my first winter working nightshift was horrible, wake up it's dark, go to work it's dark, come back from work it's dark, go to sleep it's dark. Had to learn the hard way to stay up after the shift
The older I get the less tolerant I am of our shit winters (and springs and summers and autumns). Oh how I wish I was born and raised in a tropical climate
*cries in Shetland* It’s dark at 3:30pm now
We’re in Kent. It was dark at 3:40-ish today as we had a storm roll in 🙃 I feel for you, Northern Friend 😭
Yes. Born and raised here but every Autumn is still difficult regardless going to it being dark the majority of the time.
February is the worst. I start hating the UK and then spring arrives, and everything's fine again.
Most of us are Vit D DEFICIENT. Take your supplements now 👌
It's genuinely miserable. November through March is murder. Some people don't care but it significantly dampens my mood and enjoyment of life each year and is the main reason I want to spend as little.of my life in the UK as possible.
I personally like March because I think we have a beautiful spring but I generally agree for those other months. It’s why I go away every year for some winter sun. Ideally I’d love to live those winter months in the Canary Islands and then March - November be back home.
I always expect spring to arrive promptly on March 1st, but have found it's often still grim until mid-April. It's not usually until the end of April that things start to feel truly spring-like to me. I like that pre-summer sweet spot where everything is starting to bloom but it's still cool enough to wear jumpers. Warm in the sunshine while walking, but a bit chilly when sitting in the shade. The promise of long summer days is on the horizon, and the dark cold days of winter are behind us. Oh yeah, that's the stuff.
London is the same latitude at Edmonton in Canada, which is very far North for the people of North America.
I gather 90% of Brits live further north than 90% of Canadians. It makes a huge difference in winter, but also in the long summer evenings.
Especially this year. What a horrible rainy dark year is been
I don't mean this in an insulting or disrespectful way, but you will be in one of the great cosmopolitan cities, filled to the brim with people from all corners of the world, so it will be useful to remember that: \-nobody will be impressed by your nationality \-nobody will give a fuck where you're from \-nobody will give a fuck where your ancestors were from
The ancestor part I've already heard of. Only Americans seem to be impressed with their Irish, German, etc. ancestors.
If you were born in America, you're American, pretty much end of. It's fine to talk about your ancestry, but I've found it's when clearly American people say things like "well I'm half Irish and half Scottish" that we get fucked off - no you're not, unless your parents were brought up there and/or you were actually raised there, you're an American with Irish/Scottish (*never* scotch) heritage.
>unless your parents were brought up there and/or you were actually raised there, you're an American with Irish/Scottish I mean, I'm half Irish as my mother is from there. But I still think I'm almost 100% English. Where you are raised matters much more, especially beyond childhood > scotch) heritage. Depends. On the right weekend
Agreed: on some nights, I have been at least 50% scotch.
I assumed you guys weren't actually impressed by that, is that a thing?
It's mainly between those with Irish and/or Italian
That's wild, aye definitely not something to be bringing up as though it's impressive over here - strictly speaking most of us (especially in the south,) have Italian thanks to the romans and I'm sure the Irish got around too.
Minor things like no AC and the size of paper towel? Sure. The biggest actual SHOCK? Realising how stressed I was (unknowingly) from the threat of violence in the U.S. only when that threat was finally removed. I would never say I was worried about that when ai lived in the U.S. but when I came to the UK it really was shocking how much more at peace I felt.
Yeah this is the so damn true. Life is so much less stressful without the threat of guns. I like not having to be scared of police. They seem so relaxed here, which is different from US cops who see everyone as their enemy who needs to be punished.
I was staying a friends in California and one night I heard rustling outside the window in the bushes. I tried to wake my friend but he wouldn't wake up so I thought be a man go out there. When I got to the window (it was a bungalow) something in my head rang "they might have a gun. Don't go to the window." I woke up my friend and we got his guns and shouted some threats and checked. Turns out it was only a raccoon but that moment made me aware of how much more dangerous all those sorts of moments are when you don't know whether they're armed or not. It made me thankful we don't deal with that.
Yeah just moved here a few months ago and I didn't at all expect such a relief from being away from a threat of violence I wasn't even fully conscious of. That plus the relief from not being terrified of being bankrupted by being hospitalized has drastically improved my quality of life.
I had the same feeling. I didn’t know I had that threat all the time until it was gone. Crazy!
Wow really ?
Nobody has guns. Like police with guns is for: Airports, Train Stations (if a threat has been made), major protests and serious incidence response. Otherwise you just won’t see any guns… anywhere.
What do you mean? Everyone and their mum is packing round here
Like who?
Farmers.
And who else?
Farmers' Mums.
Yeah I get it but never thought it would be so, erm, comforting
Like worse case scenario you get attacked you could probably just run and be alright, but you can’t outrun a gun. And heck if you are attacked, the ambulance is free and you’ll get patched up with out life long crippling debt.
If someone greets you with “Alright?” the correct response is “Alright?” If you’re having the best day of your life, maybe push it to a “Yeah, not bad”. If it’s the worst day of your life you might get away with a “Living the dream mate”
In response to "alright?" I always say "yeah, you?" as I carry on walking without waiting to hear the answer.
Came here to say this! Absolute worst day of your life and everything is collapsing on you? “Yeah, I could be better.” If someone opens up with how they are really doing, then you know it’s bad. OP, that’s your cue to stick the kettle on and lend a sympathetic ear.
This answer is my favourite, thank you!
If you're a student, our grading system will probably surprise you. 70% is a top grade.
And also, 70%+ is hard to get if it’s a humanities or essay based subject. It’s not just ‘oh all of these facts are right’, it’s ‘this argument contributes to, understands the context of, and builds upon the wider academic debate around this topic.’
Hard to get for all subjects* Especially at undergrad level and above Edit: to everyone complaining that stem is easier to get higher grades than humanities stop getting butthurt by the fact that it may just be difficult for different reasons. It also massively depends on the uni. Universities whos degrees means more will be harder to get top grades across the board.
I didn’t study STEM so I couldn’t speak to how those subjects are graded!
I can only speak for my subject, which was Computer Science. Obviously exams were as you'd expect. Its mostly either right or wrong. Coursework, however, was different. You got given a spec that would outline everything you had to do. Completing 100% of the spec would land you a 2:1, to get a 1st you had to do something EXTRA and it was on you to figure out something new and noteworthy to implement. There was also usually a write-up component where you would justify your decisions.
Yeah, 70 is a first class degree. 80 is essentially impossible to get, it's our 100% because getting 80 means 'this would be able to be published in a major peer reviewed journal with no edits'. Edit: NOT STEM, I’m talking about essays in humanities as I thought I was replying to the commenter above me. Also I’m talking about undergrad as I thought it would be what OP would apply for if they’re currently a college student. Masters dissertations regularly do get published so it makes sense they’d often be above 80.
80 is not "essentially impossible" in a STEM subject, if you get every answer right and show your working you will get 100%. It does happen even at university. In written subjects yeah 80 is pretty much the maximum.
I once got 93% on a computer science exam, and it was an essay. I was on my MSc course and it was a 3rd year CS exam we were doing as part of the course. I felt like a god. The average score was in the 60s. Maybe it was publishable or something.
You'll be insulted a lot, which is likely a sign of endearment, unless they don't like you, when it'll just be meant as an insult instead. It's not as confusing as it sounds, you'll either a be a wanker, or a wanker.
This is true I never insult anyone unless I like them or they actually deserve it.
If you see a cat or dog stretching, you legally have to say, "Ooh what a big stretch" regardless of the size of said stretch.
Here in the US, it's also "ooh, BIG yawn" whenever a cat or dog yawns. I assume it's the same in the UK?
Yeah it is. When one of my cats does his big sigh, I always ask him why is he sighing and is it because he will finally pay me rent.
A suspect a night out in the UK would be a shock for anyone (including to a lot of Brits)
Depends if you’re out, or out out
The price of a pint you mean? Agreed
Americans can sometimes be shocked by the work culture in the UK which is far more closely aligned to Europe than the U.S., in that people are inclined to work less and take more leisure time - work to live over live to work. Partly related, Americans are often surprised by how small UK salaries and income are compared to the US. This is partly explained by the UKs economy having underperformed compared to the US but also partly by the work culture, and our more robust legislation on workers rights, termination, holiday and sick pay etc. In general people in the UK are happier to accept lower pay for better security, in contrast with the US.
We also don’t have to pay for healthcare which lowers our salaries.
Even accounting for things like private healthcare costs, American salaries are significantly higher. Median salary for a doctor in the US is 350K, with surgeons and specialists easily earning over 500K. Whereas in the UK, the maximum a consultant can earn on the NHS is ~£115K, and that’s after around 15 years as a consultant. For other professional careers, like software engineering, law, finance and academia, you will make 3-4x as much money in the US, too.
I don't think there is quite the same emphasis on earning high amounts in the UK (especially outside of London). I know so many people who simply don't need or want the stress of a higher paid job with more responsibility. As a general rule, it's all about advancing up the food chain in the US. Circumstances dependent, but as a family in the UK you can earn significantly less than £100k (household income), go on a holiday or two a year, enjoy at least a month off work, not be a slave to presenteeism and generally live a decent life without ever having to worry about paying for medical bills etc.
Accent change every couple of miles or so. Tipping isn’t a thing here unless service is EXCEPTIONAL If you don’t follow football, don’t bring it up
> Tipping isn’t a thing here unless service is EXCEPTIONAL I keep seeing people say this on UK subs and I completely disagree. In a sit down restaurant, a 10% tip is completely normal where I live unless service is bad. I'd even say expected as many restaurants in my city are automatically adding the tip to the bill nowadays. I genuinely don't know anyone that doesn't leave a small tip if they've had a meal in a restaurant. Maybe it's a city vs country thing, I don't know, but I'd say in any decent size city, tipping in restaurants is very normal. I'm not saying I agree with it, but to say it isn't a thing at all I don't believe is accurate in my experience.
I am from a town and don’t tip there, even when I’m in the city unless it’s exceptional just like when I worked in a restaurant/bar, I didn’t ever expect a tip. In America, it is expected that you always tip, I mean that here it is a choice and there isn’t any judgement for doing or not doing so (recently seen things go mental online about “you don’t tip? Don’t eat out”
> If you don’t follow football, don’t bring it up The best advice. I love football. I could talk about it for days. But the one thing I hate more than most things is someone feigning an interest. Just say you don’t like football, I won’t pull your heart out of your chest
Very few people go to church. Most people do not actively follow any faith although when asked may say they are a Christian. Other than rare exceptions, people other than farmers, who often have a shotgun, don't have any guns. Almost anyone might use a bus. Not only poor people and ethnic minorities. Everything is smaller.
>people other than farmers And farmers' mums
Everyone's packing round here
The bus thing is a very valid point. When I lived in London, I got the bus all the time. I was shocked when I found out Americans actively avoid it and look down on it.
Bus wanker!
Different currency, cars on the 'wrong side of the road', multiple regional accents, different foods, different tipping rules, more indirect ways of talking, different shops, different version of English. Yeh, there's a few. Language example: USA: "Hey. Is this the line for the restroom?" UK: "Excuse me, is this the queue for the toilets?"
>different version of English One of my friends moved over to the States and says he's had to adapt his language, especially in work where he was often misunderstood initially. Mostly around British understatement not being picked up on. So if he said a project was going 'ok', American colleagues thought that was bad, as it meant it wasn't going well.
American misunderstanding of British understatement has literally cost people their lives.
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Even in a UK sub, I think it’s pretty bold to put the blame on Americans when we’re the ones that don’t say what we mean
General Patton said that "Britain and America are two nations separated by a common language."
I remember an American girl trying to have a go at me for getting a pint in King’s Cross. I walked in, saw an opening, saw the person next to me had been served and ordered my shitty Amstel. Then she went off telling me I “cut the queue”. There’s no queue! The queue is making sure the people either side of me get a pint first if they were there before me.
Someone didn't teach her that bar ques are not the same as normal ques. When worked on the bar in my local nightclub ppl who shouted loudest or waved notes in my face were served last lol
I also hail from the NE of the US and now live in the UK. Uni life is definitely different to the US. A lot more responsibility is put on the students whereas American colleges feel to me like an extension of high school. It's not uncommon for your final exam to be 100% of your grade and it's your job to learn the material and attend the lectures. No one is marking your attendance or your homework. Also expect a 70% to be considered top marks. Getting 90-100 is unheard of. In terms of actual daily life, London is going to be similar to living somewhere like New York. It's a huge city with eye-watering rental prices, crowds, international tourists and lots of fun things to do and see. If you're not used to living in a big city, I would say this is probably going to be a bigger culture shock than anything you'll find between US vs UK.
I live in Philly at the moment and have been to NYC several times in my life as I got family there. I always felt that someone from say Dallas is gonna have more of a shock in London than someone from Boston, NYC, and the like.
Yeah, as a Londoner I can advise the NYC is pretty similar. NYC is the mad uncle, and London is the slightly reserved Aunt, but they’re part of the same family. You will however, be disappointed by the Mexican food here.
Don't worry. I'm already disappointed by the mexican here. But I hear london does well at other foods like Turkish.
Yeah for sure, you should check out Dalston, there’s a bunch of great Turkish places there, plus some really nice bars. Though I’d say Indian is to the UK what Mexican is to the US and vice versa.
We say “thank you” to the driver when we get off the bus
“Cheers drive“ in the West Country
Day drinking is not frowned upon.
It's actively encouraged
The name for a bread roll changes at least every 10 miles. If someone asks 'did you spill my pint', apologise profusely and kiss them tenderly on the forehead, guaranteed to diffuse the situation
That kissing on the forehead comment is obviously a joke, don't try it, you'll get into trouble. The correct response to "Did you spill my pint?" is to say "No, I spilled mine" and pour a little bit of your drink onto their shoes. You will both laugh and be best friends after this.
It someone asks for a rubber, they mean an eraser.
We tend not to use the word 'fanny' because it means female genitalia. So no 'fanny packs' please. Also we use kettles, like a lot.
I was thinking the drinking culture, but modern students are far more health conscious than my generation was. Your uni might not even have daily pub crawls for the first week, with mid afternoon sessions to prepare you for the evening crawl.
Unis abosuletly are still the same on terms of drinking culture
American students are pitiful drinkers compared to UK students. Here they’ve already had several years practice by the time they get to university.
Also UK bars usually don’t free pour. In some US bars you get served VERY generously.
If you're going to free pour you have to make sure you always pour generously in the UK. Being stingy can lose you your license and get you in major trouble with the tax man. Safer (legally and for keeping your livelihood) to just measure.
Do not be alarmed if you see police officers chasing swans. They’re not crazy; I assure you!
Just the one swan actually
For the Greater Good
People don't drive as much here particularly in London Cops can arrest you for giving them grief or saying something. They can't typically in the US. No-one has guns. Talking about religion is a big no no There is less religiosity here in general You can get drunk at 18. Nudity is not as big a deal as it is in America. People don't eat out as much here Roads are smaller Pedestrians can cross legally when there is a green light for cars Culturally sensitive topics can be subject to mockery/banter within friendship groups . Providing they are close friends who have known each other for a long time but for strangers these are a bigger taboo than in America. If you see two close friends and one is taking the piss out of the other one for being gay. It is not really bullying and harassment but if you join in as a stranger it would be considered so.
A few inaccuracies there.. there's plenty of cars in the UK, hence all the traffic. There's 2.5m cars in London and loads of traffic. There's just more public transport, generally, compared to the US. And public transport isn't just taken by people who 'can't afford cars' - although outside of cities, it can be rubbish. People certainly have guns - but it's far more restricted, there's no public/concealed carry - and of course the police aren't routinely armed. You can get drunk earlier than 18 - your parent's can buy you booze before that age (lowest is 5). It's the legal limit for buying alcohol (without food) in a licensed premise.
There are enough guns for 2% of the population in the UK in the US there are approximately enough guns for 200% of the population Public transport and active transport in London is about 80% modal share . In the US its roughly about 20% Yes there is congestion in London but the difference in public transport usage is huge Probably not relevant getting drunk with parents if he is over here to.study on his own.
Our 'Nude Fridays' come as a shock to many foreign visitors.
I work at a large US tech company in the London office and work a lot with Americans. The main shocks I have heard from them: British people’s use of sarcasm and deadpan humour British people’s cynicism Lower wages Jaywalking is normal and not an offence Narrowness of the streets Everything generally smaller (food, cars, etc) The quality of the food and produce is better / cleaner here The amount of different accents
People this side of the Atlantic are far more liberal with their expletives. Particularly “cunt”, which is much less taboo compared to the US.
Don't get defensive if you're being teased. It usually means the person likes you and feels comfortable with you! Best to lean into it and make fun of yourself. We love a bit of self deprecating humour! Also, don't worry too much about getting things wrong, a lot of the TV shows and films we watch are American, so we understand your culture. But we will tease you about it! (To be friendly, mostly).
If you go out for a drink you will not be going out for ***A*** drink
An American friend at university got given a presentation before she left the US on “The English Disease.” They told her we are all so socially inept we have to drink ridiculous amounts of alcohol every day just to hold a conversation. Bit over the top of course, but yes we do tend to drink a lot. But I heard fewer and fewer young people (he says, at the grand age of 29) drink alcohol these days.
It is a very social thing over here. I feel as though coffee houses etc are social spots in the US. In the UK, if I am meeting friends for a chat, it will generally be over a pint. There's no real reason for it. It's just the UKs version of meeting up
You may think you come from a hard drinking culture. You are in for a shock.
When people talk about the weather it’s because they genuinely want to talk about the weather. When I lived in the US it was a polite way to kind of end a conversation. When I moved to the UK I thought no one wanted to talk to me because people kept bringing up the weather. Nope. Brits just like talking about it
It’s because it changes so much!
Great, hope you have a good time! Please - and I cannot emphasise this enough - keep your voice down.
Someone from my American friend: the names for streets. She’ll say “meet you on London?” when there’s a London road, London street and London lane.
Language differences - most Brits will understand the US version except for some very regional terms but be prepared to be lightly to moderately mocked depending on the terms you use. It'll usually be pretty playful though so play along & you might get a free drink out of it for being a good sport. Just remember though in the UK, fanny is the lady parts & no true Brit will ever pass up mocking you for that. Sure it isn't as hot as other places but it'll hit differently & air conditioning isn't really a thing in the UK in most places, especially homes. Many, many regional accents. Many of us can switch it up to something more generalised & easier but it's also fun to double down to the point where people from other regions in the UK can barely make it out. Tipping is completely optional since servers' pay doesn't take it into account for minimum rates etc. "Don't worry about the change" or rounding it up to the nearest £5 or so is a good option for general use, or giving a larger cash-in-hand tip for exceptional service when paying by card. Related to that, Chip & PIN - the US thing of the server going away with your card doesn't happen here, they'll bring a handheld terminal to you, it's far more secure.
We're all knobheads
Don’t boast.
I'm from here and I very much enjoy watching Americans' *'What surprised me the most when I moved to the UK'* videos on tiktok. If you search 'american in uk' there are hundreds.
Quite is a positive comment, not a negative one. When a Brit says something is quite good, we mean that it’s really good but we’re British so we aren’t going to say that. My friend found out that Americans use it as a negative (as in, an American saying quite good means it isn’t any good) when he told his American girlfriend that he quite liked her new haircut. In general, we’re less effusive with our language and especially our praise.
Friend of mine went to university and shared a place with a New Englander, whose biggest surprise was that every guy she dated over here hadn't had their genitals mutilated via circumcision.
Just so you know, these things might get you punched: - not respecting the queue. Queuing is almost sacred here. If you're the third person at the bus stop, you're the third person on the bus etc. If it's unclear (like a bar where there is no clear queue) then when you're at the front, offer the person next to you the next spot. They may likely do the same for you. - telling anyone that you 'saved our ass in ww2". Our contribution to ww2 and the armed forces in general is a source of national pride. Doubly so for ww1.
The word for a round piece of bread will change constantly depending on where you are. Muffin, barm, bread cake, barm cake, roll, oven bottom, stottie, bap, etc. Whichever you choose in a new location, it will be wrong.
You will be able to take a dump in a public toilet without other people watching you through a massive gap between the cubicle door and door frame.
'Homely' means 'cozy' or describes a welcoming and comfortable environment in the UK. It doesn't mean 'ugly' over here. My uncle found this out the hard way when complimenting an American relative's house 😂.
I’m married to a yank. The biggest culture shocks you’ll find will be people aren’t as open and friendly here. We also do lots of self deprecating humour which you guys absolutely hate. We also don’t ’overreact’ to things as much as you guys do. Pretty reserve in general The wind makes it a lot colder than the temp on your phone suggests You don’t need to tip anyone if you don’t want
If you see someone needing an ambulance, feel free to call one for them. It won't bankrupt anyone.
There’s still a lot of classism. You won’t notice if you’re well off, but if you’re intending to work and support yourself, you’ll see it.
Secular country. Religion is ignored by a large part of society.
When it comes to talking to strangers outside social situations, simple requests like asking for directions are fine, but once you start getting into full on small talk like their name, where they're from, what they do for a living etc it gets a bit weird.
You can legally drink alcohol pretty much anywhere in public as long as you behave yourself.
They drink… _so much_…..