America to UK

roachhaley

Another thing is obviously the transportation. I walk EVERYWHERE. And I commute two hours every day to get to school. That includes a walk, a train ride, and a tube ride. Sometimes a bus as well.If you don't get a car straight away (I dont have one), don't expect to do any major projects or have anything be convenient at all. For instance, I have to take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the pet store if I suddenly run out of something for my rabbit.

That depends where you are in the UK though. I've never had a car. I often walk, because I like walking, but I live in a city where I can easily take a bus to wherever I want to go. A twenty-minute bus ride to the city centre. Or I can walk ten minutes (or take a two-minute bus ride) to the local supermarket which sells most things (including pet food, although I don't have a pet).

I'd advise, if someone is coming to the UK and won't have access to a car, to look carefully at where you move to - find a location with shops and other conveniences in easy walking distance. And maybe don't decide on your location until you know where you'll be working/studying - and then find somewhere close to your workplace/uni.

Oddly enough, when I tell Americans that I don't drive and I take the bus, a lot of them tell me that wouldn't be possible where they live - that everyone has to be able to drive to get around. Obviously that will depend on where in America they are, but then if I were moving to America, I would look for somewhere where there was good public transport.

The only places with good public transportation are the big cities on the coast, which, IMO, aren't a real American experience.

Also, I didn't have those choices, because we had to be close to my boyfriends Uni since he is doing a phd But your condescending attitude is super great - I didn't just move here willy nilly and then complain about the transportation. I'm just giving a realistic outlook of where I personally live.

opuntia

Another thing is obviously the transportation. I walk EVERYWHERE. And I commute two hours every day to get to school. That includes a walk, a train ride, and a tube ride. Sometimes a bus as well.If you don't get a car straight away (I dont have one), don't expect to do any major projects or have anything be convenient at all. For instance, I have to take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the pet store if I suddenly run out of something for my rabbit.

That depends where you are in the UK though. I've never had a car. I often walk, because I like walking, but I live in a city where I can easily take a bus to wherever I want to go. A twenty-minute bus ride to the city centre. Or I can walk ten minutes (or take a two-minute bus ride) to the local supermarket which sells most things (including pet food, although I don't have a pet).

I'd advise, if someone is coming to the UK and won't have access to a car, to look carefully at where you move to - find a location with shops and other conveniences in easy walking distance. And maybe don't decide on your location until you know where you'll be working/studying - and then find somewhere close to your workplace/uni.

Oddly enough, when I tell Americans that I don't drive and I take the bus, a lot of them tell me that wouldn't be possible where they live - that everyone has to be able to drive to get around. Obviously that will depend on where in America they are, but then if I were moving to America, I would look for somewhere where there was good public transport.

The only places with good public transportation are the big cities on the coast, which, IMO, aren't a real American experience.

Also, I didn't have those choices, because we had to be close to my boyfriends Uni since he is doing a phd But your condescending attitude is super great - I didn't just move here willy nilly and then complain about the transportation. I'm just giving a realistic outlook of where I personally live.

Eh? My advice wasn't to you, but to the OP, as you'd drawn her attention to the fact that public transportation can be difficult. She didn't seem to have a particular location in mind, so I thought it would be useful advice, to add to what you'd said. At least, it's the kind of advice I'd want in her position. Just as I find useful your information that the only cities in the US with good transportation are those on the coast - that will be useful to me if I ever go there. I'm a bit confused how you found my post condescending to yourself. Why would I be giving you advice about moving to the UK when you'd already done it?

Sarah_Wins

Also, I didn't have those choices, because we had to be close to my boyfriends Uni since he is doing a phd But your condescending attitude is super great - I didn't just move here willy nilly and then complain about the transportation. I'm just giving a realistic outlook of where I personally live.

Pardon me, but that was not condescending in the slightest. He/she was just politely making a point.

roachhaley

Another thing is obviously the transportation. I walk EVERYWHERE. And I commute two hours every day to get to school. That includes a walk, a train ride, and a tube ride. Sometimes a bus as well.If you don't get a car straight away (I dont have one), don't expect to do any major projects or have anything be convenient at all. For instance, I have to take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the pet store if I suddenly run out of something for my rabbit.

That depends where you are in the UK though. I've never had a car. I often walk, because I like walking, but I live in a city where I can easily take a bus to wherever I want to go. A twenty-minute bus ride to the city centre. Or I can walk ten minutes (or take a two-minute bus ride) to the local supermarket which sells most things (including pet food, although I don't have a pet).

I'd advise, if someone is coming to the UK and won't have access to a car, to look carefully at where you move to - find a location with shops and other conveniences in easy walking distance. And maybe don't decide on your location until you know where you'll be working/studying - and then find somewhere close to your workplace/uni.

Oddly enough, when I tell Americans that I don't drive and I take the bus, a lot of them tell me that wouldn't be possible where they live - that everyone has to be able to drive to get around. Obviously that will depend on where in America they are, but then if I were moving to America, I would look for somewhere where there was good public transport.

The only places with good public transportation are the big cities on the coast, which, IMO, aren't a real American experience.

Also, I didn't have those choices, because we had to be close to my boyfriends Uni since he is doing a phd But your condescending attitude is super great - I didn't just move here willy nilly and then complain about the transportation. I'm just giving a realistic outlook of where I personally live.

Eh? My advice wasn't to you, but to the OP, as you'd drawn her attention to the fact that public transportation can be difficult. She didn't seem to have a particular location in mind, so I thought it would be useful advice, to add to what you'd said. At least, it's the kind of advice I'd want in her position. Just as I find useful your information that the only cities in the US with good transportation are those on the coast - that will be useful to me if I ever go there. I'm a bit confused how you found my post condescending to yourself. Why would I be giving you advice about moving to the UK when you'd already done it?

Sorry, it just came off like you were reprimanding me in a passive aggressive way for not doing enough research. Things come across different ways to different people.

opuntia

Sorry, it just came off like you were reprimanding me in a passive aggressive way for not doing enough research. Things come across different ways to different people.

That's okay. It didn't even occur to me it could be read like that - I don't do passive-aggressive and I have no interest in reprimanding anyone for their personal lives. People travel abroad for all kinds of reasons, and I imagine in most cases, people don't have a lot of choice in where they move to. The OP just sounded like she was happy to move anywhere in the UK, and hadn't planned it yet.

Katanthus

If you can't find a supermarket you like in England, then you have not found Sainsbury's, Tesco, or Marks and Spencer.

As Walmart seems to be the centre of the universe in the US, it was near impossible to find quality fruit and vegetables. In one town we we lived in, in the US, safe drinking water was not even available. We had 3 water heaters destroyed in 5 years, and taking a shower was like stepping into toxic waste.


If you are used to the drive everywhere American way, it will come as culture shock to many, to use public transportation and walk to places. My parents don't drive, and never have... and that hasn't stopped them from travelling in the UK.

In the US, if you don't drive, you pretty much have to live in a MAJOR city with some form of public transportation.

Laces_0ut

If you can't find a supermarket you like in England, then you have not found Sainsbury's, Tesco, or Marks and Spencer.

As Walmart seems to be the centre of the universe in the US, it was near impossible to find quality fruit and vegetables. In one town we we lived in, in the US, safe drinking water was not even available. We had 3 water heaters destroyed in 5 years, and taking a shower was like stepping into toxic waste.


If you are used to the drive everywhere American way, it will come as culture shock to many, to use public transportation and walk to places. My parents don't drive, and never have... and that hasn't stopped them from travelling in the UK.

In the US, if you don't drive, you pretty much have to live in a MAJOR city with some form of public transportation.

i know very few people that shop for food at Wal Mart and ive never had a problem with the water anywhere ive lived. and the US is based around the owning of a car. we are a huge country where everything is spaced out.

like someone else said you drive across England in a few hours. in the US there are states that take longer to drive across.

gomisskellygo

If you can't find a supermarket you like in England, then you have not found Sainsbury's, Tesco, or Marks and Spencer.

As Walmart seems to be the centre of the universe in the US, it was near impossible to find quality fruit and vegetables. In one town we we lived in, in the US, safe drinking water was not even available. We had 3 water heaters destroyed in 5 years, and taking a shower was like stepping into toxic waste.


If you are used to the drive everywhere American way, it will come as culture shock to many, to use public transportation and walk to places. My parents don't drive, and never have... and that hasn't stopped them from travelling in the UK.

In the US, if you don't drive, you pretty much have to live in a MAJOR city with some form of public transportation.

i know very few people that shop for food at Wal Mart and ive never had a problem with the water anywhere ive lived. and the US is based around the owning of a car. we are a huge country where everything is spaced out.

like someone else said you drive across England in a few hours. in the US there are states that take longer to drive across.

I agree with this. I do not know many people who buy their groceries at Wal-Mart. I have lived up and down the East Coast and have never had any issues with water.

That's horrible! Where in the US did you live?

redfroggie

When we were getting ready to move we did research a lot of the villages and towns. My husband works in Harrow and we needed to be on a train line so he can get to work. We are are about 40 minutes by train out of Harrow in Bucks and love it.

I spent most of my life in Missouri, Texas and finally Colorado. There are some amazing places in the US. If we ever HAD to move back it would be to Colorado or as far East as I could go.

When we bought our house in Colorado we lived there for 2 years before we actually became friends with one of our neighbors. Most people were in such a hurry and would just wave as they drove by.
The day we arrived here we went to a house we had only viewed online, in a town we have never heard of in a country we had never been. We met the estate agent and the inventory clerk (renting) who walked the house with us. She then left and omg was it deathly quite! We had only our 10 pieces of luggage that we brought. It was me, hubby and our youngest daughter.

We all 3 just stood in the reception room with small grins. Then there was a knock at the door. The inventory clerk it turned out, lived down the road. She and her boyfriend and his kids were all standing at the door and invited us down for dinner. We went down, she fed us all and we sat and talked for hours, comparing the US to the UK. Later that evening her boyfriend put us in the car and took us all over town. We are all still the best of friends!

We have met some amazing people here and have some very good friends. If we needed the use of a car, all I have to do is pick up the phone.

It took a bit of time to get used to the foods here, but you do find a few American imports in the grocery stores. After 5 years there is nothing I can't make here that I didn't make in the US. Some things we do import, but there is a great American food store for niche items. We also have family that sends care packages occasionally. About the only thing I can't get here is ingredients to make queso for hubby. So we get Velveeta and Rotel shipped in quarterly!

Yes there are rude people, they tend to be worldwide, but for the most part everyone has been amazing. I love my little town, I know it inside and out. I love travelling to London, I never tire of it!

The only place I would live other than the UK is Germany. I hope i'm never forced to move back to the US again. This is now home.

smaschin

Either one is a dystopian future with a oligarchical regime, both are run by two of the largest terrorist organizations in the world so everything else comes down to weather and cost of living ;-)

I have lived in both and live in the UK now.

Peace

melaniecheeks

The UK contains a lot of different places, and each of them will have a different quality of life.

It could easily be differentiated into "London" and "not-London".

Our capital is an amazing city, but it's horrendously expensive, you wont need a car, and you will be overwhelmed by things to do. People will appear rude on the tube where they don't make eye-contact.

Outside London, in the north of England, say, or Scotland, or Northern Ireland, things like housing are generally a bit less expensive, the pace of life is slower, you probably will have time to chat to shopkeepers, or people beside you on the bus. Though it might take a while to understand what they are saying

misswager

I scanned through some comments, but didnt read them all, so somethings might be repeated. I am from Canada and have family in the US as well. I have lived in the UK for 8 years.

So,

parking- you pretty much have to pay for it depending on where you live... some places charge in the grocery stores (you get it back at the till), some places you dont. Parking is rather limited. For example my Dr office does not have a parking lot. You can park on main street if your lucky enough to find a space.

Some grocery stores are limited, but some of the bigger ones have plenty of choices!

On the plus side in the UK animal welfare standards are superior to Canada and the US... not only that
its ILLEGAL to use growth hormones and antibiotics as growth promoters in the meat! I really think North America needs to do this!!!

Yea you cant get some foods here, but you might be better off NOT eating them to be honest.

Not all shops close at 5:30, it depends on where you live

You have to pay for a TV license, road tax (if you have a car), and it needs to have an MOT (safety check) every year no matter how old the car is.

house prices CAN be more expensive depending on where you buy. Right now housing is in the crapper! I hope it picks up when we come to sell. Yup thats right were moving back to Canada. Both my hubby (born & raised in London) and I think Canada can provide a better quality of life for us. We prefer it.

NHS and dental is a bonus in the UK... however people can abuse the system making for some crappy Dr offices.

DawnieB1977

I'm British, I live in East Sussex now, right by the sea (near Hastings, you've probably heard of it?) but I grew up in York.

I've never lived in the US, but I have been to San Francisco, LA and Las Vegas. San Fran I think is maybe more like England, because people seem to walk everywhere, but where we stayed near Venice Beach everyone was driving. Cars were massive too! Oh, and food portions sizes in the US are huge!

House prices in the UK are really high. We own a 2 bedroom 2nd floor flat (apartment) and it's worth £130,000. Whenever I watch US TV shows like Super Nanny, all the families seem to have massive houses yet don't do particularly high-flying jobs. Our houses are a lot smaller, especially new builds.

I've read a few Bill Bryson books, things like 'Notes from a small country' or something, and they're very good at detailing all the differences between the US and UK. He's an American who lived in England for a while, had children here, and then moved them all back to the US when they were a bit older.

makemewannadie

Oh, and people tend to walk everywhere, most shopping is in the downtown core with no vehicle access.

I tend to drive to box malls but that just isn't the way in the UK.

agreed, when i've visited America twice there are just huge motorways and people seem to drive everywhere, and there seems to be very little public transport! In most towns and cities in England there's a lot of public transport, trains, buses etc. (although they're not very reliable to arrive on time, haha)
The weather will probs be a big difference depending on what you're used to, summers are pretty much non existent (although saying that, this year it's been quite sunny and hot where I live)
Just because people look and seem grumpy/rude doesn't mean they are (: When I visited a friend in America she told me that all her American friends thought I was really rude because I 'looked mean and grumpy', when it's just my face and accent ): haha

makemewannadie

Hi there!

I'm a 19 y/o university student who moved to the UK a year ago.

I'd say the biggest difference for me was food and finding food at the grocery store I liked. The grocery stores in the UK have a VERY limited variety of things (compared to back here in the US), and if you need anything "American", be prepared to shell out lots of money for it, or not be able to find it at all. I've learned a lot of new recipes out of desperation from not finding what I wanted at the grocery store.

For instance, I kind of live off of frozen meals sometimes. They have a really small variety over here... mostly curry, or some variation on shepherds pie. You can only eat so much.

Another thing is obviously the transportation. I walk EVERYWHERE. And I commute two hours every day to get to school. That includes a walk, a train ride, and a tube ride. Sometimes a bus as well.If you don't get a car straight away (I dont have one), don't expect to do any major projects or have anything be convenient at all. For instance, I have to take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the pet store if I suddenly run out of something for my rabbit.

One great thing is.... all of the grocery stores deliver! YEP! I get my groceries DELIVERED! I also get almost everything I need off amazon, as it is way easier than trying to trek out and carry whatever it is back to the flat. The postal service here is really fast - most packages get here within 1-2 days, whereas in the US it can take 5-7 days IIRC.

Oh, and what someone said about the shops closing early is absolutely true... and it's very irritating at times. What IS nice, however, is that most of the shops are clustered together, so you can get your shopping done in one place

I can't think of much else... but if you move here, I'm sure you'll like it. There are lots of things about the USA I definitely prefer and miss, though

Which supermarket do you shop at? I don't know ANYONE barring my 95 year old grandmother who eats frozen meals, haha. If you haven't already, check out Marks and Spencers or Waitrose (Waitrose is amazing, we get our food shop delivered from there each week, but it's a bit pricey)

The shops closing early thing depends on where you live... the high street usually closes at 6 in my city, but there's a shopping complex about fifteen minutes outside of the city centre which opens until 9 each night. Ohh, my favourite thing is christmas shopping- where the high street and every shop opens until really late near christmas (: it's so festive walking around with all the christmas decorations at night in the cold and spending lots of money hehe.

SairahRose

Asda and Tescos have 24 hour shopping - great if you can't sleep at 2am :P
I don't mind shopping at either of those places for food, since no matter where you shop these days good quality produce that isn't overly packaged/processed is expensive.

1985Andy

Come and spend some time over here.. It's the only way to find out if it's for you.

Americans who think British people are all charming and wonderful remember America is a long way away from the UK and people who travel to America will generally be a higher class of Brit than our norm.

People here aren't as patriotic as they are in the States which really saddens me.

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction.. People will only tip waiters, taxi drivers and hotel staff.. Not bar workers etc. This means your service won't be as good in many situations.

Everything is smaller here. Cars, houses, malls.. You could probably buy a ranch for the same price as a 4 bedroom modest house here.

Why not explain why you're wanting to move and we can help advise if it's for you or not.

P.s. we spell and pronounce things correctly here

opuntia

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction..

I wonder if that depends where in the UK you are. Most people I know always tip at restaurants, and a minimum of 10%. It doesn't have to be exceptional service. But exceptionally poor service would be a reason not to tip, or to tip less than 10%. I've never not tipped.

1985Andy

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction..

I wonder if that depends where in the UK you are. Most people I know always tip at restaurants, and a minimum of 10%. It doesn't have to be exceptional service. But exceptionally poor service would be a reason not to tip, or to tip less than 10%. I've never not tipped.

Nope, I've lived in London, the North, the South and the East.. Always the same regardless of the class of people I'm with.
Personally I'll tip if the service is good, but tipping for the sake of tipping is stupid. If the service is good I'll tip.. Anything less I won't.

opuntia

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction..

I wonder if that depends where in the UK you are. Most people I know always tip at restaurants, and a minimum of 10%. It doesn't have to be exceptional service. But exceptionally poor service would be a reason not to tip, or to tip less than 10%. I've never not tipped.

Nope, I've lived in London, the North, the South and the East.. Always the same regardless of the class of people I'm with.
Personally I'll tip if the service is good, but tipping for the sake of tipping is stupid. If the service is good I'll tip.. Anything less I won't.

I've also lived all around the UK, and found what I said to be the case, regardless of the class of people I'm with. So I guess we've just hung out with different kinds of people, and have a different idea of what constitutes stupidity.

Then again, there is a difference between 'good service' and 'exceptional service'. Your first post made it look like tipping was the exception to the rule.

britlocs

i think what he meant was, the only tipping there is,is at restaurants,exclusively.

We don't tip the bus driver,for example.

thegeordielass

I've never been to the US but some thoughts on what's been posted.

Re: tipping. I don't go out my way to tip (I'm a tight Northerner, mind. :P) unless the service is really good but common practice amongst my friends is generally to round your bill up and leave the change and not working out 5 or 10%!

Someone else mentioned shop assistants approaching you. I clearly look overly helpless as I can't walk in a shop (especially computer/electronic shops) without someone asking if I need help. There seems to be a divide on if we like it or not. I hate being approached - if I want help, I'll go find someone but I know people who will just stand there until they are approached.

I have a car I can't drive much atm because of an injury and I can get about pretty well just using public transport. Of course, it depends on where you live/want to go. Some of my favourite places have no public transport running to them (out in the countryside) so a car is useful. And you can park close to things - there's car parks next to the shops in city centres and then big malls like the Metro Centre have their own huge ones.

There's huge differences depending on where in the UK you live. Personally, I can't stand London: I hate the size of it, I hate it's so crowded, to me the people seem incredibly rude and the prices crazy. I live up in Newcastle which is up near the top of England and things are more relaxed here. You're far more likely to start randomly talking to strangers (usually moaning about the bus being late or the weather!) and as a general rule people are just more friendly and willing to make conversation. That's not just me saying it: I had some friends at Uni who moved up North from London after they'd emigrated here and they said there were shocked at the totally different lifestyle and friendliness of people. And yes, house prices are different. At an extreme example, £1million might get you a decent flat/house down there, up here you'd be able to buy a massive house with loads of land.

The weather is pretty rubbish and even though we're a small country compared to any of the US states, the weather varies a lot. For example, all my Southerner friends are currently talking about sun, heat and feeling like they're going to melt at 30-32 degrees. I'm sat here at about 20/21 awaiting the arrival of a thunderstorm. Go figure. lol. All thanks to the position of the jet stream I believe. I'd swear we've only had about 5 days of sun this year!!!

We aren't as overly patriotic as over there so you don't generally see flags flying everywhere (probably good for those of us who get annoyed seeing it upside down). I think this year has been a big exception with the Jubilee and then the Olympics. it's been nice seeing our flag everywhere.

Humour varies a lot too I think. I can't understand how anyone can find Ricky Gervais anything other then smug and smarmy and Miranda Heart isn't funny to me either! Then again, the only comedy I really find myself enjoying is older stuff like Blackadder or A bit of Fry and Laurie. I don't 'get' British humour either it seems. I think we do tend to be a bit of a sarcastic/passive aggressive bunch though!

Someone else mentioned it but we have TV licenses where you pay x amount a year which is what pays for all things BBC. We've got freeview now which still has the 'usual' channels (BBC1 and 2, ITV, Channel 4 and channel 5) and some extras but if you want a wider selection you'd have to get sky or virgin or something.

LisaJ2904

!

makemewannadie

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction..

I wonder if that depends where in the UK you are. Most people I know always tip at restaurants, and a minimum of 10%. It doesn't have to be exceptional service. But exceptionally poor service would be a reason not to tip, or to tip less than 10%. I've never not tipped.

I generally don't tip at places unless I think they deserve it, it sounds harsh but for example... I went to get my hair cut last month and the lady just did her job, she wasn't overly friendly or great, so I didn't tip. I' Also i've once asked for the automatic tipping fee on a bill to be taken off at a restaurant once, I felt like such a b*tch but at the end of the day, it's not a legal requirement and i'm not going to tip someone for doing their job, i'm paying for whatever i'm getting already, I only tip if I feel like they've done a great job (:

ironanimal

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction..

I wonder if that depends where in the UK you are. Most people I know always tip at restaurants, and a minimum of 10%. It doesn't have to be exceptional service. But exceptionally poor service would be a reason not to tip, or to tip less than 10%. I've never not tipped.

I generally don't tip at places unless I think they deserve it, it sounds harsh but for example... I went to get my hair cut last month and the lady just did her job, she wasn't overly friendly or great, so I didn't tip. I' Also i've once asked for the automatic tipping fee on a bill to be taken off at a restaurant once, I felt like such a b*tch but at the end of the day, it's not a legal requirement and i'm not going to tip someone for doing their job, i'm paying for whatever i'm getting already, I only tip if I feel like they've done a great job (:

I never tip. I'm too poor and stuff costs too much already.

_Elemenopee_

I have always wished to live abroad, the UK especially! All of these comments and honest, realistic reviews from those who have lived in both are making me wish I'd done so along long time ago.

It'd be hard to uproot a family (husband, wife, toddler, 2 dogs) and just go! But given the proper funds and half a chance at making it, I would! Has anyone done the move in either direction with pets? I could NEVER leave any part of my family. They're Yorkies anyway so don't they already belong? :laugh:

1985Andy

We don't have the same tipping culture that the States has. We do still tip but only for exceptional service and it's normally between 5 and 10% of the transaction..

I wonder if that depends where in the UK you are. Most people I know always tip at restaurants, and a minimum of 10%. It doesn't have to be exceptional service. But exceptionally poor service would be a reason not to tip, or to tip less than 10%. I've never not tipped.

Nope, I've lived in London, the North, the South and the East.. Always the same regardless of the class of people I'm with.
Personally I'll tip if the service is good, but tipping for the sake of tipping is stupid. If the service is good I'll tip.. Anything less I won't.

I've also lived all around the UK, and found what I said to be the case, regardless of the class of people I'm with. So I guess we've just hung out with different kinds of people, and have a different idea of what constitutes stupidity.

Then again, there is a difference between 'good service' and 'exceptional service'. Your first post made it look like tipping was the exception to the rule.

I don't think stupidity has anything to do with it. That is unless the two people have the same definition of the purpose of the tip. For me it's a reward for good service, not a required part of the bill. Therefore if you aren't polite or friendly but put the food on the table correctly do you deserve a tip? In my opinion no. Maybe in yours they do. Does that make one of us stupid?

Judging by the comments from the other people on here it seems that your approach is the unusual one in the UK.

opuntia

I don't think stupidity has anything to do with it. That is unless the two people have the same definition of the purpose of the tip. For me it's a reward for good service, not a required part of the bill. Therefore if you aren't polite or friendly but put the food on the table correctly do you deserve a tip? In my opinion no. Maybe in yours they do. Does that make one of us stupid?

You were the one who brought up stupidity. I hadn't thought it had anything to do with it - hence I said we probably had different understandings of what constitutes stupidity.

In my experience (which as you say, is unusual compared to the four British people here who've posted their experience) tipping is seen as the default rule, unless service is bad. And an unfriendly and impolite waiter would be giving bad service.

In your experience, not tipping is the default rule, unless the service is exceptional. So a different approach to mine. Different defaults.

I don't see either of these as stupid - just different cultural norms (and of course cultural norms do differ quite a bit within the UK). You said tipping for the sake of tipping is stupid. I don't agree. So we differ on what we consider stupid.

roachhaley

Hi there!

I'm a 19 y/o university student who moved to the UK a year ago.

I'd say the biggest difference for me was food and finding food at the grocery store I liked. The grocery stores in the UK have a VERY limited variety of things (compared to back here in the US), and if you need anything "American", be prepared to shell out lots of money for it, or not be able to find it at all. I've learned a lot of new recipes out of desperation from not finding what I wanted at the grocery store.

For instance, I kind of live off of frozen meals sometimes. They have a really small variety over here... mostly curry, or some variation on shepherds pie. You can only eat so much.

Another thing is obviously the transportation. I walk EVERYWHERE. And I commute two hours every day to get to school. That includes a walk, a train ride, and a tube ride. Sometimes a bus as well.If you don't get a car straight away (I dont have one), don't expect to do any major projects or have anything be convenient at all. For instance, I have to take a 40 minute bus ride to get to the pet store if I suddenly run out of something for my rabbit.

One great thing is.... all of the grocery stores deliver! YEP! I get my groceries DELIVERED! I also get almost everything I need off amazon, as it is way easier than trying to trek out and carry whatever it is back to the flat. The postal service here is really fast - most packages get here within 1-2 days, whereas in the US it can take 5-7 days IIRC.

Oh, and what someone said about the shops closing early is absolutely true... and it's very irritating at times. What IS nice, however, is that most of the shops are clustered together, so you can get your shopping done in one place

I can't think of much else... but if you move here, I'm sure you'll like it. There are lots of things about the USA I definitely prefer and miss, though

Which supermarket do you shop at? I don't know ANYONE barring my 95 year old grandmother who eats frozen meals, haha. If you haven't already, check out Marks and Spencers or Waitrose (Waitrose is amazing, we get our food shop delivered from there each week, but it's a bit pricey)

The shops closing early thing depends on where you live... the high street usually closes at 6 in my city, but there's a shopping complex about fifteen minutes outside of the city centre which opens until 9 each night. Ohh, my favourite thing is christmas shopping- where the high street and every shop opens until really late near christmas (: it's so festive walking around with all the christmas decorations at night in the cold and spending lots of money hehe.

We get all of our groceries from Waitrose or Ocado. You have not seen a variety of food until you've seen the mega grocery stores here.

AGGUK73

:noway: I can't believe a previous poster has dissed Mr Gervais & marvellous Miranda, how could you :sad: