8 Things We HATE About The UK (Americans in the UK)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 16. 05. 2024
- For the first time EVER, today we're introducing you to a list of things we dislike about the UK! What do you think of our observations? Do you agree with our hates or do you disagree? Share your thoughts with us down in the comments!
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Curious to hear what we LOVE about the UK? Then watch these videos!
đŽ Top 5 Things Americans LOVE About the UK czcams.com/video/AF0ZpoTEYKc/video.html
đŽ 5 More Things We Love About the UK czcams.com/video/SqvL3a1Tg7I/video.html
8 things I hate about the UK.
1,We let liberals in.
2, We let liberals in.
3, We let liberals in.
4, We let liberals in.
5, We let liberals in.
6, We let liberals in.
7, We let liberals in.
8, We let liberals in.
*#MAGA*
My cat goes out, has a shit, comes back. She stays out longer in summer.
Transport in London is ridiculous, 100% agree!!!
@@havoc6_1_6 8 things I hate about the USA,
The vote was rigged.
The US people didnât get their day in court.
It was a protest not a riot.
This Libertarian Englishman stands with my US brothers and sisters.
Good luck. You have more friends than you realise.
America was always great, stuff the CCP,
I lived in HK for 5 years. They are my people.
I donât have 8.
I was suprised you didn't mention the weather.
I think every Brit would agree with your points except window mesh.
The difference between U.S sarcasm and U.K sarcasm is that in the U.K, we do it properly.đ
Really?
You're not wrong!
You don't say ;-)
I thought the difference was that in the US it has to be explained and in the UK everyone gets it or ignores it.
@@geraldmcmullon2465 Yes. Americans just don't get it the way Australians, Dutch,Irish, and Scandinavians do! Theyre painfully literal minded !
"Why are trains so expensive in the UK". In a word, privatisation.
er, no. Most train fares in the UK (admittedly not all) are regulated by the Govt. Google how much train drivers get paid.
@@superted6960 Er yes... The advent of privatisation has had an obvious effect on the price of train fares in this country. They are more expensive even with regulation. Drivers wages are completely irrelevant to the discussion.
@@jonwilliams6996 the parliamentary far of 1d per mile no longer exists (or its equivalen!)
@@jonwilliams6996 How the cost of any staff wages, together with all the other costs (maintenance, rolling stock, signalling etc etc) can be " irrelevant" to the level of fares beats me. Somebody has to pay. Farebox or taxpayer. If you're suggesting the TOCs are ripping off the passenger then you need to do more research.
@@jonwilliams6996 as someone who has used UK trains for the last 40 years, not only are they now a lot cleaner, but more punctual and faster than there were when run totally by the government. Also a lot more of them. For example there used to be about 8 trains a day to Birmingham, now one every half an hour. Itâs not perfect. But certainly better
A two stop journey on the tube = a walk.
What if you can't walk? The disabled are being victimised. I'm chaining myself to a phone box
@@lastfirst5689 umm what
@@Lilscattz1 Relax. I was having a joke
Depends on the stops but yeah in most cases you can probably walk it.
@@lastfirst5689 although it's a joke I'm pretty sure they can get discounts anyway with railcards
The reason UK trains are so expensive is due to the fact we're one of the few countries in Europe that have privatised our rail network. And the companies that own and run our trains are more often than not owned by other European country's governments đ so off the top of my head I know the French, German, and Dutch government all own or part own companies that run the train networks here so we get charged an insane amount meaning that they can provide their own rail services in their home countries incredibly cheaply in comparison. Most British people want the rail services renationalised.
This is all very true, but I think it's more to do with the fact that the Tory, right wing leaning UK government made a conscious decision to force the price of playing for real travel onto the traveller and from the public purse, hence why it was privatised in the 90s and continued until today, but the biggest rises have been since they came to power in 2010.
The fact that companies in large parts owner by public transport providers in Europe, and even beyond, are making money out of this is just a baffling almost contradictory product. They have to put in a bid to the government to run a franchise, and will put in cheaper his bids, and then increase the fares to make a profit for shareholders. If they didn't do it someone else would - Virgin used to run one of the biggest franchises and had no experience and I think initially weren't owned or in partnership with a nationally owned foreign train company.
There is very little competition so if you want to get from a to b there's often very little choice but to pay the required fare - you might be able to if going from say London to Birmingham, or if you go in a very roundabout way, which often isn't cheaper for obvious reasons, though I have done this not going too far out of my way). Lastly fares are still regulated so the government can still stop fares going up, but choose not to, which emphasizes my point.
Nationalise them all
It is not caused by privatisation it is simply that the government subsidy of the rail network is lower than in other countries.
@@corrigenda70 Whilst I agree that this is the biggest reason behind it when you have private companies whose raison d'etre is to make money for their shareholders then this won't help. I don't think the government should be running the real network from Whitehall, but that the system should be nationally run by not for profit operators in a regional franchise way, as we have at present. This kind of system can still be abused - big payouts to CEOs and upper management, but performance should be monitored and anyone failing should be immediately replaced.
Yep - this is why. Itâs awful. I suspect most people would support re-nationalising the railways.
Can't smoke near a shop entrance in america, but carrying a loaded gun is fine?
Shhhhhhh leave our cognitive dissonance alone! đ
@@WanderingRavens that should be your new national anthem title
Hey, pssst........donât argue with the guys that hold the guns :) lol
@@benk9397 tell that to Afghanistan đŠđ« how long have they been fighting the farmers and goat herders there for now?
Yep. Totally fine. When seconds count the police are only minutes away.
Regarding public toilets in the UK, most have been shut by local councils over the years - at least where I live.
Blame the Tories.
@@AnimeKnight76 we used to have toilets with an attendant. Not cheap but nor is having to buy a drink to use the toilet.
In my town we have pay to use toilets now it's 20p per person
Letâs be fair, you always had to when they were first built by the Victorians.. hence the euphemism âspend a pennyâ. Allowing for inflation, 20p is a lot cheaper
Blame the Labour Party as public toilets started to disappear around the same time as when Tony Blair and Gordon brown were in power
The tube is the same price no matter how far you go (in the same zone) If youâre only going 2 stops Iâd just walk đ
To add on to this and explain it further, it's the same because its based on WHO is going, like an adult ticket and a child tickets are normally the same price no matter where you go on the tube. Also, to add the tube and a tram are two different things and some places don't have both. Fun fact for you. Like Manchester, we have trams but not a tube system.
Plus you have a daily cap within each zone as well.
It's cheaper to live in the UK in the north....the South is expensive..correction...London is mega bucks..
This is true! The north is very cheap!
I agree, just came to write this point haha
@@WanderingRavens compare the price of Scarborough to Maryport..to Bournemouth...
@@WanderingRavens if you go to posh towns and villages you pay posh prices...
Go to working towns and you pay sensible prices...
If the butcher wears a straw boater that's a posh town...if he wears a D.A.its a working town..
@@david-lt9wj lucky to have a butcher nowadays all taken up by German supermarts or John J Sainsburys
1: Two stops on the tube? Just walk.
Depends on where you are and what line. Further out you go the longer it takes.
Just walk from debden to epping :p
as a brit iâd like to know whether americans insult their friends very often? cos we brits (jokingly) insult each other all the time
Too true! It tends to start at introducing your friend. "This is Dave, my best friend... he is a bit of a twat..."
most definitely, but like a lot of the times it doesn't feel like a joke more like a personal attack
A friend of ours married a lady from Uganda, when she heard me insult her husband (as a good friend) she was visibly shocked. She is used to it now. Especially after being on a night out with myself and my girlfriends.
As an American I can answer your question (from 3 months ago!).
American women really do not insult each other. Very fragile we are.
No, that's not it. We aren't fragile, but we do offend easily.
American women are very complimentary to each other, including strange women. Case in point, I recently volunteered at my daughter's school track meet, specifically the High Jump. The ages were 12-14 yr-old boy teams & girl teams. The girls from one team routinely complimented the jump or form of a competitor girl. Not odd at all.
I learned early not to be insulting in my sarcasm. It doesn't go over well with women.
Men? Much more insulting to each other--just friends, of course.
Close friends yes, acquaintances no.
I would say the high cost of living, when comparing say restaurants at least, is because we pay our workers a living wage, so the meals/drinks are slightly more expensive to afford a living wage for them, also we don't tip, your meals are cheaper as you expect people to tip and make up the workers wage. It all goes hand in hand
To be fair, Iâve been to half the states in the US and the food over there is soooo much more expensive than London. Especially, when you have to tip.
A breakfast would cost around $20/35 in a cheap chain restaurant. Thatâs the same as breakfast at a fancy restaurant in London. đ
Well I think we got out of that quite lightly đ
Ehhh, didn't want to rough you up too bad ;D
@@WanderingRavens just checking you know that means 'to beat someone up' ie to physically beat someone.
@@sheenamaclean8324 yeah but just checking you know itâs meant in fun like brothers play fighting.....obviously :)
@@benk9397 i wouldn't necessarily say it means that, to me it's a polite way of saying 'beat someone up' maybe there are regional differences in the meaning.
@@sheenamaclean8324 agreed buts its all about the context :)
Normally, Britons take a bath at home so have no reason to seek out bathrooms at railway stations.
I usually do my resting at home, too!
I just have a shower
This thread đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł
The a bog at my train station York
So you only go to railway stations to visit some guy named Lou?
"This guy took a dump behind the dumpster..."
What???
"... in Leeds."
OK, yeah, that adds up tbh.
Your comment about the dearth of public toilets - or as they used to be called in my youth: "conveniences" -
is certainly valid and worth endorsing. Their existence was a very visible feature of another era and they
were so impressive in their tiled and polished magnificence. Their demise is a disgraceful reflection of
the neglect of local councils to serve the public who pay their taxes in modern times.
What I did find on holiday on the North Wales coast was good provision of usable public toilets. Maybe to be more tourist-friendly ?
Why are you apologising? We share your despair!
đđ
Why? Because itâs the internet.
If someone says they like puppies there will be one guy calling you a racist fascist Hannibal Lecter clone.
âWe share your despairâ Shows you are a beans on toast a phobe.
Check your privilege.
;)
I do apologise for saying "sorry" in our last interaction, it will not happen again.
Very sorry again,
Frank
@@METALFREAK03 âinteractionâ,
Obviously a sign of the patriarchal domination of the modern stamp collecting community.
You sir, should be ashamed of yourself.
Brits are fine with being criticised or laughed at, where as yanks take offense
Most public toilets are closed due to covid at the moment, but you will find them in any cafe, restaurant, most churches etc. You just need to ask normally.
Toilets in a church???!!!! Are you planning to use the font?
There are public toilets around the uk
The US requires you to have a job with a US company to get a work visa, too. And yes, EVERYONE hates train pricing.
Exactly!
And only allows tourist visas for half the time...
Me *sees title and prepares to be annoyed*, Also me "Okay, that was pretty spot on to be honest!"
Many years ago there were public toilets everywhere and the Councils started to close them to save money. There are still some but nowhere near as many as there used to be. Most people go to a cafe, pub or department store if they need to.
Try a Wetherspoons....They are everywhere. ... and stop for a drink and meal and repartee. ...
Also cottaging was a big issue in some places. They generally were filth ridden places
It wasn't so much to save money as to stop them being used for drugs and cottaging
Exactly. Imagine: "May I have the keys to your shop toilet, I need a really good dump"?
Public toilets? Jesus!
As someone who smokes I have to say that I hate people who smoke in your face or right outside entrances to public places. If I'm smoking I'll always hold in my smoke if I'm passing close to someone or blow it in a direction I know is not gonna end up in their face, and if I'm outside somewhere I stand off to the side were people don't have to be confronted with the smoke.
i do the same mate
Nah fuck em
Same here. Even as a smoker, I hate people who just walk around the middle of the street blowing smoke in the direction of non smokers
I find most smokers are like this maybe the wandering ravens have had some bad experiences.
If I'm smoking and I want to sit on a park bench and there's someone already sitting there, I'll check the wind direction - if it's blowing from me to them, I'll ask if they'd mind changing places so that they don't get my smoke; never had one refuse. And if I'm smoking at a bus stop, I'll never stand inside the shelter while doing so
Worst thing you can say to Brits....
"We're moving to France"
Worst thing you could say to an English person perhaps, but not us Scots. #AuldAlliance
@@aw8585 I know đ I'd definitely rather live in France than England
Maybe dont be offended just move to france also lets have a protest to get everyone in the uk to move abroad as its seems to already be opular in young ppl and it may solve the issues, then let russia invade the uk so uk no longer exists as a gift to them to stop fighting with Ukraine. That is how id go about it russia would be able to help the uk out i say put the land to a better use build some comy blocks and bring industry which is greatly needed in uk.
If you need a public toilet/restroom outside of lockdown find nearest M&S where you will find them in the restaurant, Just walk through restaurant with confidence and no need to buy anything
NYC, has the same problem. You're just forced to go into a cafe order a coffee just to use their bathroom. May cost you eight bucks.
What a nice couple. Few would be clever enough to state the criticisms so watchably and tactfully. Btw as a Brit I think youâve nailed most of those, particularly the transport pricing, a hangover from the âgreed is goodâ Thatcher era when these services were sold out of public ownership largely on the grounds that some fictional âmarket competitionâ would keep standards up. It didnât, all we get is the rotten system you encountered. Another example of people thinking things could work in the UK like they do in the US, which often they donât/canât.
1. Completely with you
2. Ditto
3. Screens, nah, you canât see out
4. High cost of living. Agree. rip off Britain
5. Public loos, agree. Have to use pubs
Have to use pubs, are you inferring that's a bad thing ;)
@@benkernow280 not at all. A great excuse to get in and sink a few đ
the pound loses. value the closer to London you get. when I worked in London we had London pay to help cover the cost
Agree with all of your points.
@@ianprince1698 Best thing to do (and any younglings in house, take notes) get a job for a company IN london BUT remote work OUTSIDE London.
You be laughing as you get paid London wages, whilst living somewhere where their houses cost a fiver for five bedrooms!
Great interesting video. In regards to restrooms most UK train stations have them, and you'd expect them in all indoor shopping centres. Pubs are another option. It is true that intercity train routes hike their prices as the travel date approaches but local train travel is fixed annually. Inter city airplane flights can be far cheaper! It is never advisable to just travel the London tube for a couple of stops on one day as will be expensive. Either max out the daily cost cap by doing loads of tube travels or use a London bus instead which is ridiculously cheap. Cheers!
I was so confused when you said âscreens in windows â I thought you meant tv screens ? Why do you need a telly in you window
LOL đ
I literally had to Google what a window screen looked like đ
Love your videos, you two will always do well in the UK because you have a sense of humour and donât take yourselves too seriously. I hope you get the visa situation sorted.
Thank you for the kind words! And we hope so too :D
Good luck in France or Germany, they have their own sets of respective lunacies too, it depends on your pain thresholds for different types of awfulness they might inflict on incomers or residents.
UK homes used to have net curtains. These were very light see-thru curtains between the window and the main curtains. They acted as a screen, letting air through and stopping bugs. Today they're considered old-fashioned and are increasingly rare, but for some reason we never replaced them with modern fashionable screens - even though you can buy screens in loads of hardware and furniture stores!
I guess tilt-and-turn windows make screen installation difficult?
With respect to your experience on the London Underground, the charge for any single journey between two stations in Zones 1 and 2 is ÂŁ2.40. Providing you use the same contactless or Oyster card throughout the day, the daily cap is ÂŁ7.20 for multiple journeys within those zones. You must each use a separate card (ie. both of you cannot tap in on the same card) and you must remember to tap out at the destination. If you don't tap out, you will be charged the maximum fare across all zones, which will certainly be ÂŁ4+.
I just go in a department store or cafe for the toilet
Most stations have public toilets also shopping malls. All fast food restaurants have them.
I'm pretty sure anywhere serving food or drink for consuming on the premises has to have toilets by law.
I often pop in for a McPiss, and occasionally a McDump.
I would second that I am sure that anywhere serving food or drinks has to ha e a toilet. All large trains rates have toilets, and a lot or smaller ones do but the signage is appalling
Yes true , they not well sign posted in a lot of places and often can be on the platforms in the train stations
Don't move to France, In time you will become French!! and that is never a good move
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Oh god can you imagine Iâd hate to become French
There's an element of truth there. I moved to France 5 years ago and now find myself greeting women in the UK with a double kiss to the cheeks. Facial cheeks that is..
@@sim5361 Fair enough. I wasn't given a choice in the matter. Were you?..
@@sim5361 each to their own.
I live in between two major US cities here in the US. (Chicago and Milwaukee) So i'm familiar with train travel in the US. Particularly with the "Chicago to Kenosha Wisconsin" Metra line, and the "Hiawatha" Amtrak line, that connects both cities and their suburbs in between them. So on Metra for a regular "one way" ticket from Chicago's Ogilvie Transportation Center in downtown Chicago, to the end of the line in Kenosha Wisconsin 60 miles away, it costs $9.50 during the weekday. ($19.00 round trip including tax, for a 120 mile turn.)
However a monthly pass is $275.50 which can make it easier for repeated trips. Also for weekends, there is a $10.00 weekend pass that gives you unlimited rides on any Metra line all weekend long. (One weekend I did 360 miles for just $10.00 in total, including tax.)
On Amtrak from downtown Chicago to downtown Milwaukee, it's $25.00 one way. And $50.00 round trip including sales tax. (A distance of 92 miles one way and 184 miles round trip!) A Ten ride ticket costs $192 dollars and a monthly pass is $416.00 including tax.
I wonder how that compares to trains in the UK for a similar distance? đ€ (ÂŁ1.00 = $1.36 USD)
Manned bus/rail stations (at least in Suffolk) tend to have public toilets, however, unmanned stations don't and if a station is manned during the day but unmanned early morning or late afternoon they often lock the toilets, not helpful if you have an hours wait for a train and need the loo, but I kind of agree about the lack of those facilities, they tend not to be well advertised and again often close somewhat earlier than you may like, so it's a case of getting lucky and finding one unless you know the area, and in a lot of cases they are not externally accessible, e.g. some rail stations you have to purchase a ticket and go through some barriers to get to the toilets, public toilets can be inside shops cinemas and other buildings, a few years back one of the main shopping centers in the area was gutted and rebuilt, it took me about 10 minutes to discover where they had hidden the new toilets, and in another case a shopping centre was built just off a town centre, I had probably gone through it 100+ times over the space of about 10 years before realizing there were public toilets, sure there was an arrow pointing to WC but I had assumed that was pointing to the cinema, about a 5-minute walk past shopping center which did indeed have publicly accessible (without even purchasing a ticket) toilets.
Smoking in public buildings was banned relatively recently, probably about 15-20 years ago, as far as I am aware there is no law about smoking in proximity to a building entrance, it can be a bit annoying to wake up with the smell of cigarette smoke in my bedroom because I usually leave the window open (due to often overheating at night) and my downstairs neighbour is a smoker, this does not happen regularly, maybe once a month but is non the less irritating when it does happen.
I am originally from Spain, I have been living in the UK for nearly for 3 years and I can say here in the NorthWest life is cheaper than in Spain (North) comparing to rent, bills... living here is more affordable.
Love your channel!!
I love how Tess is so intently listening to you!
Agreed on the high price of transport.
On public toilets, there's generally some in shopping centres and also on the platforms of bigger train stations (though maybe the train ones you might have to buy a ticket, usually I use those ones when I'm getting the train). Restaurants and pubs also often have toilets but depending on the place you may need to be a customer to use them.
Why would you take a bath in a subway?
The cat in the background meowing while you guys where talking though đ
It's a good job you're going to live in France then
Also, why don't Americans call a toilet a toilet, not a "restroom" or a "bathroom"??
Public bathrooms in the US...I've never found a bath in one yet đ
@@Spiritof1955 I don't find many people having a rest in many either!!!
Because theyre ridiculously puritanical over things like this yet still sell guns in shopping malls and shoot electricity into those convicted of murder!
I work in a cinema and I hate it when British people ask for the Bathroom. I tell them that we don't have Bathrooms but the Toilets are over there.
@@matsamuel5655 why would a British person ask for a bathroom??
There are usually loads of public bathrooms in Leeds slightly less so at the moment covid has changed alot
Iâve had the opposite experience with public bathrooms, when I went to New York I really struggled to find public bathrooms. Most main train stations in the England have public restrooms if they have multiple platforms. Although there are small local ones that donât. But normally in a town centre you wanna look for just a specific bathroom building.
Toilets: You've got to know where to look. When i was in the States it was impossible to find a public loo.
If you know where to look, you don't need to look. You just need to find the right coins.. Or can you use credit cards these days..?
Supermarket, bus stations, train stations, public parks (mostly) and pubs.
Plus you can piss in most alleys in the UK hassle free. Its not even illegal as long as you are out of sight.
@@stretfordender11 : Under the 1986 Public Order Act it is an offence to urinate in a public place...however it's okay to have a dump. Don't you just love British law đ€Ł
And those there are have doors with huge gaps at the bottom !!!
I use public transport a lot here in the UK and train prices are shockingly expensive, especially as they are priced so confusingly. On many occasions it is much cheaper to split ticket's rather than to just book A to B.
You're not wrong, but on the flip side, at least we actually have public transport. The US has awful to non-existent public transport...
Korean state of the art trains don't need much maintenance. London Tubes were built in the 1800 s. They cost a lot to keep running
As someone that lives in SE England, I totally agree with you. I live in Brighton, which used to be referred to (probably not so much now) as London by the sea and the cost of living here must be almost as bad, if not as bad as London prices!
I agree with everything you said. The train prices are expensive when they were nationalised (state owned) there weren't too bad but since privatisation they've gone up big time. Companies say it's due to lack of funding from previous governments and we have the oldest infrastructure for trains in the world. They were invented here.
Those who look back with favour on the nationalised rail system must have very heavily rose-tinted spectacles or simply not have been regular rail users. My memory of pre-privatisation British Rail is of hugely overcrowded, dirty, ancient trains running to no apparent schedule. Having spent too many long journeys sitting on my kitbag travelling to and from my RAF bases my memories are not particularly happy. The only positive was that the bar (assuming the there was a buffet car) was always open, whatever the hour.
That's not actually true, but don't let political prejudice get in the way of a good CZcams comment. đ
I think they have got worse in many ways, and the prices continue to climb. The same seems to be true of the postal service.
@@MrPaulMorris I am old enough to remember, but was not regular rail user. I probably used them more after privatisation, but not daily or weekly. I seem to remember it as being better in the past. I haven't been on the train since I became disabled, or a bus, so for over 10yrs.
You could come to try ireland rather than france,since ireland is still in the EU i don't know about freelancing ,but its worth looking into
Tube costs London, single journeys are quite expensive, but if you use an oyster card (prepaid) for multiple journies in same day and they are off peak (after 9:30 Monday to Friday or anytime weekend) they become OK.
The lack of public loos is an issue- there used to be a lot more (at least here in Bristol), before the council had to stop funding them due to austerity - now the toilet options are hotels, cafés, bars and shopping centres - chances are you won't find one in a station unless it's past the ticket barriers
Cottaging closed a lot of Public Toilets
you don't have to google cottaging, just be happy knowing it happened enough for public toilets to be closed
đ€Łđ€Łđ€Ł actually, since the 90s it been government cuts to councils that most public toilets were closed. There plenty in London just spaced out đ
You donât have to google it, Iâm happy to answer any questions.
Cottaging. It sounds so quaint and innocent. However there is no tea and buttered crumpets involved.
@@gmf121266 for those involved its more lubed crumpet đ€Ł
@@gmf121266 Take a flask!
The smoking item is interesting as I find that there are far fewer people smoking on the street than there used to be in the UK
I used to hate taking the train to school with all the cigar smoking businessmen đ€ą also because my parents smoked having to sit in smoking on a plane or in a restaurant đ€ąđ€ąđ€ą
Yeah it's changed really fast! I remember first going out drinking in the '90s; smoke everywhere. Quite surprised to hear them say that it still seemed prevalent.
As a child, waiting in anticipation in the cinema for the film to begin and watching the smoke rising in front of the projector. Yes' I'm that old.
@@Lily-Bravo Haha me too! I have an early vivid memory of watching 101 Dalmatians through wreaths of smoke.
Yeah, I think that smoking complaint in the video is mainly a US millennial generation issue as they have no experience how really bad things were before smoking bans were introduced
You only get charged for the tube once you clock out of the station with your card, so it is based on 2 journeys regardless of how many stops you have. You could spend 2 hours on the tube going from one side of the District line to the other and you would still pay the same amount as you would if you got off the tube after 2 stops. Also, the tube is more expensive when you're in Zone 1 as they are the busiest tube stations in the heart of central London. These include Paddington, Waterloo and Kings Cross St Pancras station to name a few.
All stations like bus, train and any public transport hubs used to have toilets, and you would see toilet block just scattered around towns all over the place, but due to cutbacks and vandalism, most have been removed and no alternatives were made available.
In my home town, we had voted 'the best toilet in the UK' (Nuneaton) but even that got shut down and now there are problems with people piddling in the street or shop doorways etc.
I mean. I'm a Brit and there are things in America I prefer. But could you do a video on the American toilet doors? They're sooooo big!
Haha we hate the toilet doors too! And we've done a video on them before - can't remember which one though.
Just take the doors off. đ€đđČ
You mean small, surely? I'm horrified that people would be able to see my undies around my ankles.
You mean the cubicle walls are so so small!
American toilet doors aren't big enough! The gaps round them are huge.
Trains are this expensive because the Tory government privatised the railways in the 1980s. Since then companies that win the franchise contracts can legally increase prices by a certain % above inflation. And they do... every year.
It serves as a lesson to others that you should never nationalise an industry that will result in a monopoly/oligopoly. The crazy thing is the U.K. taxpayer still pays billions a year to the rail industry as the infrastructure is still owned by the government
Edit:privatised from nationalised.
The railways were privatised, the opposite of nationalised! Naturally the private companies gouge as much as they can.
I think you mean denationalise / privatise. British Rail was a nationalised service until the tories broke it up and franchised the services provided so that they could pay dividends to ever greedier shareholders / tories.
I think he meant de-nationalised the railways
Thanks guys. I meant Tories privatised. Now updated.
@@pratosaurusrex1128 While you're in the business updating... the railways were privatised in 1990s. 1994 to 1997 is when it happened, something to remember if you ever go on The Chase.
I hope you actually wanted some answers :D
1. Yes. This is true and strangely high. Part of it is that most systems encourage travel card systems so paying in cash for one journey will be more expensive, for example zone 1 adult single journey in cash ÂŁ4.90, zone 1 adult single journey oyster/card ÂŁ2.40. They will also be set up to encourage multiple journeys rather than one short one. The tube for instance will cost a lot for the first journey even if itâs one stop but then max out at a travel card if you are using oyster for a contactless debit or credit card.
2. Privatisation. The trains used to be nationalised, the European trains are still nationalised. The trains are the same often exactly the same make and model. The idea if that itâs not a monopoly because there are multiple train companies but since they donât run on the same lines in practice you have no choice about company so they can charge what they like. Unless you own a car but then petrol price comes in (UK $5.12 per gallon, US $2.50 per gallon) along with high costs for the car extra.
3. Racism? Iâm not sure, our government at the moment loves money but also with Brexit racism seems to be at an all time high. The government are also very backwards (in the Brexit deal there was mention of Netscape as a modern browser) so maybe they just havenât realised you can make money from the internet yet.
4. Yeah. We never had, they would be a good idea, we probably should get them. They were just never put in before, and now we still donât expect them. It would be useful to stop my cat getting out.
5. Population density and the desires of rich people/home owners. The UK has a population density of 279.95 people per km2, the US has 34 people per km2 which is tiny. This means farming land to people is much better (usually that population density would be found in mountainous, desert and or sub arctic countries like Sweden (22.97), Faroe islands (34.48) or Kyrgystan (31.56). More farmland to people means cheaper food and land prices, meaning more money for other things like blenders, dollar store toys and cars.
The rich land owners also donât want the pound to drop as is they have land they want it to stay as valuable as possible when making international trades. It does help with importing food and goods but it encourages foreign investors to buy UK property. There is a housing shortage in the UK which drives up the prices, encouraging the foreign investors. A drop in the value of the pound would help exports but discourage foreign investors buying housing which would drop house prices.
4b. We understand the American use of âBummerâ đ We are born with American TV making up 50% of our programs. However pants are still pants and not trousers. Also the English use of âBummerâ is rightly dying out, I can explain why if it isnât already obvious.
6. There used to be more but they fell into disrepair during the 80âs and become hotspots for drug use. There was never any new investment.
7. This used to be MUCH worse. A night out used to end with your clothes stinking of smoke. We now have an inside smoking ban since 2007 (you used to be able to smoke everywhere) and levels of smoking have dropped drastically but I suppose old habits die hard. There is still an entitlement to older smokers but this is slowly getting better.
8. Sorry? We often donât want to be rude but this meets the balance with not encouraging things we donât want. Itâs always a balance.
I agree with you on most of this, especially the price of transport (until last year my bus to work, if I wanted to ride all the way without a 20 minute walk as well, was over ÂŁ7 for a 3 mile journey.).
As to the toilets in my experience there are plenty of them, but they tend to be hidden away so you basically need to be a local to use them.
I'm a smoker and I'm often shocked to see people spark up in a park full of kids, or blowing it directly into the door or windows of a restaurant or cafe.
Other you tubers have moved to the uk, you just need to work for a company for a year or so to get sponsored first.
Good to know!
Yeah I believe Evan Edinger is one of them. Having worked for multiple startups. However he also came here on a student visa before that.
@@WanderingRavens Also want to say, you would be able to get a work visa for 3 years. You then can take a test? or you just apply to live.
Once you have lived for 5 or 7 years you can apply for citzenship.
I am pretty sure long as you work here and pay taxes on the place (Council Tax) and NI Tax, you be fine. The income tax would be the problem though, maybe that is why they don't allow it?
My friend is freelance though and they are from Italy, maybe it's because it's an EU country they allowed them to stay here? Then again, I know plenty from Asian/Oceania areas that have come to live here as freelance, but maybe it's that they were working for British or International companies that have HQs in UK.
@Violet Yes, I noticed. Oooh what a giveaway!
Yep, @evanedinger is one! He lives in london and is going for his citizenship :)
with the screen i donât know abt England n stuff. but a lot of windows in Scotland can open fully or they can open half way so nothing can get out. like if the handle is at 90° they can open like doors. if itâs at 180° the fall forward a bit so they arenât as open but u still get fresh air
Not sure what tube ticket you had, on the TFL web site a 2 stop trip on the Tube in Zone 1 is ÂŁ2.40 using Oyster or contactless card, even if you cross into zone 2 it's only ÂŁ2.90. If you buy a single use ticket - considered a cash payment - then itâs ÂŁ4.90. If you donât have them, Iâd consider getting Oyster cards, unlike NY Metro cards they never expire and there is a daily and weekly cap, so if you use it a lot, once you reach the cap limit, every journey after that is free.
Public transportation in the United States, except for a few major cities, is extremely limited.
That is something that came to my mind aswell. Yes public transport is expensive here and they re other European countrys that do it better. but compared with usa you can get pretty much to and from anywhere in the country without a car.
@@zarasamuels9377 thats true but you have to remember its not only comparing it to the US, since they have been all over europe and asia it seems. UK transport is just expensive. As for the freelancer thing, i assume its something about keeping out "bullshitters". yeh i work freelance, look these funds were from my freelance work *stamp*. I could be wrong I just think its probably to do with needing 100% concrete proof of income and necessity of ur job being based in england
@@Auron710 yeah I agree with the freelance thing, being about preventing people trying to gain the system. though I do think rules here might need a little updating. as they are a little old now, and freelance work is more common place.
I notice you wait till there is the safety of the Atlantic Ocean between you and your viewers before posting this one đ
I moved to the UK 2 years ago, and I have two cats. I found custom window screens made strong enough to keep them indoors and love the extra benefit of keeping bugs out.
All legitimate points in my town of Bridgend, we had two toilets in the town centre, both closed.
The best way to get cheaper is spilt ticketing in advance when, you can; public transport is expensive.
Hiya. You DO know, when Brits let their cats out, the cats come back? Many doors to the outside even have cat-flaps, so the cats can come and go as they please. I do pity House Cats, somewhat. Will your cat NEVER experience the outside world? Stay safe. All the best to you.
A more serious problem is in America its common place to have you cats declawed, a barbaric process they can result in a jail sentence in the U.K. In the U.K. we made all of our top predators extinct, where as in most of America, they cats tend to get eaten if let outside. Also cats are much better climbing up trees, than they are at getting back down (for anatomical reasons) so the fire brigade in the UK spend a lot of time rescuing cats from trees when they get stuck.
In many countries its also now illegal to let pet cats outside unattended, as they can quickly kill local endangered species when they hunt.
I have three cats in the UK who have a cat flap. When I tried to keep one of them in by locking the cat flap (because she had a sore foot), they actually broke out of the house by hurling themselves at the cat flap until it broke.
My cat is an indoor cat. She was abused at her previous "home" by being hit in the face and swung around by her tail, so she's now 100% a house cat as she has the tendency to freak at the outside world. But yeah, in the UK cats do come and go as they please!
@@hannahaidastitcher8098 That's outrageous. How'd they find it if an ogre hit their face and swung them around? Some just have no sense.
When I was younger you could smoke in a McDonald's and on public transport and in cinemas đł
They are sarcastic simply because they hate Americans and other human beens. Their sarcasm is no joke..it comes from their hearts.
While I realise that Britain doesn't have nearly as many insects as other countries, that is one things I don't like about summer. You just have to not open any windows or doors, or don't have any lights on.
I was just mesmerised by your cat staring at Eric the whole time, I need a cat so bad đđ
She's the best! Sadly, she's not ours, as we're just watching her for some friends đđ
@@WanderingRavens It looks more like sha's watching you :)
We had a lovely kitten for eight months...then a car ran it over....223,000 cats die every year in the uk like that....if you live near a dangerous road donât have a cat....the grief is awful..
Most stations have restrooms. Often kept locked, access upon request. (The rest of the points are pretty fair).
You can also find them at most cafeâs and bars.
Macdonalds is London's unoffical public restroom
In the town where I live we used to have two public toilets but one was constantly being used to shoot drugs or meet to obtain drugs. So the council changed it to a drug counselling centre. So now we only have one public toilet. Not that anyone needs it unless they are homeless as no-one has any reason to go into town as all the shops have gone out of business due to lockdown.
I totally agree with you about the train fares. A significant proportion of my wage went on a 1hr train commute...used to be cheaper by car which is crazy to me.
Did you guys know that if you use a debit card or oyster card to swipe and pay for the tube (as long as you consistently use the same card) the cost of monthly travel is capped at ÂŁ30? Although I havenât commuted in London for a couple of years, it may have changed, but i found that made it relatively cheap đ
Oh wow!! That's good to know! Thanks!
@@WanderingRavens ... i was about to mention this so im surprised you are not aware of this.
Emailed you a possible way around the visa thing, and yes its legal.
I'm sure I've said this before in the comments of one of you videos (it was about a year and a half/ 2 years ago though) but the whole public toilet thing is mostly due to the local authorities not having enough money to run said 'service' and therefore closing all in their area, your best bet currently (when lockdown 3 ends) is to find anywhere selling a substantive meal and ask if it would be okay if you could use their facilities?
Seeing as most of the UK only gets between 6-12 weeks of really hot weather a year (last year was the exception to the rule) and those weeks will be evenly split between the terms (semesters) just before and after the schools go on summer holiday window screens are somewhat useless. I think homes in Spain, Italy and Greece (most of southern Europe really) may have them.
The whole price gouging thing depends on 2 things;
1. What type of ticket you're asking for (direct or split)
And
2. When (what time) you're leaving your disembarkation station and your final arrival station
Firstly, depending on where you're trying to get to you'll either be able to get a direct ticket (City to city trains are usually direct services). However if either your fas doesn't have a direct service, is on a branch line or the company you start your company with isn't the same one you end it with you'll have to get a split ticket.
Secondly, depending on whether you're leaving your ds between 6am and 9am or arriving at your fas between 3:30pm and (let's say) 7pm you will most likely be paying a touch more because its peak time. Although this is just during a standard week pre covid.
With the exception of probably Germany most of Europe's rail network (that's track and rolling stock) are nation owned, in comparison whilst Westminster owns (through the guise of national rail) the track system the rolling stock (trains) are privately owned and said companies bid against each other to win the contract for a certain area/region of the country.
Finally you can be a small business owner (not so much a freelancer) and become a British resident, you just have to be willing to spend ÂŁ2 million in investment(s) and then you can get a vis for free
2 million how fking greedy is theuk no small business has this youre joking lol.
@@inhabitantwaps3qs803 the UK does have small businesses that don't get anywhere near ÂŁ2 million in (revenue) investments a year, what I was saying in the comment was that unlike some countries (I think it's possible in the U.S) unless your excessively rich you have to be a permenant resident in Britain for 5 years before you can start the long and expensive road to citizenship. The type of visa I mentioned is called 'Golden' because only the super rich can get them, in the video the ravens were talking about moving to the UK and doing freelance work. I was trying to moderate their expectations of how easy it would be to gain residency/ citizenship based on doing fw, that's all
Idk how it is in the underground. But the trick to trains here is that if you get on without a ticket you will at least get to the next stop. Cuz once your on they cant kick you off till the next stop.
I don't know where in the U.K.you were living but live in south Devon and my windows are always open on nice days in the summer months , with the exception of the odd fly ----- nothing .
In Notts, same here. Occasional bee, and that's it
In my home town they had public toilets for a while but if you were really inebriated and took too long the door automatically opened XD XD
The ones in Westminster give you 20 minuted then automatically open. When they shut they steam clean themselves.
Tube/Underground fares
ÂŁ4 is flat rate for Zone 1, what ever the distance. If it's close- walk. Plus there is a 'capped' limit per day.
Train fares.
Fares are discounted for advance booking. Just like booking a ferry or flight.
The tube journey was probably withing zone 1, which is the centre of London as you're aware. And the high price of public travel is because of the type of privatisation we have here, where the government is involve in the upkeep and expansion of the train system and yet the running of it is by private enterprise where they can charge however much as they like.
I am a Yank who spends (pre-COVID) a lot of time in the U.K. and have never had a problem with finding a toilet. Then again, it could be because I embrace Pub culture and there is always a toilet in the pub. As I recall from previous videos, you are both non-drinkers, no judgement here, just an observation. In the AM time frame I always find a toilet available in Costa or Cafe Nero.
Feels like their problems are only based in London đđđđ
I well remember that about 30 years ago I worked for roughly 6 weeks in Orlando at a company HQ. At the time in the UK it was ok to smoke in offices, but offices had windows so air could move. In this building in Orlando (like many buildings in Florida, there were no windows to the outside) smoking was banned in offices, and of course they were air conditioned. Smokers therefore went into the corridors to smoke which was considered ok. Corridors were not air conditioned. This meant that getting between offices was a trip through thick fog.....Nasty, especially as the arrangement of offices meant quite elaborate trips through the corridors. While I am walking fast I could only hold my breath for about 45 seconds although I was trying to hold for longer. At the time I thought this was awful.
I'm a management consultant and once did a project for Network Rail (the nationalised owner and maintainer of the track). Whilst working there, someone explained the reason trains are so expensive is that we have "first mover DISadvantage" - basically the UK built most of it's railway infrastructure very early, so it's now old and inneficient/expensive to maintain compared to other countries like France and Spain. The profit margins of the private train companies are actually low (just a couple of %). The tracks are state owned via network rail, whilst private companies bid to run the actual trains on them
Even more reason for the UK to try its best to collect on tourist revenue and EU worker tax money to reinvest in expanding the transit network. With Brexit, this is now less feasible.
What? bummer means âa shameâ like itâs annoying. What does it mean for you guys? Iâm from Northern Ireland.
Yeah, I use it in Northern England pretty often too.
@Violet In the south of England "bummer" has the same meaning.
Its the homosexual meaning of the word I think they are implying.
It also means someone who does anual sex, most specifically a guy man. It's used insultinly
bummer is a person who enjoys anal sex although I think most UK people will know the americans use it in a different way and will make allowances!
Thereâs plenty of public w/c in Leeds
What journey cost you ÂŁ4 to go two stops? I can only think Baker Street to Wembley Park on the Metropolitan Line is ÂŁ3.90, but that goes from Zones 1 to 4 but skips a bunch of stations served by the Jubilee instead???
There are usually public lavatories in department stores and big railway stations. There are also lavatories in public houses and public buildings example museums, art galleries, cafes, restaurants, hospitals, doctorâs surgeries, courts , council offices, universities, sports centres, supermarkets, air ports and also purpose built lavatories in the high street. I personally have found no difficulty finding public lavatories anywhere I have been in the United Kingdom.
Hey look Iâm binge watching now ahhh
It doesnât sound like you had a great time in Leeds. I apologize on behalf of my home town. Itâs a lot better when not in lockdown.
Despite our experience with Turd Alley, we actually had a pretty good time! Leeds is a gorgeous city with incredible architecture and so much to see!
Somehow, just somehow, these two have managed to worm their way into my heart the way my parents failed to do in sixteen years. So go you guys.
*Trains* đ
In the UK, we have both some of the most expensive train fares, and some of the cheapest. If you're able to book well in advance and be flexible about when you travel then you an get some good deals - looking a few weeks ahead, you can do the 200 mile trip from London to Leeds for ÂŁ18, which is not bad at all. But yes, if you want to make a long journey at short notice, it's bloody expensive. In London, the tube isn't such bad value if you're using it a lot, but the fares are designed to put passengers off from making short journeys where it would probably be quicker to walk or get a bus. It's also cheaper if you use Oyster/contactless, a single journey in zone 1 is ÂŁ2.40, compared with ÂŁ5.50 if you buy a paper ticket.
*Toilets* đœ
A lot of bigger stations _do_ have toilets, but they are often reserved for train passengers, so they're either behind the ticket gates or they are locked and you need to get the key from the ticket office. In a bigger town or city, your best bet is often in a shopping centre. But yes, provision of public toilets is often very poor, it's one of those things that councils cut back on to save money, and because it's not usually the locals who need to use them (not as much as visitors) they don't complain.
*Smoking* đŹ
I'm with you on this one, second-hand smoke is foul. But just be glad it isn't 15 years ago when people could still smoke in pubs and restaurants. You would always come back from any night out smelling like an ashtray. So things have improved, but there's still a way to go.
my god, that was tame. You are far too nice to really tell the truth, and that's why we love you.
Didn't want to ruffle you too much đđ But thank you!! We appreciate you too! :D
We hate the cost of public transport. Trains arenât (werenât pre Covid) subsidised by govt unlike many countries in Europe! The UK is not used to warm weather and canât handle any weather changes!!!
So used to weather changing four times a day that it never stays too bad or too good for long. But that was way back in the last century. Still in the mind set and for some of the year still true but more really bad periods and even worse with burning hot weather in summer for weeks at a time.
A two stop journey on "the tube" usually equals a 10 to 20 minute walk (sometimes as little as 5 minutes), certainly in zone 1. Obviously out on the far reaches of the Metropolitan Line this wouldn't be the case but the point still stands.
But yeah, unless you're buying a day or week pass and getting plenty of journeys out of it public transport is mile for mile expensive.
You mentioned about cats going outside...one of the things Iâve noticed in the US is that cats are pretty much inside only. Here in the UK it is pretty normal for cats to go out! They know where they live and will find their way home again.
Iâd be pretty ok with screens on the windows to stop wasps getting inside in the summer! Thatâs one of the more useful things I like about the US.
With regards to trains...sometimes it can be cheaper to do âsplit ticketsâ to make a longer journey cheaper. But yes, we also hate the extortionate prices of trains! Also in London itâs often quicker to walk rather than take the Tube, especially if youâre going one or two stops. The amount of tourists that take the Tube between Piccadilly and Covent Garden is astounding! Especially as itâs only about a 15 to 20 minute walk!
We use net curtains...Also good for twitching!