Americans in the UK: British Culture Shocks
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- čas přidán 10. 06. 2023
- As Americans traveling the UK, today we are delving into the intriguing world of British culture and some of the culture shocks we've experienced. It is our American friends' first time in England and we are taking them on a road trip through England and up to Scotland. Traveling the country with them has reminded us of some of the shocks we first experienced when visiting the UK as well as some of the things that have been different. We've been in the UK for two months now so we've experienced more cultural differences, both good and bad as well as some utterly fascinating aspects of British culture.
In this video, we not only reflect on our initial culture shocks but also share our observations from our extended travels across the UK. Whether it's British slang or etiquette that differs from our American norms, we've had so much fun learning about our cultural differences as we go.
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We have Aircon in the UK but we call it a window 😊
A lot of our shops have air conditioning but it's much gentler than in the US
we call it a purifier in our old saxon village. Airs filthy
Tbf houses in the summer do get far to hot in the UK
And a fan. And a moan.
"In the UK, 100 miles is a long way. In the US, 100 years is a long time"
Restaurants :
US = Insincere, over the top service, and it's just somewhere to go to eat.
UK/Europe = A social event that goes on for hours, where the staff are paid a decent wage and don't have to grovel for your money.
Oh, Sunday trading laws................
Remember our Head of State is also the head of the state religion - they have something against working on Sundays.
The US is supposed to be secular ..........
In south-east England 100 miles is a long way. It wouldn't be considered a long way in the South-West (a round trip to meet someone at the station for me is 110) and I should think it's no distance at all in the Highlands of Scotland. But Londoners think even 50 miles is a long way :)
Air conditioning in UK homes is very rare as due to the cool climate it would not be used much and to install it would be an unecessary expense. Public transport funding has been cut back in recent years and some bus routes have been scrapped or had the number of buses per day much reduced. On the whole we Britons like Americans- you helped us out big time in two world wars so we are grateful for that.
As a brit who lived briefly in the US, one thing that used to annoy me is over-zealous waiting staff in restaurants. In the UK the perfect waiter is attentive, but non-intrusive and isn't coming over every 5 minutes to ask you if you are OK. They seem to just know when you want something without asking !!
Yes it's not a case of a lower customer service, we don't want to be pestered. In the States I was in a very non touristy Michigan restaurant and the waitress pulled up a chair because of my British accent.
Completely agree
US wait staff get a very low salary and live from tips.
UK wait staff get a fair salary and, usually, a share of the team's tips.
This explains the need to really impress the customer in the USA.
yes because their employers dont pay them enough
Their trained to kiss ass for tips
The reason we don't have aircon is that there just isn't any need. for the few days a year it might be hot, we just plug a fan in. I've never seen aircon in a home in the UK.
Everyone however, has heating because when it gets cold, it gets COLD.
@@Granolora I think I saw some Americans on here who literally did not know what those radiator things were for. Visit outside of the summer months and you'll find out! 😆
As a Brit who’s been living in the States, I can honestly say I really miss having AC when I visit back home in the UK. The summer may be short but it’s sticky and uncomfortable too much for me. I also miss the screens on the windows we have in the States as when you open the windows in the Uk to let the cooler air in, you get flies and other bugs come in as well. I have a friend in the UK who bought an AC unit and she’s loving it and everyone likes to go to her place in the summer to cool down!
One of the issues with resturants is that a table may be empty but booked for an hours time. They don’t want to give it to you and then rush you to vacate the table when the booking is due.
This is what I was going to say. Always book ahead if you want to eat in a particular place, where possible
also worth noting if you want to book a table online but there's no available slots, give the place a call and ask to book a table (just don't say hey i've tried to book online but says you're fully booked!) 😅 they can often squeeze you in, best to plan ahead and book in advance (same rules apply)
yes this ...majority of restruants are not in the get you in take money get you out ethos as in the u.s so is considered rude to be rushed out unless told so dureiong booking and even then
The two of us went into a restaurant in a small town in France. The restaurant was empty (maybe there was one couple already seated, I don't remember, but no more than that). We asked for a table and the manager said there was no room. We were about to turn and leave when he relented and said he thought he could fit us in. We thought this slightly strange, but he was pleasant enough. Sometime later a loud (and risquée) hen night group (batchelorette party) turned up and sat down for a meal. The manager obviously knew them well, laughing and joking with them. They were harmless and quite usefully stretching for our French vocabulary. We had a good evening with excellent food. There are two possibilities I can guess of what happened. Either he simply realised that we would struggle to find anywhere else to eat in the small town and took pity on us, or he was initially concerned about what these English people would think when the hens arrived, but realising that we spoke decent French, thought that at least we would know roughly what was going on.
I've just realised another word difference, we dont use "disorienting" we use "disorientating" also "public transportation" whereas we use "public transport"
You're the second person to tell us that.
Also 'acclimatise' rather than 'acclimate' 😄
Addictive vs addicting too.
We tend to use obliged rather than obligated
The two culture shocks I had was when I visited my elderly Uncle and his wife in Iowa many years ago, was the fact that there was no public transport at all. They totally relied on their car. They lived a mile out of town and I like to walk, for two days I walked into town, only to be shadowed by a Police car. On the third day I was attending a round table lunch, and the Police Chief explained that I was a stranger, and nobody walks!
I was watching a video where, at one point, the maker remarked on how part of a city in the US was buzzing with life. All there was were cars driving down the street, not one person was walking.
How unhealthy 😅
I remember arguing with a hotel concierge that we didn't need the hotel van to take me across the road to a mall - or down the road to where there were some food outlets (all bloody chains). Eventually they relented. But we had plenty of cars blow their horns at us as we walked along the highway in the snow (we were off the road in the verge but obviously locals not used to people walking).
Make it easy to walk ffs!
@timempson2146 Cities in the US are designed for cars...not people!
After visiting the US for a holiday, I was so glad to return home to Sydney, Australia...
@@timempson2146come here to Boston. Much more of a walkable than other parts of the country
I’m the south west of England where I’m from, if you compliment something a person is wearing, the compulsory response is to immediately try and remember where it’s from - even if it’s ten years ago - so that the person complimenting you can try and get their own. 😂
I'm a Yorkshire lass.... Born and bread.... You guys are totally adorable. It's very refreshing to see my beloved Yorkshire through your fresh eyes...... Yorkshire AKA gods own county is enriched by your wounder..... I just adore you're discovering and celebrating the differences and similarities.
If a table is empty it is probably reserved, most restaurants will not rush you after your meal. A lot of Brits when booking a table might spend longer drinking after their meal than they spent eating so staff will often wait for you to ask for the bill.
As for tipping staff are paid, the tip is a bonus and not based on the size of your bill, if you've had good service give them a fiver and they'll be happy enough.
You can buy flat sheets quite easily in the UK. However we use Duvet [silent "t"] covers which are washed when the sheets are washed meaning that there is no need for a separate sheet. Duvet covers come in millions of colourways and designs.
Are we saying colourways here now, instead of colours? We seem to be absorbing so much of the American phrases
Restaurant culture is very different. Across all of Europe, eating out is an event and you make an evening of it, so you would always expect to be there 3 hours for a larger restaurant, 2 for a pizza place etc. Many Europeans (myself included) hate US customer service and being hassled all the time. Leave me alone until I want something. The empty tables will be where someone has booked them, and because they know people will be there a long time, they can't let anyone else have the table. Always book, even if you don't think you need to- it is polite and allows the restaurant to plan their staffing.
I find it annoying that even here in the UK, you'll sometimes be asked 3 or 4 times if everything is OK in a few places. Once is quite enough, although I too prefer to be left alone unless I ask for something. Fortunately, almost everywhere around here does it right, but the over attentiveness is very irritating when it happens.
I always like to give the staff/waiter a little... "All's good thanks, I'll give you a shout if I need anything, ta" line.. usually works
Agree,rushing you to leave is so impolite, not only UK but mainland Europe.
Regarding
Supermarkets only working until 5pm Sunday and there’s option to go to a little Tesco or Sainsbury’s,corner shops
Workers have rights here , if you get ill you take time off and it doesn’t take away your holidays.
So happy big supermarkets shut 5pm Sunday.
They need to have a life
Yes, always a good idea to book _where you can_ especially if you are going later in the evening ... but also be aware that some places don't take bookings! The worst I've found for that was Fort William in Scotland, where there aren't enough eateries to cater for the huge numbers of tourists so everywhere worth going to (and some places that aren't really worth going to!) will have a queue outside and you just have to wait for a table to become free ... they don't want to take bookings because they can fill every table from 6pm until closing time without it!
My culture shock when moving to America from England nearly 26 years ago includes the size of cars, the amount of people who own pickup trucks, how terrible public transportation is when you don’t live in major cities like Washington DC and New York City, the amount of food you get for one person at one meal sitting and how you’re expected to take it home with you. Whenever I say I don’t want to take my leftovers home with me, I always get strange looks from the waiters/waitresses and I’ve even had some trying to convince me to take the food home and I’ve had to eventually explain that I only wanted one meal not enough for the rest of the week. The size of the houses here in the states was another culture shock. I grew up with one bathroom and a separate toilet across the hallway (in its own room) for a family of five and most American houses I’ve been in have at least 3 bathrooms and a half bathroom which consists of a toilet and sink (two piece) and even that room is massive!! Walk in closets the size of the bedroom I slept in as a child. How all of the houses are made completely with wood and brick is a fancy facade that you often find only on the front of the house, apparently because it’s so expensive here. How many highways (motorways) there are. Often, instead of driving local roads to get to my nearest Starbucks I can avoid all the traffic and the lights and join the highway (motorway). Drive thru ATMs (drive through cash machines) were one of the biggest culture shocks when I first came to the states. I was in the car of the American family I was living with and the grandad drove up to the cash machine without getting out of his car and I was AMAZED!! As for the language I often still hear things being said and no clue what they mean and vice versa when I speak to Americans. They also have difficulty with my English accent which is still as strong as ever. I feel like I speak two different languages when speaking to my friends in America and to my friends and family in England. I get ridiculed by my family if I use any American words, but there are some such as A/C and GPS that I don’t translate for them into air con and Sat-Nav, because they weren’t in my vocabulary before I moved to America. The weather was never hot enough and sat-navs didn’t exist. The sheer size of the states was a culture shock and how many different terrains and climates there are was a major culture shock. Also how aggressive drivers are here in the Northeast. The fact that a light could have turned green and immediately someone is beeping their horn….what on earth for??!!! How extremely different people are from state to state. The further you get away from NYC the friendlier and more helpful people are. There are so many I don’t have time to write them all. I hope they didn’t sound negative, because I do like living here, I’ve had the best time of my life living here despite being solo and all of my family still being back home in England.
This is so accurate. I have a small 3 bedroom 2 bath in Texas and my bedroom feels like a mansion compared to the hotel room I got in London. It’s wonderful to see and learn all the differences from country to country or state to state.
As. Brits visiting Orlando we were shocked at the fact there was parking outside any store you went to. Also plenty of spaces! We also couldn't believe how massive the portion sizes were of food in restaurants. The sales tax thing is horrible though, we never worked out what it was going to cost so basically it was always a surprise when we got to the checkout! 😂
There are moreparking spaces in the usa than there are cars.
Aha "the massive food portions" .... could this possibly be the reason why named bed sizes differ between the two countries??!! Just wonderin'!!
Sales tax varies from state to state. In my home state of Massachusetts it’s 6.25% + 0.75% local sales tax. Our neighbors to the north New Hampshire, there’s no sales tax. So those added on sales tax are implemented by state and local governments.
It’s always good to know how much the government is taking from you and in which state!… The U.S. is not an absolute monarchy where taxes are determined centrally and then hidden and tucked away in the prices of the goods and services!… This minor “inconvenience” of having the taxes separated from the prices of the products is worth it knowing how much the government is stealing from you!
In UK space is a premium.
I’m old enough to remember when all the shops were closed on Sunday. We survived. It was kind of a nice family, less stress day. The church really kicked off when the laws were changed. My dad was a lay preacher, but I think he quite likes being able to buy a good bottle of Merlot on a Sunday.
He could have bought two on Saturday 😄👍
The old gag used to be that you could buy a pornographic magazine in the newsagents on a Sunday, but you couldn't buy a Bible. I remember those long lazy Sundays too, when there were no shops open, not many petrol stations, and no respectable household would ever hang out washing either. In large parts of Wales the pubs were closed as well. It all seems a long time ago....
@@davidjones332 .
I remember the last time a vote was taken, where I lived in Wales, to allow pubs to be open on a Sunday.
@@davidjones332 Wow!…. You got me all nostalgic for those days. I think we both grew up in a good time.
Don't forget the half day closing on a Wednesday 😀
Had to laugh the other day in London when an American family stood patiently waiting for the pedestrian lights to change on an empty road. Even when I just crossed over they couldn’t bring themselves to follow me. There was zero danger but the idea of jaywalking was obviously so ingrained in them.
I had a bollocking in Canada for jaywalking, luckily it was in a small town (Pinchers Creek) and a local officer was going to write me up over it until he realised I was a tourist and as the road was clear he just advised me that in a larger city I wouldn't be so lucky
When I was in the Royal Navy, we spent a lot of time in the US, in various places, I was a young officer pilot and had never been warned about jaywalking, anyway I ran across a road and was greeted by a police officer who grabbed me, he said I could arrest you but instantly laughed when he heard my British accent, he was very pleasant and explained what jaywalking was, never did it again!
It was a family tho. With children, you wait for the lights regardless of a clear road.
I do it if roads clear and no kids waiting for lights to change.
But as a parent realise the importance of teaching children about road safety, until they can see the roads, be seen properly.
Oh dear😂😂
They so dumb the government doesn't trust them to cross the road 😂
A business associate and I flew from Australia to Heathrow, total time around 24 hours, limited sleep of course. We then picked up our rental car at Heathrow and drove five hours to Yorkshire, about 200 miles to a meeting. We were casually asked on arrival where we came from today, they all nearly died of shock.
I went to a small music festival in Indiana a decade or so ago. I got the bus from Indianapolis to the next town along and then two other buses until I got within half a dozen miles, then took a taxi the rest of the way. When I told people at the festival that I'd got there from Indianapolis by bus, they reacted like I had said that I flew in on a dragon. It turns out that there are small, rural bus services that almost NOBODY knows about.
Probably my biggest culture shock in the USA was when I arrived in a small town, checked into a motel, then went to a restaurant across the road. There I asked what beers they had only to be told it was a dry county. It turned out that the person asking me what I would like to drink was the manager. I changed my order and he was very pleasant about it. We had a chat about the situation and other things. I knew this happens, but wasn't expecting it at that moment.
In the 1980s tips barely existed in restaurants in the UK (you might give a small tip if someone gave you exceptional service), but in France for example tips were normal in restaurants. Now in 2023 service is (almost) always included in restaurant bills (checks / additions) in France and tips are not expected, while in the UK tips (though at a lower level than in the USA) are expected except where an (optional) service charge is included, which is usually when you are in a large party of people.
When I was 14 (late 1970s) my parents and I exceptionally stayed at a posh hotel over a weekend (in the UK). One evening we ate in the hotel restaurant. Although the level of this restaurant was an exception for us, we would occasionally eat at decent restaurants so I knew a bit about restaurant food and how to behave in a restaurant. I was also always very conscious of expense, so I ordered from the relatively low priced table d'hôte menu. My starter would be dolmades (stuffed vine leaves), which I had eaten once before (at home out of a can). When my starter arrived it looked entirely wrong. Nevertheless I had a taste. It was clearly a prawn cocktail, something I'd had lots of times before, I liked, but was more expensive. I attracted the attention of a waiter who happened to be the head waiter. He came over, heard my "complaint", and took away the offending dish. I was then slightly upset to see him shouting (quietly) at our waiter and gesticulating at the notes he had taken. Later my dolmades arrived with extreme apologies from the waiter. I felt quite grown up to have got the problem sorted out yet at the same time embarrassed to have caused such grief.
I've worked in pubs for years, and believe me, people do send things back if its wrong 😂
Feel for you brother. I worked front of house for years....I keep telling people I'm going to start a podcast or write a book about dealing with the general public 🤦♂️🤣
Meal in a local hotel restaurant (5*) asked for my steak medium/well more well than medium, came out still mooing, sent back and came out a second time still oozing blood when cut into, not rested at all, third time, a new steak, was very well done, overcooked and as dry as a bone. In the meantime the family had finished their mains and my veg on the side was now cold. Last meal eaten there. I did get it removed from the bill. At least the wine was good and not overpriced plonk.
I went to a pub once and was served by a woman with no apparent neck that tended to spot when she talked. I didn't eat the meal. Also,the toilet wasn't secured to the floor,so a memorable time was had.
I have only had to send a pub dish back once when the fish was still frozen! The cook came out and served the replacement and apologised. It was delicious. Not only was there no charge for the main but I got a free dessert. We all make mistakes. It is how you deal with it and how you put it right. Did it cost them anything? Well I have been back there at least a dozen times since. I doubt I would have if treated differently.
@robertouten Sounds like internal Aeroflot in 1990s. Lots of leg room - till you realised seats not bolted down
Regards trains, the UK use to have an even more comprehensive rail network but sadly a lot of branch lines were axed following cuts in the 1960s. This was called the dreaded Beaching Axe. You'll find a lot of these routes still kinda exist as parts of them have been converted into cycle paths.
Dr Richard Beeching, head of ICI Industries. Rewarded by the Labour Government for destroying the rail network. Where I live, they are slowly reopening them.
Not being rushed out of restaurants is a great thing. It was my culture shock in the States to be swept out of the door to get the next punter in. Makes you feel undervalued as a customer to shoved out.
I have only once in my life sent a meal back and that was because there was actual dirt on the plate. Otherwise, I just put my head down and eat what I'm given. I always think about the American phrase: "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade" I feel that if that phrase existed in the UK it would go something like. "If life gives you lemons, shut the f*ck up and eat your damn lemons!"
I disagree and think this is a you thing. If I get the wrong food in a restaurant I am absolutely sending it back, in the politest way possible of course, and asking for the food I actually ordered. The same goes for most of my friends and family
I know that a few months ago when at McDonald’s I noticed my burger didn’t have gherkins on so I called up an assistant and complained and they got me a new one. So to me that would seem normal.
But I’ve been told that the US has excellent customer service and that the U.K. has poor customer service and so Americans will have high expectations where British people won’t. And people tend to accept things in line with their expectations
I just leave it. One time in Germany the waiter asked me if something was wrong and I said it tasted off but maybe just me. She came back 10 minutes later and said the dog wouldn't eat it so didn't charge me. I think it was horse meat, to be honest.
Terrible take. That’s rewarding poor service. I had a cooked breakfast in a restaurant in Croatia this morning and the bacon and eggs were cold. I politely told the waiter who with no fuss took my plate and returned shortly after with freshly-cooked HOT food. In this case the customer IS right.
@@user-ch9if6px6r what if it was? Horse meat is quite delicious! (and also a bit too expensive to eat it regularly, at least in my household...)
I was once told that the closest things Americans had to a Queen was Dolly Parton.
I have found that, when visiting the US (NYC, Chicago KY IN) the cops don't take too kindly to being approached for directions! They do get a little twitchy!
The big difficulty that Americans have is with Berkshire and Derbyshire where the Es are pronounced as As.
That makes sense.
Americans usually also slow walk over s-h-i-r-e. The further north you go in England it becomes shuh. Yorkshuh, Derbishuh. Eg, Leicestershire = Lestershuh.
As soon as they're happy with Berkshire, Derbyshire and the like we slap em with Worcestershire and test them as Doctorates rather than A Level 👍😂
There is always Kirkcudbrightshire, although l think that is now part of Dumfries and Galloway, as well.
I'm fine with Sunday trading laws. As a Brit I'm just used to them so make sure that I've got everything I need during the week - Mon-Sat. I'm extra happy as my sister works in a food store here in the UK. She loves the fact that she never has to do a late shift on a Sunday.
Different trading laws in Scotland- open on Sundays
Some of what was presented in the video is a bit misleading and a generational difference. I’m in my 70s from a large city in the Midwest and stores weren’t open on Sundays when I was a child. That changed decades ago although the liquor stores were still closed on Sundays until 2-3 years ago in my state. It’s impossible to characterize anything as typically “American” given the size of this country. Regional and cultural differences are factors. Each of the 50 states have their own laws regulating commerce. Also, younger generations would have no reason to know that how they experience life today in their area may have been different unless they asked their grandparents. I find it amusing that,because of social media, people make lots of generalizations about the U.S. based on their own experiences. This happens whether the person is American or a tourist from another country who has vacationed in a few places in the U.S. There is no such thing as a typical American.
A lot of the time we pre book tables at restaurants, so the tables that you saw with nobody sat at them were probably already reserved for someone 🙂
I was born in England but I moved to Australia at age 5, in Australia there is alot of similarities to the UK.
But when I met my American husband 20 yrs ago and moved to the US, there were alot of things I just didn’t think of that would be different! Spelling, sayings, tipping, added tax after the price, great costumer service in the US, everyone having manners in the US lol, lots of people fly flags in the US not just on holidays. One of the biggest struggles ( we have lived in both Aus and the US in the 20 yrs we have been married) is not being able to make friends as easily in the US, people are really friendly I just haven’t met too many people I have meaningful friendships with, although that could be my fault too lol
Great video, it’s always interesting to hear other people’s perspectives on culture shock 😊👍
We definitely do have flat sheets. If you go to any shop that sells bedding you will see them.
They don't seem to be popular in hotels and Airbnbs.
@@TheMagicGeekdom Maybe it's to reduce costs - less washing!
We do have them, but we use either fitted or flat. Not both at the same time.
I’m a Canadian living in the U.K. and I use flat sheets as well as a duvet and fitted bottom sheet - flat sheets aren’t always as easy to buy as the duvet and bottom sheet, but you can get them. It can be frustrating at times though when you find a duvet set (duvet cover, pillowcases and bottom sheet) but you can’t find a matching flat sheet. So I feel your pain, but you get used to it! Trust me, things are much more ‘Americanised’ here now than they were when I emigrated in 1986. It really was a ‘foreign’ country then! Between things changing here and me acclimatising, I love it here! And I can get ALMOST everything online that I used to have at home, except for jujubes (jelly sweets - nothing here compares)! I miss them!😂 Have a great stay!🇬🇧🇺🇸🇨🇦🇬🇧
@@LexAngel You're wrong!
I'm old enough to remember when nothing was open on Sundays. Nothing. Having the new limited openings was so liberating.
My biggest culture shock travelling across the US was the service and tipping culture and the overt friendliness was a real surprise. I got used to it and adjusted. Also, particularly Florida, we walked around a bit and people told us we were crazy lol
Living in the Scottish central belt I got used to supermarkets being open 24/7 and it was a mild culture shock going to England and finding them not open all day Sunday. Now living in Northern Scotland and there's a lot more Sunday closing here.
This was a really nice video. I love the cultural differences, it's a lot of fun when I have had American friends visiting.
I work in a restaurant in the UK and even the Brits get confused about the empty tables. This is because a large majority of tables are booked online. We have to keep these free for a certain amount of time before the guests arrive so we can guarantee the table will be free for them. Also we wouldn't want to rush walk in guests to finish their food to free up the table. It wouldn't give them a nice, relaxed experience.
Did you find the three seashells awkward to use ?😂
Lol I don't think you even know how much I truly appreciate this reference. 😂😂😂
Nice one!
I use upper flat sheets, even on very humid nights I like to have a sheet covering me. I remember when supermarkets didn't open at all on a Sunday. Mum and me would visit the supermarket on a Saturday just before they closed as they would have lots of items reduced in price due to the Sunday closing. Also a lot of shops would close half day on a Wednesday...oh how times have changed 🤔
Oh how interesting about shops closing early on Wednesdays. We've received quite a few responses about how people do use flat sheets. Seems odd that we haven't come across a single one in any hotels or Airbnbs, but they are definitely helpful when it's hot out!
I was a butcher when I was younger and I had Wednesday off as our shop was always closed. As a consequence my big Tuesday night out at the pub was always a bummer as it was dead!!
Half-day closing was different in different towns. Where I grew up it was on Thursday. Wednesday and Saturday were our market days when traders, including farmers, set up stalls in the market place.
@@OriginsReborn Time was when butchers were usually closed on Mondays, when careful housewives were using up the remains of the Sunday joint.
In the UK we use covers on our duvets that are usually washed at the same time as the bottom sheet, this can be a fitted one or flat. I use a sarong as a dressing gown (literally a wrap) when I travel so when it's very hot or humid I just use it as my cover. Having lived with air conditioning as standard for many years I mostly prefer to do without and just open a window (There are very few windows on ships that can be opened freely!) Others have commented on our not having screens over doors and windows but as we have few really dangerous creatures that could get in why bother? OK mossies are a real pain but there are a number of deterrents available to keep them away.@@TheMagicGeekdom
As a regular visitor to America the only thing that I always find weird are the toilets. There’s like a whole lake in an American toilet. I’m Fresh back from L.A and the fridge in the room was full of drinks to purchase at extortionate prices. So we bought our own from Walgreens
always gaps between the doors also....lol
I love our British history and architecture ❤️ We were married in our tiny 12th century village church 30 years ago
That's awesome!
The bells in my village church are the same bells that were rung in 1415 to celebrate our victory over the French at Agincourt.
Smaller supermarkets and other small shops can stay open later on Sundays. It's only the larger stores that have curtailed opening hours on a Sunday. For example the Tesco Express near where I live in East Sussex will be open until 11pm today (Sunday 11th June)
Well it's not really too far back, at least in my memory, when there were no shops or fuel garages open on a Sunday, and in small towns, Wednesday was a half day where everything closed at lunchtime.
Yeah same. Most places have a Tesco express/Spar/Premier that will be open until 10pm(ish) on Sundays
In England.
Yes tesco express, sainsburys local these kind of places will be open only on christmas will there be no supermarkets open whatsoever.
Doesn’t apply in Scotland, as a Scot I’ve been caught out with this. Though in England you can buy booze outwith 10am to 10pm
I've heard Americans saying "borough" as "buh-roh" whereas in most British dialects we say "buh-ruh" or even "bruh" 😅
That's how we said it the first time we came. 😆
When I was a kid (a while ago) we weren't even allowed in pubs until we were 14. Also back then, the only businesses that were open on Sundays were pubs.
Myth alert! There has never been a law banning under 14's from pubs when accompanied by an adult. A pub might choose not to allow kids, but it has never been the law.
The fridge isn't usually a thing because shops are close by so no real need to store anything
That makes sense. Us Americans do like our cold drinks though. 😂
@@TheMagicGeekdom Just wait for winter and put the drinks on the window ledge ;)
@@SimonEllwood or don't travel in the two weeks of summer :-)
It's been a while since I was in the US, but the culture shocks I remember are not being able to find anywhere that sold a cup of tea anywhere. It was all iced tea (I now realise you call it hot tea, so I was probably asking for the wring thing). Everything was all so much bigger. Not paying what the price on the tag said - which was confusing when trying to budget. Having to tip for everything. And the money all being the same colour and size for different denominations. Our notes differ in colour and size, making it easy to identify quickly. Oh - and finding it hard to find somewhere that had vegetables with the food sold. Granted we didn't tend to go to a restaurant as such, but it was really hard to find veggies.
Really interesting video. Having spent a few years in the USA there were some things that shocked me too. One thing I used to get annoyed by was the wall plug sockets, plugging things in and them falling out really easily. The amount of times I would plug my phone in and it fall out was frustrating as it meant having no charge for a long drive.
I'd hurry up and get to Skye as we're into the third week of sunny weather and when this breaks you'll probably have to wait until next year before you'll see Scotland and the Highlands at their best 🙂.
Regarding driving, driving on narrow, twisty roads is a little more demanding than cruising down straight multi-lane highways and it is recommended that you take a break after two hours.
I’m a Brit who’s spent a lot of time in the US and my biggest culture shocks are pretty much the same. Tipping in the US is still incredibly confusing to me, I still don’t quite understand who I should and shouldn’t tip. During one of my first trips stateside, a waiter threatened to call the police because I didn’t tip enough! A lot of what you’re noticing also falls under the same category - everything is bigger in America - roads, beds, supermarkets, cars, hotel rooms, toilet cubicles, food portion sizes… everything. I also find drinking (alcohol) culture completely different, the amount we drink in the UK and Ireland would be considered a serious alcohol problem to most Americans. However, drinking while drunk in the US is something I’ve seen so often, especially in the countryside, but in the UK it’s seen as so dangerous and immoral that it’s incredibly uncommon. What I love about America and Americans is the generally positive outlook on life and the future, the confidence and huge variety of landscapes, cultures and people there. The best word to sum up the US for me is VAST!
nice thanks for sharing
I think you meant 'driving' while drunk 👍
People too are a lot bigger, many are super obese.
You obviously don’t know as much about the UK as you think, flat sheets on beds are still definitely used, I just spent the last two nights at a Travel Lodge on the South coast & it provided flat sheets & a duvet, we use the same at home on our bed! Air conditioning is definitely not a necessity in most parts of the UK, most times of the year!
I often drink while drunk, and I don't think it's that dangerous or immoral.😉
We use flat top sheets here in the UK --- I Always do! --- As for hotels - depends on the hotel.
We have Sunday trading laws in England, Wales and Northern Ireland - but not Scotland! - and they apply to shops over a certain size. So supermarkets are restricted to opening for no more than 6 hours, but smaller convenience stores are usually open for the whole day.
I spent time in Minnesota since I worked for 3M for many years. I found MN folk very formal, whereas those from the American south were more open. The other things I noticed were the lack of side-walks and town centres you could walk in. I also found the food very sweet, forcing me to live off salads!. Oh, and the only place I got a good cup of tea in was a Vietnamese restaurant!. I enjoyed my visits though, especially when I was able to travel privately, say to Stillwater, MN., which is lovely. I also enjoyed the hog racing at a local county fair.
My biggest culture shock when I went to America as a kid was when we got off the plane and I shouted to my friends older brother that "I bet you're dying for a fag". It was explained to me very quickly that it meant something different in America and I should say cigarette. I was only 13.
LOL.
Did he say yes and I'd quite like a cigarette as well.
i mean fag also means that here just you know context like many words with multiple meanings matters
@@DeterminedFC I think it was because I literally shouted it at him across the airport, but I was of an age I didn't know that it had two meanings
@@paulhanson5164 ""Can I bum a fag? Extra confusing for a Yank, I suspect. Extreme slang for "cadge" , "scrounge"...or simply "have"
Thank you, such a great video, talking of nail varnish my favorite colour at the moment is the same as your beautiful glasses.
One little pro-tip, if you happen to find yourself here on one of the, increasing, number of days when the temp is over 30c, is if you're looking for somewhere to cool down, the freezer isle of your local supermarket! it may not be a problem for you, if you're staying in hotels i think a lot of them have air con these days, but if you're in a B&B or similar you're unlikely to have aircon, also not every shop will have it, nor will every car (although it is far, far more common these days than it used to be) so a great place that's easy to get too and normally pretty cold, is a supermarkets' freezer section, although even they were getting warm back when we were getting 40c weather.
I always use a fitted sheet on mattress then a top sheet under the duvet. Everyone I know does it that way and hotels I use seem to do the same and I’m in the UK
From this day forward I am going to call my duvet a Doovette.
I never pronounce it that way, so I'm not sure why I did this time. 😂
I'm from the North so it becomes Duvit or may do now 🤪
Both their versions made me lol ❤
I’ve always called it a doovete😂😂😂
Well I'm so old that when duvets first became popular in the UK around the mid '70's, they were commonly known as Continental Quilts! The concept of just a quilt on top of you instead of piles of sheets, blankets and even an over-quilt (eiderdown), came from Europe, and coincided with warmer houses as central heating became more prevalent!
We don't get that many really hot days that we need air conditioning. We usually just open all the windows and let fresh air blow through. We still hang washing outdoors too. I think we look at our energy consumption more closely.
I've spent a lot of time travelling all over the US, and there have been so many differences and misunderstandings I've experienced. For example, asking for a Dos Equis in Austin and the barmen telling me they haven't had any keys handed in 🤷🏻♂️.
The aircon thing is definitely a major difference here when it gets hot. Even when hotels have them, they're either like a small mouse is breathing cold air from 10 feet away, or an arctic hurricane.
It actually wasn't that many years ago (until 1994) when stores weren't allowed to open on Sundays at all!
Really enjoying your videos. I'd love to do the same as you one day, but in the opposite direction 😊.
I love your videos and look forward to all your trips to the UK
We lived in the US for 2 years in the early 90s so, as it was about $2 to each £1 at that time, eating out was very cheap; I'm sure it would be a huge cultural shock at today's exchange rate, although the quantities served seem comfortably enough for 2 people.
It's great that your little dog can now accompany you on your travels. Our Siamese cat came with us to the USA but, on our return to UK, had to spend 6 months in quarantine. A big cultural shock was the disgusting practice of declawing cats that is common in the States (but illegal in Britain). The cats then have to live entirely indoors as they have no defence.
The USA is pretty horrible to its animals - Seaworld, hunting, tigers in Vegas shows, unnecessary surgery on pets for cosmetic reasons, rodeos, pet parades etc.
OMG 😱how cruel 😢 they need to go out and have claws ! To be honest I don’t like the sound of their culture I don’t want to ever go there !🏴🌹
What?!i didn't know they did that. They like mutilating living creatures, though, so no surprise.
Thankfully declawing is being done less often - vets and animal advocates have been more vocal about how cruel it is and educating cat owners. On the other hand though about letting cats out - they do kill a lot of song birds, and they are prone to getting hit by cars. I've heard numerous stories from people in the UK who have lost cats due to cars hitting or running over them. @@tabitha4135
A lot of our restaurants and bars, have a reservation service on apps, which it can be a pain as a walk in and see tables empty. Or you’ll find that people ring ahead first.
That's fair.
Grocery Shopping England Sundays: Most residential areas of England (maybe rest of UK) have a Corner Shop, Its a small ; which is important as the law which means Tesco, Waitrose etc close early on Sunday depends on the Square footage of the shop, so these are open, they can be a bit like 7/11 stores, also many Gas stations have a shop, which is normally open.
You probably wouldn't do major shopping in either but its enough for Tea, Coffee, Soda, Milk, a meal, but I doubt you can cook in your hotel, we rarely have those facilities.
Note we have moved quite a long way from 1970's when even the Fish and Chip shops were closed, except at the coast.
I'm glad you have taken time to visit our mental little island. My best mate is American, he says some mad stuff, "fancy Bournemouth for the day?" We live in Sheffield, its 4hrs away! Also public transport here is SHOCKINGLY bad.
Public transport in the UK is good. Public transport in the US does not exist in alot of places.
The law regarding Sunday opening hours only affects stores over a certain square footage (i.e. the very large supermarkets). There will always be smaller stores open as normal on a Sunday.
I love how positive you are. British history grad here so happy to help with any questions you have
A couple of things - big supermarkets have restricted opening hours on Sundays but the smaller "metro" type stores don't so you should still be able to get things later in the day. Sunday trading restrictions are still a historical cultural thing connected to the church
My parents used to put top sheets on beds too but this is seen as a very old fashioned thing now in the UK. Some b&bs may do it but you're unlikely to find a hotel that does
Carly looks well relaxed! Cultural differences are interesting things to learn, even though a few might be bewildering....i know you guys like to travel and the uk is a good base for that to mainland Europe especially or even north africa.....
Even carly can get to experience different countries with an AHC
I worked it out once using a campervan, its possible to do a 30 day or so, european trip that takes in paris, madrid, Barcelona, st tropez, Rome, Milan, zurich, and so on.
I leaned much more since I left school than I ever learned in school just purely going places like museums and exploring
I think we have too.
It's the differences that make travel interesting. Some things might seem better, some worse, but life would be boring without a challenge.
Sometimes it’s “the getting used to the change”. I’m an old New Englander and my wife and I are coming to the UK next May. We are ready to embrace all the differences.
As a British person I hate American "customer service" I dont see it as customer service to me it's fake pleaentry. I dont want to be followed round a shop asked if they can get me different sizes or colours I want to browse. Being greeted going into a shop, that person does not care about me or my day. I also hate the fact that me the customer has to pay for the wait staff. I have been to restaurants in the US where service was bad and American customers still giving tips. It is an expected part of the bill regardless of service. Also the tipping thing is getting out of control. Places like crumbl cookies have ordering screens that ask if you want to tip when placing an order. Tip for what exactly? Nobody has interacted with me yet. The person on the counter is literally putting a cookie in a bag that's it. Would you tip in McDonald's? The worker there is doing exactly the same thing
Another wonderfully insightful video....I experienced the 'culture shock' in reverse 40 years ago when I moved to the USA.
Bed sizes are honestly logical in the UK 😉 - it's all about width
Narrow single (not common) 2'6"
Single (most kids' beds) 3"
Small Double (less usual) 4"
Double (in most homes) 4'6"
King (quite popular) 5'
Super King (for big rooms) 6'
Emperor (just showing off now) 6'6"
😆😆😆
I was stationed in Germany and asked for a mobile phone (pronounced it as mow - bill) ... the dude literally laughed in my face.
czcams.com/video/ow1nHW4j_8o/video.html
Flat sheets used to be standard, when we used blankets and quilts. The duvet is a much more recent change (30 years), when we used to call the, continental quilts and then stopped using the flat sheet. We actually use a flat sheet in our house.
Hi great videos guys, I was born in Manchester UK in 1966 then moved to USA in 2011 be here ever since becoming a citizen in 2020, I can absolutely relate to these great videos that you put out, it's incredible how many things are so different yet there's so many things that are either similar or the same...
2:03 I've always had a flat sheet on my bed at home - it's possibly hotels saving time and money.
It could be.
I use flat sheets too
I use a flat sheet. I think it's a hotel thing to save money on laundry.
And me, valance, fitted sheet, flat sheet
As a Brit visiting Maryland , I got a lot of confused looks concerning it’s pronunciation, apparently it’s not Mary at all but a completely different woman called Meryl.
I always laugh when I hear "take a look in the meer!" ..instead of "take a look in the mirror!"
@@OriginsReborn And what's a "squirl"?
OMG, you got that right. Born and raised on the eastern shore. Meryland. Baltimore is balmor.
In " Frasier" I was always baffled when they always called Niles' wife MEHris, not Maris.
@@magloyd4907 And then there's Jim Reeves: "So Meery, meery me!"
Culture shock for a brit who married an American and lived in America; only 1 weeks vacation time per annum, 2 weeks maternity pay, no sick pay, had to drive everywhere, expensive health care insurance, expensive fresh food, especially fruit, very expensive travel within the USA. A flight from South Carilina to kansas was 800 dolllars, get a week in spain all inclusive for that, my neigbours fell out over politics and they were the bestest of friends at one point. Live in the UK now.
Flat sheets to use on top of you are less common here than they used to be. An elderly lady I stay with occasionally has them as they’re quite traditional.
There are Sunday Trading Laws in the UK that limit shop opening times. These are based on their floor area. Larger places can only open for 6 hours, usually from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, whereas smaller ones can open in accordance with their standard times. In the small midlands town that I live in there are three grocery shops that open from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm seven days a week.
Not in Scotland pubs were always open till 1 or 2 and shops can be open all Sunday
@lucylane7397 I can remember when pubs shut at 10.00 every night in Scotland. And they shut at 2.30-5.00 every afternoon. But I must be older than you lol 😊
I like the more liberal opening hours we have now, including Sundays
I was amazed in the US the reliance on your car to get to somewhere you could walk to .... Also how there is always a car/van for hotel clients to use - in fact it is expected.
We were on holiday in Houston the restaurant was just over rd literally 50 yards we walked over rather than use car. The server at till berated us said it was dangerous to walk,
Loved your video - British grandpa of 72 with an American partner who's lived here for about 50 years. We have exchanged many funny stories about her first weeks in the UK, and even after so long we sometimes find new differences in language - The sticky candy (sweet) made from boiled sugar is - ? - taffy in the US and - Toffee in the UK!
Is your taffy the same as Taffy over here though?
Welcome to the UK, hope you have a lovely trip! My family and I went several times to the USA when I was a teen, and here are some funny anomalies I remember. The not so great: the amount of flavours of literally every food item in the supermarket ('store') is intimidating, people don't walk much and even in suburbs you can't guarantee there will be a pavement ('sidewalk'), the portion sizes- it made me sad as a kid to think of the amount of food waste when others are going hungry, the amount of homeless people (specifically in some cities like San Fran), and that they seemed to be all ages/genders/some need medical help/rehab, and how some places are still segregated into different ethnic neighbourhoods. The good: the sheer vastness of the country, and so much wide open space -it completely changed how you fit in the environment and feels so freeing, how lovely/friendly/open people are-even strangers, how beautiful autumn is in the north of the country, and lastly- cherry Coke flavoured Chapstick! 😂
I was shocked by how aful the coffee was in restaurants in California ( i had one that tasted like hot sweat)
That's probably due to Americans generally love filter coffee, problem is usually the coffee can sit for hours and starts to go stale, plus it's usually made with low grade beans so has the tendancy to be quite bitter. However I think both countries the coffee in most chain stores are single origin and doesn't have much depth of flavour, but speciality coffee shops or grinding your own coffee and using a cafetiere is the way to go.
If you ever see an empty table in a restaurant and they say they have no space. It will be because of booking/reservations that are due to come in xx
That makes sense! Also a thing that is much more common here.
@@TheMagicGeekdom I know! I always forget to book and I never end up finding a place to eat! But you have to make sure you make a booking with most places. The only place I can think where you cant book is Nando’s cx
Canadian (who lives part time in USA) here 👋.. we've been temporarily living in UK for my partner's work- will be a total of 9 months- we leave in 7 weeks from now. I am LOVING your videos! Thank you so much for doing them. It has been totally helpful for me. So many times I feel like things are way more different than what I had imagined. Watching you guys make me realize I'm not really alone with the exploration and hiccups that I've been finding too. I also really enjoyed your video on going back home and adjusting- I've been wondering how it will be- so your observations are really helpful. I agree- we stay in Hiltons too because of the bed size- so hard trying to figure that out otherwise. Also big thing often lacking is face cloths in most hotels- which I always found odd. Re name pronunciation- as you may know many places in Canada are named for UK places.. one name that I found shocking is Leamington. I live in southern Ontario- near Leamington Ontario.. we all (including family that live there) pronounce it Leee-ming-ton.. here I take the train through Leamington Spa and the train voice, passengers, and train guards say it- Lemon-ing-ton.. It's like I can't un hear it- now I'm going to sound. like a posh weirdo saying it different from everyone at home 😆... I'm enjoying working through your channel- really enjoying them! 🙂
One thing to keep in mind with getting the bill/check as soon as you say/indicate you won’t order anymore food is that the wait staff in US need tables to turn over so they can get more tips. In UK there is a lot less pressure to turn over tables as the wait staff are going to get paid a much bigger wage no matter the table turnover (only an issue in very popular high end restaurants that need to get more guests seated).
Additionally, in UK dining is a longer time thing and drinking after the meal is a big thing in UK restaurants and pubs but not so in US dining establishments.
A big culture difference is how rigid Americans are over time to eat. We know that Americans like to eat at pretty defined times (narrow windows of time) but Brits are much more relaxed about it, especially at night time.
When I went to the US for the first time the main culture shock I experienced was that everything was the same but slightly.. off. So you'd be all 'oh yeah this is a really easy thing to do and .. what? this bottle of coke is a weird size'. It constantly kept me on my toes and weirded me out constantly.
Great video 👍 I think the change in service at restaurants etc is because of COVID and fewer people going back to work as waiting service jobs 😊.
Could be
Look at the menu in restaurant's if it states there's a service charge this means the tip is already incorporated into your bill automatically....as far as shops times on Sundays it's down to shop size and how much cubic feet a store is large supermarkets have to close,but smaller stores can remain open,this is so small businesses can complete with big supermarkets
1:53 Duvet, 2:21 Duvet, 3:45. That made me chuckle. :D
Good video. :)
I think you treat your president and First Lady similar to royalty.
I think with the free tables in restaurants - we tend to book a table rather than just turn up so the empty tables you see, are probably already reserved x
I’ve never experienced being turned away from a restaurant in the UK, on occasion when their hasn’t been a table available you just have to wait until there’s a table…
It hasn't happened to us a lot overall, but it happened multiple times in one day.
never been to london i guess
After pandemic and brexit - normal thing in the UK. You want a table - you book in advance.
Small Coop stores are open for groceries everyday until 10.oopm. Also many Petrol Stations also sell groceries too. Only large supermarkets have to close by 4.oopm on Sundays.
3:46 dungarees/boilersuit have fun with those ;)
Hadrian's Wall, give that a search!
Interesting vlog 😊 I find it interesting that you don't find flat sheets in hotels here - I can't remember ever staying somewhere in the UK without one (I always take them off 😂) x
You need to come to where I currently am in spain , nothing open on Sundays , nothing open in afternoons , customer service doesn’t exist . Complain about fool and likely to throw it at you 😂 on the plus it’s truly stunning
Spain drives me crazy. I don't like eating that late at night. All the holidays for Saints and the grocery and pharmacy are all closed.
Good video. You seemed to miss out the bit where a national newspaper posts about you every time you visit the supermarket 😁
The only shops that close early of a Sunday are all the supermarkets. So Asda, Tesco, Lidl, Aldi, Morrisons etc. But you can always find somewhere to shop if they’re closed. We have plenty of what we call back shops (General stores) or the offie (Off licence) which shut at their normal times and mini supermarkets.
There are also lots of takeaways/restaurants/pubs open to eat of a Sunday.
As for sending things back, that depends on which part of the country you’re from I suppose. If I’m not happy with my food, I say so.
Northerners are also generally a lot more generous and tip a lot, especially in Liverpool.
Great video though. Love watching you guys, you make me smile.😊
My memory of driving on the opposite side of the road when we went to the US, was telling my partner to turn left at the next intersection and him turning right, because somehow he could not compute left and right when he was sitting on the opposite side of the car to normal. It was the days before sat nav.
I drive regularly on the continent. And still do that.
Those empty tables here might’ve been reserved…..just a thought 😊🧡💚.
I’ve been to Florida….the public toilet doors are indecent in my opinion - people can see everything you’re doing 😳. There were barely any vegetables on any menu. - we got served some beautiful meat in one meal we had that came with ‘seasonal vegetables’ but we ended up with one carrot on the plate! The highways are enormous with several lanes separated from the other side by a huge stretch of land where here we have tiny bits of concrete as a divide. The size of the cars were the size of a van here. But got to say the customer service was perfection 99.9% of the time 👌🏻 but the pressure that came with constantly having to work out tips was a nightmare.
Possibly!
We do have flat sheets but use them with blankets. We change and wash the duvet covers
The uk is renowned as a nation of dog lovers ,,,,also Sunday opening only applies to the bigger supermarkets as it is based on the square footage of the building hence why the smaller Tesco metro,sainsburys local,etc can & usually open till 9pm,,we also have quite a few 24hr supermarkets,,Tesco,Asda,mainly ( except Sundays )