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American Who Has Been Living In The UK For The Last 10 Years Shares Things That Are ‘Still Weird As Hell’ (26 Pics)
Welcome to the land of the weird and the beautiful—the ancient sceptred isles, where people drink their beer by the pints, celebrate mysterious Bank Holidays that occur several times a year, and toss their trash out the first time they see a bin. Bins are holy there and the chance to do so comes very rarely, if ever.
But according to Jessica Rose, an American who’s been living in great Blighty for the past few decades, the list doesn’t end there.
Recently, Jessica listed all the “weird as hell things” Brits do in a thread that amassed 64.8K likes and went viral with people praising how spot-on it is. Let’s get ready for the quaint and quirky ride in the land of Britons.
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Bored Panda reached out to the author of this viral thread, Jessica Rose, a woman in her 30s who works in the technology industry. After 10 years, Jessica still lives in Birmingham, UK and says that she really likes most things about life in the UK.
When asked what British things Jessica really likes, she said that as an American, she finds the National Health Service “mind-bogglingly amazing.”
“I also really love the public transport here. And almost everything about Birmingham. Am I allowed to mention it's the best city in the UK? I don't think there's much I dislike about living here, some things are just still weird after 10 years.”
It's called courtesy. No harm in being polite, and it brightens the drivers day to know he is appreciated. Happy drivers are less likely to hit the curb
But that doesn’t mean that Jessica doesn’t miss the American way of living. “It seems like a silly thing to miss, but as my days get really busy, I miss shops being open as late as they are in the states,” she told us.
Jessica also believes that “a lot of the misconceptions of and stereotypes about the British mistakenly group all of the UK into a homogeneous lump while the UK is really a massively diverse group of people across our 4 countries (N. Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England).”
This is the case with the famous English breakfast. “For example, people from outside the UK often think of the English breakfast as something singularly British, while overlooking the (far superior) Scottish fryups,” Jessica said.
I'll accept all kinds of criticism, but Americans go everywhere in their cars, to the point that a lot of places don't even have a sidewalk. That's just ridiculous and wasteful and unhealthy.
You have the problem backwards. The lack of sidewalks is not because people choose to drive everywhere. The problem is local governments choose not to build them. If there are no sidewalks, we can’t walk safely. We Americans drive out of necessity. Our country has a very poor infrastructure. The mass transportation systems in most major metropolitan areas cannot meet the demands of the population. Many people who live in the suburbs don’t have access to public transportation so they are forced to commute by car. If they do, service is so slow their commute takes 2-3 hours. Also, our country is far more spread out than most European countries. Especially west of the Mississippi River. Not every community has a corner markets. Some people have to drive 2 hours just to buy essentials. I live in a major metro area and the nearest grocery store is 4 miles away. That’s a long way to walk with multiple bags. Especially when it’s 115F (46C) degrees outside.
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The walking? In the US nobody walks that is the problem. It is pretty common in Europe, not only in the UK.
Yes! As a German I fully agree. Going for a walk is just a nice light activity that's refreshing and easily allows for conversation.
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I like exercise and walking places. Nice to live even a mile or two from somewhere ypu want to go. Americans are lazy. I am one. People always comment when I walk to a park a mile away or go hiking still pregnant only like 2 miles or walk a flight of stairs. Whats big deal? Some many in my neighborhood drive to grocery store half mile away.
I don't necessarily believe that all Americans are lazy. I personally believe that a lot of it comes down to how some of your cities, towns, neighbourhoods were built/planned. I understand that it is not always feasible to walk to the supermarket or a friends house in the United States; I am also well-aware that longer commutes are more common. I am sure there are many people in the United States who would love to walk to work or get groceries, but the distance to these places and/or lack of sidewalks makes it next to impossible. However, I do believe that cities and towns that are more walk-able lead to citizens that are generally healthier and "happier."
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I just moved to Long Beach CA and I’m LOVING that I can walk everywhere. When I lived in Alabama I could go on walks for fun but had to drive to go actually do or buy anything. It’s nice being able to walk down to the store for milk instead of driving 20 minutes.
That's actually good. Better than driving in car for everything including getting to the corner shop.
Eh, we have plenty of buses, trains and taxis even in smaller towns, as well as Uber in the cities (though honestly I don't believe uber is as big here as it is in the US) so it's not like you'd be walking super far unless you were out in the sticks. (middle of nowhere)
Because, compared to America we can drive from one end of the country to the other in hours, not months! . So anything other than that in cities, towns and even countryside is walkable. And we pay a phenomenal amount for our petrol (gas) . So walking , cycling saves money .
British cars with Lucas Electronics rarely actually run, so, yes they walk a lot....reliable cars are pretty much banned in England....jus' sayin'...
British cars with Lucas Electronics rarely run, so yes, everyone walks......reliable cars are pretty much banned in England.....jus' sayin'...
I remember being in Florida many year back with a bunch of other Brits. We decided to head out from the hotel on foot to find somewhere for breakfast. Very shortly, a police car pulled up to enquire if we were ok, and where we had broken down. When we said we were just out for a walk, they shook their heads and drove off.
What got me when I was in the US is the lack of sidewalks so they never walk. They are obesed with it.... :)
Everything is so close in the UK so walk! Plus we have beautiful countryside so enjoy it I say 😊😊
The issue isn't the walking, it's the American refusal to walk if you can drive. Was stopped by a sheriff in Alabama, because I was walking between shopping centres (less than 2km) Comment was "y'all ain't from around these parts are ya"
That's how most of the world lives. Only in the U.S you drive everywhere... No wonder most peoole there are obese!
Honestly, as someone who loves to walk, but everywhere except the park takes at least twenty to thirty minutes to walk to, and who doesn't like to drive much (I live in the suburbs of Utah btw) this sounds like a dream.
I'm from the UK and this is news to me. Not quite sure I agree with this one
We need to adopt that habit more in America. Then maybe a lot of us wouldn't look like the cast of "Wall-E".
I wish more of American cities were set up for walking. Living close to downtown in a large American city, we take our lives in our hands when we step out our front door!
London is not the epicentre of the world. Get out to the North or Cornwall etc.
We have lots of public footpaths in the UK that wind through lovely countryside. A walk is a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Was I the onlly person in the US raised to the idea that walking is normal? I'm feeling very non-US-y with all this....
Nope. Long driving commutes are not at all unusual.
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Please, oh please, cure us of that one! (Not that you're much good at picking rulers,)
The difference is in the smell and sticking to your shoes intensity. Dpg poop is extremely disgusting. Horse poop not so much.
We go to the counter and let them know what is wrong. We very rarely have to ask for it to be corrected as the person behind the counter usually offers to fix it and offer options.
Jessica didn't expect her Twitter thread to go as viral as it did. “I half hoped a few people would see it as I was quite proud of the phrase 'sugared houseplants.' I hope folks liked it!”
"After you." "No, after you." "No, dammit, I SAID AFTER YOU." "Look you little f***face, I said after you!!!"
the old-fashioned SWEET shops have some of the best sweets out there, tbh
Actually, This is an irish thing, Also a British thing but we will slam dunk you if you don't complete your round in ireland.
Classical music played by classically trained musicians. Outdoor , elegance at its finest
It was actually introduced during the war when water could be cut off or there were many shortages. Filling up a bowl uses half the amount of your sink. People just carried on using them as saving water is always a good idea. Remember our tap water is our drinking water too.
As a Brit I think this so so funny. I guess we are a little eccentric but no more than any other culture. We just have 2000 years of history affecting our language, customs and the way we interact with each other.
What strikes me how monocultural this is. "I come from Someplace, USA and therefore am the de facto background; anything different is a Britishism"... No, it's often just different from the majority of the US.
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Why is it called expat when someone is from America, but immigrant when someone’s from Pakistan or Poland? That’s stupid. ——— Edit: Title got changed, expat removed. So my question is pointless now.
The fked up racist world we live in. Americans shouldn't be allowed to use the words illegal immigrant
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I find so many articles on BP about how f-d up Americans are.... and most are wrong or assume way too much about 'all' of us. It's refreshing to see we're not the only ones being picked on. Lol
But the Brits respond to this as "ha, true", where as many American's respond to the posts about them with "stop picking on me!! Why does everyone say mean things about us??"
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Grammar in England is often frustrating. I've even read published English novels describing someone 'being sat' or 'was stood' when it should be sitting and standing. Colloquialisms often override proper grammer, so I guess it's the same in other countries that adapt an original language.
But I love these things about British English! (And I will note here that I realize there are many different regions of the UK and they all have their own colloquialisms.) "Was sat" and "was stood" are frequently used by our good friends from the UK, and I don't find it annoying at all. My favorite "Britishism" they use is, "That's me done" to indicate they've finished something (often heard while we're board gaming) or "That's me." And "Right, that's us, then," when it's time for them to go home. So now my family has adopted saying it because it's so endearing to us.
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I don't much care for the " make fun of Americans " posts so I'm not going to jump in just because someone switched countries. I really don't see any purpose for any of these posts about any country. It would be a boring world if we all had identical ways.
As an American, I enjoyed learning these bits of Brit customs. Their humor is always a riot.
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Interesting comparison to a thread about European woman's false impressions of American society: Not one of these sounds like, "OMG! You British are so stupid for doing things this way!" The closest to such a negative tone is her bewilderment at Brits enjoying rocky beaches and "disappointing" candy sticks. But I don't blame the Europeans... There is an American subculture that positively licks up any expression of hatred or revulsion for anything American.
I say this lovingly but dang you Brits are weird. Then again, you probably think the same of us Americans 😂❤️
my father originally from the states( air force family) has lived in the Uk now for the majority of his life( approx 50 years) still finds some things funny and compares experiences with the family back in the states( and Canada). he still hates the damp Uk winter though. I never understood that until I lived overseas for a while and came back. First winter back in Uk was "ouch, ouch, OUCH". I found out living overseas that too many people have stereotypes about living in the UK.
I need more of these, and I am gonna steal some! Especially swans and cheese before bed.
Back in the '80s I spent a couple of weeks wandering around England, Wales and Scotland, staying at B&Bs. A quirky thing I noticed was that electrical outlets had on-off switches to cut power to the plugs. Okay, but several times, when I tried turning on a lamp, TV or whatever, not only was the lamp, TV or whatever, turned off, the outlet was also turned off, and the lamp, TV or whatever was unplugged, too. I know their system runs twice as much power as ours, but it's like they fear electricity. Gotta make triple certain it doesn't leap out at you or something. Maybe it's different now.
Oh, my mother! You had to switch off AND unplug! It was fear based - fear of fire happening rather than electricity in itself. I think it might be a generational thing as I don't see it as much as I used to. Also, electrical safety has only improved even since the 80s. Another explanation might have been that they unplugged for another appliance like a vacuum cleaner? Though I think the former is more likely.
Load More Replies... What strikes me most about the UK is that rolling shutters for house windows are non-existent. You have some metal shutters for shops, but wooden or plastic shutters that give insulation from light/view, drafts/heat/cold and sound as well as some safety? Absolutely nonexistent. You can get 'victorian' internal wooden shutters be made (not rolling!), but try to explain the concept to a builder and their eyes glaze over.
Is that because of the less extreme weather perhaps? Just trying to think why we'd want rolling shutters in the UK on our homes. They are on some shops for security (usually rougher areas) but we don't see that as a need for our homes generally. Last windows I had installed were tripled glazed and that deals nicely with draft, heat/cold and sound and blinds/curtains do the rest.
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Every culture is developed differently so we find one another weird is acceptable what matters is inside who we are despite our race,nationality and skin colour . Innit mate?
When it said British I think they meant English, which is okay obviously. But because I live in Scotland when I hear UK I immediately think of Wales England Scotland and Northern Ireland
The difference between an American and a Brit is that an American thinks that 100 years is a long time, and a Brit thinks that 100 miles is a long way.
As an Australian, raised by a British mother, I not only do the majority of these 'annoying' things, but also see them as being completely normal for most Australian behaviours. I guess Australians and Brits are pretty similar. Also, please never use the word Britishes... it makes them sound like a bristly toilet brush. You would say "The British people" or generically for slang... "Brits" ... it would be the same as calling you Americanese. Just stop :D
I'm Canadian She just described 90% of Canadians. She'd have been better off trying it out here first before moving across the pond.
I'm sorry...what are Brits sorry about? More often than not, they don't know. "Move aside, you're in their way?" Someone's got to be in the way...why can't it be the other person or people? Why is it always assumed that I.am the one in the wrong?
I've lived in UK for 6 years and I go there for another 3 for work every month. I cannot realte to almost any of these. Where do you live?!
Every month you go to the UK for another 3 years?
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Way back in the olden days, I was at the Pound Store (Dollar Tree) in Watford I accidentally bumped into the lady in front of me. I said, "Sorry, excuse me ma'am" and she turned around and in a viciously sarcastic tone of voice said " well EXCUSE me ma'am". Confused and stunned I kept trying to figure out what I did. In relating this experience to my neighbor she explained that the only person to be ma'amed was the Queen and I had insulted her by calling her ma'am.
She was offended because, in the UK at least, it implies she's old. It's a very dated phrase in the UK and yes, is only really used for the Queen (and some other senior royals) nowadays but that's not because it's reserved for the Queen at all but because it's outmoded. In the UK, in most cases, the person calling you "ma'am" sounds rude, not polite. They manage to give the impression that you've become a second-class citizen once you reach the age of "ma'am." Some teenagers also know that if they call you "ma'am," they're getting away with calling you "old." Just a massive cultural difference I'm afraid.
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as an american married to a brit, I found this mostly spot on. the spice thing is what gets me. They conquer the world for spices and then don't use any. I tried to cook dinner at his parents and there's nothing in the kitchen but salt and pepper. And those are on the table b/c they don't go into the food while cooking. When my MIL ate my food in the US, she kept getting seconds b/c she'd never tasted anything like it. How sad she'd never bothered with anything but classic british food. She's never eaten spaghetti and many other food items I consider every day foods. My inlaws even eat tinned fruit instead of fresh b/c they got used to it during the war as kids. They had fruit trees but barely ate the fruit. Tins of canned peaches in heavy syrup in the pantry.
Trust me when I say this, there is nothing that the majority of brits love more than a good curry, and much like the US, fusion food and adaptations of different foods from around the world, as well as takeaways/restraunts are all a thing. If your husbands parents aren't using anything but salt and pepper to season, thats on them, not Brits as a whole. Though you mention that they got used to things during the war as kids, and older generations can be set in their ways. Anyway, yes British food can be a bit blander, but also super comforting, a roast beef dinner in the cold of winter? hell to the yes. Plus we have some killer puddings/deserts/cakes or whatever you would prefer to call them.
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I disagree, at least in my area this are all pretty correct.
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Well that's not true, less than half the country are gun owners .. it's about the same number as the pro Nazi, racist, Q people that voted for Trump.
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As a Brit I think this so so funny. I guess we are a little eccentric but no more than any other culture. We just have 2000 years of history affecting our language, customs and the way we interact with each other.
What strikes me how monocultural this is. "I come from Someplace, USA and therefore am the de facto background; anything different is a Britishism"... No, it's often just different from the majority of the US.
Load More Replies... Why is it called expat when someone is from America, but immigrant when someone’s from Pakistan or Poland? That’s stupid. ——— Edit: Title got changed, expat removed. So my question is pointless now.
The fked up racist world we live in. Americans shouldn't be allowed to use the words illegal immigrant
Load More Replies... I find so many articles on BP about how f-d up Americans are.... and most are wrong or assume way too much about 'all' of us. It's refreshing to see we're not the only ones being picked on. Lol
But the Brits respond to this as "ha, true", where as many American's respond to the posts about them with "stop picking on me!! Why does everyone say mean things about us??"
Load More Replies... Grammar in England is often frustrating. I've even read published English novels describing someone 'being sat' or 'was stood' when it should be sitting and standing. Colloquialisms often override proper grammer, so I guess it's the same in other countries that adapt an original language.
But I love these things about British English! (And I will note here that I realize there are many different regions of the UK and they all have their own colloquialisms.) "Was sat" and "was stood" are frequently used by our good friends from the UK, and I don't find it annoying at all. My favorite "Britishism" they use is, "That's me done" to indicate they've finished something (often heard while we're board gaming) or "That's me." And "Right, that's us, then," when it's time for them to go home. So now my family has adopted saying it because it's so endearing to us.
Load More Replies... I don't much care for the " make fun of Americans " posts so I'm not going to jump in just because someone switched countries. I really don't see any purpose for any of these posts about any country. It would be a boring world if we all had identical ways.
As an American, I enjoyed learning these bits of Brit customs. Their humor is always a riot.
Load More Replies... Interesting comparison to a thread about European woman's false impressions of American society: Not one of these sounds like, "OMG! You British are so stupid for doing things this way!" The closest to such a negative tone is her bewilderment at Brits enjoying rocky beaches and "disappointing" candy sticks. But I don't blame the Europeans... There is an American subculture that positively licks up any expression of hatred or revulsion for anything American.
I say this lovingly but dang you Brits are weird. Then again, you probably think the same of us Americans 😂❤️
my father originally from the states( air force family) has lived in the Uk now for the majority of his life( approx 50 years) still finds some things funny and compares experiences with the family back in the states( and Canada). he still hates the damp Uk winter though. I never understood that until I lived overseas for a while and came back. First winter back in Uk was "ouch, ouch, OUCH". I found out living overseas that too many people have stereotypes about living in the UK.
I need more of these, and I am gonna steal some! Especially swans and cheese before bed.
Back in the '80s I spent a couple of weeks wandering around England, Wales and Scotland, staying at B&Bs. A quirky thing I noticed was that electrical outlets had on-off switches to cut power to the plugs. Okay, but several times, when I tried turning on a lamp, TV or whatever, not only was the lamp, TV or whatever, turned off, the outlet was also turned off, and the lamp, TV or whatever was unplugged, too. I know their system runs twice as much power as ours, but it's like they fear electricity. Gotta make triple certain it doesn't leap out at you or something. Maybe it's different now.
Oh, my mother! You had to switch off AND unplug! It was fear based - fear of fire happening rather than electricity in itself. I think it might be a generational thing as I don't see it as much as I used to. Also, electrical safety has only improved even since the 80s. Another explanation might have been that they unplugged for another appliance like a vacuum cleaner? Though I think the former is more likely.
Load More Replies... What strikes me most about the UK is that rolling shutters for house windows are non-existent. You have some metal shutters for shops, but wooden or plastic shutters that give insulation from light/view, drafts/heat/cold and sound as well as some safety? Absolutely nonexistent. You can get 'victorian' internal wooden shutters be made (not rolling!), but try to explain the concept to a builder and their eyes glaze over.
Is that because of the less extreme weather perhaps? Just trying to think why we'd want rolling shutters in the UK on our homes. They are on some shops for security (usually rougher areas) but we don't see that as a need for our homes generally. Last windows I had installed were tripled glazed and that deals nicely with draft, heat/cold and sound and blinds/curtains do the rest.
Load More Replies... Every culture is developed differently so we find one another weird is acceptable what matters is inside who we are despite our race,nationality and skin colour . Innit mate?
When it said British I think they meant English, which is okay obviously. But because I live in Scotland when I hear UK I immediately think of Wales England Scotland and Northern Ireland
The difference between an American and a Brit is that an American thinks that 100 years is a long time, and a Brit thinks that 100 miles is a long way.
As an Australian, raised by a British mother, I not only do the majority of these 'annoying' things, but also see them as being completely normal for most Australian behaviours. I guess Australians and Brits are pretty similar. Also, please never use the word Britishes... it makes them sound like a bristly toilet brush. You would say "The British people" or generically for slang... "Brits" ... it would be the same as calling you Americanese. Just stop :D
I'm Canadian She just described 90% of Canadians. She'd have been better off trying it out here first before moving across the pond.
I'm sorry...what are Brits sorry about? More often than not, they don't know. "Move aside, you're in their way?" Someone's got to be in the way...why can't it be the other person or people? Why is it always assumed that I.am the one in the wrong?
I've lived in UK for 6 years and I go there for another 3 for work every month. I cannot realte to almost any of these. Where do you live?!
Every month you go to the UK for another 3 years?
Load More Replies... Way back in the olden days, I was at the Pound Store (Dollar Tree) in Watford I accidentally bumped into the lady in front of me. I said, "Sorry, excuse me ma'am" and she turned around and in a viciously sarcastic tone of voice said " well EXCUSE me ma'am". Confused and stunned I kept trying to figure out what I did. In relating this experience to my neighbor she explained that the only person to be ma'amed was the Queen and I had insulted her by calling her ma'am.
She was offended because, in the UK at least, it implies she's old. It's a very dated phrase in the UK and yes, is only really used for the Queen (and some other senior royals) nowadays but that's not because it's reserved for the Queen at all but because it's outmoded. In the UK, in most cases, the person calling you "ma'am" sounds rude, not polite. They manage to give the impression that you've become a second-class citizen once you reach the age of "ma'am." Some teenagers also know that if they call you "ma'am," they're getting away with calling you "old." Just a massive cultural difference I'm afraid.
Load More Replies... as an american married to a brit, I found this mostly spot on. the spice thing is what gets me. They conquer the world for spices and then don't use any. I tried to cook dinner at his parents and there's nothing in the kitchen but salt and pepper. And those are on the table b/c they don't go into the food while cooking. When my MIL ate my food in the US, she kept getting seconds b/c she'd never tasted anything like it. How sad she'd never bothered with anything but classic british food. She's never eaten spaghetti and many other food items I consider every day foods. My inlaws even eat tinned fruit instead of fresh b/c they got used to it during the war as kids. They had fruit trees but barely ate the fruit. Tins of canned peaches in heavy syrup in the pantry.
Trust me when I say this, there is nothing that the majority of brits love more than a good curry, and much like the US, fusion food and adaptations of different foods from around the world, as well as takeaways/restraunts are all a thing. If your husbands parents aren't using anything but salt and pepper to season, thats on them, not Brits as a whole. Though you mention that they got used to things during the war as kids, and older generations can be set in their ways. Anyway, yes British food can be a bit blander, but also super comforting, a roast beef dinner in the cold of winter? hell to the yes. Plus we have some killer puddings/deserts/cakes or whatever you would prefer to call them.
Load More Replies... I disagree, at least in my area this are all pretty correct.
Load More Replies... Well that's not true, less than half the country are gun owners .. it's about the same number as the pro Nazi, racist, Q people that voted for Trump.
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