I was browsing some Expat forums recently and came across an interesting thread. It asked the question: What do you wish you knew about Britain before you moved there?
There were some pretty interesting nuggets of information I thought I’d share with all of you. I’m sure most Anglophiles dream of living in the green and pleasant land that is Britain one day. So, here’s a list of some practical things you may not have thought of. Credit is due to their original authors on the forums I came across. It is by no means an exhaustive list.
If you want to add something to these Life in Britain facts, feel free to leave a comment!
Anglophile Factoids or 25 Things You May Not Have Known about Britain
1. Don’t expect any kind of closet space, there isn’t any
2. You can’t declaw your cats in England, it’s illegal
3. You can’t get large quantities of OTC meds, so stock up if you want them.
4. There is a dampness here that gets in your bones and makes you colder than the actual temperature.
5. They don’t refrigerate the eggs at the store!
6. Another thing about the eggs: they’re brown.
7. You don’t have to tip nearly as much, or as often.
8. Brussel sprouts are mandatory Christmas table garnish.
9. Dry cooking ingredients are measured by WEIGHT not volume.
10. Toilet handles are on the opposite side.
11. Light switches operate the opposite way.
12. Pants are trousers and nice trousers are pants.
13. “b*tch”, “tit” and “pussy” are acceptable animal terms.
14. A “fanny pack” is something you do not discuss in polite company.
15. Nudity and swearing is common on regular TV.
16. The British school year is divided into three terms. Autumn(and they don’t EVER call it Fall here, by the way)-September-December. Spring term-January-Easter and Summer term-Easter-till the flippin’ END of July! Every term has a week long break called half-term. There are two weeks off for Christmas and Easter. And the Summer holiday is about six weeks long. Of course if you’re using private schools, the vacations are longer.
17. Electric sockets have on/off switches
18. A Fortnight = two weeks. They use that term a lot.
19. Don’t bring many summer clothes. I haven’t worn them at all in 3 years up here. Don’t bring many pairs of shorts (nobody wears them here) and so many hot weather clothes, they’re just sit around taking up space (which there isn’t a lot of).
20. You have to pay a tax to own a TV (the license fee) and TV’s have radios built in.
21. Don’t bother bringing your pans, they won’t fit in British ovens.
22. Research use of your small appliances on British Voltage. Many people take appliances (including computers) thinking will work and the don’t. Cheap voltage converters don’t always work right either.
23. While it’s okay to bring over some of the foods you’ll miss, you can find the same or equivalents in British grocery stores.
24. They don’t have extreme hot or extreme cold. It stays mild year round thanks for the Gulf Stream waters from the Caribbean. They have been known to have a cold spell occasionally. A white Christmas in London is VERY rare. It gets much colder in Scotland. Very much colder.
25. Traffic always comes from the RIGHT in the UK. So, always look right. Also, always stand to the right on escalators.
For the original thread or to read stories from Americans who moved to the UK, check out the UK Expat Forum here.
Feel free to leave your own nuggets of information in the comments below.
About jonathan
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Anglotopia was founded by Jonathan and Jackie Thomas for people who love Britain - whether it's British TV, Culture, History or Travel - we cover it all. Anglotopia was started to get us back to the UK for a trip and it did that in 2009. Now, the goal is for Anglotopia to make our dreams of traveling to the UK whenever we want a reality.
#4- Hence the need to consume large quantities of tea. I think this escapes some people and you can only truly understand it if you have been there.
#13 – its all about the context
they have the same impolite meanings here also
This is a good idea. Why don’t we have such a list for EVERY country? France, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Peru…I would be very curious to read what a French visitor would say about living in the U.S. “Their croissants are terrible!” “They don’t know how to make coffee.” etc……
That’s a great idea! That’s something I can integrate into another site I run: The Global Citizen Wiki
I would add, the right-side brake lever on a bike always controls the front brake.
BTW I learnt much of the US standards from the list
I love england it is a beautiful place and I would love to live there someday!
i would love to take my wife to england someday .
Great article, I’m going to subscribe to your blog. Thanks for the insight
I had no idea about #2, very interesting. It does seem cruel to declaw a cat and the English seem to be such animal lovers it makes sense.
Haha I love England. But I must say all those things listed are exactly right! spot on! haha.. Excellent article!
Try to never beep your horn. Unlike Europe and the USA people tend to take it very, very personal.
Gas is what you cook food with. Petrol is what you put in your car. Gas for cars would be LPG. Only two grades of fuel here: Unleaded (regular) and Super unleaded (premium) you’ll need a bank loan for both at appx $7.02 per gallon and $7.68 for Diesel
One thing we don’t yet have a lot of over here is air conditioning, although it’s becoming more widespread, very few homes have central air. Some of the bigger hotel chains do have it, and most new autos have it as standard, but still nothing on the ‘Tube’ or other public transport. Despite England’s reputation for being permanently damp, it does get hot in the summer, and it’s that oppressive, humid heat. So if you’re planning on travelling around, say, London on public transport, make sure you bring some of those little handheld fans with you. You can get them over here, but they’ve either sold out come the hot weather, or the vendors have taken advantage of the demand and put the price up.
Oh one more fact about Britain, don’t go into a fish and chip shop and ask for fries, they are CHIPS and you will be reminded of that fact, quite bluntly sometimes. Also, potato chips are called crisps in Britain. If you do try a traditional ‘fish’n'chips’ don’t be surprised to be asked if you want salt and vinegar on your meal, try it, you might like it!
Well love the article. And there are some really good stuff in Britain. And not so good stuff too. But overall I really think it’s a cool place. Especially for a fashion lover.
Hey come on. I think all countries have their ups and downs, but England’s great! I love the place, sure its pretty expensive and they talk a tad bit weird, but its England! How can we hate England!
England’s such a wonderful place, its just got so much to it you really cant get enough. I was told that the people were not really nice there before I made a trip there, turned out they were the nicest people ever! I love England!
I had no idea that you have to pay tax for your own tv! that’s just not cool. Though most of these seem rather foreign to me, I guess its not going to stop me from visiting England! maybe I’d not own a tv when I get there !!
The tv “tax” is called a licence fee and it pays for the entire BBC. Yes ALL of it! So without the licence fee there would be no BBC television programmes, no BBC radio, no BBC website…
Needless to say I have never complained about paying it. It’s only £142 and that’s cheaper than many satellite subscriptions.
I bet you guys all love the BBC too. So don’t be too harsh on us about the fee, huh?
Lady M xx
i would most likely still be there had they not had trade unions but 36 years in new zealand wss the best thing i ever did
It is true, England is probably one of the most expensive places to live, the cost of living is extremely high! And you get ripped off from almost anything. Don’t get me wrong, I love England and I think its an amazing place, its just too expensive for me..thats all!
It would certainly been awesome if I came across this article before I moved to England. Things would have been much easier. Anyway now I’m happy and the people are really nice as well.
The one thing I notice about England when I return from abroad is the litter… It’s everywhere.
Also we have one of the lowest total of Bank Holidays in Europe! If you had one of our diaries you’d be reminded of this everyday as you flick past endless holidays in other countries! Never mind at least we have one on Monday!
Well, the tv licence is a real bone of contention here but it pays for the BBC – no adverts, which is great. Also pays for the BBC radio stations. Talking about radio – “TV’s have radios built in”. Not sure what that means, can anyone enlighten me??!
Most TV’s in the UK have a radio built into them. Pretty cool and it let’s more people listen to the old fashioned radio.
Just to clarify (I hope!) – UK TVs do not generally have radio built in – as such…
What many modern TVs do have is Freeview decoders which, for the uninitiated, is digital TV (and radio) transmitted to your normal TV aerial/antenna in the same way as normal terrestrial broadcasts.
The UK is switching to 100% digital broadcast coverage in the next few years so many new TVs have these digital decoders built in, or you can buy a separate decoder box if not. Freeview also transmits all the normal terrestrial and digital radio stations so in that respect many newer TVs *do* have radio but older ones require a decoder box.
I know many American visitors keep to London during their stay, which is understandable if you don’t have enough time to see all the main tourist spots. But it’s not the real England and you’ll be lucky to meet any English people there. The real England stretches out from London. Just put one day of your sightseeing aside and get on a tain going anywhere and you’ll see the real beauty of the country. Don’t forget that if you have an English surname, there may well be a place here with the same name. That’s where your ancestors came from and would be worth a visit if it’s not too far.
Yes, we do love our tea! I have to take my own tea bags when I go to the States. Although I’ve seen a very popular brand of Brit tea in a store in N.Y.
This is most amusing! I have lots of American friends but hardly any have been to England, so it’s hilarious to hear you all talking together about what a strange lot we are! And 14, so true! I worked in a castle going back a few years ago-I had no idea back then, that fanny means something different in the States and this poor chap asked me if I had, had his fanny pack handed in as he’d lost it. I exclaimed ‘WHATTTTT????!!!!!!’ And my collegue rolled around laughing! He was thinking of the Brit meaning too!When he described it I said ‘oh a bum bag’! He looked very confused and nodded! Having stayed with American families since then…he must have thought I was refering to him as a homeless person! We call them ‘Tramps’ by the way…and yes I know what a tramp means there! Lol!And I think most you might know that a ‘bum’ here is your butt! And I totally agree with the poster who said it is expensive here, coz it is!!!!
On a point of order: London is not the UK, or even England. London is London and the rules for London are different for people living in the rest of the country. It is like calling New York the USA. I see lots of skryscrapers and no mountains in NY City and I can’t remember when last they had a white christmas in NY. On the other hand, go to the midlands and north of England, and have a look to the south. Lots of shorts in summer – blazing hot somedays, lots of barbeques, suntanning and surfing in the south-east. Surfing? No, I’m not kidding. On the point of eggs: they can be brown or white. White = mostly duck eggs, but not always. Traffic comes from either left or right in London, depends on whether it is a one-way street or not. The rule is simple – look left and right before crossing a road. Oh yes, we had a white christmas last year – in Bolton. And please don’t criticise the beer until you have learned what real beer tastes like. And try the cheeses – there are hundreds of local varieties – even more than in France.
Don’t forget the lack of peanut butter. What is considered a pantry staple in the U.S. is very hard to track down in London.
Also, beans are called pulses- I found that odd when I was perusing the shelves of Sainsbury’s for the first time!
Peanut Butter? It’s available everywhere in the United Kingdom & has been for at least thirty years. Although Reese’s pieces are still pretty hard to come by & tend to be over-priced when found.
Well yes, I do agree living in England is a bit expensive. But that’s how things are i guess. Earning here is also at d same rate.
England can be very expensive. Especially certain stuff. I mean as a student there are times I have to pick between a haircut and groceries.
Trousers are never called pants no matter how nice they are
Number !3 is daft, we are all aware in this country what they mean in rude terms, but bitch is the name for a female dog its in the dictionary, tit is a type of bird and pussy is slang for a cat. If you were enlightened enough to know what most of this stuff is you wouldn’t need a list. London really isn’t like England and never think of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as being the same as England you will get in trouble and rightly so. London is the world city along with New York and prices are expensive because we saw you coming a mile off!
Just to get things straight, we call trousers “trousers”! We call underwear “pants” occasionally but nothing else. I disagree that London isn’t England, it is obviously quite a diverse city but in my opinion it still represents a lot of why England is a great country.
As others have said, I recommend getting out of London and having a look around. If you get a chance to visit the Lake District, do it! It typifies all that is beautiful about English countryside. If you go on a chilly, misty Autumn morning then even better!
In Manchester we call trousers ‘pants’ and underwear ‘kickers’ and ‘underpants’.
I mean’t knickers not kickers……