# Culture Shock??



## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

I've been having a read of the forum, & it seems to me that the posters here are moving to the UK from lots of different countries. Yes, many, or maybe even most, are moving to be with a British loved one, so they must have _some _idea of what they're getting into?

On some of the other country forums we often have discussions about what is different from wherever you've come from - not necessarily better, nor worse (though sometimes that's the case) but different!


So - those of you who have already made the move...what surprised or 'shocked' you the most about living in the UK? Or what have you had the most difficulty adjusting to? The weather? The food? The size of the property compared to where you came from? The cost of living? Or something else?

How are you dealing with it? Do you have any tips for those about to make the move or have just done so?


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## Touchline Dad (Mar 28, 2014)

*Great!*

James Joyce 'Stream of Consciousness" writing here in no particular order:

No culture shock here. We live an hour outside London, have travelled to the city a few times already. Absolutely love it. Love the diversity of people here, and the overall good manners. People in a crosswalk acknowledge you instead of sneering? Brilliant! Drivers who wave and thank you for pulling over and letting them by? What a concept! Haven't started to drive yet, that will be interesting..

We love Football! We are in Heaven! Go Arsenal!

Understanding people's speech is by far the hardest part for me. Went to an amusement center for my Son's birthday and I could not understand a word the lady behind the counter was saying. I needed an interpreter, lol.

Also very amused when people hear my accent, especially in pubic. At times I feel like a zoo
animal because literally people stop in their tracks when they hear my wife and I in conversation.

All the different foods and veggies are a welcome change from my former 11 month stint living away from my family mostly processed microwave cuisine. Home grown carrots,
tomatoes, peppers, etc.

More people smoke than I thought. Just sayin' .

Everything is more expensive than I am used to, I don't even do the exchange rate anymore: I pretty much have resigned myself to saying that things cost the same in pounds that they do in dollars in the States.

We are lucky we have a lot of family here and they have made the transition fairly easy.
It has been fantastic! 

Good luck to everyone who has yet to hear about their visas!


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## Lorelli (Jan 6, 2012)

My spouse still comments on how abysmal customer service is in the UK, compared with that experienced in the States. Having spent significant time that side of the pond, I'm afraid I have to agree.


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## JFC (Jul 3, 2014)

Lorelli said:


> My spouse still comments on how abysmal customer service is in the UK, compared with that experienced in the States. Having spent significant time that side of the pond, I'm afraid I have to agree.


I have to agree with you. I still find myself sometimes ordering strange stuff at the bar as I feel like I am annoying the staff and want to be as little hassle as possible for them.

All in all England is growing on me. I have been here for just over two years now and after learning to understand and deal with passive aggressiveness, I really like it.

One funny bit: I live in an area where people keep calling their customers "duck". At the beginning I was really offended by this as I understood "dog" and it took a while till I figured it out


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## AmyD (Jan 12, 2013)

I'm from the USA and have TONS of culture shock. In no particular order:

*The food is horrible. If you want to eat paleo or gluten-free, have fun finding food because there isn't any. The restaurants are so-so, but nothing like I experienced in the USA. You will learn to cook or you won't eat.

* There is no gym culture here. Barre classes? Yoga classes? Spinning classes? Few and far between. You'll learn to run and do pushups in your living room.

*What you get for your money is laughable. I live in a house we paid £4.5 million for and it looks like something in the US you could get for about £1 million. 

*I was thinking of getting a job as a yoga instructor to help pass the days. HAHAHA! I taught yoga in the USA, but in order to qualify to teach yoga here, you have to do it for two years IN BRITAIN and you must be a member of a cartel. It's crazy. 

*Furthermore, in order to even apply for a job as a yoga teacher, you have to take a class, then pay for your "training" even if you've already been trained because you had to go through that stupid cartel. Even after you pay for your training, you may not get the job. It is a scam.

* I've tried to start a yoga business and discovered that you can only rent a certain type of property for this business. Oh, and there is only a small amount of this type of property because the state says "London will need x yoga studios." So if I want a studio, I literally have to wait until someone dies to try and buy or rent their studio.

* There is no 'friend culture' here like there is in the US. People don't just talk to people. You can't strike up a conversation because they think you're crazy. Also, the friends you do have, you don't really do much with them. 

I'm sure there are more examples, but those are off the top of my head.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Having grown up in an English speaking Commonwealth country, I've made the transition from life in Vancouver to life in London quite easily... there wasn't much, initially, that was a culture shock to me, as I'd had a good deal of exposure to "life in the UK" via television shows - The Goodies, On the Busses, and Coronation Street are my earliest memories of the UK (I remember as a little girl in the late 1970's always wanting to see the buildings where that ginger cat lived in the title sequence), with Tom Baker's rendition of Dr. Who being the source of a good many of my nightmares as a child (I also miss the older style Thames Television logo where the London skyline and the word "Thames" almost seem to collide into the screen shot)... proper doses of Are You Being Served, Red Dwarf, Vicar of Dibbley, Birds of a Feather and Smack the Pony added as the years progressed and I developed more of a taste for so-called "Brit-coms" (as they were known in Canada)... I worked evenings during the week so never got a chance to see Ab Fab but I assume that I would have been a fan of that too, given its cult status in Canada).


As for things that surprised me when I got here, I don't attempt to deny that the following things were more than just a bit of a shock:

1) Devout Muslim ladies in full on niquab. My shock wasn't over the fact that they're here but rather I just wasn't used to seeing so many niquab wearing people in one place. 

Yes, there are Muslims in Canada (I lived ~5 minute drive from a mosque) and I've seen the more devout wearing hijab on the streets of my town (and the less devout wearing head scarves at work) and I'd even once seen 1 (one) woman wearing niquab, but her garment was a little more ornate than the full on dark colours that are often worn here in the UK, and the lady whom I saw was the only one I'd ever seen who wore the full-except-for-eye-slit face covering

I've since gotten over my surprise and now no longer notice them as being odd any more than I do Sikh gentlemen who wear turbans (the area of suburban Vancouver I lived in also had several Sikh temples and a large and thriving Sikh community)


2) Drinking. My liver has since grown accustomed to consuming copious amounts of liquor but I doubt I'll ever be able to keep up (drinks wise) with my husband who, in the course of one weekend night, can consume more alcohol than I can in a month. We've agreed to disagree about how necessary it is for a) me to go and meet him when he stops for pints after work with his work friends (I'm the only spouse who shows up, so my presence really isn't required) and b) how often we go to the pub at the weekend (he'd go every day, if he could).


3) Whinging and shouting. I mean no disrespect to anyone reading this but my goodness, Brits do make an art form of their whinging abilities. It made me laugh the first time I heard on Radio 5 (2p.m. on a Thursday afternoon, I think) the (weekly) segment inviting listeners to call in and give the host their best whinge. Some of the topics were rather petty and trivial while others were more legitimate... nevertheless, it seems to be part of the culture (and it's something that my Husband takes a certain amount of pride in).

On that same note, I really don't like the shouting either... I don't like confrontation and I know I need to grow a thicker skin, but if there's a way to avoid being shouted at for whatever supposed misdeed I've committed, I'll happily take it. I've been shouted at twice at work in the last 18 months... the first time was sort-of my fault (and I have taken steps to avoid it happening again) whilst the second time was _not_ and my boss was able to back me up.


4) Grocery stores confuse me... specifically where the store stores the eggs they have for sale. It bothers me that the eggs aren't kept in a refrigerated case like they are in North America and I worried for the first few months that I'd develop salmonella poisoning and make either myself or my husband sick. I've since learned that the way in which chicken eggs are processed here in the UK is different from North America, which allows them to be stored at room temperature and that UK law prevents them from being kept in cooler conditions. 

I'm still wary of the practices here but, thankfully, I've not come down with food poisoning attributed to the cold storage (or lack thereof) of the eggs I buy.


5) Traffic lines on the roads. Having been afforded the opportunity to trade in my BC Driving Permit for a DVLA issued photo card and paper counterpart, I didn't really study that much about the painted lines on the road. 

Some of them I'd seen in Canada before (the crosshatching in intersections or other places where the flow of traffic is to be maintained) and others (the single and double lines at the side of the road) were rather obvious in their meaning without having to be explained, but the one that totally puzzled me and for which I couldn't find a definitive answer to/explanation for (I have a copy of the highway code in my possession and couldn't find it there) was the "no stopping"/"no parking" zig zag lines at the side of the road... I had to ask my Mother in Law what, exactly, those lines meant.


Other than those and a few minor niggles, if I were to shut my eyes I think I could almost convince myself that I'm back home in Canada.


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

I'm not sure I was really "shocked" with anything but there were a few things I found a bit surprising, some good and some bad, so:

Bad things: 

a) Red tape. The amount of red tape really shocked me, it took ages just to open a bank account. I was so stressed about sending my passport (containing the only proof I had that I was legally in the UK) in order to get the provisional driving licence, surely there ought to be a better way? A fact that a UK citizen often needs a person of a certain profession to sign their photos when they are applying for the new passport. Red tape in the UK seems to be a way of life almost... 

b) Workmen and car insurance. I don't know if it's just us but on a few occasions when we needed a workman, we got quotes once ranging from 120 pounds to 1700 pounds for the same job! The tendency of British workmen to charge for things which don't need doing was a bit surprising (major understatement there). Also, how can I be quoted 2000 pounds to insure myself to drive a one litre beginner type car and quoted 150 pounds to be added on my husband's insurance to drive his super fast, two litre, turbo charged sports car? Is DVLA even aware of me having to sit through all the "lessons" freely supplied from hubby dear on the very important topic of how to park without god forbid scratching his "precious"??? 

Good things:

a) Food! Ability to get different spices, vegetables and basically anything you want food related with very little effort. Wide range of restaurants, brilliant!

b) Ability to, on occasion, talk to people about things I find normal but they find strange - for example, I went to Tesco once and asked for fresh chicken liver, the Tesco lady took me to where it was, moved away looking puzzled and as I was leaving with the liver, ran after me and said said "I'm sorry, but I have to ask you, what on earth do you do with those, can you even eat those or are you buying them for pets?" And then we had a 15 minute chat on how to best cook chicken liver. Brilliant!


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## Annie212 (Apr 30, 2014)

Well I haven't moved to the UK yet, but I just got back from spending almost 6 months there and I can relate to what some of you have stated. 

I disagree about the food, though, but then I am not looking for gluten free or organic foods. The only thing I found to be really different are what is considered Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. I am a good old fashion baseball game kind of hot dog fan and they are really, really different in the UK. I was also expecting sausages to be really good and they are sort of bland and weird in consistency. Hamburgers are cooked until they are rock hard and miserable to eat. 
But understandable as to why. 
I, too, was most confused when I saw eggs stored on a shelf. In fact, I had a panic attack but then I realized that it is the farmer's way and eggs are not laid in coolers so I was being paranoid for no reason. They sure do pack a lot of flavor as well. Where I draw the line, however, was mayonnaise. I do not care what my UK family says, I am keeping my mayonnaise in the fridge PERIOD. (laughing). They use an interesting product called Salad Cream which they keep in the cupboard. Tastes like Miracle Whip, actually and I am not a huge fan. 

Okay so the obvious one for me was coffee. I am a coffee addict and I need my exceptionally strong brewed coffee in the morning to feel human. One of the first things I did when I got there and knew I was going to stay for a bit was go out and buy a regular coffee pot because my family there all drink instant. Nescafe etc. UGH. Next, was trying to find a decent ground coffee. I ended up with Rich Taylor's Italian roast. Awesome coffee but expensive. You get a tiny bag for about 3 GBP (sorry don't have an pound sign on my keyboard). That is REALLY expensive but worth it if you are like me and have to have your coffee in the AM. I tried to buy it in bulk to no avail. They have Starbucks and Costa coffee so I didn't have to live without my iced mochas. 
Cheese in the UK is FANTASTIC. I have never in my life had cheese as good as in the UK. We can be proud of our Wisconsin cheeses all we want but, sorry, they are never gonna compare. Desserts too. Eton Mess is absolutely addicting. You can find all sorts of very inexpensive treats and they are actually amazing in how they taste. 

And finally, driving. My husband bought us a little car so I could start practicing and driving about. He said that a lot of US drivers try driving once and then never drive again. Preferring to take the trains etc. Because we are out in the country, driving is something we really need to do so I had better "get with it" (laughing). 
Getting insurance for a US driver on a US license was a bit of a trick but we ended up getting a great deal through Adrian Flux and I am super happy with them as a company. I started driving and WOW, now that is a culture shock. The roads are NARROW. Complicate this with cars parked on either side and big trucks coming at you and the never ending round a bouts or round - DEEEE- bouts as I like to call them. We have stop signs and stop lights where I come from and this was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. But my husband put a carrot on the end of a stick and leased me a horse to ride that was far enough away from the family home that I would have to negotiate narrow roads, some interesting round - dee - bouts and a major highway system. To get to my horse, I was going to have to DRIVE. I learned fairly fast but I am still one heck of a nervous driver when it comes to doing new journey routes. 
Right before I left I got on the parking lot that is fondly known as the M20 and sat there for over an hour at a complete standstill. Ah well, I will get used to it, or not, but it will be there regardless. Now that I am back in the US, I really miss it. I miss my husband, his loving family that welcomed me into their home, my little car with the steering wheel on the right hand side, the food, the countryside and my awesome loaned horse. I hope this time goes quickly as I cannot wait to get back. The US will always be my home but the UK has won my heart as well and so I want to spend the other half of my life seeing and experiencing new things. 
Cheers to everyone who are waiting to go and those who are already there. Hope your journey is as awesome as mine has been. Annie


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## OrganisedChaos (Mar 26, 2013)

Don't think my husband has had much of a culture shock... but coming from the world's most laid back country: Jamaica, he realised how/why I was so impatient with certain things when I was visiting him!

The biggest thing for him though is how 'quiet and boring' it is here as most streets in Jamaica have music playing and people socialising and discussing all sorts... He now knows more people on our street than I do despite living here 7 years - shameful!

He does miss a number of home comforts, things he eats back home which are quite pricey here so he understands why people end up leaving Jamaica with much more than they arrived with.

He is amazed that £500 or less can purchase a working vehicle as you would need the equivalent of at least £1000 to buy something extremely basic back home.

He was also horrified to see how much tax was deducted from his pay and at times I see his frustrations at how bureaucratic most things are. 

However, overall he does enjoy being here and luckily has a number of friends and family so he was familiar with quite a lot quite quickly.


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

Drinking culture. I am not sure that boozers are as revered and cherished anywhere else as much as here. The closest equivalent in my country, Mexican cantinas, are places of ill repute. People do public rallies to save pubs, which are seen as social assets while I see them as eyesores and trouble spots. With the smoking banning I made my peace with pubs and now can bring myself to visit them, even to eat, to be fair many have upped up their game in recent years, but the fact remains that if one wants to experience British life one must get used to visit pubs where half the people are drunk.

I also find puzzling that people aim to get drunk as part of having fun. Being drunk is considered a disgrace where I come from, only disreputable people will openly state that they want to get drunk, here it is part of having fun ("eating is cheating"  ).

Service. The word should be removed from the Oxford dictionary. Restaurants, pubs, theatre bars all ignore the basics of who is the most important person for the business: their suffering paying costumers. If somebody gave me a penny every time I see a waiter frantically cleaning tables instead of serving me or others I would have made a tidy sum by now.

Service charges: the Brit that invented the concept should rot in hell. Only in Britain people charge for serving you, like if it was an extra thrown in as a goodwill gesture. The worst is that it applies to buying tickets on the internet (in the form of booking charges), implying that it is cheaper to hire a human instead of letting a machine do the work. They got the computing revolution backwards.

Trading hours, they are great compared to Germany or Spain lets say, where shops close on Sundays (grrr) but compared to Mexico, where the shops are open pretty much at the discretion of the shop owner, or East Asia, where they are open all the time it seems, the UK feels constraining. I know, petty of me


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## lovestravel (Apr 9, 2012)

I wouldn't say we went through culture shock because we love it so much more than the USA. 

Things that surprised me or were an adjustment were:

Trading hours. I was used to longer hours for shopping and doing business. Get your errands done early!

Paying per minute for phone calls. I was used to every call made within the USA being free. Monthly phone service is less but a lot of things cost per minute to call such as your bank, ga company, etc.

Doing more business by post. Lots and lots of places still use paper forms and mail things instead of emailing documents or having online forms to complete.

Cash culture. Lots of places do not accept bank cards for payment or have terminals out of service. Every once in a while the entire system goes down. Always carry some cash to cover your purchases just in case.

Learning to drive and auto insurance rates. It's like starting out at a teenaged driver.

I kind if agree with some of the food comments. I think the food is good and wide variety but it is definitely heavier. It may be an eu thing but food is healthier with less chemicals thus less diet or gluten free food. It can be found if you wish to cook at home.

Overall, I love love love it and would trade the minor differences to everything that is gained by the culture.


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## Annie212 (Apr 30, 2014)

lovestravel said:


> I wouldn't say we went through culture shock because we love it so much more than the USA.
> 
> Things that surprised me or were an adjustment were:
> 
> ...



Ah you brought up something that I had forgotten about. Phone use. My husband's family has a house phone as well as smartphones for everyone. My husband told me that it was a big source of grief and family feuding for US military families years ago, who were stationed in the UK. Wives on the bases would get on the phone and call each other (locally), chatting endlessly to pass the time, as they had done in the US and when the phone bills arrived they were astronomical. They did not realize that even local calls are not free. 

I also thought they were kidding me about TV licenses. I really did think it was my family trying to put one over on me. I said, "what are the TV police going to come and knock on the door because I am watching TV without a license?" and they replied in unison: "Yes" - (laughing). 

It is all part of getting to know the new country you are going to be living in. Everyone needs to make an effort to change and adapt and not expect that life in another country or culture will change for us. After all, we are choosing to leave the country we were born to and go somewhere new and different. I am trying to stay open minded and accept the differences without attitude and ignorance. The UK did not ask me to go there, I want to go there and so I will adjust my way of thinking and my way of behaving, according to their ways and rules.


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## jlms (May 15, 2008)

I don't agree that one has to adapt regardless.

There are good things, but certainly there are bad things, things that even the locals admit need improving.


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## Annie212 (Apr 30, 2014)

jlms said:


> I don't agree that one has to adapt regardless.
> 
> There are good things, but certainly there are bad things, things that even the locals admit need improving.


Yes, there are good and bad, anywhere you go. What kind of changes are you interested in seeing happen? In what ways can an immigrant help to make those changes? I think this is a huge learning opportunity for everyone.


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

I am the Brit here but almost like a foreigner as I was away for so long! For the most part, I love it! The diversity of London and it's peoples keep it fascinating. Coming from the Caribbean, I love going to Brixton and its noise and energy. I have found no problem with customer service either by telephone or in the stores and I find local shopkeepers, who I try to support as they are a dying breed, very friendly once they get to know you. The food is no problem as I cook all the time and the choice of food is vastly better than where I came from! The big difference here is that I am accustomed to saying hello to everyone I pass on the street and I think that if I did that here, they would think I was crazy. Yes, there is a lot of red tape but it does not take long to sort it and everyone is helpful. All in all, I am happy with the move.

What can immigrants do to improve things? Just adjust to the new environment while not losing your own identity. I have had to do that in two countries in which I lived and which were not my country of origin. Simply put, all we have to do is be nice to each other and to respect each other's differences and recognize the similarities. Don't let the pressures of day to day life influence the way you interact with others, except in a good way. That is a universal requirement!


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## Annie212 (Apr 30, 2014)

Whatshouldwedo said:


> I am the Brit here but almost like a foreigner as I was away for so long! For the most part, I love it! The diversity of London and it's peoples keep it fascinating. Coming from the Caribbean, I love going to Brixton and its noise and energy. I have found no problem with customer service either by telephone or in the stores and I find local shopkeepers, who I try to support as they are a dying breed, very friendly once they get to know you. The food is no problem as I cook all the time and the choice of food is vastly better than where I came from! The big difference here is that I am accustomed to saying hello to everyone I pass on the street and I think that if I did that here, they would think I was crazy. Yes, there is a lot of red tape but it does not take long to sort it and everyone is helpful. All in all, I am happy with the move.
> 
> What can immigrants do to improve things? Just adjust to the new environment while not losing your own identity. I have had to do that in two countries in which I lived and which were not my country of origin. Simply put, all we have to do is be nice to each other and to respect each other's differences and recognize the similarities. Don't let the pressures of day to day life influence the way you interact with others, except in a good way. That is a universal requirement!


That is excellent advice.  Thank you so much for your input on this. Annie


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Annie212 said:


> Well I haven't moved to the UK yet, but I just got back from spending almost 6 months there and I can relate to what some of you have stated.
> 
> I disagree about the food, though, but then I am not looking for gluten free or organic foods. The only thing I found to be really different are what is considered Hot Dogs and Hamburgers. I am a good old fashion baseball game kind of hot dog fan and they are really, really different in the UK. I was also expecting sausages to be really good and they are sort of bland and weird in consistency. Hamburgers are cooked until they are rock hard and miserable to eat.
> But understandable as to why.


There are some "North American" foods that just don't translate here. I have introduced my MiL, Husband, and Husband's work friends to the concept of Nanaimo Bars and, for the longest time, I couldn't source out graham crackers to use for the base. Amazon.co.uk sells them, but as I just make small batches, I don't need huge boxes of Honey Maid graham crackers (they'd go stale before I finished with them)... I've found that substituting digestive biscuits works.

I am also ethnic Japanese and have tried to make comfort food for my husband and myself and traditional New Years food to have on New Year's day. Sourcing some of the ingredients has proven to be somewhat difficult, despite the fact that there are two Japanese grocery stores in London that I frequent (one in Piccadilly Circus and one near Swiss Cottage), and I find that I often have to start late in November to gather what I need lest it gets picked over/sold out before the end of the year.

You say that you're a hotdog fan, yes? You like dill pickle relish? If so, I'd advise that you pack some jars of it (dill pickle relish) to bring with you (and some bottles of Vlassic dill pickles while you're at it)... while you can get "relish," you cannot (or at least I've not seen) N.A. style dill pickle relish at the local grocery store... Branston pickle is similar, but not the same. As for the "dill" style pickles available here (look in the Polish food section of your local Tesco or Sainsbury), they are _not_ the same as what you can get in North America... I have yet to find a brand that has the same _crunch_ that North American dills have (i.e. the Vlassic Pickles Stork character would _not_ be happy with the UK offerings of dill pickles.



Annie212 said:


> I, too, was most confused when I saw eggs stored on a shelf. In fact, I had a panic attack but then I realized that it is the farmer's way and eggs are not laid in coolers so I was being paranoid for no reason. They sure do pack a lot of flavor as well. Where I draw the line, however, was mayonnaise. I do not care what my UK family says, I am keeping my mayonnaise in the fridge PERIOD. (laughing). They use an interesting product called Salad Cream which they keep in the cupboard. Tastes like Miracle Whip, actually and I am not a huge fan.


Yup... the squeezy bottles of mayonnaise and ketchup stay on the shelf until opened, after which they're thrown into the fridge along with the BBQ sauce but _not_ the soy sauce.

N.B., soy sauce is fermented already, so it doesn't need to be refrigerated (at least, I've never put it in the fridge in all of the years I've been living on my own, and my Mom never refrigerated it either when I was growing up)... the only precaution you want to take is to make sure that you don't let any water get into the stock bottle of soy sauce or the decanter you use to serve it with (think of the glass bottles and small china pots you get on the table at Japanese and some Chinese restaurants)... as little as _one drop_ is enough to spoil an entire bottle of soy sauce.



Annie212 said:


> Okay so the obvious one for me was coffee. I am a coffee addict and I need my exceptionally strong brewed coffee in the morning to feel human. One of the first things I did when I got there and knew I was going to stay for a bit was go out and buy a regular coffee pot because my family there all drink instant. Nescafe etc. UGH. Next, was trying to find a decent ground coffee. I ended up with Rich Taylor's Italian roast. Awesome coffee but expensive. You get a tiny bag for about 3 GBP (sorry don't have an pound sign on my keyboard). That is REALLY expensive but worth it if you are like me and have to have your coffee in the AM. I tried to buy it in bulk to no avail. They have Starbucks and Costa coffee so I didn't have to live without my iced mochas.


Perhaps you might think about investing in a Tassimo coffee machine when you get here? It makes a cup at a time in no time. We've got one that we use every day (Husband can't start his day without his cuppa, and I drink tea made from tea pods).

Most of the grocery stores carry a variety of coffees for you to choose from (I don't recommend the Oreo Chocolate... I *heart* chocolate but hated that drink).



Annie212 said:


> Cheese in the UK is FANTASTIC. I have never in my life had cheese as good as in the UK. We can be proud of our Wisconsin cheeses all we want but, sorry, they are never gonna compare. Desserts too. Eton Mess is absolutely addicting. You can find all sorts of very inexpensive treats and they are actually amazing in how they taste.


You can have my share of Eaton Mess (and Banoffee pie), as it's something that I really don't like, but I will fight you tooth and nail for the last speck of cheese. I must have been a mouse in a former life because I *heart* cheese so very much. During my first visit back in '11, I just couldn't get over how inexpensive cheese in the UK is compared to what I can get back home (because of the stupid Canadian dairy board monopoly)... for £1.10, I could have a decent size wedge of brie that would have easily cost me almost CAD 10$ _plus_ tax at the supermarket near my Mom's house and eat it all in one day without feeling guilty (I am lactose intolerant, so doing such a thing often has dire consequences). 

In my first six months in the UK, I'd eaten more cheese than in all of my life prior to my arrival and I was quite shocked that my wedding dress still fit because of all of the cheese I'd had in the month between my arrival and my wedding day.


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

Things to adjust to: 

I find in the UK there is more garbage on the streets. By that I mean people tend to just throw their candy wrappers and food wrappers on the street when they are finished with them. Yes, there are garbage cans around but not many seem to use them. 

Also, where I grew up in Vancouver we didn't have side walk cleaners or what people in the UK call dust men sweeping the streets every single day. We were lucky if a street cleaner washed the road in front of our house once a year. Vancouver, really is much cleaner in this regard. Residents generally used garbage cans or take their rubbish home with them to dispose of. 

Very few KRAFT products are available in the UK. Oh how I miss all my Kraft products. 
Miracle Whip, Kraft dinner, marshmallows, ( the UK ones are not the same ). Getting use to all the different kinds of flour for baking in the UK. I was use to all-purpose flour which you can't get in the UK. Same with sugars. Loads of different kinds of sugar in the UK.
Baking takes a bit of adjusting at first. In the UK most of the ingredients are weighed. My Canadian recipes used measuring cups.

The M25 !!! Oh that highway still scares me. Unfortunately, there is really no way to avoid it if you are living or staying near London.

All the security cameras everywhere. 
I wasn't use to seeing cameras everywhere.

The little under counter fridges in kitchens. Although in the past 5 years more and more big North American fridges are being sold. With such small fridges you had to go shopping more often. Mind you the Brits tend to keep more foods on their counters than we do in Canada. Sauces, eggs, fruits and vegetables were always put in my fridge at home. 



Great things about the UK

- Cheaper cell phone plans
- Better TV programs and I love no commercials on BBC
- So close to Mainland Europe for short get aways.
- all the wonderful little villages you can visit if you want to go for an afternoon drive.
- the aga. An amazing stove ( cooker ) 
- Mail deliveries on Saturdays. 
- the Tube train is so quick, you hardly have to wait at all.


- LONDON, ... truly is a city you can never get tired of. 
- The architecture, the history, the theatre.


The language 

A drug store = the chemist
The trunk of a car = the boot
Pants = trousers. ** in the UK if you say pants they think you are talking about underwear.

Dr.'s office = called a surgery 
A joint = a roast for the oven

When do you want to be knocked up ? (laughing) = When do you want to be woke up?


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## Annie212 (Apr 30, 2014)

Thank you for the tips. I tried Branston pickle (relish) but I am not a big fan of it. I do like the mustard concoction that has pickled veggies in it, however. Its pretty good actually and I was able to find American Hot Dog mustard on the shelf at Tesco. I also found some kind of hot dogs at Morrisons that were edible and not too bad. Not Ballparks but ah well (laughing). Yes, I am with you on the cheese. I am never going to lose weight, not as long as that kind of cheese is around. Even the cheap and cheerful mild cheddar packs a wallop and I like my cheese to kick. So I was very impressed. I was buying the Cathedral City Mature cheese number 3 and loving it. I actually did find that Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury were a little limited on the ground coffee selection but I can always buy Starbucks in a pinch and the Rich Taylor's is great, if not a bit pricey. I think I will check out your suggestion on one cup at a time though because that might be a good option. My first day in the grocery store with my niece and great niece brought peals of laughter from all of us as I walked around with wide eyes and looked at everything. The grand-niece thought this was spectacular especially when I discovered that the shopping carts move sideways. A direction they will not go in when shopping in America (laughter). She wanted Kraft Macaroni and Cheese so we actually found a very expensive box of it at Tesco's in the international food aisle. Something we both enjoyed once we got home. 
All in all, I love it there. I so look forward to getting back and starting a life there. (will just have to figure out how to get baseball and hockey games abroad).


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## Annie212 (Apr 30, 2014)

Correction to my original post should have said M25 and not M20 ..


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

Oh Nanaimo Bars. Yes !!!!! 

" There are some "North American" foods that just don't translate here. I have introduced my MiL, Husband, and Husband's work friends to the concept of Nanaimo Bars and, for the longest time, I couldn't source out graham crackers to use for the base. Amazon.co.uk sells them, but as I just make small batches, I don't need huge boxes of Honey Maid graham crackers (they'd go stale before I finished with them)... I've found that substituting digestive biscuits works. "

I bring over several boxes of graham crumbs each time I come back to UK.. 
Some Kraft things I buy on Ebay UK as well. There is a store in London that sells North American foods. I've ordered things from them and their shipping is very reasonable.


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

Oh yes. The pickles. I miss my crunchy pickles.
I use to bring over jars of them in my carryon before the no liquids rule came into use.

I've tried every brand of dill pickle on the shelves in UK and they just are not the same.


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

Oh yes, twee, I forgot the garbage! That is bad, especially in London and probably other cities! People seem to keep lovely gardens but there seems to be a lack of pride in surroundings.....dog mess too! Yuck!


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## JFC (Jul 3, 2014)

twee said:


> Oh yes. The pickles. I miss my crunchy pickles.
> I use to bring over jars of them in my carryon before the no liquids rule came into use.
> 
> I've tried every brand of dill pickle on the shelves in UK and they just are not the same.


Hint, hint: I find the Lidl pickles suitable. Also the nuts there are more affordable


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

I'm going to Toronto at Christmas - husband has decided he _loves_ hockey (he's been to a Giants game and is a jersey owning 'nucks fan) and thought that it would be a good idea for us to go to see the World Juniors over the Christmas break (my Mom's family lives in Toronto as does my brother and his wife and kids).

I'm making a list of stuff I want to buy while I'm there

there's a Purdy's shop near the hotel we're staying at so a couple of their chocolate survival kits are at the top of my list LOL... 

I also want to get some running shoes... they don't carry much here as far as CDN ladies 13½ wide shoes goes (New Balance ladies runners go up to my size and I know that there's a NB store in Toronto) and what dress shoes that they do carry tend to be cheap and don't last.. clothing/shoe sizing here makes me cross... for clothing, I have to go _up_ a size or two (which hurts my feelings... yes, I'm vain LOL), yet for shoes one goes _down_ two sizes when converting Canadian sizes to UK sizing.

We're going to scope out the Future Shop/Best Buy Boxing-Week-Month sales and (hopefully) take advantage of a favourable exchange rate. 

Needless to say, we're taking packing all of our clothes in one suitcase and taking an empty so that we have room carry all of this stuff back.


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

WCCG I always have groceries in my luggage. In fact, more groceries than clothes.
Where in the UK are you located? We were in London / Dulwich for 7 years before moving up to Scotland.

It's been tough for me the past few years. Trying to keep two houses in order and all the back and forth flights.
Hopefully this time next year, I'll be settled in our UK home.

Here are two places I have used for buying Kraft products while in the UK. Also Graham wafer crumbs !!!
It's amazing how many food items we use every day in Canada that are Kraft products. 

http://www.usafoodstore.co.uk

American Food Store,
2 Ladbroke Grove,
Holland Park,
London W11 3BG
Shop Tel: 0207 221 4563


Taste America is a seller on eBay 
http://www.tasteamerica.co.uk

Kraft marshmallows
Dream whip
Jello instant pudding mixes for baking recipes 
Kraft dinner

Ohhh something I just can NOT find in the UK anywhere are " wide mouth " canning jars. 
The Kerr type with a screw on ring. The Kilner jars in the UK are great but they are not the wide mouth we can get in Canada.
I've been bringing over 3-4 jars each trip in my carry-on case. Both the pint size and quart size jars. 
I have 3 apple trees in the UK garden so I like to make apple sauce and preserve it. Also freeze sliced apples for baking.

In the garden shed is a big side by side North American fridge / freezer which I use for extra space. 
I found getting use to less fridge space really hard to adjust to. 
I ended up taking out the dishwasher and putting in 2 under counter fridges in my kitchen.
Unfortunately, no room for a big North American fridge in the UK kitchen.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

I've heard of the AFS before but have never been... I'm in the West Kensington area and could probably get there on one bus from my flat (I don't have a car and definitely _do not_ miss driving in London... from what I've seen, it's worse that driving in Surrey and/Richmond combined)... perhaps I'll go have a peek tomorrow.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

When we moved into our flat last year, I suggested to Husband that we might do well by putting a bar fridge into this small coat closet we have in our hall (my parents have a main fridge and a smaller bar fridge in their kitchen back home)... after a bit of a measure up and some electrical rejigging by Husband's step-dad and a look around, we found a suitably sized fridge at Argos that has been installed in said closet. Our jackets hang up on the already installed hooks and the fridge occupies the lower part of the closet. It's a godsend for us, as Husband keeps all of his beer in there and it's been useful for putting stuff that doesn't fit into the main fridge.


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

I agree. Fridges are a BIG adjustment for us North Americans. 

I had to laugh at your hall fridge. In our Dulwich place we had a freezer in the hall cupboard. 
People in the UK tend to shop more than our once week routine in Vancouver. 
No wonder *laughing* those little under counter fridges are small.


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## Hertsfem (Jun 19, 2013)

Positives

No power cuts
Pot holes few and far between
Law and order
Democracy 
Career opportunities 
Everything works
Reliable internet
Live concerts
Courteous drivers
Mod cons
Most things are affordable
NHS
Cheap flights
Feeling safe
No mosquitoes 
BOGOF
History and ancient buildings
My place of birth



Negatives

Too much PC
Most people are suspicious
Car insurance is outrageous
Red tape
Small houses
Too much concrete/tar mac and roof tops
Lack of wildlife
The inability to crack down on illegals when we have to jump through hoops


In my mind not being able to get a certain food product or wide neck jars is NOT a culture shock at all 
Focus on the positives instead of the negatives and you will settle far quicker.

Rather than going out of your way to seek other people from your homeland concentrate on intergrating with locals at clubs etc


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## twee (Feb 1, 2014)

Hertsfem said:


> In my mind not being able to get a certain food product or wide neck jars is NOT a culture shock at all
> Focus on the positives instead of the negatives and you will settle far quicker.


I'm sorry if you thought I was being negative and needed lessons on how to settle quicker in the UK.
In future I will refrain from posting in the threads unless asking a question.

You don't know me I realize ... But I am extremely friendly and have no problem fitting in with my neighbours in the UK
In fact Canadians are generally knows as very friendly and helpful folks. Isn't that right WCCG ? 
FYI I also give back to my community in the UK by doing a great deal of charity work and I'm involved in many social groups.

I thought I was being helpful when I listed places that North American foods could be found in the UK.
Please remember there are many folks on this site that are nervous or scared about their new chosen home. This site could help them to feel welcomed and if they are missing a bit of home then maybe a favourite food from home will put a smile on their face. I love the UK and have certainly made a grand effort to assimilate into the culture but I also know what it feels like to miss a bit of back home too.


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## Hertsfem (Jun 19, 2013)

twee said:


> I'm sorry if you thought I was being negative and needed lessons on how to settle quicker in the UK.
> In future I will refrain from posting in the threads unless asking a question.
> 
> You don't know me I realize ... But I am extremely friendly and have no problem fitting in with my neighbours in the UK
> ...


My apologies if I upset you as it was never intended!

I should have started a new paragraph as "Focusing on the positive" was apart from what I had said previously.

Everyone is different and when one has suffered tremendous loss and trauma then something like a simple food item becomes trivial. 

I hope everyone here is able to settle quickly into their new environment :tea:


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## MacUK (Jul 3, 2012)

A rather positive culture shock! 
I've previously lived in an EU country while I was still in school, so It was not that unfamiliar, plus I come from a country that's in Europe, but not part of the EU....
Driving on the other side of the road was the hardest thing I had to get used to, although I don't drive, but I still go for the driver's seat instead of the passenger's seat in the car. And I always look the wrong way, so those signs telling you where to look while crossing the street are pretty helpful.  
In general, I cannot complain, I feel very welcomed, everything works just fine, people are reasonably nice, cost of living is okay (housing prices could be cheaper, but I have the impression they are a bit high for everyone, not just us). 
Ah, and my Achilles foot - Childcare! Prices are preposterous. 
Regarding my national cuisine, I feel that there is a fair amount of grocery shops which carry some of the specialty foods, so I have never really missed it that much. Plus all the ingredients needed to make a national dish can be found in some of the largest supermarkets, like Tesco. 
My parents came out to visit several times,my mum 2 times and my dad once. I miss my friends but we Skype and chat all the time. 
The weather surprised me the first year, I thought it was going to be a cold summer, when in fact temperatures were as high as 32 degrees Celsius! And this year I did not expect that it would be so cold in the middle of August. I come from a sunny country, so the weather needed some getting used to. 
In conclusion,I have not felt like I am in a foreign country, the culture shock was more in terms of surroundings and functioning, like being excited the first few months, then a bit confused, but I guess that's just expat life. 

I read somewhere that there are five stages of expatriate adjustment: 

1. Honeymoon stage
2. Culture shock 
3. Initial adjustment stage
4. Mental isolation
5. Acceptance and integration


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## murtle_007 (Dec 23, 2011)

A brick of butter for sometimes less than £1, two for one cheese at a great price. When I went back to Canada for a bit, I couldn't believe how expensive cheese and butter seem in Canada haha!


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## murtle_007 (Dec 23, 2011)

Also, two days ago I went to the debris for check up and cleaning and it only cost £10. THAT is a good shock.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

murtle_007 said:


> Also, two days ago I went to the debris for check up and cleaning and it only cost £10. THAT is a good shock.


I do hope you mean dentist!!!


predictive text strikes again!!??


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

twee said:


> I'm sorry if you thought I was being negative and needed lessons on how to settle quicker in the UK.
> In future I will refrain from posting in the threads unless asking a question.
> 
> You don't know me I realize ... But I am extremely friendly and have no problem fitting in with my neighbours in the UK
> ...





Hertsfem said:


> My apologies if I upset you as it was never intended!
> 
> I should have started a new paragraph as "Focusing on the positive" was apart from what I had said previously.
> 
> ...



actually one of the biggest shocks for many people is food - well maybe not shocks exactly, but when you're used to certian things & can't get them, they can turn into a craving

for me when we left the UK for the US - I missed Cadburys Dairy Milk & Whole Nut!! I began to crave it - even though it's not something I would eat all that often

And I still had the same problem when we moved to Spain - at that time, even though it's near the UK, anything 'British' cost an arm & a leg to buy!!

11 years on & even local Spanish supermarkets have a lot of British products - but now I've adapted & don't feel the need for them

except Cadburys Dairy Milk & Whole Nut 


I feel another thread might be a good idea here http://www.expatforum.com/expats/br...buy-whats-similar-equivalent.html#post5054770


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## Aconite (Mar 10, 2014)

xabiachica said:


> actually one of the biggest shocks for many people is food - well maybe not shocks exactly, but when you're used to certian things & can't get them, they can turn into a craving
> 
> for me when we left the UK for the US - I missed Cadburys Dairy Milk & Whole Nut!! I began to crave it - even though it's not something I would eat all that often
> 
> ...


For me it's Marmite. When I lived in Japan I couldn't stop thinking about the stuff, despite the deliciousness of all the local food!

I'm not sure about some of the descriptions in this thread of British food and restaurants as "horrible" and the implications that we all live unhealthy lives. Firstly I'd argue that it's untrue - I find the food culture, especially in London, vibrant and varied. I have been a keen gym goer and strict vegetarian for 20 years and have never had any trouble here. Secondly, I'd like to gently point out that a wholesale dismissal of a country's food reads as rather disrespectful.


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## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

One of the things that I noticed on my trips to the UK last year was that there's a tremendous variety of food, and there are some wonderful things (like wine and cheese) that have come from the continent, particularly France. It would't surprise me to learn that British people have developed a fondness for certain French foods, due to proximity and people's frequent trips across the channel.

Food is better, more varied, and cheaper in London than it is in Boston. But then London is closer to the places where fruits and vegetables are grown, so why not...

I'm looking forward to trying new things once we've relocated. I lived in Surrey as a child, and at that time missed Graham Crackers (which I infrequently eat as an adult), and Bubble Yum, which actually went off the market for a number of years. Not sure what I will miss as an adult. Gourmet ice cream, perhaps?


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Aconite said:


> For me it's Marmite. When I lived in Japan I couldn't stop thinking about the stuff, despite the deliciousness of all the local food!
> 
> I'm not sure about some of the descriptions in this thread of British food and restaurants as "horrible" and the implications that we all live unhealthy lives. Firstly I'd argue that it's untrue - I find the food culture, especially in London, vibrant and varied. I have been a keen gym goer and strict vegetarian for 20 years and have never had any trouble here. Secondly, I'd like to gently point out that a wholesale dismissal of a country's food reads as rather disrespectful.


I love some aspects of British cuisine... I enjoyed haggis when I tried it on my honeymoon up in Edinburgh, but don't really care for Black Pudding (I have two first cousins who are half Scotts and they used to _hate_ having to eat that stuff on Christmas Day... I don't blame them!). 

Eton Mess and Banoffee Pie are two more that I just don't get (or at least I don't appreciate)... give me a lovely cheese board for my pud and I'd happily take a bullet for you! 

I have yet to try semifreddo and some of the more exotic sounding English puddings and cholesterol considerations limit the amount of panna cotta I can consume as well (way lovelier than crème brûlée)

I used to think that cheese and onion sandwich sounded just awful... then I was, as Husband jokingly tells his friends, "treated to a cheese and onion sandwich and a bottle of Lemonade during a romantic stroll along New Brighton Pier" this past Easter and found that the name doesn't do justice to the sandwich and the combination actually tastes quite good... I prefer the cheese and onion to be mixed in with a spot of mayonnaise instead of the grated cheese just being loose between the bread.

I also like all of the game and fowl that is available... I've tried (and not been grossed out by) pigeon, grouse and rabbit... I don't eat this on a regular basis, but for special occasions/date nights out to more upscale restaurants I'm quite eager to try new taste experiences... there's been very little that I have tried that I haven't liked, and not because the food is bad but rather I don't like the taste/texture.


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

twee said:


> Things to adjust to:
> 
> I find in the UK there is more garbage on the streets. By that I mean people tend to just throw their candy wrappers and food wrappers on the street when they are finished with them. Yes, there are garbage cans around but not many seem to use them.
> 
> ...


RE Knocking UP! 
In the 1950s(and probably before my time!) where I was brought up in Lancashire, there was an official 'knocker up', he used to go to certain houses at the crack of dawn and tap on the front bedroom window with a long stick, to wake the mill or mine workers up. A short while later you would see the lady mill workers come out of their house, often with a shawl round their head and shoulders to keep warm, and wearing clogs on their feet,and the men often wore shabby clothes which looked too large for them, and a flat cap, and off they would trundle for another hard days work.They always looked weary even before they started work, lovely people though.
Yes! In years gone by the knocker up used to be paid, it was his job, in later years the knocker up gained momentary pleasure often with an un-married lady, and baby was the result! I wonder whether the man with the long stick influenced him?


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

fergie said:


> RE Knocking UP!
> In the 1950s(and probably before my time!) where I was brought up in Lancashire, there was an official 'knocker up', he used to go to certain houses at the crack of dawn and tap on the front bedroom window with a long stick, to wake the mill or mine workers up. A short while later you would see the lady mill workers come out of their house, often with a shawl round their head and shoulders to keep warm, and wearing clogs on their feet,and the men often wore shabby clothes which looked too large for them, and a flat cap, and off they would trundle for another hard days work.They always looked weary even before they started work, lovely people though.
> Yes! In years gone by the knocker up used to be paid, it was his job, in later years the knocker up gained momentary pleasure often with an un-married lady, and baby was the result! I wonder whether the man with the long stick influenced him?


ahhh but to GET knocked up, colloquially speaking , is to become pregnant


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

xabiachica said:


> ahhh but to GET knocked up, colloquially speaking , is to become pregnant


Ha ha I know!  up the duff is another commonly used term in some areas of UK.


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## murtle_007 (Dec 23, 2011)

I definitely meant dentist haha!


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## fergie (Oct 4, 2010)

Have any expats in northern UK ever tried Steak and kidney pudding (not a pie,savoury steak and kidney inside a suet pastry, which is steamed),with chips (French fries), and mushy peas, from a traditional chip shop? Wonderful I love it, but not too often, tends to be higher calories. Steak and kidney puddings don't seem to be served in chip shops south of Birmingham, but sometimes sold as a 'speciality' in Southern pub/restaurants.


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## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

I tried every savoury pie I saw in my last two trips to London. The best, by far, was the lamb shank pie. The fish pie was a close second. I've tried to recreate the steak pie concept here in Boston. It's not as easy as it looks.


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## hightensionwire (Jun 23, 2014)

I haven't moved yet, I'm moving in a few weeks, but when I go I'm over there for a few months at a time.
These are the things that were weird/bugged me;
English people seem to be REALLY passive aggressive. They never say when something or someone's bothering them, which is really bizarre to me. 
The winter weather is vehemently exhausting. I'd wake up in the morning and end up falling asleep as soon as the sun went away, if it ever even came out. Definitely going to invest in a sun lamp before this winter comes this year. On the plus side, despite all the rain, there's virtually no humidity, at least not in comparison to where I'm from. 
Everything shuts down much earlier, and shuts down completely on holidays like Christmas. You want to catch a bus on Christmas? Too bad, there aren't any. I live in a major metropolitan city in the northeast of the US--nothing shuts down here before 11 pm, if it shuts down at all, and the buses never stop running. 
And speaking of Christmas, the traditional Christmas food is the grossest, blandest food I've ever eaten. Luckily, my fiance is a great cook, and uses plenty of seasoning and spices in his food... Unfortunately he's not the one cooking Christmas dinner. 
The restaurants are usually really disappointing in portion size, option, and price. I'm a vegetarian, and in the US, I can always, always find something to eat in any restaurant, even if its a steakhouse. In London, that's not the case. I think I'll be sad about the lack of Mexican food for the rest of my life, as well ]:


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## lovestravel (Apr 9, 2012)

Yes, the short days in winter! Such a shock to the system. I find myself hungry and tired too early because my body thinks it's time for bed. I love the long days in summer for the most part except waking up at 4:30am because the light is barging in through my open windows.


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## LadyBri (Aug 25, 2014)

Well, soon to be a Yorkshire lass and having spent loads of time in the Dales and throughout that county, I can't help but be madly in love with the lush greenery, the breathtaking hills, valleys, and fields, not to mention the sheep! My future mum-in-law gets a giggle out of my fascination with those wooly darlings.  I joke that I might volunteer on a farm to tend them. *cheeky giggles* The air is fresh and clean, the water you can get from the tap for crying out loud (I loathe buying packs of bottled water)! 

I love the fact that everywhere is walkable. My fiancé, Andy, and I would walk everywhere, to the shops, to ASDA for grocery shopping--who needs to drive when it's just around the block! We love to go on wanders with no particular destination, just to take in the scenery. Usually we'd go for a long walk with a favourite hole-in-the-wall pub we could wind up at, usually at the bottom of a hill. 

I love Yorkshire steak pies (beyf! *lol*), Yorkshire pudding, and mince pies. Yorkshire beer is not to be compared with any other, particularly Yorkshire "Black Out" a dark ale exclusive to The New Inn at Cropton, North Yorks. 

I got accustomed to the broad dialect spoken there "tha knows." The folk are warm and inviting, and all around darlings. A favourite pastime is holding burns in the garden on occasion, which my man and I did this past New Year's. It's great to be out near an outdoor stove, especially when it's chill outside. 

All around I love it, the culture, the food, the music, the weather, the environment, the history--I could go on. I'm still waiting to hear back about my visa. I feel so homesick, not just for my Andy, but Yorkshire. I swear it gets in your blood!


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

Mmmmm.. I love Yorkshire full stop and I love me a good broad Yorkshire dialect!
Cricket commentator Geoffery Boycott is a Yorkshireman and his voice reminds me of my Husband's Stepfather's voice and I love listening to it.
(The posh sounding man in that clip is a man by the name of Henry Blofeld and he is just as posh sounding in real life as he is on tv/radio) 



.

My Husband is from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire (as is Sir Patrick Stewart a.k.a. Professor Xavier from _The X-Men_) and while Husband moved to London for work after university, his Mum and Stepdad, Dad and Stepmum all still live in "God's Country."

First time I met "the in-laws" before we were married, I was taken up to H'field for a few days and I absolutely fell in love with the place too... I'm a Victorian English Lit fan and for me, the best bit of that first visit to was getting to go to Haworth to see where Anne, Charlotte and Emily Brönte lived back in the day.


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## LadyBri (Aug 25, 2014)

Brilliant! 
Gotta love Hale and Pace's "Yorkshiremen" farce!





I had the privilege to visit Scarborough and pay my respects to Anne Brönte--it wasn't easy finding her grave as it was rather obscure in the second half of the churchyard! She's one of my favourite Victorian authors.


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## CanadianEh? (Aug 24, 2014)

I'm about to start the process to work in the UK as a healthcare professional. 

This thread has been pretty fun to read, I hope i'm not too shocked when I arrive, haha.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

CanadianEh? said:


> I'm about to start the process to work in the UK as a healthcare professional.
> 
> This thread has been pretty fun to read, I hope i'm not too shocked when I arrive, haha.


Don't know what specialty you're in, but it might be good for you to brush up on your British drug terminology... seriously. 

The drug names in Canada are different than here in the UK (acetaminophen is paracetamol, furosemide is frusemide, lidocaine is lignocaine, meperidine is pethidine etc etc)... there are also things that are commonly prescribed in the UK that are virtually unknown in Canada, so forewarned is forearmed.

(I spent 12 years as a pharmacy tech before I moved to the UK... sadly, my training/experience isn't recognised and I'd have to start all over again if I wanted to go back behind the counter... prospects of working as an otherwise fully qualified tech on a 2 year apprenticeship earning an apprenticeship wage turned me off, so now I'm studying to become a legal secretary).

Anyway, I digress... you might be interested in looking at the British National Formulary (BNF)... it's not nearly as big and cumbersome as the Canadian CPS.


Good luck to you!


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## Whatshouldwedo (Sep 29, 2013)

That is true. My husband came with two to three months of medications but his GP, after an initial assessment, changed three of them right away as they were not known here.


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## Pallykin (Mar 30, 2014)

WCCG, do they have ibuprofen/Motrin in the UK? I don't recall seeing it in the chemist's. Lots of tiny packages of paracetamol...


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## nyclon (Apr 3, 2011)

Pallykin said:


> WCCG, do they have ibuprofen/Motrin in the UK? I don't recall seeing it in the chemist's. Lots of tiny packages of paracetamol...


Yes they have ibuprofen.


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## CanadianEh? (Aug 24, 2014)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> Don't know what specialty you're in, but it might be good for you to brush up on your British drug terminology... seriously.
> 
> The drug names in Canada are different than here in the UK (acetaminophen is paracetamol, furosemide is frusemide, lidocaine is lignocaine, meperidine is pethidine etc etc)... there are also things that are commonly prescribed in the UK that are virtually unknown in Canada, so forewarned is forearmed.
> 
> ...


Haha maybe I should have clarified. I am not a doctor/nurse. I'm a Radiographer. I specialize in CT scans. Luckily, I don't have to have the drugs memorized on the back of my mind  
Unless i'm mistaken, i'm quite certain my Canadian licence to practice would be valid in the UK once the proper paperwork is filled out :fingerscrossed:

Sorry to go off-topic! 
Would you be able to shoot me a PM and we can further discuss this


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## tomas.fejfar (Sep 24, 2014)

*Renting as a couple*

What shocked me most was how hard is to get a room for a couple in Cambridge. Being a couple is at the same level as "I'm bringing my pet goat" or "just gave birth to an all-time-screaming baby". 

*I wonder why is that?!*

We asked some people we met and everyone is like "it's hard" or "it changes the household dynamics", "they keep to themselves and don't work well in shared flat", etc. But I think that's BS. There was even a studio totally detached from the house and they would not let couples there! 

We've lived 2 months in Spain with no problems whatsoever. And it's the same back in Czech Republic. Actually people are usually happier to rent to a couple. They can get more money for the room, they know both tenants (if you rent to single, he/she will bring a spouse sooner or later to visit or stay overnight). It seems completly counterintuitive to me.


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## Rices (Sep 15, 2014)

twee said:


> American Food Store - American Sodas UK, Sweet, Crackers, Candy
> 
> American Food Store,
> 2 Ladbroke Grove,
> ...


Thanks so much for the info about where to find US products in the UK. I'll be going soon and since I don't yet know what I'll miss, I'm not loading up on anything in particular. It's nice to know that there are local places selling US products. My English husband has been in Florida for the last 14 yrs and we frequent the stores where he can get PG Tips, salad cream, HP sauce, etc. because sometimes you just want what you've grown up with!


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## ashkevron (May 1, 2012)

tomas.fejfar said:


> What shocked me most was how hard is to get a room for a couple in Cambridge. Being a couple is at the same level as "I'm bringing my pet goat" or "just gave birth to an all-time-screaming baby".
> 
> *I wonder why is that?!*
> 
> ...


The first thing is HMO regulations, if you are renting a place in a shared house, there will be a maximum number of people allowed per room/house. Second is amortisation, so to speak. In the UK people think that a couple living in a room or a studio flat will damage the property more due to wear and tear and replacing carpets and such can be expensive. Third is that they do not know you and your partner, so there is always a possibility that you'll have arguing and shouting matches over money/jealousy issues etc. Then of course, there are the reasons you've already been given - for example, in a shared house, people may feel they are intruding on your private time if they join you while you are having dinner in the diner and that makes everyone feel awkward, etc. There are many other reasons but single people (ideally hard working PhD students with no social life to speak of) are considered perfect...


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## hightensionwire (Jun 23, 2014)

Rices said:


> Thanks so much for the info about where to find US products in the UK. I'll be going soon and since I don't yet know what I'll miss, I'm not loading up on anything in particular. It's nice to know that there are local places selling US products. My English husband has been in Florida for the last 14 yrs and we frequent the stores where he can get PG Tips, salad cream, HP sauce, etc. because sometimes you just want what you've grown up with!


Depending on where you are, you can get loads of American imports. London's got a lot of places that sell American products. I also had a friend that went to university in South Hampton, and he was even able to find spices from Maryland there (which is pretty specific).


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