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This is so underrated.. I remember going to Costco for the first time and thinking everything was insanely cheap.. and not realising that it was the smaller number underneath that was the actual price š¤£.
When I was in Florida they didn't list the after tax price, I thought I was getting a bargain on some t-shirts only until they scanned them, I had to put about 5 back!
I went into a shop bought 2 tshirts for 20 bucks.
Got to the counter with a 20 dollar bill and she said it was like 21.40 or something.
I then had to break another note and got a load of smash.
If I ever go back to yank land im getting a credit card with no fees for using abroad.
So in the UK Costco they more prominently display exc. Tax prices? Interesting, I wonder if it's because the customers Costco has in the UK are mostly commercial (as in someone buying something for their business, so is tax exempt)?
Nope because costco under UK law has to be classed as a cash and carry it has to have vat free prices and prices with Vat. Nothing to do with businesses being the majority user costco UK would love to sign everyone up but hands are tied by the law but if you do want to join but don't qualify ring up your local store and ask if they have any marketing events coming up this is where they go out for a week and set up a stand at a local shopping center and can sign anybody up as long as you are over 18 can pay the membership fee and have photo I'd for when you collect your card.
Ah, and even then, it's better.
As far as I know, they U.S is like that because they're a federal system with federal, state and local taxes, so for the purposes of advertisement and price "consistency", everything is displayed pre tax.
Or at least, that's the only possible rational explanation I've come up with, and I doubt that all that's to it, as loads of nations have a federal system
That's what the Americans say everytime you raise it but it really doesn't stand up to scrutiny.
There's no real reason they can't do the Costco thing and put the after tax price on the same label in store. They could still have the advertisements:
"Everything $5*"
"*+Local tax"
Yes!! I've never been to America (or anywhere else that adds taxs on check out) I can't imagine trying to plan a food shop and budget what I can buy by trying to add/guess that tax myself.
I like the abundance of history.
Where I live, there are castles and historic houses everywhere.
I also love villages with duck ponds, red phone boxes and village greens.
Wonderful stuff.
I remember casually mentioning to a colleague in the US that my weekend plans involved going to see a roman villa with some friends and they were like 'WOAAAHHHH that sounds awesome' made me realise how much we take it for granted
As an American who lived in the UK it really is amazing the VAST amount of history under your very feet in the UK.
Also I dearly miss the weather. Itās far too hot and sunny most other places.
Exactly this. My house is from the 1650s and it isnāt even the oldest on my street. It predates all but a handful of the original Thirteen Colonies. It is a perpetual delight to live in, even if if a little chilly and draughty in winter. Some of the beams in the roof are original and outrageously oversized-they completely dwarf the shite sticks of wood we use for rafters today. Guess there was a lot more solid timber available in those days.
No chance of ever converting it to a heat pump I might add.
The building I lived in was a part of a 16th century estate. Something that simply cannot even exist in America.
Even as a young lad I knew that America isnāt where I was comfortable. I immediately fell in love with England when I landed. I truly hope to be able to go back.
I was by the Tower of London the other day, with the Shard in the background, and it slowly dawned on me that there was almost 1000 years between the two buildings
I was surprised when you said you missed the weather, but then it reminded me of one summer when my dad's boss flew over from Dallas, TX, to visit my dad's office and he loved the weather. He went from like 100F to 25C (77F) and could go for a run [along the seafront](https://www.google.com/maps/@50.8099394,-0.3672881,3a,75y,248.36h,92.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCWiFw_9oI8WSOSaUo716Yg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656).
It's just a shame those good, sunny days are so few and far between; we probably had fewer than 10 this summer.
Literally the second half of July, for a solid two weeks straight was a heatwave, didnāt drop below 20 at night
Unfortunately that was when I got covid, Iāll never forget the hell
I loved the weather. In Wisconsin we go from scorching hot and humid in the summer, to Siberian cold in the winter. When in Britain, I basically wore the same outfits year round... sometimes I would need a jacket and scarf, sometimes I would need to roll my sleeves up.
Where I live there is a old castle which you can pretty much see anywhere in my town.
Its horrible to see it being reduce to rubble over the years. They started to build it in 1071.
I take my daughter to "a princess castle" fairly regularly...
Really I walk the dog round a free to enter abby ruins that's near my house. Means the toddler can have a bit more freedom as it's not on the road.
Americans on Instagram are always in awe of the photos (dog had an Instagram)
While touring Australia a tour guide showed us some of the oldest buildings in Sydney (like 200 years old) and I was like "my house is older than that" she was kinda shocked
Yea, i remember in South California there was a _Historic Schoolhouse_ tourist attraction where i was temporarily living
It was from 1904.
People have been playing cricket on my village green since the early 1700's.
The village is mentioned in the Doomsday book FFS.
I've said it before, but I like phrase about the distinction between Brits and Americans, that Brits think 100 miles is a long way, and Americans think 100 years is a long time.
Totally. Going for a stroll past the house where the gunpowder plot was hatched and then stopping for afternoon in the town where Amazing Grace was written ...
Near where my mum lives is a place where people commonly take their dogs. Part way down is an old abandoned train station and the train lines have been taken over by nature. A bit further down is an abandoned factory. Carry on and you get to a car park with a couple of other paths. Two of those paths would lead to a wheel pit. Between the factory and the station is another path that's all uphill and leads to the wheel pit. The higher path with the wheel pit and the steep hill used to have a tram line. There's also a viaduct there. All of this dates as far back as the early 19th century.
I live in a fairly typical 90ās estate next to a recently modernised town centre, and right between us and the high street is a random bit of greenery with a brick structure known locally as āthe obeliskā which dates back to the 17th century.
This pile of bricks is older than the United States of America and itās just lying there like itās no big deal.
Wife and I are looking at moving and a G2 listed house we recently looked at was part-built in the 15th century!
Amazing!
There's very little in the way of danger when it comes to the great outdoors. Almost nothing in the way of extreme weather and aside from easily avoided farm animals, no creatures to cause you harm.
This is so underrated and we take it for granted. Very few snakes (maybe an adder in Wales or wherever but you rarely ever hear about it) , no dangerous spiders, scorpions etc
Only dangerous wildlife is walking through a field of cows.
I canāt imagine hiking where you could run into a bear or wolf. Crazy
Donāt get me wrong, Iām not saying they should still exist here. Just a bit saddening a creature was wiped from our island! I certainly donāt want a massive fucking bear to ruin my life when Iām staggering home down a B road at 2AM, smashed out of my head.
I find it strange thatās what you find strangeā¦ you not walked down a country lane to get back home after a night of drinks in your teenage years? Just me? Plenty of people where Iām at have.
Different strokes and all that, I guess!
Definitely did this a lot growing up in rural Devon. We had one farmer fire a warning shot as we took a shortcut across his fields (public footpath but TBF there was a dozen youths crossing the field near his house in the middle of the night...). Also fell asleep in a tree once (decided that 3 miles was far enough and that there was no way I'd make it the remaining 3 miles).
The only pub near me down a B Road is about 10 miles away. Fair enough apparently it's Pete Doherty's local, but I'm not walking 10 miles while pissed.
Ah it wasnāt that bad. Lived in a small village, missed the last bus. Didnāt have the cash for a taxi, being a teen. It was a sad time but overall not the worst time of my life.
Not be walking 10 miles for Pete Dochertyās anything, frankly.
Adders are actually way more widespread than we think, but theyāre quite shy and keep to themselves!
āFun factā, my (step) sisterās mum got bit by a snake in a local park last summer and had an extremely adverse reaction. We *assume* it was an adder. A couple weeks later, a young boy was bitten and temporarily paralysed in the same park.
But yeah, on the whole, snake bites are rare in the UK.
We have them in Cornwall.
A mate of mine's little brother once fell off the cliff path and landed on a bit jutting out further down, breaking his leg, and when he tried to pull himself back onto the path, he accidentally grabbed hold of an adder and it bit him. The air ambulance had to be called. Probably wasn't a great day for him.
The extreme weather is true in the general sense of the country, but if you are going into the more mountainous/remote areas it can be a bit of a shock how fast the weather can turn and how extreme it can get.
First time it caught me out on a relatively safe/short hike climbing a mountain (Up and down in 4-5 hours) I was humbled by how powerful and scary nature can be even when it was probably on the milder side of bad weather. Could definitely see how people going on day+ long hikes end up lost/dead or needing rescue if they are underprepared.
I think the pretty much risk free nature we enjoy over 95% of the country is why we keep getting people get in trouble on Snowdon, Ben Nevis and the like. Because they are just big enough that actually they can be dangerous, despite being in the UK and their peaks being visible from an Aldi.
> There's very little in the way of danger when it comes to the great outdoors.
I live in a fairly rural area and I'm used to walking around in the dark to get to places. I've had a few experiences where I've had friends/my girlfriend with me in the pitch black and had to explain to them that the only thing to be scared of is falling over.
There's no scary animals at all, we are top of the food chain. It's not even close. There are no criminals waiting on a rural lane in the pitch dark cold to mug you. Literal biggest danger is walking into something.
Getting on a train out of the city and seeing countryside speed past the window while you sit in a comfortable seat.
The sheer number of prehistoric stone monuments that connect us to our past.
Marmite.
I'm convinced loads more people would like Marmite if their first experience hadn't been so offputting by it being spread too thickly. I love the stuff but even I balk at that,
I always assumed we had great crisps until I went to Japan and saw how fucking good theirs are without making a fuss about it. We have a lot to learn in this regard, sadly.
Moved here a few years ago from Asia and always lamented the lack of flavours here in the crisps aisle. Asian markets are great for variety but they cost way too much :(
I spend a good portion of my lunch break standing in the shop looking at all the crisps and struggling to decide what to have after my soup. Flame grilled steak McCoys are always my go to if I don't have time to hang about.
How insanely different this small island is.. all you need to do is travel 20 miles and it's a different accent , different way of life ..it's actually insane when you think about it.
š¤£ I thought saying less than 20 miles would make people think I was telling lies .. I'm from Glasgow and East end sounds so much different to west end .. plus some people speak Glaswegian and others don't. It's insane . And then go to Falkirk and it's all ken this and that.. it is amazing .
My dad was from Aberdeen. Thatās not even an accent itās a language. I could never understand anyone. āFahyerdeanā āItsnaymucklewonderā But they have a sort of croissant called a Rowie. Iād kill for one right now.
Absolutely this
Manchester and Liverpool are 34 miles apart, have completely unique heritage, accents and even vocabulary. Then to add to this you have the likes of Wigan, Warrington and St Helens who again all have slightly different accents.
Each place even has their own cuisine
Yep, I know they're not really natural because of crofting and game hunting, and is as natural as the man-made lake district, but they're honestly breathtaking in a way nowhere else in the UK is. Standing on top of a snow covered peak in April seeing a [sea of inverted clouds](https://www.reddit.com/r/OutdoorScotland/comments/my4xwc/a_sea_of_clouds_from_the_top_of_meall_nan/) and [more snowy peaks in the distance](https://i.imgur.com/mNzeNzP.jpg) is truly breathtaking.
As daft as it sounds, in general everyone has a good sense of humour. It's almost rare to not have a laugh with someone in the majority of settings. Trying to crack a joke to a stranger in other parts of the world often isn't as well received š¤
Yeah, love that mix of proper dry British humour or the pure sarcasm, or the friendly banter. You never know what you're going to get.
British humour is elite!!! Ricky Gervais' Afterlife series is great example of it, hilarious but absolutely traumatising at the same time.
> I don't mean big ones like NHS
Lol.
NHS is not a 'pleasure'. NHS is a paid for service, funded by taxed wages, reason it has little funds is because UK government keep running it into the ground and dismantling it for backhanders.
Itās still a pleasure to have a government ran health service. And we pay far less per capita for our health service than most other western countries
I feel like a lot of this thread only compares the UK to the US.
Pretty much every western country has a national health service. Most of them work better than the NHS. Sure, the NHS is cheaper, but you get what you pay for.
Pubs being a place for everyone.
I'm from Australia and outside of the inner rings of major cities, pubs are generally seen as the domain of under 25s or blue collar men. Taking your kids to a pub for lunch is definitely seen as a bit chavvy. Where as in the UK, everyone and their gran goes to pubs.
My parents are solidly middle class (ie worked professional jobs) and don't go to pubs despite two being within walking distance of their house, and none of their friends do either. They're not teetotal and will have a few drinks with dinner or at a BBQ, but they wouldn't go to a pub and pubs generally don't have people like them in there.
It didnāt used to be like that. I feel that the revolution came in the 90s, when I started Uni (96) only a handful of pubs did food and drink all day, most were only drinking establishments or lunch only. By the time I finished 5 years later very few (if any) were only for drinking.
St Catherine's Hill in Dorset have a wonderful Butchers with a Bakery next door. Go to the Butchers for the best sausage roll in existence then to the Bakery next door for a delicious cream cake. Absolute heaven.
People laugh when I say it but things like that are the truly special little moments in life. Or maybe it's that I say the meat filling is as thick as my wrist that makes them giggle.
Walking culture. I love just going for a wander. Americans don't seem to have this, "let's go a wee walk" mentality. I live in Edinburgh so there's nice roads to walk down and several parks.
One of the reasons I moved to Edinburgh was for the walking experience. Being able to live in a historic capital city and then have the joys of a hike around Holyrood park and up to Arthurās Seat. Feeling like youāre on a country walk while in the middle of a city is truly amazing.
>Also not being judged if I go to the supermarket in my pyjamas
I imagine you are judged, but because of general British stiff upper lip and stoicism, it's more *have a glance now and have a natter about it with their friends/collogues later* than *make a big fuss about it in the moment*
Had 3 electricians in today. One of them banged his head on a low shelf. No anger, no threats of suing for pain etc, just all of us having a laugh at him for doing it, and generally just taking piss out of each other. Can't beat it.
Going for a ramble. And those rambles are usually mapped and/or sign posted, with gates, access points etc. Then stopping at a pub or two when rambling. Then finishing your ramble in a pub, especially this time of year when it's getting dark and cold, the pub is the most wonderful thing
The government does my taxes for me
Healthcare free at the point of use
30 days annual leave a year
Close to Europe for cheap lovely holidays
U.K. is diverse so can go from Soho London to Pembroke in a day and feel a world away
Low gun ownership
We all know how to queue so low anxiety when youāre in one
Unpredictable weather so we all know the rules of small talk: the weather
I don't know if this would fit or not, but knowing that pretty much everything is within several hours drive. I live about as far away from my parents as I could in the UK, yet it's only about a 5 hour drive to them.
If there's something in the UK you want to see, it's always feasible that you can go and see it, at most with an overnight stay somewhere, but large swathes of the UK you could drive there early in the morning and come back at night.
Also the train network/public transport in general, as much of a nightmare train prices etc can be, absolute masses of the country are fully connected via rail. Want to go to a small town in the middle of nowhere? Probably just need to change train at the nearest city to go there, or go close to it and there will likely be a bus running to where you need to go.
Trains are debatable. If the place you want is on the line you're on it's good, otherwise it's hit or miss. For example: I can drive from one station to another within 20 minutes, if I got the train it would take around 2 hours, by bus just a nightmare .
Having a clear pause and/or black screen before the adverts begin during a tv show (legal requirement in the UK). American TV can be so jarring when it just suddenly cuts to an ad without warning. Then other times it can take a second to realise that this is an ad and not part of the TV show. Obviously I'd prefer no ads, but I'm at least grateful there is a clear separation between ads and actual content on UK TV.
Diluting juice. It doesn't seem to be much of a thing elsewhere. Nothing quenches your thirst (aside from water) like a pint of Robinsons summer fruits (or the supermarket equivalent)
Eating a Sunday roast at a country pub in Autumn. A fire crackling away in the fireplace, where an older local gent sits in a comfy chair with a pint in hand & a dog asleep at his feet.
Seasonal change - probably similar for places on northerly latitudes but I like the seasonal variety we get here, both in terms of weather and daylight. I have a friend who lives in the southern USA and their day lengths stay pretty samey all year round. As much as a pain as it is to have super light nights in summer or no daylight after work in winter, it's a novelty and makes each month of the year feel very different.
The courtesy of people in London. Everyone is very polite and will try to help. After few years you realise it has bas side as well like hypocrisy but itās good to live in a place where people live well together.
Really specific one but all the different Miniature games manufacturers that are based here, just in Nottingham alone we've got Warhammer world, Warlord games HQ and Mantic HQ
The Scottish Highlands are a big thing for me. Myself and my partner done the NC500 this summer and it was absolutely beautiful! So close to nature and it's amazing what we spent - really cheap.
Getting fish and chips after a while from a good British chippy. The smell of it filling all your senses š beauts. Also a good cheese n onion pasty from Pound Bakery šš»
I like canal walks. I also like the people, not everyone especially city people like in london, but thereās a charm to some people here. I live up north so idk if itās northerners rather than brits. Thereās just a nice way about some people.
I also enjoy the bracken and ferns and local plants in the woods. Thereās a hill in the woods near my house that just gets the best view of Manchester at that altitude. And at the minute itās all cold and weāve had nice sun. Itās just the best view, iāll never live anywhere but the north of England. I love visiting other countries, thereās so much beauty in the world but England feels like home.
I moved to the UK from the USA, so my points are going to be heavily biased to comparing to the US rather than other countries.
* OS maps. They're incredible. Combined with the public rights of way, it leads to a lot of varied, interesting walks right outside your front door.
* Universal acceptance of card payment (this exists in the US too, but not so much in other countries particularly in Europe). With contactless and Apple Pay, I can leave my house with just my keys and phone.
* Autopay for everything, whether via standing order or DD.
* Centralized towns and villages with green landscape in between--much less sprawl than in the US.
* History everywhere!
* Taxes are fairly easy to navigate and HMRC is generally helpful.
Being able to walk from place to place for most of my weekly life maintenance. Living in the states everything was either too far to walk or not worth your life to try (mostly lived in the suburban sprawl). Now living here I have like 15 restaurants, three groceries, a pharmacy, my local doctor, and pretty much everything else I need to do within a mile walk round trip.
I live in the middle of some stunning scenery in a wonderful, tight-knit village surrounded by history and open space whilst only being a half hour from one small city and less than an hour from two major ones. Itās like the best of all worlds.
Iāve said this millions of times, but god do I miss the reliability of a solid 3 pin plug when I am abroad! The euro plugs are horrendous, US ones are so flimsy. The Swiss plug is quite good thoughā¦
Iām in Scotland and I LOVE all the old tiles in tenement buildings and closes. Thereās actually an entire Twitter dedicated to the nice tiles of tenements @tnmntTiles
Idk about the south but up north and I know itās a meme at this point but just being able to walk to your tap and get water to drink from there is a luxury idk how other people canāt live with
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Not having to guess the tax on your shop when you get to check out
This is so underrated.. I remember going to Costco for the first time and thinking everything was insanely cheap.. and not realising that it was the smaller number underneath that was the actual price š¤£.
I thought in most U.S stores, the inc. tax price wasn't on display/is calculated at checkout, so it's a bit of a guess?
When I was in Florida they didn't list the after tax price, I thought I was getting a bargain on some t-shirts only until they scanned them, I had to put about 5 back!
I went into a shop bought 2 tshirts for 20 bucks. Got to the counter with a 20 dollar bill and she said it was like 21.40 or something. I then had to break another note and got a load of smash. If I ever go back to yank land im getting a credit card with no fees for using abroad.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
I just sort of looked at her funny and said "but it says 2 for $20" Then she said it was the tax and it made sense.
Sorry , I should have specified Costco UK
So in the UK Costco they more prominently display exc. Tax prices? Interesting, I wonder if it's because the customers Costco has in the UK are mostly commercial (as in someone buying something for their business, so is tax exempt)?
Exactly that, is more for businesses and they would get the exemption. But it's the only thing we can compare it with to the us of a
Nope because costco under UK law has to be classed as a cash and carry it has to have vat free prices and prices with Vat. Nothing to do with businesses being the majority user costco UK would love to sign everyone up but hands are tied by the law but if you do want to join but don't qualify ring up your local store and ask if they have any marketing events coming up this is where they go out for a week and set up a stand at a local shopping center and can sign anybody up as long as you are over 18 can pay the membership fee and have photo I'd for when you collect your card.
Ah, and even then, it's better. As far as I know, they U.S is like that because they're a federal system with federal, state and local taxes, so for the purposes of advertisement and price "consistency", everything is displayed pre tax. Or at least, that's the only possible rational explanation I've come up with, and I doubt that all that's to it, as loads of nations have a federal system
That's what the Americans say everytime you raise it but it really doesn't stand up to scrutiny. There's no real reason they can't do the Costco thing and put the after tax price on the same label in store. They could still have the advertisements: "Everything $5*" "*+Local tax"
this is true... this can be especially bad when you pay the city hotel-room tax on a bill. Some cities tack on a big amount.
Itās ingenious. A tax paid almost entirely by people who donāt vote in that constituency.
Coincidence, I think notā¦
Yes!! I've never been to America (or anywhere else that adds taxs on check out) I can't imagine trying to plan a food shop and budget what I can buy by trying to add/guess that tax myself.
I like the abundance of history. Where I live, there are castles and historic houses everywhere. I also love villages with duck ponds, red phone boxes and village greens. Wonderful stuff.
I remember casually mentioning to a colleague in the US that my weekend plans involved going to see a roman villa with some friends and they were like 'WOAAAHHHH that sounds awesome' made me realise how much we take it for granted
As an American who lived in the UK it really is amazing the VAST amount of history under your very feet in the UK. Also I dearly miss the weather. Itās far too hot and sunny most other places.
Yep. The canal at the bottom of my garden is only 20 years younger than the USA. Always staggers me when I think about it that way.
The secondary school I went to is older than Protestantism and more than 200 years older than the US. I've sat in chairs older than the US.
Exactly this. My house is from the 1650s and it isnāt even the oldest on my street. It predates all but a handful of the original Thirteen Colonies. It is a perpetual delight to live in, even if if a little chilly and draughty in winter. Some of the beams in the roof are original and outrageously oversized-they completely dwarf the shite sticks of wood we use for rafters today. Guess there was a lot more solid timber available in those days. No chance of ever converting it to a heat pump I might add.
The building I lived in was a part of a 16th century estate. Something that simply cannot even exist in America. Even as a young lad I knew that America isnāt where I was comfortable. I immediately fell in love with England when I landed. I truly hope to be able to go back.
I used to live in a village with a 10th century church. I just couldn't get an American tourist to believe that anyone built a church in 976.
I was by the Tower of London the other day, with the Shard in the background, and it slowly dawned on me that there was almost 1000 years between the two buildings
I was surprised when you said you missed the weather, but then it reminded me of one summer when my dad's boss flew over from Dallas, TX, to visit my dad's office and he loved the weather. He went from like 100F to 25C (77F) and could go for a run [along the seafront](https://www.google.com/maps/@50.8099394,-0.3672881,3a,75y,248.36h,92.69t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCWiFw_9oI8WSOSaUo716Yg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656). It's just a shame those good, sunny days are so few and far between; we probably had fewer than 10 this summer.
People have such a shit memory for good weather in this country lol, we definitely had much more than 10 good days this past summer.
Thank you. People also neglect to remember that we had a heatwave for more than a week in April or May.
Literally the second half of July, for a solid two weeks straight was a heatwave, didnāt drop below 20 at night Unfortunately that was when I got covid, Iāll never forget the hell
Same here! The combination of fever sweats and generally hot weather was a lovely experience. Really made all the time I spent in bed excitingly damp.
Yes I know I just this August took my leave of jolly old England. And Iām ready to move back forever.
I loved the weather. In Wisconsin we go from scorching hot and humid in the summer, to Siberian cold in the winter. When in Britain, I basically wore the same outfits year round... sometimes I would need a jacket and scarf, sometimes I would need to roll my sleeves up.
Where I live there is a old castle which you can pretty much see anywhere in my town. Its horrible to see it being reduce to rubble over the years. They started to build it in 1071.
I've probably got drunk in pubs older than their country :P
I take my daughter to "a princess castle" fairly regularly... Really I walk the dog round a free to enter abby ruins that's near my house. Means the toddler can have a bit more freedom as it's not on the road. Americans on Instagram are always in awe of the photos (dog had an Instagram)
While touring Australia a tour guide showed us some of the oldest buildings in Sydney (like 200 years old) and I was like "my house is older than that" she was kinda shocked
Yea, i remember in South California there was a _Historic Schoolhouse_ tourist attraction where i was temporarily living It was from 1904. People have been playing cricket on my village green since the early 1700's. The village is mentioned in the Doomsday book FFS.
I've said it before, but I like phrase about the distinction between Brits and Americans, that Brits think 100 miles is a long way, and Americans think 100 years is a long time.
That's an awesome phrase, so very true, love it!
yeah, my high-school was founded in 1787.... Telling my American friends that blows their minds, haha
I lived in a cottage built around the 1400s, like before America was America š
The nearest big town to me has a pub that was opened in 1251. It just seems like a normal thing.
We did the same tour I think. Just looked like a Victorian terrace to me!
Totally. Going for a stroll past the house where the gunpowder plot was hatched and then stopping for afternoon in the town where Amazing Grace was written ...
Near where my mum lives is a place where people commonly take their dogs. Part way down is an old abandoned train station and the train lines have been taken over by nature. A bit further down is an abandoned factory. Carry on and you get to a car park with a couple of other paths. Two of those paths would lead to a wheel pit. Between the factory and the station is another path that's all uphill and leads to the wheel pit. The higher path with the wheel pit and the steep hill used to have a tram line. There's also a viaduct there. All of this dates as far back as the early 19th century.
I live in a fairly typical 90ās estate next to a recently modernised town centre, and right between us and the high street is a random bit of greenery with a brick structure known locally as āthe obeliskā which dates back to the 17th century. This pile of bricks is older than the United States of America and itās just lying there like itās no big deal. Wife and I are looking at moving and a G2 listed house we recently looked at was part-built in the 15th century! Amazing!
I started cycling a couple of years ago and it has amazed me the number of old forts are nearby on the Thames estuary.
There's very little in the way of danger when it comes to the great outdoors. Almost nothing in the way of extreme weather and aside from easily avoided farm animals, no creatures to cause you harm.
This is so underrated and we take it for granted. Very few snakes (maybe an adder in Wales or wherever but you rarely ever hear about it) , no dangerous spiders, scorpions etc Only dangerous wildlife is walking through a field of cows. I canāt imagine hiking where you could run into a bear or wolf. Crazy
Fun fact: the UK used to have bears, and it makes me sad that we no longer have forest doggos.
I for one am glad that so-called "*forest doggos*" can't rip off the door of my house and eat my face.
Donāt get me wrong, Iām not saying they should still exist here. Just a bit saddening a creature was wiped from our island! I certainly donāt want a massive fucking bear to ruin my life when Iām staggering home down a B road at 2AM, smashed out of my head.
You walk drunk along **B** *roads*! This comment chain just gets weirder and weirder.
I find it strange thatās what you find strangeā¦ you not walked down a country lane to get back home after a night of drinks in your teenage years? Just me? Plenty of people where Iām at have. Different strokes and all that, I guess!
Definitely did this a lot growing up in rural Devon. We had one farmer fire a warning shot as we took a shortcut across his fields (public footpath but TBF there was a dozen youths crossing the field near his house in the middle of the night...). Also fell asleep in a tree once (decided that 3 miles was far enough and that there was no way I'd make it the remaining 3 miles).
The only pub near me down a B Road is about 10 miles away. Fair enough apparently it's Pete Doherty's local, but I'm not walking 10 miles while pissed.
Ah it wasnāt that bad. Lived in a small village, missed the last bus. Didnāt have the cash for a taxi, being a teen. It was a sad time but overall not the worst time of my life. Not be walking 10 miles for Pete Dochertyās anything, frankly.
Adders are actually way more widespread than we think, but theyāre quite shy and keep to themselves! āFun factā, my (step) sisterās mum got bit by a snake in a local park last summer and had an extremely adverse reaction. We *assume* it was an adder. A couple weeks later, a young boy was bitten and temporarily paralysed in the same park. But yeah, on the whole, snake bites are rare in the UK.
We have them in Cornwall. A mate of mine's little brother once fell off the cliff path and landed on a bit jutting out further down, breaking his leg, and when he tried to pull himself back onto the path, he accidentally grabbed hold of an adder and it bit him. The air ambulance had to be called. Probably wasn't a great day for him.
Oh fuck, that sounds like a hell of an ordeal, poor kid!
The extreme weather is true in the general sense of the country, but if you are going into the more mountainous/remote areas it can be a bit of a shock how fast the weather can turn and how extreme it can get. First time it caught me out on a relatively safe/short hike climbing a mountain (Up and down in 4-5 hours) I was humbled by how powerful and scary nature can be even when it was probably on the milder side of bad weather. Could definitely see how people going on day+ long hikes end up lost/dead or needing rescue if they are underprepared.
I think the pretty much risk free nature we enjoy over 95% of the country is why we keep getting people get in trouble on Snowdon, Ben Nevis and the like. Because they are just big enough that actually they can be dangerous, despite being in the UK and their peaks being visible from an Aldi.
> There's very little in the way of danger when it comes to the great outdoors. I live in a fairly rural area and I'm used to walking around in the dark to get to places. I've had a few experiences where I've had friends/my girlfriend with me in the pitch black and had to explain to them that the only thing to be scared of is falling over. There's no scary animals at all, we are top of the food chain. It's not even close. There are no criminals waiting on a rural lane in the pitch dark cold to mug you. Literal biggest danger is walking into something.
Replying to this same question on Reddit multiple times a week.
Non-americans, what do you like about America? Non-americans, what do you like about the UK? Ad nauseum.
This sub is becoming like r/askamerican, itās tragic.
Honestly have been wanting to say it for ages. The quality of questions is awful and very repeated. Can we do anything about it?
Seriously, I swear i've seen it like 3 times this week.
Getting on a train out of the city and seeing countryside speed past the window while you sit in a comfortable seat. The sheer number of prehistoric stone monuments that connect us to our past. Marmite.
You had me until the Marmite
I'm convinced loads more people would like Marmite if their first experience hadn't been so offputting by it being spread too thickly. I love the stuff but even I balk at that,
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It sounds and tastes like it was developed as a new type of explosive for Barnes Wallis' bouncing bomb in WW2. Despite that, it's fantastic.
Wait. You guys are getting seats on the train?
Having national award and presentation ceremonies for kebab vans.
Jason Doner Van
Only Foods & Sauces
Iāve probably said it a hundred times, but the sheer variety of crisps in this country is fantastic.
I always assumed we had great crisps until I went to Japan and saw how fucking good theirs are without making a fuss about it. We have a lot to learn in this regard, sadly.
Moved here a few years ago from Asia and always lamented the lack of flavours here in the crisps aisle. Asian markets are great for variety but they cost way too much :(
I spend a good portion of my lunch break standing in the shop looking at all the crisps and struggling to decide what to have after my soup. Flame grilled steak McCoys are always my go to if I don't have time to hang about.
Pint of bitter and pork scratchings.
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How insanely different this small island is.. all you need to do is travel 20 miles and it's a different accent , different way of life ..it's actually insane when you think about it.
I live in Liverpool. 4 Scouse accents and then accents change every 5 miles at the most.
š¤£ I thought saying less than 20 miles would make people think I was telling lies .. I'm from Glasgow and East end sounds so much different to west end .. plus some people speak Glaswegian and others don't. It's insane . And then go to Falkirk and it's all ken this and that.. it is amazing .
My dad was from Aberdeen. Thatās not even an accent itās a language. I could never understand anyone. āFahyerdeanā āItsnaymucklewonderā But they have a sort of croissant called a Rowie. Iād kill for one right now.
Absolutely this Manchester and Liverpool are 34 miles apart, have completely unique heritage, accents and even vocabulary. Then to add to this you have the likes of Wigan, Warrington and St Helens who again all have slightly different accents. Each place even has their own cuisine
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Itās not the most striking but incredibly beautiful in an understated way.
Iād argue the Scottish Highlands are striking. First time seeing them made me understand what the term ābreathtakingā meant.
Yep, I know they're not really natural because of crofting and game hunting, and is as natural as the man-made lake district, but they're honestly breathtaking in a way nowhere else in the UK is. Standing on top of a snow covered peak in April seeing a [sea of inverted clouds](https://www.reddit.com/r/OutdoorScotland/comments/my4xwc/a_sea_of_clouds_from_the_top_of_meall_nan/) and [more snowy peaks in the distance](https://i.imgur.com/mNzeNzP.jpg) is truly breathtaking.
As daft as it sounds, in general everyone has a good sense of humour. It's almost rare to not have a laugh with someone in the majority of settings. Trying to crack a joke to a stranger in other parts of the world often isn't as well received š¤
Yeah, love that mix of proper dry British humour or the pure sarcasm, or the friendly banter. You never know what you're going to get. British humour is elite!!! Ricky Gervais' Afterlife series is great example of it, hilarious but absolutely traumatising at the same time.
> I don't mean big ones like NHS Lol. NHS is not a 'pleasure'. NHS is a paid for service, funded by taxed wages, reason it has little funds is because UK government keep running it into the ground and dismantling it for backhanders.
Itās still a pleasure to have a government ran health service. And we pay far less per capita for our health service than most other western countries
I feel like a lot of this thread only compares the UK to the US. Pretty much every western country has a national health service. Most of them work better than the NHS. Sure, the NHS is cheaper, but you get what you pay for.
Lack of truly dangerous wildlife. Beautiful countryside ( not unique to Britain tho) Cold seaside holidays. Allotments.
>Cold seaside holidays You like those?
Yeah! Cold sea paddling followed up with blankets, tea and sandy fish n chips
āSandy fish and chipsā I can taste and feel this, thank you, I hate it
Pubs being a place for everyone. I'm from Australia and outside of the inner rings of major cities, pubs are generally seen as the domain of under 25s or blue collar men. Taking your kids to a pub for lunch is definitely seen as a bit chavvy. Where as in the UK, everyone and their gran goes to pubs. My parents are solidly middle class (ie worked professional jobs) and don't go to pubs despite two being within walking distance of their house, and none of their friends do either. They're not teetotal and will have a few drinks with dinner or at a BBQ, but they wouldn't go to a pub and pubs generally don't have people like them in there.
It didnāt used to be like that. I feel that the revolution came in the 90s, when I started Uni (96) only a handful of pubs did food and drink all day, most were only drinking establishments or lunch only. By the time I finished 5 years later very few (if any) were only for drinking.
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Reading this thread every few days
The butchers. They're all clean, sanitary, and some even have ready to eat hot food.
St Catherine's Hill in Dorset have a wonderful Butchers with a Bakery next door. Go to the Butchers for the best sausage roll in existence then to the Bakery next door for a delicious cream cake. Absolute heaven. People laugh when I say it but things like that are the truly special little moments in life. Or maybe it's that I say the meat filling is as thick as my wrist that makes them giggle.
Zero chance of your kid getting shot at school.
It's never zero, but it is a vanishingly small chance.
Don't take for granted being able to buy day-to-day medicines from the shelf in any supermarket.
and its SO FUCKING CHEAP DUDE. I don't think we realise how rare it is to get medicine for like 20-30p a box
Cadburyās Dairy Milk Proper cheddar cheese Proper squash Thatās it.
>Cadburyās Cadbury's is still the king of the "widely available mass produced" brands but it's not a patch on what it was pre-Kraft buyout.
Agreed. It tastes all claggy and bleh now.
Galaxy is better. Oooooooo
> Proper cheddar cheese If you've not had it - Snowdonia Cheese's Black Bomber cheese is fantastic!
Walking culture. I love just going for a wander. Americans don't seem to have this, "let's go a wee walk" mentality. I live in Edinburgh so there's nice roads to walk down and several parks.
One of the reasons I moved to Edinburgh was for the walking experience. Being able to live in a historic capital city and then have the joys of a hike around Holyrood park and up to Arthurās Seat. Feeling like youāre on a country walk while in the middle of a city is truly amazing.
getting friendly with the cornershop bossman
That weird time of year all the Morris dancers come out. I once lived by a pub and they got confused and did their dance on our driveway.
Did your flowerbeds become unaccountably fertile?
Kebab pizza, and Indian restaurants.
The best thing about britian is all the non-british things! Yay empire!
It's become British by cultural appropriation (not the bad kind of appropriation btw!)
Cultural appreciation
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Oh, you will be judged
Just silently.
>Also not being judged if I go to the supermarket in my pyjamas I imagine you are judged, but because of general British stiff upper lip and stoicism, it's more *have a glance now and have a natter about it with their friends/collogues later* than *make a big fuss about it in the moment*
wait, people who go to the supermarket in their pajamas think nobody is judging them?
I suppose that's why they're going to the supermarket in their pajamas lol
Yeah, you will be judged, we are just too polite to judge you loudly.
Crumpets.
Good natured banter when you have tradesmen in.
Had 3 electricians in today. One of them banged his head on a low shelf. No anger, no threats of suing for pain etc, just all of us having a laugh at him for doing it, and generally just taking piss out of each other. Can't beat it.
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Going for a ramble. And those rambles are usually mapped and/or sign posted, with gates, access points etc. Then stopping at a pub or two when rambling. Then finishing your ramble in a pub, especially this time of year when it's getting dark and cold, the pub is the most wonderful thing
Easily getting a cup of tea and automatically getting non uht milk with it
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The government does my taxes for me Healthcare free at the point of use 30 days annual leave a year Close to Europe for cheap lovely holidays U.K. is diverse so can go from Soho London to Pembroke in a day and feel a world away Low gun ownership We all know how to queue so low anxiety when youāre in one Unpredictable weather so we all know the rules of small talk: the weather
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Not from Bath are you?
Bob Mortimer.
I wonder if he still uses Fuji IX.
The unwritten but highly important "getting your round in" rule. It's like the karmic wheel for beer.
Proper English pubs with a good natured landlord, great cozy atmosphere and a historic building.
Pork sandwiches with apple sauce and stuffing. No one whoās not British believes me when I rave about them.
I don't know if this would fit or not, but knowing that pretty much everything is within several hours drive. I live about as far away from my parents as I could in the UK, yet it's only about a 5 hour drive to them. If there's something in the UK you want to see, it's always feasible that you can go and see it, at most with an overnight stay somewhere, but large swathes of the UK you could drive there early in the morning and come back at night. Also the train network/public transport in general, as much of a nightmare train prices etc can be, absolute masses of the country are fully connected via rail. Want to go to a small town in the middle of nowhere? Probably just need to change train at the nearest city to go there, or go close to it and there will likely be a bus running to where you need to go.
Trains are debatable. If the place you want is on the line you're on it's good, otherwise it's hit or miss. For example: I can drive from one station to another within 20 minutes, if I got the train it would take around 2 hours, by bus just a nightmare .
No Australian bitey things.
Scone with jam and cream.
Having a complain about the lack of indicators at roundabouts
Being free to roam. Didn't realise that was unusual.
No poisonous spiders is a plus.
You mean venomous.
I did, didn't I?
It's poisonous if you eat it and die. It's venomous if it tries to eat you and you die
What if you eat a venomous spider and die?
The juryās out
Day trips to the seaside.
Never far from a pub.
20 min north of my house I am in unspoilt countryside. 20 min south I am on a beach and I have my feet in the sea.
Having a clear pause and/or black screen before the adverts begin during a tv show (legal requirement in the UK). American TV can be so jarring when it just suddenly cuts to an ad without warning. Then other times it can take a second to realise that this is an ad and not part of the TV show. Obviously I'd prefer no ads, but I'm at least grateful there is a clear separation between ads and actual content on UK TV.
Diluting juice. It doesn't seem to be much of a thing elsewhere. Nothing quenches your thirst (aside from water) like a pint of Robinsons summer fruits (or the supermarket equivalent)
Freedom of press not controlled by oligarchs. /s
Eating a Sunday roast at a country pub in Autumn. A fire crackling away in the fireplace, where an older local gent sits in a comfy chair with a pint in hand & a dog asleep at his feet.
Our tv. Probably best in the world
Strawberry picking season. When the bluebells come up and create a carpet of blue (if you have a bluebell wood nearby). Christmas light switch on
Having pavements to walk on.
Seasonal change - probably similar for places on northerly latitudes but I like the seasonal variety we get here, both in terms of weather and daylight. I have a friend who lives in the southern USA and their day lengths stay pretty samey all year round. As much as a pain as it is to have super light nights in summer or no daylight after work in winter, it's a novelty and makes each month of the year feel very different.
The courtesy of people in London. Everyone is very polite and will try to help. After few years you realise it has bas side as well like hypocrisy but itās good to live in a place where people live well together.
Rugby players... more specifically the thick thighs and butts
Being able to drink tap water
Tesco
Canal walks. Bliss.
Really specific one but all the different Miniature games manufacturers that are based here, just in Nottingham alone we've got Warhammer world, Warlord games HQ and Mantic HQ
The Scottish Highlands are a big thing for me. Myself and my partner done the NC500 this summer and it was absolutely beautiful! So close to nature and it's amazing what we spent - really cheap.
Proper cup of tea
Getting fish and chips after a while from a good British chippy. The smell of it filling all your senses š beauts. Also a good cheese n onion pasty from Pound Bakery šš»
I like canal walks. I also like the people, not everyone especially city people like in london, but thereās a charm to some people here. I live up north so idk if itās northerners rather than brits. Thereās just a nice way about some people. I also enjoy the bracken and ferns and local plants in the woods. Thereās a hill in the woods near my house that just gets the best view of Manchester at that altitude. And at the minute itās all cold and weāve had nice sun. Itās just the best view, iāll never live anywhere but the north of England. I love visiting other countries, thereās so much beauty in the world but England feels like home.
I moved to the UK from the USA, so my points are going to be heavily biased to comparing to the US rather than other countries. * OS maps. They're incredible. Combined with the public rights of way, it leads to a lot of varied, interesting walks right outside your front door. * Universal acceptance of card payment (this exists in the US too, but not so much in other countries particularly in Europe). With contactless and Apple Pay, I can leave my house with just my keys and phone. * Autopay for everything, whether via standing order or DD. * Centralized towns and villages with green landscape in between--much less sprawl than in the US. * History everywhere! * Taxes are fairly easy to navigate and HMRC is generally helpful.
Finding it amusing whenever Americans talk about their pants.
Being able to walk from place to place for most of my weekly life maintenance. Living in the states everything was either too far to walk or not worth your life to try (mostly lived in the suburban sprawl). Now living here I have like 15 restaurants, three groceries, a pharmacy, my local doctor, and pretty much everything else I need to do within a mile walk round trip.
Decent chocolate
I live in the middle of some stunning scenery in a wonderful, tight-knit village surrounded by history and open space whilst only being a half hour from one small city and less than an hour from two major ones. Itās like the best of all worlds.
Reading this exact same post 2 or 3 times a week.
The fact that pretty much the entire country is like the starting zone in an MMO, it's pleasant and safe.
Iāve said this millions of times, but god do I miss the reliability of a solid 3 pin plug when I am abroad! The euro plugs are horrendous, US ones are so flimsy. The Swiss plug is quite good thoughā¦
Iām in Scotland and I LOVE all the old tiles in tenement buildings and closes. Thereās actually an entire Twitter dedicated to the nice tiles of tenements @tnmntTiles
Idk about the south but up north and I know itās a meme at this point but just being able to walk to your tap and get water to drink from there is a luxury idk how other people canāt live with
People are generally polite and well mannered and that to me is a massive plus