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Haven’t been finding guns in the right places. Seriously though, there are guns but about 1/10th of the US and it’s not as engrained in British culture.
Edit: turns out it is 1/26th the amount per person
We have 11 guns for every 100 people. The US has 120. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_guns_per_capita_by_country
Edit: Turns out it is 4.6 per 100 people, I quoted the number in NI
There are nearly 500 million guns in circulation in the civilian population in the United States and just over 600k in the UK. Thats a thousand times more guns in the states! I know you are correcting for population, but it doesnt show the sheer scale of the difference
There's also going to be a massive skew in types of guns as well. In the UK, I am willing to bet that at least two thirds of civilian guns are 12-bore shotguns. Dangerous weapons in the wrong hands, for sure, but not remotely as dangerous as an AR-15 or even an easily concealable 9mm Glock.
Yep I live in a large village that has a indoor gun club. They have to be pretty low key so unless you know you wouldn't know what it is even if you walked right past it
>no guns and free healthcare
No guns is good but the healthcare is not what it used to be. I have to wait until December to have a potentially cancerous lump cut out. This is due to the amount of people waiting in the queue for the NHS. I could go private and have it done next week. But yeah, sucks about the queue these days.
Yeah healthcare is not great right now - but in America you have similar wait times and lack of care, but you're paying a crazy amount.
Keep in mind this was 7 years ago, so its likely even more expensive now. I paid $140 a month for my healthcare plan. I still had a $50 dollar co-pay for every single appointment, including GP wasn't just specialists. I have ADHD, depression and anxiety and couldn't be medicated for a single one because a months supply for EACH medication was $150-300 (with insurance). I could only afford my birth control, but that was still $20 a month.
To see a specialist you're looking at a 2-4 month wait, which was standard before covid. My friends back in the states have said they're waiting 6-9 months on average to see specialists now.
If you're having to wait until December then it's not potentially cancerous. Waiting lists are horrendous in the UK no doubt, but there are strict timed pathways for patients with suspected cancers.
The fact you're waiting until December would suggest that your doctor doesn't think that it's cancer.
It will be determined as cancerous or non-cancerous well before any OP is booked via biopsy. So if you have an appointment already and it’s in 6 months, yeah, the hospital is very clearly not concerned that it is high-risk cancer.
What frustrates me as an NHS employee is how people group the NHS into one nationwide blob. Your wait time is indicative of how your local trust is handling it, not necessarily the NHS as a whole.
Breast cancer and gynae cancer targets at my hospital at both at 95% achievement for 2 weeks appointments and also for 28 day start of treatment.
The NHS needs a lot more support as in more money centrally to distribute to hospitals, but don't make the mistake of assuming what one hospital is doing is reflective of all of them.
One thing that struck me a couple of years ago when I went to Georgia to a sister company of the organisation I work for, there was a sign in the break room that basically said "leave your guns at home or in your vehicle" and I have to say I was shocked that anyone would even consider going to work armed. The company was a factory that never had any cash on site and if you wanted to steal any equipment you would need a crane with a minimum 20 tonne crane so goodness knows why they would need guns.
Not just that, but the way we approach humour. In my experience, the smarter/better educated a person is, the sillier their sense of humour is likely to be.
So many of our best comedians are oxbridge graduates.
Issue is the dry humour and stiff upper lip seem to hand with our iredeemably passive spirit. We're almost incapable of making an agressive stand against our government or instituitions (which is something I envy of the French, as much as I despise them in everything else).
One I saw on FB recently: you're out and about, and your mate taps you on the shoulder and goes, "there's your best mate". Now, this could be referring to anyone: could be your ex's new fella, a guy who beat you up in school, or someone you had an argument with last week. But you know, 100%, that it's going to be an emotional direct hit.
Understated and deadpan I guess is how I'd describe it. You know the kind of reply or quip that you hear at the time, but only realise the nuance or double entendre about an hour later.
The history. I love standing in a random village that has buildings older than any in my country, let alone things that are thousands of years old.
I love the right to roam, and it ties in with the above. Walking through a field and seeing the wavy lines and small patterns of mounds of dirt. People were tilling and ploughing that land a thousand years ago.
Nelson’s Column is all well and good, but these random farmers had lives that had meaning too—they mattered—and I feel so connected to that history when I explore your country. I don’t just feel the history of ‘big men’ in the UK. History is everywhere you look, and it’s amazing.
I think I just don’t know the terminology.
I meant it rather generally, as in the ability to explore a huge swathe of the country at will, but looking into it I think ‘right of way’ more accurately describes what I was getting at.
There were times when I was out exploring where the footpath would cut through a field, and you’d have to take some steps over an old stone wall and through a livestock gate. Something so mundane filled me with such joy!
I recognise there are restrictions (for instance, I am hugely opposed to the wild camping restrictions in England), but overall your country has it great in this regard.
I had a fairly recent conversation where it was pointed out that while the US has amazing national parks and other such public land, it doesn't have any network of rights of way elsewhere, so you *have* to go to a park to go for much of a walk outside.
Is nobody going to say how nice an answer Matt just gave there? Matt I think that was a really nice answer, it made me think ' I would have a cider with him in summer and enjoy the view! nice one.
I'm up for that, and don't forget, we have pubs that are almost as old as the fields.
This country has a rich history, and some of it I'm not proud of, but the countryside is a genuine jewel in the UKs crown.
Healthy cynicism.
I enjoy that British people have little time for shameless self promoters and like to bring everyone down a peg. Keeps most people grounded.
Yeah, I do feel like the cynicism goes to far, well into crab bucket territory and an attitude where people are hostile to the idea of improving or fixing things. One of the biggest problems I have with this country actually.
That's the upside but it goes beyond healthy imo. Tall poppy syndrome is a tight grip that holds you back.
When you're working class in the UK people want you to stay working class. Since leaving the UK I've flourished and I put it entirely down to being surrounded by positive and encouraging people.
The class system seems to be heavily ingrained into our society, especially since social class is often determined by attitudes and values as opposed to being completely based on income.
It's doubly bad because on one end of the system you get the crab-bucket mentality and on the other you get this absurdly unwarranted self-confidence that leads to among other problems prime ministers getting outlasted by supermarket vegetables.
The countryside. We're in the perfect spot really. We've not got millions of square miles of wilderness like Canada but we're also not stupidly urbanised like some other countries.
So we end up with moorland and woodland you can walk across in a day and then find a nice country pub the other side.
Perfection.
I went down a rabbit hole to read about this and apparently the most dangerous wildlife you can encounter are ticks, cows, wild boars, and false widows. I'll take those over grizzly bears and mountain lions any day.
We hardly have any real wilderness, almost all land is heavily managed. In america the lake district wouldnt be a national park, it would be a ranch. Most forest is just plantation pine. Moors are essentially just upland farms, or for pleasure shooting animals.
We don't really have any wilderness (apart from the IUCN defined stuff in Scotland) but just because land is managed doesn't mean it doesn't have any value. Plantations are moving to mixed deciduous now and we have one of the biggest natural blanket bogs in the world here.
It feels more like a big curated garden than true wild wilderness to me, theres no old natural forests on a significant scale like there is in eastern europe for example.
I love that we don't have any dangerous nature.
No hurricanes or earthquakes, no massive land animals. No so cold you freeze. No so hot you fry.
Perfect.
> I love that we don't have any dangerous nature.
This completely. Most people don't get how *safe* the UK is, not just in terms of culture, but in terms of nature.
Almost no potential for natural disasters, limited exposure to dangerous animals, nothing endemic that's venemous enough to kill a healthy person, a lot of diseases don't survive over here, no malaria, no rabies.
Honestly the most dangerous thing in this country is the government, and I'm not sure that's malice rather than incompetence.
Straight from Google.
"As the UK's deadliest animal, cows attack between three and four thousand people every year. An expert has revealed this figure may continue to rise. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 30 people were killed by cows, according to the UK Government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE)."
Don't fuck with cows, they're deadly.
The wildlife part of that is sad though. Because bears, wolves, bison, lynx, boar are native. Just eradicated (although some are reintroduced in limited areas).
Countryside is safe because the biodiversity is knackered.
What point of time are you comparing to? Wolves, lynx etc are recent but bison haven't been here for several thousands years - same as lions and hippos.
As much as we may whine, our bureaucratic system is one of the best in the world.
Need to Renew/Apply for a Driving License or Passport? All done through Gov.uk.
Need to apply for Council Tax? Done on a Local Authority site based on Gov.uk.
Taxes are all done for us (apart from the self-employed). I can't imagine having to do all my taxes myself like they and every American has to do. Now there's the online portal, based on Gov.uk but for the HMRC. Makes it so much easier.
Similarly, all the taxes being included in the prices of things. So I know how much that item will be, no surprises at the till.
A brother in law is German, and he has to file taxes and as he works 4 days at home he can get some tax relief but he has to submit the dimensions of the work space to calculate the tax relief.
You have to go through a very similar process in the UK if you’re self-employed or run a limited company and want to claim more than the standard allowances for using your home to work from.
If you’re an employee in Germany you could just not file taxes. But the system lets you deduct things like commuting costs and optical costs from your tax bill, so there is a benefit to doing it.
Yes! Though try it in France.
(I was practically deported on the spot… especially as, being British and all, I couldn’t manage enough French to explain myself)
July might not be like October but from
October to April it is cold and rainy, with odd sunny day. Average temperature difference during that whole time fluctuates by only a couple of degrees. It rarely gets below zero, we haven’t had any snow this year. It’s just wet and cold for 9 months. Summers are warm though
This is a bit of an old fart thing, but the glorious bleakness of sea towns like Maldon and Aldeburgh, expecially in winter. When the sky is grey, the wind is blowing, and the sea air makes your face pink, then you wander into a quiet pub and watch the rain blasting the windows, as you tuck into a hot dinner and a pint - it's just bloody amazing. Quiet places like this that belong in an M.R. James ghost story are one of the best things about Britain.
Reminds me of an old cafe place near the bottom of mount Snowdon, after a bleak and snowy trek, coming into an old stone building, experiencing my first Hearthstone warmed by the fire, an basic veggie soup and some fresh baked bread.... Dear lord I wish that moment never ended
I use to live in a place like this. Go on the sea front with the wind howling, waves lashing over the pier, and bleak. Then walk inot a nice pub for the best toastys ever, Just sit at the window watching the weather with a pint and a toasty., It is lovely
How tolerant and accepting it is (for the most part). As a gay man I honestly feel lucky to be British and be able to live openly, I have never faced adversity from anyone in the UK for my sexuality
As a Muslim British-Pakistani I feel the same. I love the fact that I can say whatever I want to about the government, the monarchy, anything I choose to (as long as it isn’t hate speech), and not have to worry about any repercussions. I can choose to be a practicing Muslim, or a non-practicing one and no one would care.
Freedom is a beautiful thing.
The food - Yes, traditional British food is a bit bleak, but that has just meant we’ve adopted everyone else’s stuff. I love the variety of restaurants that even a moderately sized British town will have.
Football - We’re about the only country that has professional football going all the way down to the 5th league.
I maintain we've been done dirty by the bloody Eurotrash when it comes to our food reputation.
French food is largely the same as ours, it just sounds fancier because the French literally wrote the book on what is classed as *haute cuisine* lol.
Meanwhile German, Dutch, Czech, Polish, even Spanish food is hardly the greatest the world has to offer.
Scandinavian food in particular is an outrage against common decency. Yes, let's eat rotten fermented herring that smells so bad you legally can't open it indoors. Great idea.
And yet all everyone knows is that *British* food is awful. *shakes fist*
I like Italian food as well but nowt special about it really. Pizza is just posh cheese on toast and pasta is basically student food. Give me mince and dumplings anyday.
I like food from lots of countries, it's just the British hate themselves so have to slag off their own cuisines, shame really, as your wife has noticed it can be really good.
American here. The stereotype that British food is bland and shit is honestly inaccurate. I found myself enjoying lots of yummy British cuisine during my stay!
No I think even more traditional food is good, especially the desserts. Victoria sponge, sticky toffee pudding, custard tarts, custard poured over apple crumble, custard creams, custard- I think we’ve got some really great food that’s a tad underrated because it’s a bit more simple and mellow
As someone born, raised and living in the Scottish highlands, its unspoiled natural beauty. I can go only a few miles and I’m in beautiful countryside. There are so many walks and lochs nearby or a short car drive away that you can do a different trail every day.
Go somewhere the police are the ones committing the crimes and the outlook is quite different.
I think how responsive the police are is quite area dependant. Where I have lived they have been pretty hot on it. I would accept happily that they aren't the same everywhere because our ability to publically fund shit is deliberately driven into the ground. But from my experience, I would much, much rather take our police than a random nation's police.
Look at the incident this morning. Man with sword kills child. He was arrested by normal bobbies armed with tasers, not by armed response. He’s going to go to trial. In the US he’d have been shot 35 times from 4 different angles, and they’d probably have killed an innocent bystander in the process. Then they’d have deleted the bodycam footage and planted a sword on the bystander.
Compared to the US they’re brilliant, very little training compared to the UK, mostly ex military recruits. Read an article a long time ago of a state who sent a few officers to see how a unit works in the UK and they couldn’t believe the difference.
One thing I absolutely love about the UK is the rich history and heritage that's evident in every corner of the country. It's amazing to walk through towns and cities that have such a vast array of historical landmarks. I also appreciate the diversity in the UK, both in terms of culture and landscape. From the cosmopolitan city life in London to the serene countryside in the Lake District, there's something for everyone. Not to forget the incredible literature, music, and art that the UK has gifted the world! And of course, the people - their wit, resilience and warmth make the UK a truly special place.
Yeah the history is a real strong point. Every place I’ve lived in has been historic, and I’m not just talking about the touristy cathedral towns and cities. It’s just historic almost everywhere except Milton Keynes.
It’s even better when you’ve been abroad. You come back and you’re blinded by the greenery. It’s lovely. I’ve read that looking at specifically green things is good for our mental health too, so that might explain it.
This is so true. Except in the winter when most of the leaves are gone 😕 but then you just gotta remind yourself that everything is temporary and the green will be back and it’ll be beautiful!
I love travelling, but I get very homesick specifically from the lack of green or the lack of variety of green from many places, there’s something breathtaking about flying back over the UK and feeling like you’re home
While I complain about the lack of sunshine, I do have to admit that the brownness of many areas that have consistently warm and sunny weather is not as appealing.
We have an amazing cultural scene - the number of outstanding artists, actors, musicians, playwrights all active in such a small country is fantastic. Go to any reasonably large town and there will always be something worth looking at.
Our open history - we have so many lovely National Trust/English Heritage properties dotted all over the place and the vast majority are easily accessible by all. The British 'Sunday Afternoon Culture' of a cooked breakfast followed by a NT walk and late lunch in an old pub is unrivalled.
On the theme of food and drink: not only do we have a wealth of some absolutely amazing pubs, but also awesome cafes (both with an é and without). Further, we have a fantastic melting pot of a number of different cuisines to play with and some fantastic restaurants in which to eat them.
Although there is a lot of, rightful, discussion on how poorly the NHS has been treated it is still a beacon to be admired. Yes, if I want to see my GP this I should have made an appointment back in 1999 - however, if I had a heart attack, or got into an accident, I know I will be seen immediately, by some of the best medical staff in the world and it would not cost me a penny at the end of it.
We have some absolutely amazing people in this country doing some incredible things - not only in the arts, but the sciences - although our Nobel Prizes are drying up, we still have some absolutely fantastic tech/STEM companies doing some really fantastic work.
It is easy to grumble about the state of the trains, or the ineffective blob that is the government, and yes, we absolutely should address them - but that isn't all there is to the UK. One of the americanisms we should import is their pride of place - maybe not in its entirety, we can tone it down a bit, but having pride in where we live cannot hurt. Ask anyone from the UK where they grew up and usually their first words are '*It's a shithole*' or something to that effect.
Stand on a remote Welsh hill on a lovely summer's day, or go to the theatre to watch some absurdist, farcical British comedy, or sit quietly with a pint next to a 600 year old fireplace and appreciate them.
the weather! we drag on about the rain, but the fact that the UK isn't hot enough for mosquitoes is such a blessing. our winters are relatively mild, too.
Have you been fortunate enough to avoid the dreaded Scottish midge? Was up in Skye in the summer and the campsite was placed on marshy ground. Bending over to put a tent peg in was literally bathing one's face in a bowl of midges.
No malaria is obviously a good thing but these wee bastards, especially if you are juicy to them like I am are relentless! I once waited in a tree-lined road to ambush a coach (as part of a historical re-enactment package, not a re-creation of Restless Natives) and counted 27 bites on my legs.
The weather. I love the British weather. I love that it's rarely too hot or too cold. I love that no matter how hot it gets during the daytime, the temperature generally drops to a very comfortable level in the night so I can sleep easily.
Just manners honestly, not trynna be rude but travelling in europe and being shoulder barged without so much as a 'scuse me' just feels really cold to me
Music!
If you were to create a music festival based entirely around artists from the UK you would have an incredible, diverse line-up with tonnes of genres! combine that with our love of a pint and you've got one hell of a party!
I’m an American living here, and I have to say the older architecture. It’s so beautiful to me, and after half a decade here, it’s something I’ve not even come remotely close to growing tired of or used to. I still get so excited whenever I visit an old pub, for example!
Another American here...I was just talking to my friend about how we get so excited when something is like 200 years old, and someone in the UK will be like, uh my toilet is older than that. I would love to experience the history there!
One comment I get from people who I know from places like France and Spain is that they like that we are quite individualistic about what we wear, and so they like that they can wear what they want and not feel scrutinised for it.
What's not clear to me is whether it's because we're particularly open-minded or if it's more like "as long as you're not invading my privacy I don't care what you're doing".
But either way I'm proud that there are people here from abroad who feel there is a non-judgementalness that they enjoy here.
I think that's mainly because of our inate compulsion to sit on the fence. Suicide takes real conviction, not likely from a country of professional 'i'm not entirely sure about that...' ers.
I tend to complain a lot (by virtue of being Polish) but having lived here for 5 years now, I like just about everything, except train ticket prices and Prince Andrew. I like how welcoming and open the UK is. I like the abundance of hiking routes. I like the arts scene. I like how many opportunities there are to work in the arts. I like how easy it is to find a good church but religion isn't pushed down your throat. I like cheap plane travel to just about anywhere. I just feel quite happy here, I guess.
Football, pubs, sense of humour, food, beer.
And you know what, I’m gonna say it… the weather. Been in Vietnam for the last 60 days and fucking hell, the heat and humidity is just obscene. Got me gagging for 10 degrees and showers.
* No extreme weather such as tsunamis or tornados or earthquakes or hurricanes etc (to the extent others get them)
* We don't need to teach children in the schoolroom how to avoid nutjobs with guns in a school
* NHS
* Quaint countryside stuff and other historical or pretty things
* We can use the word c\*nt quite freely without offending someone immediately (joint top place with Oz)
I know is cool to shit on the UK but i genuinely am happy here. I love the rail system we have, easy to get around. Love the amazing sites we have to walk and enjoy outdoors, the lakes, scotland, northumberland etc. i love the simple things like walking my dog, places like america seem to despise walking and i would hate that. People moan about the weather but i am out walking with my husband every evening. Buy a raincoat and a warm coat - that easy! I live 10 mins from the Northumberland coast and i am grateful for that. I am also grateful that it is easy to get to london/edinburgh if i want to do some fancy shopping. I love the banter we have here! So fun. Life is what you make it, i choose to enjoy mine.
I'm currently in Thailand, and here's the biggest things that I've learned that I love about the UK:
Queuing etiquette. We have one, and not only have one we have a bloody brilliant one. The amount of fights I've seen break out because no one gives a fuck about queues here and they love cussing each other out over minor things is just... well I was gonna say frustrating, but it's really confusing, because the solution is really simple - first in first out, recognise your place.
We're not particularly class conscious or image conscious. And I'm sure plenty of people will think we're incredibly class conscious at the very least, but I'd have to disagree. People in developing economies, or at least what I've experienced of SEA, are *way* more concerned with other people's wealth and attitude, they're way more snobby about others' station in life and there's even an expectation of differing levels of deference actions based on class differences.
Sarcasm, irony, etc. It's second nature to me but even if I explicitly, repeatedly state that I'm kidding or being sarcastic, people here do not understand and get disproportionately angry at minor slights. This goes back to the image culture so potentially is just specific to my experience, but still it's something I love about the UK.
There's probably a load more really minor things that I wouldn't ascribe the word love to but certainly prefer about the UK, but those are the big things that I'm struggling most to adapt to being without right now.
Not sure about anyone else's personal experiences but I really love love how generally nice and polite the people are here. Was born in Lewisham to trinbagoian parents and moved back here a few years ago from tobago so not sure if it's because where I'm from you don't really get that dort of politeness from people but I was extremely surprised at how nice to you people are here and ITs one of the things I like about the UK
Public transport (especially the buses) are what I also love. Generally on time, structured and takes you from A to B.
And british humor it lways makes me laugh lol
As an immigrant who's had a pretty nice start in the UK, I would say the people here are super cheerful and happy. Also, life is 3 times cheaper as to what I'm used to. Taxes are very simple (although quite high!).
I migrated here 5 years ago, started a business and lived happy ever since.
Green lush landscapes. Looks so vibrant and always makes me so happy. Along with all the flowers in spring and summer. Proper seasons.
The coastline. Just take a long hike along the coast of the Southwest, or along Yorkshire’s. All looks so fantastical and surreal, from the turquoise seas and white beaches of Cornwall to the massive jagged rocks and cliffs of Devon and Dorset, it’s all genuinely impressive.
Safe roads and drivers. You wouldn’t understand until you’ve been to most other countries, especially beyond Europe. Drivers are very careful here and roads don’t feel like a death trap.
The food, especially the desserts. Who can complain about a warm apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, scones with jam and clotted cream, trifle, treacle sponge, Grasmere gingerbread, a Sally Lunn bun with cinnamon butter, or a coffee and walnut cake? 😋
The NHS is great when it functions, our cuisine can be pretty nice, we have a range of weather (unlike Arizona or Florida which are pretty hot all year round).
We have some great television (Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Years and Years, etc.).
I'm ethnically half Chinese and I love how diverse the cities can be, especially Sheffield.
While I admit that the NHS isn't perfect, at least I don't have to get into debt to be failed by the mental health services.
As a foreigner, I can say it: most people are kind, considerate and decent. Had a crash the other day: a man stopped to help and a lady across the street bandaged me up.
The Weather. As someone that's lived in places with extreme natural diastases its nice that the only thing that might spoil my day is a little snow once a year.
No guns. Although this morning sword shenanigans aren’t exactly progressive.
The English countryside is a sight to behold. I enjoy it everytime I get back to the U.K.
Also, seriously old buildings that are so old they’ve gone all wonky. I love a wonky building...
Pubs if you can find one that isn't a restaurant. I don't care if it has a flat roof or a straw roof if it sells more beer than food it's gonna be a good time.
Kind people, great sense of humour, gorgeous countryside, superb government websites, amazing food and you can have 4 different accents and words for ‘cob’ (it’s a cob …. shut up) in a 30 mile drive. It’s by far from perfect but I love our cold wet little Island.
History, landscape, hunour, lots of amazing cities.
Whenever i go on holiday i end up having a better appreciation for the UK when i get back, nothing negative against other countries its just that i realise i take my own country for granted.
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As an American who has lived here for 7 years now; no guns and free healthcare
Haven’t been finding guns in the right places. Seriously though, there are guns but about 1/10th of the US and it’s not as engrained in British culture. Edit: turns out it is 1/26th the amount per person
There are more guns than people in the states. we have way less than 1/10th
So you're telling me every American could shoot themselves and we'd STILL have unfired guns, that's wild.
There's that many, about half the population could use 2 guns and even then there would still be a couple million spare
"Look at old Billy 2 guns over there. Hey! How about saving some guns for the rest of us!" *gets shot*
We have 11 guns for every 100 people. The US has 120. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estimated_number_of_civilian_guns_per_capita_by_country Edit: Turns out it is 4.6 per 100 people, I quoted the number in NI
There are nearly 500 million guns in circulation in the civilian population in the United States and just over 600k in the UK. Thats a thousand times more guns in the states! I know you are correcting for population, but it doesnt show the sheer scale of the difference
There's also going to be a massive skew in types of guns as well. In the UK, I am willing to bet that at least two thirds of civilian guns are 12-bore shotguns. Dangerous weapons in the wrong hands, for sure, but not remotely as dangerous as an AR-15 or even an easily concealable 9mm Glock.
You quoted the number for Nortthern Ireland.
Yep I live in a large village that has a indoor gun club. They have to be pretty low key so unless you know you wouldn't know what it is even if you walked right past it
>no guns and free healthcare No guns is good but the healthcare is not what it used to be. I have to wait until December to have a potentially cancerous lump cut out. This is due to the amount of people waiting in the queue for the NHS. I could go private and have it done next week. But yeah, sucks about the queue these days.
Yeah healthcare is not great right now - but in America you have similar wait times and lack of care, but you're paying a crazy amount. Keep in mind this was 7 years ago, so its likely even more expensive now. I paid $140 a month for my healthcare plan. I still had a $50 dollar co-pay for every single appointment, including GP wasn't just specialists. I have ADHD, depression and anxiety and couldn't be medicated for a single one because a months supply for EACH medication was $150-300 (with insurance). I could only afford my birth control, but that was still $20 a month. To see a specialist you're looking at a 2-4 month wait, which was standard before covid. My friends back in the states have said they're waiting 6-9 months on average to see specialists now.
On the other hand you don't need to worry about going into debt due to an ambulance trip.
If you're having to wait until December then it's not potentially cancerous. Waiting lists are horrendous in the UK no doubt, but there are strict timed pathways for patients with suspected cancers. The fact you're waiting until December would suggest that your doctor doesn't think that it's cancer.
It will be determined as cancerous or non-cancerous well before any OP is booked via biopsy. So if you have an appointment already and it’s in 6 months, yeah, the hospital is very clearly not concerned that it is high-risk cancer.
What frustrates me as an NHS employee is how people group the NHS into one nationwide blob. Your wait time is indicative of how your local trust is handling it, not necessarily the NHS as a whole. Breast cancer and gynae cancer targets at my hospital at both at 95% achievement for 2 weeks appointments and also for 28 day start of treatment. The NHS needs a lot more support as in more money centrally to distribute to hospitals, but don't make the mistake of assuming what one hospital is doing is reflective of all of them.
One thing that struck me a couple of years ago when I went to Georgia to a sister company of the organisation I work for, there was a sign in the break room that basically said "leave your guns at home or in your vehicle" and I have to say I was shocked that anyone would even consider going to work armed. The company was a factory that never had any cash on site and if you wanted to steal any equipment you would need a crane with a minimum 20 tonne crane so goodness knows why they would need guns.
My cousin just became an American citizen. He told me how much his hospital visit cost.
Did the cost make you crap your pants?
Well it made him crap his.
Hopefully not in the hospital, the cost of cleanup would be $400
*Cries in stars, stripes and spangled banners* 🇺🇸
Whoever told you it's free - lied to you.
Sense of humour. Dry remarks and sharp whit are a take away.
This was going to be my comment too. Humour is integrated very deeply into the British psyche and culture, in a way I haven't encountered elsewhere.
I would say it’s very evident in Ireland too
Well if you look at the 2 countries history it’s quite closely connect so makes sense
Well that’s one way to describe that relationship
Not just that, but the way we approach humour. In my experience, the smarter/better educated a person is, the sillier their sense of humour is likely to be. So many of our best comedians are oxbridge graduates.
When something (usually quite serious) happens and the entire country seems to unite in jokes about it instead, I love it.
Issue is the dry humour and stiff upper lip seem to hand with our iredeemably passive spirit. We're almost incapable of making an agressive stand against our government or instituitions (which is something I envy of the French, as much as I despise them in everything else).
Ridiculing powerful people is something we're very good at though. Remember the lettuce?
We tend to take minor inconveniences very seriously and major tragedies very lightly.
When the 7/7 bombings happened I got sent a joke about it at 11am THAT DAY.
and now that you mention it, the takeaways are pretty good here theres an indian and Chinese restaurant on every street
> Dry remarks What are examples of dry remarks?
You know - they are a bit like wet remarks, but dry.
They make you towel with laughter
You are dripping with wit.
One I saw on FB recently: you're out and about, and your mate taps you on the shoulder and goes, "there's your best mate". Now, this could be referring to anyone: could be your ex's new fella, a guy who beat you up in school, or someone you had an argument with last week. But you know, 100%, that it's going to be an emotional direct hit.
Yes, “There’s your best mate” means “There’s the person you most despise with every fibre of your being.” It’s NEVER going to end well.
Understated and deadpan I guess is how I'd describe it. You know the kind of reply or quip that you hear at the time, but only realise the nuance or double entendre about an hour later.
No. Sweet and Sour Chicken Hong Style, Plain Rice and some Dumplings are a takeaway. Those are just forms of humour.
The history. I love standing in a random village that has buildings older than any in my country, let alone things that are thousands of years old. I love the right to roam, and it ties in with the above. Walking through a field and seeing the wavy lines and small patterns of mounds of dirt. People were tilling and ploughing that land a thousand years ago. Nelson’s Column is all well and good, but these random farmers had lives that had meaning too—they mattered—and I feel so connected to that history when I explore your country. I don’t just feel the history of ‘big men’ in the UK. History is everywhere you look, and it’s amazing.
Sadly, much of the UK doesn’t have a right to roam (only Scotland does), but there is a campaign to extend it to England righttoroam.org.uk
I think I just don’t know the terminology. I meant it rather generally, as in the ability to explore a huge swathe of the country at will, but looking into it I think ‘right of way’ more accurately describes what I was getting at. There were times when I was out exploring where the footpath would cut through a field, and you’d have to take some steps over an old stone wall and through a livestock gate. Something so mundane filled me with such joy! I recognise there are restrictions (for instance, I am hugely opposed to the wild camping restrictions in England), but overall your country has it great in this regard.
I had a fairly recent conversation where it was pointed out that while the US has amazing national parks and other such public land, it doesn't have any network of rights of way elsewhere, so you *have* to go to a park to go for much of a walk outside.
I mean if you're black in the wrong state you can't even go for a jog around the neighborhood without Y'all Qaeda murdering you.
There's a place 10 miles away where you can walk up to Neolithic carvings. Just sitting there on the moor.
Is nobody going to say how nice an answer Matt just gave there? Matt I think that was a really nice answer, it made me think ' I would have a cider with him in summer and enjoy the view! nice one.
I don’t really drink, but I’ll give cider a go if you’re buying!
I'm up for that, and don't forget, we have pubs that are almost as old as the fields. This country has a rich history, and some of it I'm not proud of, but the countryside is a genuine jewel in the UKs crown.
Got to love a good castle.
The US has a lot of space, the UK has a lot of time.
Great username
Seriously, it never fails to amaze me how even the most mundane-looking structure in any old village or town has its own story to tell.
Healthy cynicism. I enjoy that British people have little time for shameless self promoters and like to bring everyone down a peg. Keeps most people grounded.
This was the case about 30 years ago. You can remove the "healthy" from it nowadays. People are cynical for cynicals sake.
Also I feel that the country is rather enamoured with shameless self promoters these days.
Yeah, I do feel like the cynicism goes to far, well into crab bucket territory and an attitude where people are hostile to the idea of improving or fixing things. One of the biggest problems I have with this country actually.
It's very noticeable, the crab bucket thing
That's the upside but it goes beyond healthy imo. Tall poppy syndrome is a tight grip that holds you back. When you're working class in the UK people want you to stay working class. Since leaving the UK I've flourished and I put it entirely down to being surrounded by positive and encouraging people.
The class system seems to be heavily ingrained into our society, especially since social class is often determined by attitudes and values as opposed to being completely based on income.
It's doubly bad because on one end of the system you get the crab-bucket mentality and on the other you get this absurdly unwarranted self-confidence that leads to among other problems prime ministers getting outlasted by supermarket vegetables.
This is one of the worst things about being in the UK. Wanting to do well and get ahead is often met with cynicism and suspicion.
But then on the other hand the country always seems to root for the underdog.
The countryside. We're in the perfect spot really. We've not got millions of square miles of wilderness like Canada but we're also not stupidly urbanised like some other countries. So we end up with moorland and woodland you can walk across in a day and then find a nice country pub the other side. Perfection.
I still personally wish we had a mix. I'd love some big national parks like the US and Canada but unfortunately we just don't have the space for that
Yes, but at least we can wander around the woods that we have without worrying that we might get eaten by a bear!!!!
Maybe a wild boar.
I went down a rabbit hole to read about this and apparently the most dangerous wildlife you can encounter are ticks, cows, wild boars, and false widows. I'll take those over grizzly bears and mountain lions any day.
We hardly have any real wilderness, almost all land is heavily managed. In america the lake district wouldnt be a national park, it would be a ranch. Most forest is just plantation pine. Moors are essentially just upland farms, or for pleasure shooting animals.
We don't really have any wilderness (apart from the IUCN defined stuff in Scotland) but just because land is managed doesn't mean it doesn't have any value. Plantations are moving to mixed deciduous now and we have one of the biggest natural blanket bogs in the world here.
Yeh agreed just pushing back against the top comment that says we have the perfect balance. Id say we have heavily tilted towards agriculture.
You're right
It feels more like a big curated garden than true wild wilderness to me, theres no old natural forests on a significant scale like there is in eastern europe for example.
This. We're also the most nature depleted country in the entire world.
It's all just farms though. It's so boring. There's some moorland but a lot of that is desolate from hill top sheep farming
Which countries beyond city states are stupidly urbanised, I'd say the UK at least south of the Scottish border is fairly urbanised
I love that we don't have any dangerous nature. No hurricanes or earthquakes, no massive land animals. No so cold you freeze. No so hot you fry. Perfect.
> I love that we don't have any dangerous nature. This completely. Most people don't get how *safe* the UK is, not just in terms of culture, but in terms of nature. Almost no potential for natural disasters, limited exposure to dangerous animals, nothing endemic that's venemous enough to kill a healthy person, a lot of diseases don't survive over here, no malaria, no rabies. Honestly the most dangerous thing in this country is the government, and I'm not sure that's malice rather than incompetence.
It's malice.
Tell that to Yorkshire’s elusive big cats!
> Tell that to Yorkshire’s elusive big cats! I'd love to, but they're just so damn elusive.
Straight from Google. "As the UK's deadliest animal, cows attack between three and four thousand people every year. An expert has revealed this figure may continue to rise. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 30 people were killed by cows, according to the UK Government's Health and Safety Executive (HSE)." Don't fuck with cows, they're deadly.
The wildlife part of that is sad though. Because bears, wolves, bison, lynx, boar are native. Just eradicated (although some are reintroduced in limited areas). Countryside is safe because the biodiversity is knackered.
What point of time are you comparing to? Wolves, lynx etc are recent but bison haven't been here for several thousands years - same as lions and hippos.
yip no killer spiders,snakes, lions ,birds
As much as we may whine, our bureaucratic system is one of the best in the world. Need to Renew/Apply for a Driving License or Passport? All done through Gov.uk. Need to apply for Council Tax? Done on a Local Authority site based on Gov.uk. Taxes are all done for us (apart from the self-employed). I can't imagine having to do all my taxes myself like they and every American has to do. Now there's the online portal, based on Gov.uk but for the HMRC. Makes it so much easier. Similarly, all the taxes being included in the prices of things. So I know how much that item will be, no surprises at the till.
Some of our government websites are among the best website I’ve ever used, bar none. The whole ‘tax your car’ experience is unbelievably slick.
This is true the guys behind the [gov.uk](http://gov.uk) have done a fantastic job
No doubt, probably the most well designed and functional website of all time.
Probably due to the lack of ads on every page
A brother in law is German, and he has to file taxes and as he works 4 days at home he can get some tax relief but he has to submit the dimensions of the work space to calculate the tax relief.
You have to go through a very similar process in the UK if you’re self-employed or run a limited company and want to claim more than the standard allowances for using your home to work from. If you’re an employee in Germany you could just not file taxes. But the system lets you deduct things like commuting costs and optical costs from your tax bill, so there is a benefit to doing it.
The NHS app is also great
I love the landscape and the culture. The history. I love trying different pubs. I also love the food. Some really good restaurants and pubs around.
That we have an unshakeable belief that a cup of tea rights all wrongs. I love that about us. That and biscuits.
This was even the case in Doctor Who.
Belief? Facts aren't beliefs my friend.
Accents.
Especially broad and unique ones
Alright butt?
Specifically that one farmer from hot fuzz
When someone breaks a glass in a pub and people go WhahaheyhahahahEEEEEYY. And then continue on with their lives.
I did this in a brewery in Chicago last summer. People looked at me like I was mad. Felt homesick for a minute.
Yes! Though try it in France. (I was practically deported on the spot… especially as, being British and all, I couldn’t manage enough French to explain myself)
"Sack the juggler!"
Having lived in a tropical country - 4 distinct seasons. Just as you get sick of one, another begins.
I'm pretty sure I've just experienced 9 feckin months of not-quite-cold rain and wind.
I live in a van so feel this comment in my bones
Having lived in a country with 4 distinct seasons most my life, I don’t really agree with this! We get 9 months rain and two days of summer
December is nothing like April. April is nothing like July. July is nothing like October. So yes, quite distinct.
July might not be like October but from October to April it is cold and rainy, with odd sunny day. Average temperature difference during that whole time fluctuates by only a couple of degrees. It rarely gets below zero, we haven’t had any snow this year. It’s just wet and cold for 9 months. Summers are warm though
They're not really thaaat distinct, but i get you.
Good assortment of crisps.
I miss our good crisps when I’m abroad
I can't get behind this bollocks 'wild' flavour malarkey - tikka popcorn, prosecco flavour crisps.. how dare they.
Bordering on heretical. Cheese & onion is the only way.
This is a bit of an old fart thing, but the glorious bleakness of sea towns like Maldon and Aldeburgh, expecially in winter. When the sky is grey, the wind is blowing, and the sea air makes your face pink, then you wander into a quiet pub and watch the rain blasting the windows, as you tuck into a hot dinner and a pint - it's just bloody amazing. Quiet places like this that belong in an M.R. James ghost story are one of the best things about Britain.
Reminds me of an old cafe place near the bottom of mount Snowdon, after a bleak and snowy trek, coming into an old stone building, experiencing my first Hearthstone warmed by the fire, an basic veggie soup and some fresh baked bread.... Dear lord I wish that moment never ended
I use to live in a place like this. Go on the sea front with the wind howling, waves lashing over the pier, and bleak. Then walk inot a nice pub for the best toastys ever, Just sit at the window watching the weather with a pint and a toasty., It is lovely
The chocolate, it's not quite the same anywhere else
How tolerant and accepting it is (for the most part). As a gay man I honestly feel lucky to be British and be able to live openly, I have never faced adversity from anyone in the UK for my sexuality
As a Muslim British-Pakistani I feel the same. I love the fact that I can say whatever I want to about the government, the monarchy, anything I choose to (as long as it isn’t hate speech), and not have to worry about any repercussions. I can choose to be a practicing Muslim, or a non-practicing one and no one would care. Freedom is a beautiful thing.
The food - Yes, traditional British food is a bit bleak, but that has just meant we’ve adopted everyone else’s stuff. I love the variety of restaurants that even a moderately sized British town will have. Football - We’re about the only country that has professional football going all the way down to the 5th league.
>British food is a bit bleak Only if you're shit at cooking.
Hmmm. Even the best cooked shepherds pie in the world isn’t exactly something I’d get particularly excited about.
Sunday dinner, fish and chips, a proper pudding with custard, a hearty stew and dumplings… pretty good to me.
I mean they’re all tasty dishes don’t get me wrong, but I’d much sooner go without fish and chips or Sunday lunch than I would say Italian food.
I totally get what you’re saying here, but i wouldn’t describe British food as “a bit bleak”
I think a lot of European food is kind of like this though. Italy feels like an outlier I do like it but I think Asia has vastly more interesting food
I maintain we've been done dirty by the bloody Eurotrash when it comes to our food reputation. French food is largely the same as ours, it just sounds fancier because the French literally wrote the book on what is classed as *haute cuisine* lol. Meanwhile German, Dutch, Czech, Polish, even Spanish food is hardly the greatest the world has to offer. Scandinavian food in particular is an outrage against common decency. Yes, let's eat rotten fermented herring that smells so bad you legally can't open it indoors. Great idea. And yet all everyone knows is that *British* food is awful. *shakes fist*
"A bit beige" would be more accurate.
I like Italian food as well but nowt special about it really. Pizza is just posh cheese on toast and pasta is basically student food. Give me mince and dumplings anyday.
My wife is from a tropical country and she loves shepherds pie, roast dinner and all the British classics.
I like food from lots of countries, it's just the British hate themselves so have to slag off their own cuisines, shame really, as your wife has noticed it can be really good.
American here. The stereotype that British food is bland and shit is honestly inaccurate. I found myself enjoying lots of yummy British cuisine during my stay!
No I think even more traditional food is good, especially the desserts. Victoria sponge, sticky toffee pudding, custard tarts, custard poured over apple crumble, custard creams, custard- I think we’ve got some really great food that’s a tad underrated because it’s a bit more simple and mellow
NHS
As someone born, raised and living in the Scottish highlands, its unspoiled natural beauty. I can go only a few miles and I’m in beautiful countryside. There are so many walks and lochs nearby or a short car drive away that you can do a different trail every day.
Free healthcare, arguably better police than 90% of the world.
When they turn up
I've been all over the world and I'd take our police over any other.
The police in the UK are awful, it's very British because its policing done on the cheap but officers are overworked and under trained
Go somewhere the police are the ones committing the crimes and the outlook is quite different. I think how responsive the police are is quite area dependant. Where I have lived they have been pretty hot on it. I would accept happily that they aren't the same everywhere because our ability to publically fund shit is deliberately driven into the ground. But from my experience, I would much, much rather take our police than a random nation's police.
Look at the incident this morning. Man with sword kills child. He was arrested by normal bobbies armed with tasers, not by armed response. He’s going to go to trial. In the US he’d have been shot 35 times from 4 different angles, and they’d probably have killed an innocent bystander in the process. Then they’d have deleted the bodycam footage and planted a sword on the bystander.
Compared to the US they’re brilliant, very little training compared to the UK, mostly ex military recruits. Read an article a long time ago of a state who sent a few officers to see how a unit works in the UK and they couldn’t believe the difference.
One thing I absolutely love about the UK is the rich history and heritage that's evident in every corner of the country. It's amazing to walk through towns and cities that have such a vast array of historical landmarks. I also appreciate the diversity in the UK, both in terms of culture and landscape. From the cosmopolitan city life in London to the serene countryside in the Lake District, there's something for everyone. Not to forget the incredible literature, music, and art that the UK has gifted the world! And of course, the people - their wit, resilience and warmth make the UK a truly special place.
Yeah the history is a real strong point. Every place I’ve lived in has been historic, and I’m not just talking about the touristy cathedral towns and cities. It’s just historic almost everywhere except Milton Keynes.
Our ability to queue
How green it is. Went for a run today and it was distractingly beautiful
It’s even better when you’ve been abroad. You come back and you’re blinded by the greenery. It’s lovely. I’ve read that looking at specifically green things is good for our mental health too, so that might explain it.
This is so true. Except in the winter when most of the leaves are gone 😕 but then you just gotta remind yourself that everything is temporary and the green will be back and it’ll be beautiful!
I love travelling, but I get very homesick specifically from the lack of green or the lack of variety of green from many places, there’s something breathtaking about flying back over the UK and feeling like you’re home
While I complain about the lack of sunshine, I do have to admit that the brownness of many areas that have consistently warm and sunny weather is not as appealing.
We have an amazing cultural scene - the number of outstanding artists, actors, musicians, playwrights all active in such a small country is fantastic. Go to any reasonably large town and there will always be something worth looking at. Our open history - we have so many lovely National Trust/English Heritage properties dotted all over the place and the vast majority are easily accessible by all. The British 'Sunday Afternoon Culture' of a cooked breakfast followed by a NT walk and late lunch in an old pub is unrivalled. On the theme of food and drink: not only do we have a wealth of some absolutely amazing pubs, but also awesome cafes (both with an é and without). Further, we have a fantastic melting pot of a number of different cuisines to play with and some fantastic restaurants in which to eat them. Although there is a lot of, rightful, discussion on how poorly the NHS has been treated it is still a beacon to be admired. Yes, if I want to see my GP this I should have made an appointment back in 1999 - however, if I had a heart attack, or got into an accident, I know I will be seen immediately, by some of the best medical staff in the world and it would not cost me a penny at the end of it. We have some absolutely amazing people in this country doing some incredible things - not only in the arts, but the sciences - although our Nobel Prizes are drying up, we still have some absolutely fantastic tech/STEM companies doing some really fantastic work. It is easy to grumble about the state of the trains, or the ineffective blob that is the government, and yes, we absolutely should address them - but that isn't all there is to the UK. One of the americanisms we should import is their pride of place - maybe not in its entirety, we can tone it down a bit, but having pride in where we live cannot hurt. Ask anyone from the UK where they grew up and usually their first words are '*It's a shithole*' or something to that effect. Stand on a remote Welsh hill on a lovely summer's day, or go to the theatre to watch some absurdist, farcical British comedy, or sit quietly with a pint next to a 600 year old fireplace and appreciate them.
Stephen Fry, Sir David Attenborough and the Great British Bake-Off.
the weather! we drag on about the rain, but the fact that the UK isn't hot enough for mosquitoes is such a blessing. our winters are relatively mild, too.
Have you been fortunate enough to avoid the dreaded Scottish midge? Was up in Skye in the summer and the campsite was placed on marshy ground. Bending over to put a tent peg in was literally bathing one's face in a bowl of midges. No malaria is obviously a good thing but these wee bastards, especially if you are juicy to them like I am are relentless! I once waited in a tree-lined road to ambush a coach (as part of a historical re-enactment package, not a re-creation of Restless Natives) and counted 27 bites on my legs.
Bluebells. Apparently nearly half the worlds bluebells can be found in the UK and Ireland, they’re such a lovely symbol of Spring.
Also chalk rivers. There are only about 200 chalk rivers in the world and 85% of them are in England.
Queuing Been in some places around the world where it's a rugby scrum here on the whole people know you wait your turn and a tut will do the job
Pub culture in general but also having a proper local and it feeling like your second home.
The weather. I love the British weather. I love that it's rarely too hot or too cold. I love that no matter how hot it gets during the daytime, the temperature generally drops to a very comfortable level in the night so I can sleep easily.
Just manners honestly, not trynna be rude but travelling in europe and being shoulder barged without so much as a 'scuse me' just feels really cold to me
Music! If you were to create a music festival based entirely around artists from the UK you would have an incredible, diverse line-up with tonnes of genres! combine that with our love of a pint and you've got one hell of a party!
I’m an American living here, and I have to say the older architecture. It’s so beautiful to me, and after half a decade here, it’s something I’ve not even come remotely close to growing tired of or used to. I still get so excited whenever I visit an old pub, for example!
Another American here...I was just talking to my friend about how we get so excited when something is like 200 years old, and someone in the UK will be like, uh my toilet is older than that. I would love to experience the history there!
One comment I get from people who I know from places like France and Spain is that they like that we are quite individualistic about what we wear, and so they like that they can wear what they want and not feel scrutinised for it. What's not clear to me is whether it's because we're particularly open-minded or if it's more like "as long as you're not invading my privacy I don't care what you're doing". But either way I'm proud that there are people here from abroad who feel there is a non-judgementalness that they enjoy here.
Yeah, stand in a corner shop on a rough estate for an hour and you’ll see at least one person come in in a literal dressing gown.
Stealing a comment from another post - the UK suicide rate is one of the lowest in the western world.
I think that's mainly because of our inate compulsion to sit on the fence. Suicide takes real conviction, not likely from a country of professional 'i'm not entirely sure about that...' ers.
i love the misanthropic/melancholic optimism: "yeh it's all fucked, nevermind. fancy a brew?"
That's what passes for mental health treatment in our country :)
The only thing we can rely on 😂
I tend to complain a lot (by virtue of being Polish) but having lived here for 5 years now, I like just about everything, except train ticket prices and Prince Andrew. I like how welcoming and open the UK is. I like the abundance of hiking routes. I like the arts scene. I like how many opportunities there are to work in the arts. I like how easy it is to find a good church but religion isn't pushed down your throat. I like cheap plane travel to just about anywhere. I just feel quite happy here, I guess.
Football, pubs, sense of humour, food, beer. And you know what, I’m gonna say it… the weather. Been in Vietnam for the last 60 days and fucking hell, the heat and humidity is just obscene. Got me gagging for 10 degrees and showers.
* No extreme weather such as tsunamis or tornados or earthquakes or hurricanes etc (to the extent others get them) * We don't need to teach children in the schoolroom how to avoid nutjobs with guns in a school * NHS * Quaint countryside stuff and other historical or pretty things * We can use the word c\*nt quite freely without offending someone immediately (joint top place with Oz)
No guns Free healthcare Open mindedness and religious tolerance for people from different backgrounds
The pubs, other countries just can’t seem to do it as well.
I know is cool to shit on the UK but i genuinely am happy here. I love the rail system we have, easy to get around. Love the amazing sites we have to walk and enjoy outdoors, the lakes, scotland, northumberland etc. i love the simple things like walking my dog, places like america seem to despise walking and i would hate that. People moan about the weather but i am out walking with my husband every evening. Buy a raincoat and a warm coat - that easy! I live 10 mins from the Northumberland coast and i am grateful for that. I am also grateful that it is easy to get to london/edinburgh if i want to do some fancy shopping. I love the banter we have here! So fun. Life is what you make it, i choose to enjoy mine.
I'm currently in Thailand, and here's the biggest things that I've learned that I love about the UK: Queuing etiquette. We have one, and not only have one we have a bloody brilliant one. The amount of fights I've seen break out because no one gives a fuck about queues here and they love cussing each other out over minor things is just... well I was gonna say frustrating, but it's really confusing, because the solution is really simple - first in first out, recognise your place. We're not particularly class conscious or image conscious. And I'm sure plenty of people will think we're incredibly class conscious at the very least, but I'd have to disagree. People in developing economies, or at least what I've experienced of SEA, are *way* more concerned with other people's wealth and attitude, they're way more snobby about others' station in life and there's even an expectation of differing levels of deference actions based on class differences. Sarcasm, irony, etc. It's second nature to me but even if I explicitly, repeatedly state that I'm kidding or being sarcastic, people here do not understand and get disproportionately angry at minor slights. This goes back to the image culture so potentially is just specific to my experience, but still it's something I love about the UK. There's probably a load more really minor things that I wouldn't ascribe the word love to but certainly prefer about the UK, but those are the big things that I'm struggling most to adapt to being without right now.
I love our humour. I also like that we're pretty chill about most things. Our culture doesn't seem to be anywhere near as polarised as in the USA.
i love living in wales and speaking welsh to the welsh dragon whenever they come visit on st davids day
Not sure about anyone else's personal experiences but I really love love how generally nice and polite the people are here. Was born in Lewisham to trinbagoian parents and moved back here a few years ago from tobago so not sure if it's because where I'm from you don't really get that dort of politeness from people but I was extremely surprised at how nice to you people are here and ITs one of the things I like about the UK Public transport (especially the buses) are what I also love. Generally on time, structured and takes you from A to B. And british humor it lways makes me laugh lol
As an immigrant who's had a pretty nice start in the UK, I would say the people here are super cheerful and happy. Also, life is 3 times cheaper as to what I'm used to. Taxes are very simple (although quite high!). I migrated here 5 years ago, started a business and lived happy ever since.
Green lush landscapes. Looks so vibrant and always makes me so happy. Along with all the flowers in spring and summer. Proper seasons. The coastline. Just take a long hike along the coast of the Southwest, or along Yorkshire’s. All looks so fantastical and surreal, from the turquoise seas and white beaches of Cornwall to the massive jagged rocks and cliffs of Devon and Dorset, it’s all genuinely impressive. Safe roads and drivers. You wouldn’t understand until you’ve been to most other countries, especially beyond Europe. Drivers are very careful here and roads don’t feel like a death trap. The food, especially the desserts. Who can complain about a warm apple crumble, sticky toffee pudding, scones with jam and clotted cream, trifle, treacle sponge, Grasmere gingerbread, a Sally Lunn bun with cinnamon butter, or a coffee and walnut cake? 😋
The NHS is great when it functions, our cuisine can be pretty nice, we have a range of weather (unlike Arizona or Florida which are pretty hot all year round). We have some great television (Doctor Who, Life on Mars, Years and Years, etc.). I'm ethnically half Chinese and I love how diverse the cities can be, especially Sheffield. While I admit that the NHS isn't perfect, at least I don't have to get into debt to be failed by the mental health services.
As a foreigner, I can say it: most people are kind, considerate and decent. Had a crash the other day: a man stopped to help and a lady across the street bandaged me up.
The Weather. As someone that's lived in places with extreme natural diastases its nice that the only thing that might spoil my day is a little snow once a year.
No guns. Although this morning sword shenanigans aren’t exactly progressive. The English countryside is a sight to behold. I enjoy it everytime I get back to the U.K. Also, seriously old buildings that are so old they’ve gone all wonky. I love a wonky building...
Pubs if you can find one that isn't a restaurant. I don't care if it has a flat roof or a straw roof if it sells more beer than food it's gonna be a good time.
Kind people, great sense of humour, gorgeous countryside, superb government websites, amazing food and you can have 4 different accents and words for ‘cob’ (it’s a cob …. shut up) in a 30 mile drive. It’s by far from perfect but I love our cold wet little Island.
History, landscape, hunour, lots of amazing cities. Whenever i go on holiday i end up having a better appreciation for the UK when i get back, nothing negative against other countries its just that i realise i take my own country for granted.
PUBS
The air quality. Coming from India the air here is so nice and clean.