Things I Learned My First 6 Months Living in England
I can’t believe that we’re already half way finished with our year here in England. The time has flown and there’s so much I’ve been wanting to write down, remember, capture. We’ve made so many memories here already and met so many amazing people from all over the world-it’s been such an life-changing experience. I wanted to share some of my random thoughts and things I’ve learned or wish I’d known here today…this might just be the longest blog post I’ve ever written!
The Lingo
I wrongly assumed the only difference in language moving from the US to the UK would be the accent. I was far from correct. There are quite a few differences in words that had me googling things constantly the first few weeks we were here:
- Pants are called trousers here, and pants refers to your undergarments! I mess this one up constantly even still!
- Rather than saying “we’re going on Tuesday” they say “on a Tuesday.” Subtle difference but I find myself saying it now too and it makes me laugh.
- “Well done” rather than “good job”
- trash is called rubbish, and the trash can is the rubbish bin
- “brilliant” is used generously-I might take that one back to the States with me along with “lovely” which is also used a ton
- ham steak is called gammon
- US style bacon is called streaky rashers
- sweatshirt or sweaters are “jumpers” which my kids now routinely say
- athletic shoes are “trainers”
- a calendar or planner is called your diary
- the trunk of you car is “the boot”
- my children take “maths” at school instead of math
- desserts are called puddings (even if it’s not a pudding!)
Manners & Formality
I thought I was pretty polite and formal in the States and I’m downright super casual here. I had my supper club over for dinner and the next day had numerous handwritten thank you notes dropped off-complete with “by hand” written where a stamp would be on the envelope-the British by far have good manners down!
We are at a senior defense course here so this may be particular to our situation but there are areas of the university that you can’t wear jeans-at all-ever! We’ve even heard it referred to as “the devil’s cloth!” Ladies are also expected to cover their shoulders at dinner and dresses should fall below the knee at formal military events.
We also have real silver and crystal at formal events and multicourse meals with port or whisky served after dinner then coffee or tea at the end. I had to go out and buy coffee cups and saucers so that I could offer a proper “cuppa” after dinner to our guests! Fancy!
The Weather
I don’t think I was truly ready for the weather difference here. We left DC in July and it was in the mid-90s and when we arrived in the UK it was in the low 70s, it actually felt great to not immediately start to sweat when we walked outside! Then we drove up to Scotland and I got a big reality check-it dropped down to 50 degrees one day and crazy wind-I was freezing and totally unprepared! My summer-in-DC wardrobe was totally inadequate, I didn’t even have closed-toe shoes with me. Another lesson learned the hard way!
Because of the UK being an island and where it lays in relation to the jet stream the weather here can change remarkably day to day or hour to hour. I learned to always have an umbrella with me and that rain was going to happen and life must go on. The good thing is that the rain here is not usually the downpours we get back in the US-it’s more of a light drizzle most of the time.
The weather here was gorgeous through the summer and into the fall-so much so that I joked with my British friends that they made up the bad weather to keep people from moving to their gorgeous country! Then came late October and with it the cold, rainy weather. It was like a different universe. It tends to hover just above freezing and rain at least a little most days. In all honesty, it’s been hard for me. I’m a Southern girl and I hate cold weather and it can be a bit miserable at times. My Michigander husband doesn’t mind a bit. It’s made a bit worse by the fact that we normally take 1-2 cruises a year and here there is really nowhere to travel in the winter than would have those hot, Florida-like temperatures. First world problems, right?
Also I’m going to group this in with the weather-being so far north meant a startling change in daylight hours from summer to winter. When we arrived in the summer the sun came up at 4:30am and set at 9:45pm. Over Christmas when we were in the Scottish Highlands the sun came up at 9:30am and set at 3:30. I told my husband that’s why they built Stonehenge-to celebrate the days finally getting longer!
The Driving
I was straight up scared to drive when we got here. Not only is it on the opposite side of the road and the opposite side of the car, the roads here can be INSANELY small. Road will have two way traffic and be the size of a one way lane in the States. We bought an older Land Rover when we got here and it’s a huge vehicle for here so that doesn’t help much, sometimes I’ll just stop my car and let the oncoming vehicle pass me because I have no idea how we’re both going to fit on the road!
There are also not many large highways compared to the US. Here they are called “motorways” and they are comparable to most of our large interstates but other than that the roads are much smaller. They also do a lot of roundabouts instead of traffic lights-the nearby town of Swindon has this beauty I got to navigate my second time driving in this country, called the “Magic Roundabout!” I was literally dripping sweat by time I got out of it!
Drivers are also very polite for the most part-which was amazing coming from the horrible traffic in Washington DC! They don’t crowd the fast lane (which is on the right of course-that one took me a while!) and if you put on your turn signal they usually go out of their way to let you over-so different than the aggressive driving we came from!
Eating & Drinking
Most of my British friends love to tease me about how early I eat! We normally have dinner around 5-5:30 but here that’s very early to eat. Most pubs don’t even open for dinner until 6 and most people eat towards 8pm when they go out to eat.
We also learned quickly to always keep Prosecco on hand-everyone here loves it and it’s almost always offered when there’s a gathering. It’s also called “bubbles” or “fizz” among the ladies as well. In the States sparkling wine seems more of a special occasion drink but I will probably carry this tradition back to the US with me as well-I love some bubbles!
There seems to be a lot more social drinking here also. It’s not unusual to see people drinking alcohol with their lunch or a teenagers drinking at a meal with their parents.
Sunday Roast is a big deal-very delicious family meal usually served mid-day. The butchers shops here and many pubs will be closed on Monday because traditionally people ate leftovers from their Sunday roast on Mondays. Speaking of that, there are proper butcher shops here, my British friends are amazed when I tell them I had never been in a real butcher before we moved here. In fact, I can’t recall ever even seeing one in the areas that I’ve lived in the US! (If you have let me know in the comments-I’m so curious about this difference!)
The House
Now we are living in British military housing so I can only speak to that, but there are some very big differences to the houses we have back in the US.
- all the doors lock and unlock with keys from the inside and outside
- no automatic garage door opener
- radiator heat (which is actually really effective!)
- on demand water heater-another thing we had when in Italy and I have no idea why the US doesn’t do this as much, we never run out of hot water!
- electric shower-heats the water as you shower, again-never run out of hot water and easy to adjust the temperature
- We only have one full bathroom for the five of us-I was more worried about this before we moved but it hasn’t been too bad. The bedrooms have sinks in them where everyone brushes their teeth, etc. so that helps a lot.
- no air conditioning-we asked when we moved in and were told “you don’t need that in this country!”
- no screens on the windows…this effectively turned our cat into an indoor/outdoor cat when we moved in the summertime-he was loving his freedom!
- I’m not sure if it’s particular to our home but our dryer doesn’t vent to the outside. The evaporating water collects in a tank which you then have to empty every couple of loads. This was mind boggling to me when we first got here!
- no garbage disposal….I miss this more than I would have anticipated!
- tiny refrigerator!!
- switches on all of the plugs and on/off switches for the large appliances, I have no idea why (see next to the plugs above)
- we have two ovens-one has a fan which makes it cook things MUCH faster….I burnt everything I tried to make for weeks when we first got here
- all the sinks other than the kitchen have separate hot and cold water faucets-makes washing your face with warm water interesting
The School
The two years we lived in Washington DC I had homeschooled my boys but the years before that they attended a charter school in North Carolina. All three of our children now attend a local village school and I have to say I adore it. The school day is shorter than the school they attended in NC, it runs from 9am to 3pm. They also have multiple outside breaks totaling about 1.5 hours through the day that are only missed if the weather is just awful, very rare. A light drizzle? Go outside. Muddy field? Put on your wellies! I love that they encourage the children to move and be active!
They also teach to each child’s level rather than having the firm one size fits all that I’ve seen in the US. The class size is about the same but every class in my children’s school has a second teacher or assistant to help so it’s easy to divide kids up by their level of understanding. Very helpful for the kiddos!
They start at age 4 here into what they call “reception” very similar to pre-K but the children actually learn to read and do simple math through play-based learning. Then at 5 they enter Year 1 and they transition them through the year to more formal education. My youngest son started school in year 1 this year and I was very worried because he had never attended preschool and didn’t even know his alphabet yet (we had dealt with a lot of speech/language issues with him) but the teachers were amazing and he’s reading beautifully now!
The boys don’t have daily homework like they did at their US school. Each day they have to read and I sign a reading log for them. Once a week my older boys have one online maths assignment. The older ones also have a ten word spelling test once a week as well. Each “half term” or six week session they work on a project at home with a broader theme-they did space and World War II in the fall. My five year old works on reading, writing and spelling sight words but he is not tested on it and he learns at his own pace. As he learns his words they replaced the ones he knows with new ones to practice. Everything is very gentle.
Oh-and we don’t drive to school here, most people in the village walk or ride bikes or scooters and I love it-I think it does my boys a lot of good to get some physical activity before school and it keeps me active doing twice a day bike rides as well, about a mile each way. (This is also another place where you learn to accept the weather and make the best of it!)
And a Few Random Bits….
- “bits” is another word used a lot here as I did above
- there are a lot of sheep-sheep everywhere!
- “old” to us means nothing over here-we’ve eaten in multiple pubs that have been operating since the 1300s, ancient stones like those at Stonehenge are found in multiple parts of the country and there are many Roman ruins to be found as well
- walking is a national past-time, there are public footpaths you can take through fields and farmland
- dogs are very popular (and dog walking!!)
- they have Indian restaurants like we have Mexican restaurants in the US-they are everywhere!
- they can’t have light switches in the bathrooms so it’s usually a pull cord or the switch will be outside the door in the hall
That’s all I can think of right now-I’m sure I’ll end up writing another similar post before we leave this summer with even more things I’ve learned. Overall I am truly loving our time here in England, it’s been an amazing opportunity for our family! If you have any questions just leave them in the comments and I’ll do my best!
More blog posts about our time here:
Thank you for this delightful post. I love your personal adventures as well as your helpful hints!
Thanks Shirley, I realized I hadn’t talked about it much since we got into our new “rhythm” of life…it’s nice for me to post it so I can look back once we’re back in the US and remember as well! ~Melissa
Life sure is different there. Just watching the roundabout video scares me. The dryer with no vent reminded me of how the set up was when I first moved into this house. It was never hooked up for the heat to go outside and we had to open a window to let the steam out because it was peeling the wallpaper. then I ended up getting a tube and drug it across the bathroom to the window. That was a hassle too. Finally one of my sisters had a boyfriend who was doing handyman stuff and he hooked up the vent the right way. I like the idea of the electric water heater. that is a great idea that should be used here. I don’t think I would like the windows without screens. I have a fear of bugs getting inside and I wouldn’t want my cats going out. I enjoyed your updates and the differences between here and there.
Thanks Janine-I wasn’t loving the cat going on at first but he’s not strayed too far and comes back often. There really are not many bugs here compared to the southeastern US-I don’t think I’ve seen a mosquito here at all. There were a few weeks of plentiful spiders in the summer and lots of ladybugs but I don’t mind those too much! ~Melissa
I had no idea there weren’t as many bugs there. That’s another fun fact about living there. I’m in Texas and we have bugs everywhere.
Oh my… what a great post. I love it. I loved Europe. Haven’t been to England YET.
As for the butcher comment…Once you find a great butcher you will never buy meat in a grocery again. And…. they way a butcher wraps the meat differs too. When a butcher wraps the meat tight and with two wrappings it will last longer in the freezer. I prefer to work up the meat purchase within a few days and what a wonderful flavor. Usually not much seasoning at all. Sometimes it is an emotional experience to get food that tastes so good on it’s own without needing to add junk to it to make it palatable.
Enjoy your time in England. Gushing over this post.
Be safe.
W in KC MO
Thanks Wende, I’m determined to find a butcher when we return to the US! ~Melissa
Great post about living in the UK. From someone who has lived here most of my life, it’s funny to know what you think is different to the US. We do have vented dryers, hot water tanks and American style fridge freezers but I guess your military house hasn’t got any of them which is not the norm. I hope you enjoy the next 6 months here and I hope when you return to the US, you introduce all your friends to regular Prosecco drinking! Xx
Yes, I think much of it is very specific to where we live-I’ve been told we have an American style fridge but it’s still much slimmer than what we’re used to and set up a little differently with the drawers/shelves. It works for me though, I just shop a bit more often than I did in the US because I can’t fit a full week’s worth of groceries in it at once! ~Melissa
Great Post interesting. I was wondering if you have tried any of their foods like Battenburg cake? Which is great by the way. You must visit Canada next we have butchers as well or some cattle farms you may order directly from We call it Hot water on demand here in Canada if you dont mind to spend the extra money you can have it installed. We have had ours for 10 years now love it. Schools sound wonderful and I think the idea of everyone walks like we all use to growing up is best. Enjoy the rest of your stay in England sounds like a great adventure.
Thank you Kim-we actually have a lot of Canadians attending the same course my husband so maybe we will end up visiting one day! I really need to find that hot water on demand when we get back to the US, it’s amazing! ~Melissa
A fun read. Thank you for posting your thoughts and the pictures as well.
Thank you Jean!
I loved reading this as a Brit who lived in the States for over ten years. A few of your experiences are purely military though, women covering their shoulders at dinner etc and not having a vented dryer etc I wonder will you find it difficult going home after this? I didn’t when I returned home to England as I never really loved living Stateside but I have friends who have really struggled living in one country and having to return home even though they preferred their new country.
I think you have given your children an amazing experience as nothing is as great an education as living in a different country, it makes one a more rounded person with less prejudices imo
I’ve been home 8 years now but still have to stop and think sometimes which words to use, such as parking lot or car park, and often trip up, to much laughter, when spelling anything with a Z in as I still seem to say Zee rather than Zed lol It just seems better the American way.
Look forward to the next update on your experience in my beloved home country xx
It was truly a delight to read your experiences andyour perspective of the differences between US and England. I live in Canada and was born in Hungary and it made me feel good to know that a lot of the differences are the same in Hungary. I especially related to you with the roundabouts and felt the same when I drove through one the first few times. My GPS really helped though.
I’m so looking forward to your next blog! Thank you so very much for sharing!!!
As a previous military wife I was thrilled to read your blog! I have loved the various countries we have lived in. My husband attended the military school at Larimer (he is not here for me to check on correct spelling). It was only for one week but I SO relate to the driving and round abouts(?)
What wonderful experiences for the children. My daughter attended German kindergarten, then nearly 30 years later HER children attend German schools for three years. After two years back stateside they miss so much the friends, schools, food, soccer. Do write down those wonderful experiences to read years later!
I love rereading about being 16 and crossing the Atlantic on the USS Darby so long ago!
Connie
Thank you Connie-it is an amazing experience the military has given us (maybe to balance out all those not-so-fun years my husband spent in Iraq and Afghanistan!!) I do think the children are gaining a once in a lifetime opportunity living here…it’s an international course so they attend school with children from over 35 countries, it’s amazing! ~Melissa
What lovely experiences for you and your family! Thank you so much for sharing it. I would love a trip to the UK just to be able to experience all of the history and your observations have also made the present more interesting too. May the rest of your stay be as enriching as the first half. As always I must thank your husband for his service and your family for doing your part in that. Safe travels and God Bless!
Thank you so much Patty, we are very blessed to get this opportunity-and yes, the history here is amazing, I’m a real history buff so it’s heavenly for me! I will be sure to blog more about it in the future to share with everyone, I had no idea so many people would want to read about it! Take care, Melissa
How nice of you for the history lesson. We are never to old to learn. How lucky you get to be there. It must be hard for English actors to speak our English in movies. Colin. Hugh. My favorites. I read this with great delight. I hope you enjoy the rest of the year.
Oh I think it’s hilarious to hear my British (or Australian) friends do an American accent-they talk very slow and over pronounce everything-too funny! ~Melissa
Loved reading this & all your posts. My dad was in the Air Force & we were stationed in England for three years. It was a really fun experience. Having family there now, we visit frequently. Love British life but lack of screens, lack of “mixer” taps and no top sheets in hotels drive me crazy! Enjoy the rest of your stay. The Canary Islands are not too far & the weather is always lovely!
We’ve been debating a trip to the Canary Islands for months now Kathy-maybe it’s time to relook it, thanks for the suggestion! ~Melissa
I love reading your posts but I must say this is my favorite!!! Thanks for sharing your new adventures with us. I enjoy them very much and learn a lot from England through your eyes.
Oh that’s so good to know Alicia, I’ve had such a great response I’ll be sure to blog about it more from here on out, I honestly thought people would prefer just recipes and tips, not hearing about living here! ~Melissa
LOVED this post and it made me laugh. I forget about some of these things. A funny story for you…my son was in the 6th grade when we lived in Brussels. He went to the Brussels American School but there were lots of foreign students too. My son was seated next to a British girl. My son was horrified one day when he came home and said she asked him if he had an extra rubber. 😀 (an eraser) Can you imagine what he must have thought. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to laugh that he knew what the American version was, or cry. 🙁 Thanks for sharing this, looking forward to another one.
Oh that one has thrown me off too Barbara-too funny!!
I sure hope you share more,of your adventures in the UK. It is fascinating to read how different things are in the UK. Have you had opportunity to travel around?
We’ve traveled quite a bit-I really should have blogged more about it Dottie! Here are a few I wrote when we first arrived, once the boys started school we stayed more locally.
Travel here: https://thehappierhomemaker.com/2016/07/moving-update/
First trip to York: https://thehappierhomemaker.com/2016/07/traveling-in-england-with-kids/
Scotland to Northern Ireland: https://thehappierhomemaker.com/2016/07/newcastle-edinburgh-belfast/
Dublin, Ireland: https://thehappierhomemaker.com/2016/08/five-days-in-dublin/
I just loved reading about your experiences and adventures there. So fun. I had no idea about many of the things you mentioned. What an amazing experience for you all.
Thanks Nancy-there’s definitely been a learning curve on a few things but I wouldn’t trade it for anything…I’m just sad it’s such a short time we have here! ~Melissa
Thanks so much for your post about living in England! I have family there and want desperately to visit but as of yet have not been able to for one reason and another. I really enjoyed your writing about your experience. Thanks again and keep up the great work on your blog.
Thanks so much Tracy-my Mom just booked tickets to come in the summer and I can’t wait to share it with her, I’ve tried to convince everyone I know to come visit! ~Melissa
Love, love, love this post! I’m trying to get the hubby to get a job in the UK ! We go yearly and he just retired after 30 years in the Navy yesterday. We’d go to England yearly because he worked with the Royal Navy so that’ was a lot of fun! Super jelly that you guys got orders there but glad my fellow military family gets to experience a place as wonderful as England! Looking forward to reading your next write up about your tour there!!!
HI there,
I have been so insanely busy for the last few months that I have not have had time to read this post & the title just captured me. Sooo, it has been sitting in my inbox all this time waiting for me to read it. I am so pleased I decided to keep it here all this time, a few times I was tempted to discard it but I just could not.
I have found this a delightful article, fun, informative & imaginative.
I have to admit, I have a few more of your articles in my inbox waiting for attention. I think after reading this entertaining post I had just better hop on over to those other old posts lol.
Hope you & your family are doing well. I am so far behind in my reading I have no idea where you are lol. But, I sure look forward to finding out
Passing blessings to you are yours, stay safe & healthy,
Lori
Thank you Lori-we actually just got back to the US (Georgia) on Wednesday! And I totally understand the insane business, I’m hoping my next few months will be a lot less busy for our family!! Take care!
There is a great butcher in Springfield, VA!
It’s so funny Dawn, when we moved back to Georgia we found an awesome one just down the road and I love it!
Hi Mellissa,
I was in England in the month of June to witness the Cricket World Cup,stayed for about 2 weeks in London and my thoughts are very similar to yours about London.Though it was a pretty short stay,me too learned quite a few things as I also met lots of people of different origin.
Very informative, thank you! All of this sounds lovely. 🙂
Talk about the use of the word “proper”. My English friends visited us with their 9 year old daughter. She stared at my map of the world which had the U.S. at the center. She turned to her father and said “Daddy, let’s get them (us) a proper map”. After eating some roll-ups for lunch the mother said she would like to have “proper sandwiches” next time.
lol that’s another one! Proper is definitely used a lot!
Oh this makes me miss the UK, as I’m currently living in Cali. I’m a Brit and I miss all these things ?
We’ve been back in the US 3 years now and I miss it too (especially when it’s SO hot here in south Georgia!)
This is wonderful and very informative but I’m so surprised you did not mention TEA!!
I loved going to tea while we were in England but the English people I lived near on the military installation didn’t seem as enthusiastic about tea as I had expected. My children did love it while we were there and I still make it for them often and myself almost daily.
This was pretty funny. I am a Brit in Chicago for more than 30 years. It gets colder than Scotland here 🙂
lol, my husband is from Michigan and he was perfectly fine in the cold Scottish weather. As a southern girl I was ill prepared!
Thank you so much for this information, as I’m currently looking at relocating to the Uk for work I’m interested in the activities for children. Are there moms groups like there are here in the us? Community Cultural celebrations such as Diwali, Chinese New Year, Christmas? A Buy nothing group, or is market place helpful?