Expats, tell me what aspect or social norm of your new country was strange to you?

Stickx4 - there isn't as much moving around for work as in the UK. People in trades and similar jobs tend to stay where they are for life. Professionals may move around, but if they consider this likely at any point they won't build/buy a house and will rent instead (which of course is a perfectly reasonable option here. We are planning to be here for the next decade at least, but have chosen to rent because I would be terrified of buying and not being able to sell again). Or if it's an unexpected move late in a career many will weekly commute. We are a complete oddity round here for having moved here from out of area. Big cities are different, obviously, at least to a degree.

A talkoo sounds a bit like an East German subbotnik - it's no longer called that but the concept definitely survives. Dc's kindergarten holds a tidying-up-the-garden day once or twice a year (spring/autumn) for parents.

No air-kissing here. Lips definitely brush against receiving cheek!

But agree you get the air-kissing with luvvies and Real Housewives types.

Nor do many Americans. Never had to carry pepper spray or anything considered as a weapon or felt I needed to even when living and walking around big cities, such as Chicago and NYC in the middle of the night. I used common sense of course, but never felt the need to have a weapon nor do I know many friends and family that did.

We have cheek kissing galore here though. That onr i dont mind.

Taking a day off to go to funeral of somebody in their 80s who ive met twice.... i am a self confessed bitch but i hate it. Will i go to hell?
Empty pews at my send off!!

Rinceoir, i hate it though, being irish and feeling shit that i didnt go to the funeral of somebody i never felt close to. I usually choose not to go and then feel shit.

Well, a couple of weeks ago I got cheek-kissed by my (very English) new colleague. I guess I've been very unlucky in that respect.

I concur. I Cheek-kiss with good friends but not someone I've just been introduced to , like in France.

When I moved to the UK from Ireland I didn’t realise how small funerals were. A close family member of my boss died soon after I moved. I was talking to team, and said I was happy to cover so others could go to funeral. Apparently English funerals are very different to Irish!

My UK friends kiss if they know each other well - not when first meeting someone or in a professional context

My DS's South American friends cheek kiss me to say hello - poor DS never knows whether to do the same with his friends' mums or not (he's very English, so usually goes with a slightly embarrassed "Hi" instead)

How bizarre! I genuinely thought that's what everybody in the UK does....

Just remembered another one here in Finland - the concept of Talkoot. Whenever I lived in apartment buildings or even when I was living on a terrace, at least once a year the residents would be asked to join a "talkoo" to all work together and make the garden areas nice (weeding, planting flowers etc.). Stems from an old tradition when people built their own homes they would ask their friends and neighbours to help with parts (like doing the roof for instance) and then all eat and drink together afterwards in lieu of payment.

I definitely have groups of UK friends who cheek kiss but it’s def only people who know each other well.

I've seen cheek kissing in the UK and not in any posh circles, just overly friendly drunken circles

Wow I've not seen cheek kissing in the UK (except my Spanish friend) and I've lived all over the place! I was going to day must be family custom but colleagues doing it would be seen as Quite Weird wherever I've worked!

Possibly an upper class London thing?

Are you sure you were/are in the UK, or do people assume you're from "Europe" and think you want the kiss greeting?

Yep, I'm pretty sure I'm in the UK. I do sometimes get confused and wonder in which country I live but then I see a Royal Mail van, or hear people speak English and all is clear again.

Also, my British (SE) friends kiss on cheeks, my in-laws, my colleagues so it has nothing to do with me being from "Europe".

Kissing on cheeks-varies in different families/regions. It can be a bit false in some cases, like the air kissing.
Being two faced, i.e. polite to people's faces then character assassination. Can't abide it. Says far more about the person doing the insulting in my opinion (avoid them like the plague). Unfortunately, some seem to think the thing to do is to pull down the good fortune, achievements and character of others. This has sadly become an increasingly English trait.

Traditionally, the bride's father would cover all wedding costs and this would include food and drink. Nowadays, with more young people financing their own weddings, and drinks being so expensive, this has changed. Never been to a wedding and had to pay for my own food though! It does happen at birthdays, but I tend to pay for guests.

- kissing on cheeks when meeting people:

Are you sure you were/are in the UK, or do people assume you're from "Europe" and think you want the kiss greeting?

From Scandinavia, in the UK:

• going to a birthday party/wedding and having to pay for your own drinks and/or food: unthinkable in my culture
• kissing on cheeks when meeting people: I feel very uncomfortable with this, a massive invasion of my personal space.
• small talk and general chattiness: people being super friendly and talkative with colleagues etc., then once someone is out of sight a Brit would roll their eyes and start moaning about the person they just had a friendly conversation with. If you dislike someone then why pretend and have a friendly chat with them? Just ignore them
• make-up: cakey faces and spider-leg eyelashes are really scary.
• I think the card-sending tradition is lovely and Brits are probably the most polite pedestrians in Europe.

Ah, yes, chains!

I was really struck by that when I arrived in the UK.

Seemingly all high street cafes, bars, pubs and restaurants are part of a chain.

Quirky, interesting, independent cafes and restaurants seemed to be really hard to come by.

The only people who go to Starbucks here are tourists - blissfully unaware that they can get their hands on infinitely better coffee anywhere else but there.

I'd love for building houses to be more common here - that sounds brilliant. If you stay in a house for life tho ugh don't people move for work? Or do you tend to find a job near home and stay in it for life?

I noticed the make up more in America. Maybe were just noticing a different make up. In Texas and in other areas it seemed everyone was very made up.

A professional culture where women were expected to be in tights, heels, make up - but I'm v aware America is a large place and it could just be what I encountered!

Church flyers, estate agent flyers etc all had women who to me were very made up. I assumed culture difference!
I don't wear make up at all in England and never felt the need to. My friends tend to be natural."

Cafes don't seem to be a thing in the UK. Here, chain cafes have been historically unsuccessful (Starbucks failed), but independent cafes are every third shop.

Yes I agree that it's hard to get good coffee in the UK. In NZ you can get great coffee just about anywhere.

The ease of buying and selling houses in NZ was so refreshing after the hell that was trying to sell our house in England. Why can't the law be changed around this? It's bonkers.

Also schools admissions. In England we were unable to choose the local school we wanted our DC to attend. Here in NZ, we visited a few schools, chose the one we liked best and enrolled the kids. Job done.