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

Nothing really to add except to say what an interesting thread. I'm loving it! Keep them coming please

oh! I was staying at a hostel in London this week, and I said 'alright?' to a South African guy I know..
He said 'yes I am fine thanks how are you?' as I had a mouthful of curry by that time I was a bit thrown...

My gp is next day too. Same day if it's urgent / a child. I'm in SE England

Choping

You go to a food court, find a table and put a pack of tissues on it to reserve your place - woe betide any tourist who sits down thinking it’s a nice freebie supplied by the management.

Folk using umbrellas as sun shields - or anything really- a book, a newspaper, an ipad, a mobile phone, a business card

Wearing your jacket back to front on your moped/motorbike. And random flip flops litering the motorways and roads from said moped users.

Going into little shops to buy bread and milk and theres a little shrine with incense, candles and little offerings of food or money s squeezed between the cartons of fruit juice and the tea and beverage selection.

I'm in London and there are always same day appointments at the GP, quick access I think they're called. Otherwise you might wait up to a week.
I'm fondly remembering the 70s "Save It" campaign which I think applied to electricity, fuel, water etc. My bf at school had some knickers her mum bought her with "Save It" on the front! Didn't work, ha ha

sunbeam I’m Scottish and I know loads of people who go ‘awright’ when you see them. Me included.

We don't have the 'Alright?' thing in Scotland and I never know how to deal with it when in England. I usually mumble 'fine, thanks'. Is that wrong?

4 weeks is ridiculous and not at all representative of English GPs!!!

It’s pretty standard in my bit of London. And you can’t change GPs just like that. I had to move to one out of my catchment to get better service (only a three week wait) and I’m not entitled to for example Home visits as a result even though I’m only half a mile away. My mum relies on those.

@FinallyHere That's the other thing - in Italy we get hot water straight from the taps. You could have 10 showers in a row if you wanted to... don't why most houses in the UK still heat up a tank, I'm sure it's not easy or cheap to change the plumbing everywhere.

My English Dr is same day or next day if you say it's urgent. If it's routine it could be a week or two, but you do sometimes need to say you can't wait for them to give you a same day appointment.

4 weeks is ridiculous and not at all representative of English GPs!!!

Ha. Quite. My old London GP saw me same day everytime. If you are waiting 4 weeks get a different GP
My paid for GP in Sydney however was always next day...

Wensleydale should be eaten with Christmas cake to appreciate it's true glory! Couldn’t agree more Boop. This was a huge culture shock for my DH (who is not from Yorkshire).

@LiquoriceTea so right! In Aus/nz the laundry equipment is always in a seperate utility room. At a push it's in the bathroom but never, ever in the kitchen! My friends have theirs on their deck!!
Having said that when I rented a teeny flat in Sydney it was in the kitchen albeit secreted in a broom cupboard

I can see a doctor on the day that I want to, and so I could at my last one.
Change GPs to one that has a different system, and stop moaning.

The NHS. It’s really not that good, in fact it’s pretty bad. Four weeks wait for a GP apppintment is ridiculous.

Totally agree that is ridiculous, why on earth have you not moved to a different GP? I get same day appointments.

When I lived in London I had a GP who did phone appointments, very useful for chronic conditions.

bitout I would say topless sunbathing in Spain is totally the norm, don’t remember ever going and not seeing the majority of women topless.

I know, just responding to the post earlier saying Euro car manufacturers do one thing and Japanese another when that's not the reason for the difference evidenced by the fact that Australian Toyotas have a different set up to UK Toyotas. In the past 15 years the only place I've ever driven with indicators on the right is Australia.

Soulrider it has to do with the market cars are produced for. The UK will often get cars produced for the Euro market so indicators are on the wrong side.

Indicators are supposed to be on the right if you drive on the left and vice versa for driving on the right, but few manufacturers switch it over for the U.K. market.

My mother has one. I don't see any difference in the condition of her clothes that are washed in a front loader and mine that are done in the top loader when she comes for a visit. She always brings the maximum baggage allowed so I am able to see how all sorts of clothing items fare in her front loader (despite weather being very predictable here, she packs as if she were off for the June bank holiday in Bundoran).

We had alternate drop at my wedding in the U.K. It’s seen as cheap and poor hospitality in Australia to serve only one meal at a wedding (I HATE it), ditto for a cash bar.

It took a proper battle with the venue to get them on board & to get them to realise that no one would send their plate back and that everyone would sort themselves out - I think we had beef welly and monkfish. The staff coped fairly well up until dessert at which point they started randomly handing out meals

I am British and don't own a washing up bowl. I know it's crazy. I mostly use the dishwasher but when I need to wash up I run the tap and clean under running water. My mums face was when she saw me doing this. I can't get my head round washing up in a bowl of dirty water. I will renounce my British passport with immediate effect.

If you've never used a front loader then you have no idea how superior they are :-)

Soulrider
I have only ever used toploaders and imo the only factor contributing to poor laundry outcomes is the brand of detergent used. Tide is the best ime, and additives like Oxy and Borax will boost the power of other, lesser detergents.

DanTDM - there was a time when British women used to scrub the pavements outside their front doors every day.

Mayo and/or mustard for sandwiches was a very pleasant surprise for me in the US. I have an exSIL who used to always use butter, and I realised in the course of a picnic lunch that I really didn't like ham and cheese sammies with butter. Especially American butter.

The windscreen wiper side isn't just a manufacturer thing. My Toyota corolla in the UK had them on the opposite sides to my sister's Toyota corolla in Australia