Calling all immigrants. Any aspects of British culture you struggle with?

[FishCanFly]

I will start:

• Kids bedtimes. I've been called neglectful.
• School uniforms. I could buy many more clothes within reasonable fashion.
• Film\game ratings. Like if Skyrim would harm a 12yo

yoursweatersonbackwards knickers in a twist?
Calm down love, I made about 3 comments on the thread, and the British bashing comment was tongue-in-cheek.

You crack on moaning though

Jumping in on the theme out of interest in a reverse way here!!Ive lived overseas for20years&consider myselfAussie over Brit now-raised kids here&noticed on trips back to UK how paraniod&fearfil all my friends had become as parents..scaredof climbing trees&insects&outdoor unstructured play in favour of grubby smelly'play cafes'&basically anything to avoid parental mess/effort/outdoor elements..overly cautious as to 'proper'routines,food,clothing-(OTTsmart),behaviour&manners like the secret police are watching...even just trying to relax&have days out would be a military operation in bloody Britain..christ maybe here inQld,Oz with stingy stuff in ocean&bitey stuff on land&insane UV..but conversly its the happiest&most free we've ever been-i rarely bother going back now-old friends relationship/work woes&misery+poor kids that rarely get outside or off their screens-DC&i couldnt relate to anythingWe focussed our hols on Asia/Sth Pacific-more interesting culture/familyfriendly&cheap for families than UK ever was.

I barely recognise the UK from reading so many of these posts. Especially the latter. Around here every child has a bike or scooter and they're constantly out playing on them, running around, playing in bushes and trees, unless the weather is terrible(like today, we have had a lot of bad weather lately) but the second the sun is out after school, or at weekends, so are the kids. I also see a lot of families out cycling or walking together.

I favour European drama - Nordic Noir, especially. Subtitles are used and it does not affect my enjoyment in the slightest. OH and I even prefer the volume up. Aren’t brains weird?!
My point is I do not turn any more readily to US or Canadian television.

@CheeseChipsMayo

You are basing everything on anecdotal experience which, as you know, counts for little. I certainly do not recognise the UK as you see it. Try to get a broader perspective if you can to avoid posting a rambling rant.

@yoursweatersonbackwards

Good grief, talk about bitter ranting! 🤣

Going back to my question at the beginning of the thread, are British people not taught in school they’re part of Europe? Why do people keep saying, “Over in Europe...” or something along those lines? The UK is a European country!

I think we are used to referencing the Continent, for instance - or more likely Europe, these days. We know we are part of the land mass that is the continent of Europe, obviously, but as a largish island (with other islands connected!!) we feel different also.
I most definitely feel European as opposed to British, however, but then I am Scottish and votes Remain. Scotland as a whole did.

"I barely recognise the UK from reading so many of these posts. "

yes. I reported a couple of posts because if those comments were made about another country, they'd be deleted but no one cares.

so it looks to me like a UK bashing thread. Disappointing.

...voted Remain...

@JingsMahBucket school doesn't tell or teach us stuff like that. Stuff like that is brought up in the media all the time which is why we parrot it.

People on mainland UK even forget that NI is part of the UK unless they are related or know people from there.

For those who don't understand separate hot and cold taps it is to do with the fact that our buildings are old.

In some older houses/flats water for the bathroom and cold water that is heated comes from a water storage tank. This means the water shouldn't be drank as the tanks aren't sterile. To avoid having contaminated drinking water you got separate taps. (I use to have a water supply like this. However now my hot water comes from the mains to the boiler without a tank in between. I still shouldn't drink the water in my bathroom though. )

In other cases it's due to how the plumbing was put in. Quite a few people I know have live/lived in old houses (built before the 1960s) where they had to retrospective put in the hot supply throughout the entire house while living in the house. The quickest way was to keep the existing sink, basins and baths and just add a hot tap to them. (I had separate taps when I moved in. When I replaced my bathroom and kitchen I got mixer taps. The holes for them are different.)

Anyway the former is why you never drink from the hot water tap in the UK. And ask before drinking from a bathroom tap.

This has been interesting. I've lived here for 20 years and my parents are English and there have still been things I've just found odd. And still do. This is home now and I am very happy, but there's no doubt that there are some cultural quirks....

I've only seen one mention of the main one though.... QUEUING!? The brits queue for everything. I mean, broadly, I have no problem with queues, I think they make a lot of sense and keep things fair. But there's zero thought given to queuing more efficiently? Eg, my local pret used to have space for three queues to stop the queue going all the way back into the seating area. With signs between both queuing areas saying, "please queue both sides". But no one would. They'd all queue in the middle. I'd queue on the left or right, get served, and suffer death glares. My pret gave up and took the queue both sides sign away! .

Or queuing for the bus. I have no problem with that. But why do Brits insist on queuing single file!? It's a bus stop - there's not a lot of space. If you queue in pairs or so, you would take up a lot less space.

Totally agree with sweetcorn in every sandwich and salad. I love sweetcorn but I can't get behind it being in everything.

And yes yes to the lack of clarity. I find the meaning within other comments almost impossible to translate, even after all this time. I think I've nailed comments that are actually social cues (eg, "mmm, interesting" meaning "please stop talking" etc) but I really struggle with the fact that choosing a dinner destination or whatever can be this massively complicated minefield.

I love sweetcorn but where are you all eating that you can't find a chicken or tuna sandwich without it? I see the occasional chicken and salad sandwich with it or very occasionally tuna and sweetcorn but the majority don't contain it IME

I'm British (half English, half Welsh ) living overseas for a long time and the weird, weird, weird thing about British MN posters is the absolute obsession with refering to oneself as a "higher rate tax payer"

Do they want a gold star? People who refer to themselves in that way seem to genuinely believe it's a combination VIP pass and proof that they're single handedly holding the economy together at terrible cost to themselves.

Do they not realise that British higher rate tax payers still pay less tax than most people in the EU? Some people proudly wearing the higher rate tax payer badge still pay no tax at all on the first 10k per year they earn, and are only paying higher rate tax on the last 9 or 10k. That's the position I was in decades ago earning about 50k for a fairly easy, though long hours, administration role in the square mile. I didn't "work my arse off", I wasn't an especially valuable member of the workforce compared to a lot of essential workers not earning enough to pay higher rate tax, and I still got 10k tax free alliance and only paid higher rate tax on a fairly small proportion of my salary. Could have saved the badge though, I guess.

I've never come across anyone where I live now who's identity is wrapped up in their tax code, and I paid a higher percentage of my total salary overall in tax here even when part time only earning 25k than the percentage of my total salary I paid as a "higher rate tax payer" in England.

State mandated health insurance is also a higher percentage than NI and state pension contribution and state care insurance are more again on top so that doesn't make the difference health care here is also free to all at the point of use paid for by a compulsory insurance which is a percentage of earnings and the state pays for those on benefits and better than the NHS

I really don't get the sweetcorn thing either

It's in maybe two of the many sandwiches on offer in the places where pre-packed sandwiches are sold.

weird thing about "British MN posters"

There's the clue. I've never heard anyone in real life refer to themselves as a higher rate tax payer.

You are aware the majority of people on MN are bullshitters, surely?

Chicken and sweetcorn sandwich sorry.

f you queue in pairs or so, you would take up a lot less space.

It slows things down, because inevitably there will be lots of "After you" "No, after you", "I insist" and so on.

Also, I don't like someone random standing next to me.

I have never found sandwich counters inundated with sweet corn filled varieties! I usually but in M&S or Pret A Manger. I have never eaten such a sandwich. Sounds interesting... lol

...buy inb

...buy in

Grrrrrrr...

The other weird thing which is British, not MN specific, is the attitude that anyone who goes to the GP unless actually dying is a freeloader/ cheeky fucker/ destroying the NHS/ entitled/ a general selfish rotter. The expectation is that doctors should not be bothered, and sensible people put up with the unconvince of minor illness and injury and slightly odd symptoms and avoid using the NHS unless the situation is definitely very serious.

I still can't properly get this mentality out of my own mind - where I live now you're viewed as very irresponsible indeed if you don't go to the doctor about anything medical - preventative maintenance appointments are encouraged.

The way we queue IS the way to queue. You have to queue in single file. In Sweden they used to use a single file, number system.

I loathe the scrabbling and pushing and shoving in countries where civilised queueing is not the norm.

Walkers yes you may well be right there.

I feel the urge to post 🌟 every time I read it!