What do other nationalities think of the British

[Baggingarea]

For non UK MNers, what are your general impressions of the British?

I was watching a documentary recently and a Spanish man said our houses are all dirty. I'd never heard that before but can see why someone might think that with muddy weather etc etc.

What do you think about us? Promise I won't be offended (no racism/sexism/general bigotry though please). Can't vouch for others though.

I'm sure you're right- won't stop us moaning though- we can definitely claim superiority in the amount of moaning we indulge in here - think that it's our true national sport

I love a good moan. Can't stand the Pollyanna types...

At least we bitch to your face. There are some parts of the globe where its all about 'face' so being ultra polite and nice to people, then tear them apart later or take absolute insult and refuse to speak to them ever again.

Somewhere in the ME, 2 friends sit down for afternoon tea...
Please have some cake
Oh no thank you, I couldn't possibly eat another thing
No - dearest - do please take some
I couldn't really, please let your children have it, or give some to the maid, I am sure she would love it
I insist! I made it especially for you! I would be so sad if you didn't try some...
It does look like the best cake in the world...
My dear departed mothers secret recipe, I only make it for special guests...
Oh well - I would love a small piece - only small though, I am getting a little fat these days...
Darling! You are ike a tiny bird! Here (shovels half the cake onto a plate)
It is devine...
Cake gets wrapped, and after a tussle, shoved into the guest's bag on the way out with threats of 'but you can bever visit again of you don't take it - please take it - I will be so offended if you don't...'

Later that day in respective homes...
did you see how that fat greedy cow took all that cake??
Also - god that was the worst cake I ever ate - mothers recipe my arse, she got it from the store... Into the bin...

The amount of moaning we indulge in here - think that it's our true national sport noo, I really really hadn't noticed - honestly .

FairFridaythe13th

@FairFridaythe13th

I love a good moan. Can't stand the Pollyanna types...

At least we bitch to your face. There are some parts of the globe where its all about 'face' so being ultra polite and nice to people, then tear them apart later or take absolute insult and refuse to speak to them ever again.

Somewhere in the ME, 2 friends sit down for afternoon tea...
Please have some cake
Oh no thank you, I couldn't possibly eat another thing
No - dearest - do please take some
I couldn't really, please let your children have it, or give some to the maid, I am sure she would love it
I insist! I made it especially for you! I would be so sad if you didn't try some...
It does look like the best cake in the world...
My dear departed mothers secret recipe, I only make it for special guests...
Oh well - I would love a small piece - only small though, I am getting a little fat these days...
Darling! You are ike a tiny bird! Here (shovels half the cake onto a plate)
It is devine...
Cake gets wrapped, and after a tussle, shoved into the guest's bag on the way out with threats of 'but you can bever visit again of you don't take it - please take it - I will be so offended if you don't...'

Later that day in respective homes...
did you see how that fat greedy cow took all that cake??
Also - god that was the worst cake I ever ate - mothers recipe my arse, she got it from the store... Into the bin...

I'm confused. Where does this tableau take place?

Iran - I take it you’ve never been... Fist fights break out over who pays the bill on restaurants. People even sneak their credit cards to the waiter when they get to the restaurant with instructions to only use that card to pay. It’s exhausting...

@FairFridaythe13th

Iran - I take it you’ve never been... Fist fights break out over who pays the bill on restaurants. People even sneak their credit cards to the waiter when they get to the restaurant with instructions to only use that card to pay. It’s exhausting...

Ah ok! I had guessed you were Irish and were referring to this:

Now realise ME = Middle East (duh)

It’s just like that! It’s so stressful eating out with people as it’s a race to pay the bill.

Ever seen Curb Your Enthusiasm where he slips into a restaurant the day before to leave his credit card to pay the bill? We were watching and thinking ... not a bad idea!

I can’t comment, we are a fairly British family (I’m half Irish / Northern Irish [backs away from totally fresh kettle of fish]) and the only way we ever, ever get to buy DM and Dstepdad a meal or even a flipping coffee is via one of us pretending to go to the loo halfway through and paying on the quiet... 😂

My parents were the same! I used to have to send DH to the loo as well!

They are very stoic.

Brexit is coming up but not a word about it much except on a thread or two here. Que sera sera. WTAF from either side really.

Covid rules... god the hoops some go through to avoid them, make them suit their circumstances, and snitch on their neighbours, giggle.

Acceptance of a crap Welfare State for those most in need. You know "get down to the foodbank", etc. Well it is very difficult to acknowledge that in a first world country this should happen at all. There is an acceptance of this.

Class again. Them and us. I don't like that Government and social supports are abysmal. But hey ho.

Yes stoic and accepting of Brexit bad. Stoic and acceptance of Covid rules Very Good (with a few exceptions).

TableFlowerss Thu 29-Oct-20 10:38:30

<span class="italic">Caeruleanblue</span>

<span class="italic">Haven't read all the threads - there is some truth in most of the comments, but I've lived lots of countries and I prefer here, and people are literally dying to get to the UK, in fact crossing the whole of Europe to get here</span>.

You’re so right. It’s utterly tragic that they are that desperate to get here that they literally risk their lives and dying. Hundreds of them each day

When people try to deny this it makes them look foolish

well yes.

have you met any would-be immigrants, and then successful immigrants? The level of dreams is so sad, because what they have grown up on and what is the reality in the UK is so so sad and sometimes really irritating. They won't listen. Desperation I suppose.

Just because people want to come to the UK doesn't mean it's what they think it is.

@Blueberries0112

My sister was dating a guy who is British and it didn't work out .

She tried to talk to him about their relationship problem. He never wanted to deeper. He thinks only the outside surface is the problem (long distance relationship is hard) . Yet when she came to live in Paris for one year, he never came to visit so the relationship could grow from there. So she wanted to know why. Did he not care for her ? But no, he insists it is long distance relationship is the problem and nothing else.

She got frustrated that he wouldn't talk but she met other people who are British and she feels they got their head in the sand.

If I was dating someone and they moved to France for a year I would conclude that they are"just not that into me," I wouldn't necessarily end the relationship but I can't imagine I would be busting a gut visiting them all the time either; as they had chosen to move away I would expect them to make the majority of the effort..

Do I win the Britishness prize?

Yeah he keep trying to stay in contact yet won't talk about it. She eventually had to block him

@FairFridaythe13th

It’s just like that! It’s so stressful eating out with people as it’s a race to pay the bill.

Ever seen Curb Your Enthusiasm where he slips into a restaurant the day before to leave his credit card to pay the bill? We were watching and thinking ... not a bad idea!

Love it!!!

@woodhill

I'm not convinced about the wide back, bras come up much narrower than in the USA, my back is narrow.

Love carpets especially in the lounge and bedroom, my house is clean

I see a lot of people picked up on the wide back thing. I didnt mean wide upper backs or broad shoulders. I meant lower backs with rolls of fat but that sounds even more insulting . The average size is size 14 and apple shape is pretty common and that combined with jeans that dont with properly and wobbly bits spill out and get pushed to the side and back, I have heard it being called a muffined top or something like that.

I see

@Spudlet

I can’t comment, we are a fairly British family (I’m half Irish / Northern Irish [backs away from totally fresh kettle of fish]) and the only way we ever, ever get to buy DM and Dstepdad a meal or even a flipping coffee is via one of us pretending to go to the loo halfway through and paying on the quiet... 😂

I’m Irish with no British blood that I know of, and my whole family is like this. At one family lunch out with slightly dozy staff, three different people paid the bill surreptitiously at different stages in the meal, each believing they were the only one, and once it was discovered, there was nearly a stand-up fight about who would be refunded. My mother — aged about 70 — ran along beside my aunt’s car trying to stuff handfuls of money through the passenger window. It was wild.

I like Britain, British people, the culture and history and I have read through the thread and agree on some of the points not because I think of it negatively but because it is different. I would like to add from my experience as an "outsider" that the younger generation are particularly wasteful. I was quite shocked when I saw colleagues throwing away sandwich crusts or food that they didn't like the taste of which is quite offensive in my country as 'food' is treated respectfully and I do come from a first world county. On a typical night out, you will see street bins flooded with take out boxes with food left in it. I guess the older generation is less wasteful due to living through wars and the aftermath of but I find it particularly wasteful when food is treated like garbage. Also colleagues at work would open the air con to hot because they are cold but keep it on while they also open windows to cool down. I get called Greta at work because I'm constantly turning off the air con but it's wasteful and not good for the environment.

Please don't be offended as there are so many positives and every country has their negatives, positives and differences. It's nice to learn and sometimes look outside the box.

Can we keep the comments about bodies and looks out of this?

London is fantastic - but outside London is mainly dull and parochial. Lots of fat people, and lots of negativity/ passive aggressive behaviour. When I lived in Tokyo there was a definite tendency to distrust or underrate the (few) English amongst both the Japanese, and American expats friends. Now I live in Sydney you see fewer Brits, but I think the perception is that they can be funny and self deprecating. Fortunately living in Asia / Asiapacific region you just don’t get that problem prevalent in Europe of hordes of English in one place creating problems.

With Covid and the imminent arrival of Brexit it’s become painfully obvious what an incompetent mess the place is.

Got to say that working in London for international firms was a blast though!

London is fantastic - but outside London is mainly dull and parochial. Lots of fat people, and lots of negativity/ passive aggressive behaviour. When I lived in Tokyo there was *

Nice*

It's good that they don't have any pay out of your pocket cost if that's what you mean. although you usually don't have to pay anything with Medicare And some will let you apply for charity if you walked in without a insurance. Happened to me before when I was single with no insurance and no Medicare

Medicare and Medicaid are completely different animals. Medicare is an entitlement that kicks in at age 65 for everyone with a SSN. Medicaid is a means tested program run by each state that individuals must apply for It is means tested. People with life limiting disabilities including mental illness can also be eligible for Medicaid, and infants born with life-limiting disabilities or conditions ditto.

In any hospital in the US (public or private) you need to provide proof of insurance (whether private or Medicaid/Medicare). They will treat you if your case is acute, but eventually someone has to pay. Patients pay out of pocket costs, and costs up to the limit of their deductibles. Many people who bought insurance under the ACA chose plans with very high deductibles. Many self employed people have always crossed their fingers and chosen high deductible plans.

However, county hospitals tend to write off costs of treating patients with no insurance. The two Cook County, IL hospitals wrote off over $500m in treatment costs in 2017-2018. The $$$ write off for this particular county system is a growing problem because private hospitals, both for-profit and not-for-profit in the county tend to blatantly send patients who are not suffering from bleeding head wounds to Stroger and Provident if they have no insurance coverage. The referred patients tend to be high cost cases - cancer, etc. Private hospitals tend to write off far less.

Yes, you can apply for charity.

Dreadful? But how is it more unhygienic than a light switch if the occupants are non hand washers?

You can disinfect a light switch occasionally. Probably more difficult to properly clean a swinging chain.

Also love the irony that when abroad, posters can't wait to say that they are Scottish, Welsh or Irish and yet the English are the ones with the superiority issues!! Classic MN!!

What now?

If you're from Scotland, N. Ireland, or whatever, what else are you going to say in answer to the question 'Where are you from?'

And where are you getting that people can't wait to say that they are Scottish, Welsh or Irish??

Have you personally witnessed any of these incidents where Scottish, Irish or Welsh people run up to strangers on the street and proudly announce their ethnicity?

I can’t comment, we are a fairly British family (I’m half Irish / Northern Irish [backs away from totally fresh kettle of fish]) and the only way we ever, ever get to buy DM and Dstepdad a meal or even a flipping coffee is via one of us pretending to go to the loo halfway through and paying on the quiet the same thing with my NI family - have now taught the English husband the rules of the game so he can join in the fun too! (And not appear tight - the thought of it!)