If you're a foregneir in UK...

[CrocoShriek]

...what are the things you love and hate about living here?
I'll start (apologies, it's a bit England-centric)
Love:
-the countryside
-Sunday roasts
-London's melting pot
-low expectations on being fashionable ( I think!)

Hate:
-sticky Pub floors
-lack of proper blue sky in winter
-obsession with cards...thank you/ xmas/birthday etc.

Not a foreigner here but interested in responses and bumping for you x

Love:

• the weather! Hated it at first as used to very predictable seasonal weather, but now lean into the total unpredictability that might mean a brilliant stretch in spring or fall when you have no reason to expect it. I also love that it is green all year long
• more holiday and better work life balance
• ready meals - for variety and quality. Use this less now that I feed a family, but as a single person and then couple it was a major highlight
• village life and the countryside

hate:

• having my kids start school at 4, which felt way too early, and then so much pressure
• Healthcare - sorry, but in comparison with the 4 other countries I have lived in it is absolutely dreadful
• no one ever says what they really mean. Have lived here 10 years, am a native English speaker, have a British husband and yet every interaction requires translation. Honestly was more straightforward living in China.
• also the cards. So so many cards…

(Disclaimer: I'm British via parent but was born abroad and only moved here at 21)

• gardens! I think, on the whole, the most beautiful gardens are likely to be in Britain. This encompasses many styles.
• biscuits, the British biscuit range is INCOMPARABLE. Digestives, Hobnobs, Jammie dodgers, gingernut...
• queuing

• lack of education on the Empire, the atrocities Britain carried out
• the number of people who don't vote because they think it won't make a difference, or just aren't bothered
• dog shit everywhere
• (what feels to me like) overbearing drinking culture

Following as this is fascinating

If you'd ask me some years ago I'd have said I love the tolerance, free speech and freedom of expression.

Not any more, unfortunately.

Following too!

Love:

• the beautiful countryside
• the history and how far it stretches back
• the ability to access almost anything that you can think of
• British humour
• the arts

Hate

• the grey sky
• lack of natural beauty in big cities
• the population size (have to wait so long for everything)
• people not being direct enough. Just say what you're thinking in a direct manner

Just add one more hate: the level of politics in the workplace - just get on with it without all the game playing bollocks

Love

The size
We're an Island but so close to the rest of Europe
Seasons
The Arts
The Smell (you recognise when land having travelled)
Humour
The Pound
Mountains, Coastline, Cities,

Hate
Long Winter
Too much rain - ok not this year
Our Government
Messing with the clocks
Price of train fares
Nursery fees

Dislike:
Addiction to moaning, like listing things you 'hate'

Like:
the humor. No one does deadpan black humor like the British.

London. One of my favorite world cities.

Georgian architecture.

Dislike:
Another vote for the lack of directness. Genuinely think some people are afraid of saying ‘no’ and worry totally much about what others think of them.

Politics of envy. This isn’t the sole preserve of the Brits tbf, but it’s present. If you’re envious of someone then it’s their fault for ‘showing off’ (even if they haven’t), and they must be secretly miserable/living an empty and sad life.

Love;
being on the doorstep of Europe
world class arts, theatres, galleries
spring and summers
royal parks

Hate;
brexit
the class system
corrupt government
endless dark blustery wet winters
closed-mindedness
divisive mentality
indirectness and odd unspoken social rules
the endless loop of thank you cards
peoples poor knowledge of uk’s history

If it weren’t for dc I’d have left already, things have taken a turn for the worse over the last 5 years.

Love:

The rights of way that give so much access to so much countryside. The walking culture that goes with it.

The commitment to animal welfare (domestic and livestock).

The weather (yes, really). It may be wet but it’s temperate. Rarely extreme, and little worry of cyclones/fires etc.

Hate:

The class system, and the inefficiency it leads to. Too many good people in shit jobs and idiots in important ones. Also the lack of aspiration.

The insularity. It doesn’t matter how long I live here I will never not be a “foreigner”.

The individualism/selfishness and the way the elderly/vulnerable are treated. The way people behaved during covid here was a shock compared to my home country.

I’m British and this is a fascinating read!

I agree our biscuits are good,a great selection.

I dislike the winter but also think we’re lucky that it’s temperate compared to say a city like New York. I’d happily live in California though.

The smell thing I totally get. I'm British and have lived here all my life but Australia has a smell to it, I can't explain it but you walk out of the airport and I could tell you where I was if I were blindfolded.

I asked DH.

Likes:

Public transport.

Beautiful tame countryside where you are unlikely to die in the wilderness.

Wetherspoons - a pub where anyone of any income level can go if they want to and feel comfortable, and where a pensioner can nurse a pint and a newspaper for an entire afternoon without being bothered by staff.

Gardens - people grow things here and are proud of it.

Tea.

Dislikes:

Hinged windows.

Electric tumble driers which take hours to dry properly.

“That’s an interesting suggestion, we’ll think about it” = “That’s the worst idea we’ve ever heard and we have no intention of taking it forward.”

Road name signs - too small, can be anywhere from waist height obscured by an overgrown hedge to halfway up the side of somebody’s house or just completely absent. See also road direction signs which simply direct you to Slough or The North rather than giving any indication of whether they also lead to the place you want to go

Moved to the UK 15 years ago and there’s so much to like:

1. Being in the centre of the world as a tourist! No place seems that far away to travel and European cities are a reasonably affordable flight away.

2. Diversity - You meet people from places in the world that I thought seemed so distant, but now get to discover them and their own journey of making new beginnings here.

3. The Queen - Not the RF as an institution, but just her for who she was😢

4. Public Sector bodies that work and are not so wholly corrupt to be laughable. ie. Never have I had to bribe a police officer in this country. In fact, I can’t believe how open and normal it is in many other countries. Also, things like registering to vote/respect for the electoral process. Even things like getting a drivers licence. I am yet to hear of corrupt invigilators giving idiots licences for a kickback.

5. The Gov UK website - it’s just world class

At the same time, over 15 years, there are still certain things that irk me:

1. Snide, passive-aggressive sarcasm esp when done in a way a foreign person doesn’t get!

2. Calling an evening meal “tea”. No matter how much you feed me, in my mind, I’ll leave your house hungry if you insist on calling it “tea” 😏

3. Denigrating Christianity - It feels like if you go to church you are mocked or constantly challenged for having Christian beliefs, but the same people will not criticise any other religions in case they offend or come as racist. I feel you either respect all religions the same or sneer at them all the same. Don’t make Jesus jokes when you won’t make a joke about non-Christian icons.

4. Winter - Too long and cold for my liking. I have learned to like a mild summer season, but the winter I only like when the first snow falls.

The UK Gov website is truly AMAZING! Whoever works on that actually deserve thank you cards.

Agree on people being not so direct...U wonder if it's just another side of British Politeness? I ended up liking the latter ... now people, and customer service staff in particular, feels incredible poor and rude abroad😅

Like:
-the weather
-BBC & NHS
-their sense of humour
-their countryside and villages
-their amazing history
-the architecture
-David Attenborough is a treasure

Dislike:
-roads are very narrow
-roundabouts (so many!)
-Brexit & the Tories

In the UK for 23 years now:

Like:
Sunday opening hours
Range of restaurants and shopping for ingredients even in smaller towns and supermarkets
the huge range of good quality tea
Countryside and market towns
Pubs

Hate
School uniform and detentions
less holiday than in my home country
the obsession with being polite, why do I apologiese if someone else runs into me?
greeting cards with poems
Full out decorating for Christmas so early

I love the countryside and going for nature walks, its totally unlike the scenery back home. I also love British pubs and ales. The history and architecture is so varied and interesting. I love just wandering streets of victorian terraces and seeing the different details of tiles, roof lines and stained glass from one house to the next.
I also just love the sense of humour and laid back attitude most people have (I don't live in London lol).
The interest in birdwatching and pointing out the name of every plant or animal is quite endearing!

Things I don't like that I am still having a hard time adjusting to is the long winter, not so much the cold but the darkness (conversely this makes summer all the more special!), the confusing web of bureaucracies to do things that should be relatively straightforward, it took me forever to get my drivers licence sorted for example. The cost of petrol and electricity, even before the recent economic crisis, petrol and electricity were more than double what it costs back in Australia, where wages are also much higher!

I'm a third culture kid but I've lived here most of my life so this may be skewed.

Love:
British humour
Overriding kindness
Respect for the outdoors
Accessible legal systems
Less useless paperwork and red tape than mainland Europe

Hate:
Education system
Healthcare
Housing sector, this includes the woeful insulation and quality of homes as well as the state of the rental and for sale sector.
Class system
The standard of cleanliness in public leisure facilities and generally hospitals and public places.
Also lack of investment in said leisure facilities.

Like:
Roads and motorways (they beat Germany, I swear UK has best motorways)
Lifestyle- people (outside London) are very relaxed, most of them smiley and helpful
Possibilities- education, work
Countryside
Beautiful parks
Communities that stick together
You can do most of stuff online, very little bureaucracy

Don't like:
Social system- no sick pay, barely any maternity pay. It sucks
Houses- badly isolated, it needs to change given that UK might expect rough winters in the future
Property prices- awfully high rent, my sister lives in Germany and it's organised so much better there
Lot of litter on grass, pavements, roads etc., but it's people to blame. Councils can't do it all.

Love:
British humour
The people
London
The arts
The public sector
The focus on child friendly spaces and activities

Hate:
Healthcare
School uniforms
The lack of meaningful learning of foreign languages at schools

Only one person has mentioned tea,I’m surprised.