Acclimatizing to English ways

[Londonbabyland]

20 years in London and noticed that immigrants ponder at how locals (both kids and adults) stay warm with so few and so this clothes on in deep winter.
It's been a struggle keeping warm past few years having to be outdoors most of the day with kids. And indoors it's chilly too. Are there tips or steps to follow to eventually acclimatize or it's something one is born into ? Aren't they cold all the time?!

You just need to dress for the cold. It may not be obvious that people are doing this, for example I wear merino base layers under my clothes. However when I was younger I did not feel the cold as much, and my children must be the same as they are forever taking their coats off when I think it is freezing.

I'm 37 years here now OP and I'm still not acclimatised!! Moved from 35 degree heat to 2 degrees in a November when I was young. Still never forgotten it. Still struggle with anything below 18 degrees!

I think it’s why the English are obsessed with hot drinks. All day long.

wear good underwear, sometimes called base layer.
also a scarf or cravat, even while indoors if you feel chilly.
i notice many women's clothes, even so-called winter pyjamas, are cut with a very scooped neckline. i mean it is too low, and the collar/clavicle area can get cold. in such a case, fill the gap, with a soft scarf, even very thin material will make a real difference.

The best merino base layers (top with long sleeves and leggings) you can afford. Pure merino is best. Toasty warm.

Wear a gilet and scarf indoors.

I think the children just don't feel it. When we first moved back from a warmer country (DS born there), DS was in t-shirt and jeans at times at 5 degrees in the sunshine. I was in long sleeved top, coat and jeans. I struggle under 10 degrees if not walking briskly. Though, I found it too warm in many houses indoors as I was used to unheated houses (in a milder winter). I've never had my own thermostat set above 18 here.

I am a Brit in NY. The U.K. is not cold. 😂

I'm completely British born in the UK. As is DH...
He can be wandering around in shorts t-shirt and body warmer outside in winter while I'm wearing normal clothes and two jumpers and cold. My daughter has already abandoned her tights for the year as they are too hot and is in skirt and socks for school, one of the boys was in shorts all winter.

Some people are just warm blooded.

@LadyGAgain so no hope growing out of being cold. I feel for you.

Ha! Thanks! Not for me. My dad was the same. But there are solutions which is something I guess. I hope you find something that helps you. Thermals, slippers, massive long dressing gown are my go to's

It’s really not been that cold

and as soon as you get on the underground it’s roasting, I can’t bear being too warm.

@Londonbabyland

20 years in London and noticed that immigrants ponder at how locals (both kids and adults) stay warm with so few and so this clothes on in deep winter. It's been a struggle keeping warm past few years having to be outdoors most of the day with kids. And indoors it's chilly too. Are there tips or steps to follow to eventually acclimatize or it's something one is born into ? Aren't they cold all the time?!

How are you telling ‘immigrants’ from ‘locals’?

You might find you home a more comfortable temperature if the humidity is lower, maybe try running a dehumidifier?
I've always lived a long way from London, I don't think of London as having weather, I have to remind myself to take a coat if I'm going there.

English People used to scold me for wearing shorts when there was snow on the ground. Or cycling with shorts on at Easter. I genuinely didn't feel the cold. Something about one of my pregnancies in my mid30s changed me, and now I feel the cold badly, although only if I'm sedentary. I warm up quickly upon exercise, but otherwise, lots of layers, even indoors.

I'm from southern California now living in England.

English DH wears shorts almost year round and wouldn't reach for a base layer except on long cycle rides in cold. He gets a lot more exercise than me.

I agree with the earlier point about base layers, dressing right etc. Theres a whole niche of clothing based around covertly staying warm. I do it without really being aware of it. A thermal base layer under a work dress (that’s what the scoop necks are for…), 100D thermal tights, and a slimline coat that is concealing a tonne of insulation. It looks like I’m just wearing a dress, tights and a light coat, but the reality is miles apart in terms of warmth.

@WheelieBinPrincess they say they're from abroad. Then there are locals whose ancestry settled here from abroad and those that are native to England - the ones who wear the least usually.

Dc were both born abroad in a hot country, now in Scottish winter dd1 still always wears shorts and dd2 loses her jacket and jumper within minutes of being outside and runs around in t shirt sleeves. I on the other hand grew up here and have always been/always am freezing. I think you are either just a warm person or a cold one. My colleagues at work laugh at all the layers I wear even inside the heated building and I do not have a stationary job where you might expect to be cold

Thank you @MyAnacondaMight , @alexdgr8 et al. for the layers, thermals thoughts. They indeed make a difference, though thought of them as reserved for skiing. Ugg and the like have also replaced slippers for most of the year. Helps too.

@lljkk same here, got worse since pregnancy. @elephantgrasshopper also find it for colder as the clock ticked.
That said, DD (nearly 4) is like mummy, cold unless wrapped in wools, gloves, hat, coat, wool lined boots well into spring. Thought one can do something about raising interval thermostat naturally. Without recourse to alcohol that is.