How has living abroad changed you?

[ClaudiaSchiffer]

Since being in Aus for 6 years, I now . . .

1. Prefer showers to baths - haven't had a bath for years. Used to love lounging about in the bath reading.

1. Vegemite over Marmite

1. No longer terrified that the children and I will instantly expire the minute the mercury climbs over 24 degrees.

1. No longer think 24 degrees is perfect for the beach. Minimum 30 these days

1. Really loved the outback and thought it was beautiful not just "stinking hot and full of rocks and flies"

How about you?

My country and its ways- not "it's"... IPhone!!

Sui - sorry to ask - which country are you from? It's a while since I filled in an electoral role form, but I got the impression that EU citizens were eligible to vote in the UK (as are Commonwealth citizens, a courtesy that is not reciprocated in Australia at least, don't know about the others.)
I expect you've already seen this but it appears some EU citizens are able to vote, but not in Parliamentary elections (so not voting for MPs).

I'd love for you to be able to tell people who say you shouldn't comment on politics because you haven't the vote to stick it up their arse, in fact you can vote! (And you have a right to an opinion in any case, what stupid people).

I'm a bit tetchy about this because I frequently comment and post about the current UK situation, especially regarding welfare reforms, on FB - and one "friend" seems to think I shouldn't as I don't live there any more. Well I don't, it's true - but I did for 40y, and my family and friends all still do and are affected, so I don't think that disallows me from having an opinion!!

Bah! I can't vote here (in the US) but I still pay taxes to fund whatever damnfool policy gets passed, of course I have an opinion about it!

Oh! Another thing that's changed. I lived in Oxford for a year with a lot of American students (doing a masters together) and couldn't get over how they never, ever stopped complaining about everything. The food. The weather. The grotty doctor's office (their GP at home offered them a coffee!) etc.
Now I've lived in America a while I understand the basis of their complaints. They were all pretty well off and America is a much nicer country to be rich in. But the UK is a MUCH nicer country to be middle-of-the-road or poorer in. (public transport, parks, swimming pools, healthcare). If you're used to a private doctor's surgery and never having to wait for anything, the NHS must seem medieval. If you don't have any way to go and see a doctor at ALL (like 33 million Americans) then the NHS seems like paradise. Although we're not poor, I know which system I prefer.

Thumbwitch: you are right: I can and do vote at administrative elections (mayor/council) but cannot vote for national ones (I vote in my own country for those).
Tbh, those who comment I cannot vote are usually right wingers and Eurosceptics so even explaining I can in fact vote at local elections sends them in a rant anyway.

oh good!

Germany:

Taught me how rubbish I am at languages
Taught me to let my children explore

Cyprus:

Taught me how cheap UK is for Clothing/Food
Taught me how good UK drivers are
Taught me not to be afraid of the sea
Taught me to be more relaxed
Taught me that above all, family is the most important

Australia
I drink tea
I drink coffee
I REALLY like wine
I REALLY like cheese
I want children
I feel VERY old to not be married with several children! 22 seems the standard marriage age in this city...(means there are NO single eligible men here for oldies like me at 31)
I walk everywhere
I spend 9+ months of the year with a mild healthy look rather than looking like a ghost because I am so pale
I am truly happy
I like going to the beach and even if I have a bad day I can drive for 15 minutes and walk along the beach as the sun sets :) Never fails to cheer me up
I adore my job (rather than wishing I would fall down the stairs so I could break my leg and not have to go)
I love the heat (dry heat here)
Agree with thelittlestkiwi- I suddenly have gone from never understanding en suites to it being an essential
Shop assistants say hello (in a way that does not seem to imply you are some piece of dirt on their shoe and that you should fuck off and die)
I miss central heating
I get to lie in bed with the patio doors open all night watching the sun go down over the hills and even though I am in the middle of a big city I can see millions of stars once it has set
I like Chinese and Japanese food

I've already posted on this thread but wanted to add:-

I've realised how hard it is to recycle - batteries, plastic bags, Britax filters, just about everything - and how hard it is not to feel guilty about it.

We do recycle what we can at the condo recycling point but we don't do as much as we did in the UK.

Oh, I miss central heating too!

I never viewed radiators as a thing of beauty before. And double glazing..... Sigh.

A hell of a lot more moles :-(

Loved reading this thread.

Out of England for 2 years now, been to Dubai, now in Kuala Lumpur...How I've changed...

Much less domesticated - I was really into the whole cooking, baking, gardening, chicken keeping thing. Now I have a helper/maid.

I have friends from all over the world....who I hope to stay in touch with...I'm still struggling with what is the best/easiest way to do that...email, phone, Skype, twitter, Facebook etc.?

Not being able to recycle and give away stuff to charity easily i.e. pretty much not at all.....the infrastructure is just not there.

Eating out a lot more....because it is cheap and everywhere.

I liked the reply from Bertrude (?) about knowing who your friends are - that your friends are not those who are there on a daily basis, but those will still be there even if you have not spoken for months.

Germany

When I offer people a cup of tea, I now know to give a run down of the selection of fruit, herbal, green and "tea" teas (the ones with tea in them) which we have.

I expect to be able to get everywhere by public transport, with loads of room for pushchairs, and never wait more than 10 mins.
I find UK cities quite dirty.

The best playgrounds I´ve seen in the UK seem pretty pathetic.

I feel like I´m developing nervous disorders because I go down the street in the knowledge that in the next 10 minutes at least three people will shout at me for doing something (you parked your bike in the place I was going to park my bike, you pushed your pushchair in the wrong way etc. etc.).

I expect much much less choice at supermarkets - and find supermarkets at home in the UK unbelievably big!

Feel there´s something seriously wrong with me because I think most people are ok really - I really can´t find so much to criticise. I get told so often that because I don´t criticise them to their faces, they can´t trust me because they don´t know all the negative thoughts I´m thinking about them. I´m going to have to have a t-shirt made: You´re too critical! Then they´d be happy and we could sit down for a good bitch together - about each other (You´re way too fat! Well you´ve got a crap job! I really think your husband smells...).

Los Angeles

I no longer own a winter coat
Expect every playground to have decent toilets
Have sushi at least once a week for dinner
Give my email address/phone number to parents I meet in the playground after just 10mins of chatting
Have signed up to do a charity bike ride of 545miles in 6days next year (I hate exercise)
Use vinegar and lemon juice for almost all my cleaning
Think an 8hour round trip is reasonable for a day excursion
Own a yoga may
Have become a lot more patriotic

I really miss getting everything I need in one supermarket, public transport, the NHS - even though we're very lucky that our healthcare is heavily subsidized by DH's company and you really do get what you pay for

Luxembourg for 16 years now.

How have I changed?

Well, I am no longer slim thanks to the incredible food and the wine, I have learnt to speak another two languages, I appreciate a proper winter and a proper summer. I am much more tolerant and more assertive. I am deeply cynical about the UK government and the class system.

I have realised that I love the National Trust.

Yy polygon about tea here in Germany. A (German) friend asked me to make her (British) DP a cup of "black tea" recently. It wasn't until I was taking the teabag out that I realised he probably wanted it with milk!

Otherwise I am

• ruder when judged by British standards (don't often hold doors open for people before going through them any more)
• politer by German standards (know to say hello when I enter the dr's waiting room)
• a more assertive driver (this sometimes causes problems at roundabouts since German drivers usually react as if they've never seen one before)
• not fazed by driving in snow as long as I have a shovel in the boot
• surprised when I can't find an organic version of whatever I want to buy at the supermarket
• used to only being able to buy lots of fresh produce when it's in season
• worried about being bitten by ticks
• much more chatty with strangers

Lived in Asia for 2 years now.

Definitely more confident. I don't give two hoots about what people think.

I appreciate my job now (teaching secondary) and love that my kids are in a wonderful school.

Detest the summer with a vengeance. What the bloody hell can you do in 40 degree heat and 99% humidity with small kids? They can't go out because they would die and get bitten by 10 million mossies. I HATE it. We have been on holiday and back to the UK where it rained every day......

I feel I could cope with anything when we do go back. This year I have been quite seriously ill and we had to cope with no family. I had to fly to different countries for treatment. We got through the worst and some low, low times as a family unit.

I miss the supermarkets very much, but on the whole we feel much safer here.

I get angry quickly now, because little thing become big deals very quickly. However, knowing the language is a real blessing and helps me to cope with the shitty everyday worries.

I hate the lack of TV and fast Internet. Internet and no cricket is DH's biggest concern.

I am certain that we will return home soon. Despite many good things here, this will NEVER be home (sob).

I hate the cold!!
I love big skies and big landscapes
I love the outdoor life
I generally like my identity of being a foreigner, license to observe and be a little unconventional
I like being able to park so easily
I like being on an adventure

I miss walking from a to b
I miss trains and feeling safe and, yes, supermarkets, the bbc, solid concerns like the welfare state, the national trust people having the resources to care about stuff which is not life or death

In terms of change? I appreciate the UK SO much more now! I worry daily about my kids' safety and whether to return or stay .. I miss work more than I ever expected and find it depressing not to have that identity. I'm much more lonely and yet have more fun

I'm much more relaxed in general because no-one knows how painfully shy I am and more friendly to random people.

I need a sweater for anything less than 24/25 C

Drink a lot more water, and red wine

Shower more than use a bath

NEED a bidet

Appreciate the difficulty of functioning in a forrin land & language, therefore far more tolerant when visiting UK than the ILs will ever be.

Also appreciate the difficulty of being the forriner from the minority group.

Really appreciate the rich/poor divide now that it's staring me in the face

Get almost irrationally angry when people complain about NHS, if my DDs need to see the Dr that's £40 minimum, if they need antibiotics it may be as much as £100. And I see complaints about "the medicine I want for DCs has been taken off prescription, I've been given this instead" Wake up people, your DCs (and grandparents) see a Dr (and dentist) free of charge and you don't pay for their prescriptions - and breath.

Hate the thought of moving and leaving my mountains.

There's probably more but I'm tired and can't think now.