If two countries speak the same language, that doesn't mean their residents lead the same lives.
Lisa Dollan, known online as Yorkshire Peach, is an American living in the UK. For some time now, she has been creating a TikTok series where the woman lists the differences she has spotted between the two places. Describing everything from parking to eating out, Lisa's videos shed light on everyday nuances many travel bloggers leave out, and her videos are raking in millions of views!
Continue scrolling to check out some of the points she has made.
@yorkshirepeach ♬ Quirky - Oleg Kirilkov
This post may include affiliate links.
Well, I moved here six months pregnant and when I had my baby NOBODY SENT ME A BILL! I had my baby for free! Oh my God!
Because health care is considered to be a basic human right and not a privilege.
That's how they do healthcare in first world countries. So I have heard.
Universal healthcare should be considered an basic human right. People in the United States should not have to go-bankrupt or face the difficult decision of having to go without basic amenities like food and personal hygiene products just to pay off their astronomical medical bills. It's beyond disgusting and I just cannot fathom why the United States still kowtows to people who label universal healthcare as "evil, communist propaganda". People shouldn't have to die just because they can't afford to pay for life-saving treatment.
REPUBLICANS are the reason we don't have health care. PERIOD. (All the screaming you hear are lies.)
Load More Replies...Every American should know that the only thing standing between you, and a health care system like the UK has is.Republicans. Throw all the hissy fits you want, it's a fact. (P.S. All the."downsides" they come up with are either lies, or reduced to nothing compared to the life enhancing upsides.)
It's amazing how brainwashed usa people are. Believing they have greatest everything, but actually living in third-world country
Load More Replies...This is the one thing that is always mentions within these cultural shocks.
The UK is supposed to recover costs from foreigners / health care tourists but local hospitals fail to get their hands dirty whilst constantly complaining they are under-funded…
It's not free. The UK taxpayers paid for you because we're not arseholes and look after pregnant women.
Things that taste different in the UK: Sweets, You don't realize it until you've lived in the UK for a while and then you go back and taste an American sweet that you realize you can taste the artificial flavors more.
Come to the rest of Europe then, because what Brits have for sweets is still more artificial and too sweet by other countries' estimation.
Is it really though? As a continental European with a UK partner I'm going to say that's genuinely not true. I've tried a lot of UK sweets and to be honest I find that most European sweets don't stack up.
Load More Replies...A lot of American food is deemed unfit for human consumption in Europe.
Yep. The EU has the least artificial candies. Taste them there, then go to the UK or come back to the US (in my case) and it's a chemical waste spill on your taste buds, alas.
Are you saying our sweets etc. have been illegal in the EU or as soon as we left we changed them?
Load More Replies...Even worse, *high fructose* corn syrup...and it’s in EVERYTHING!
Load More Replies...When a coworker brought back Hershey kisses from the US they hung around the office for weeks uneaten. That is almost unheard of for chocolate.
Hershey makes the worst chocolate in the U.S.—which they make that way on purpose—to give it their unique [code for barfy] flavor.
Load More Replies...in Germany corn starch isn't used in any products....it's honestly way better
Because you’re not subsidizing farmers to grow more corn than your country can use...
Load More Replies...My husband did quite a bit of international travel and I thought I had tasted good chocolate from Sweden and then he got me Belgian chocolate, oh my...that stuff should be illegal it's so good.
Now, Belgian, that is good, from a British person
Load More Replies...As her nickname suggests, Lisa currently lives in Yorkshire, a historic county of Northern England. "I moved here 8 years ago with my British husband," she told Bored Panda.
When she first got there, Lisa went through a culture shock. "I thought everywhere would be like London, like most Americans do, and that's just not true," the woman explained. "Also, I was shocked and thrilled to learn I did not have to pay when I left the doctor's office!"
That things costs EXACTLY what they say they cost. So if something says it's £1 then it's £1. At home there's sales tax on everything so it's $1.26
As explained in numerous other topics, it's because in the US every state and even every city can have different rates of sales tax. On the other hand, each shop owner knows exactly what an item will cost after taxes, so they could put price tags on their stock with the correct prices.
Aren't the price tags put there for the customers? When I look at price tags at the store I care more about how much I'd have to pay than how much it would cost without the taxes, I could look that up somewhere else if I wanted to
Load More Replies...This is partly because sellers wanted people to realize how much the government was taking, but mostly because there are so many local entities with the power of taxation (states, counties, cities, etc.) that it's impossible to adverise final prices. Sales tax in Europe is national, and therefore the same all over the U.K.
It's not 26%, that's a bit exaggerated. the highest you'll find is 10%, but some states just don't have it.
San Francisco had a 12% tax rate when I lived there not so long ago. One percentage was for city coffers and I no longer remember what the other one percent was for...something like park clean up or to keep Muni running, or such like.
Load More Replies...It’s so regressive. Cost of living in Oregon is higher mainly due to housing than in Oklahoma but shopping, especially groceries, is notably less without that extra 10% slapped on. My first grocery run to Winco had my jaw dropping at the lower food prices, too, for many things.
Load More Replies...The US needs to adopt this from other countries. It's so annoying to make a large purchase and have to calculate ahead that the tax will increase the price significantly!
yeah in Australia the tax is included in the price so you know exactly how much you're spending.
When I first moved here my husband had to go to his great uncle's funeral. And he was gone for like 7/8 hours and he came back completely wasted. And I had no idea that people drank after funerals! And then we went to a kid's birthday party I mean, the kid was turning like 3? And they had the beer, the wine, I'm like okay, okay. And I'm an alcoholic so I don't drink, I can't drink. And when we lived in the States together, I did kind of wonder, like? Is this man an alcoholic as well? And then we moved over here and I was like nah, he's just BRITISH
Never been to a child's birthday party where there has been alcohol
Load More Replies...I live in the US. We had specialty cocktails at my uncles funeral. We regularly have alcohol for adults at events, even baby showers.
Born/raised in the USA. Funerals equal booze anywhere I've lived in the US. Irony: My UK in-laws are tee-total!
Not everywhere in America - it's a big place, and regional differences crop up.
Load More Replies...The difference between a wedding and a funeral is that on a wedding everyone gets drunk.
Now that she has had time to think about it, Lisa doesn't think that the UK is better than the US or vice versa. "They are simply different," she highlighted. That being said, the TikToker has her personal favorite. "The UK definitely has a much better health care system and much better laws around gun control. I feel safer here so I prefer it."
"I love the British people and their sense of humor," Lisa added. "I feel they are strong resilient people during the hard times and know how to have a laugh during the good ones!"
I'd never walked anywhere. I have, but like very little, d'y'know what I'm saying? Y'all will walk anywhere here, I'm not kidding. Y'ALL WALK!
Contrary to the US the Western European infrastructure has always been more focused on pedestrians and bicyclists than on cars. And in the foreseeable future cars will be banned from all city centers.
Sadly the drivers license requierments in the US is a joke compared to most countries...
Load More Replies...They lack proper sidewalks unless you are in a city centre. I wanted to go from my hotel (close to the airport) to the centre of Chicago. Aside from the distance, the hotel receptionist told me that some streets were roads without sidewalk. Really not walker friendly.
Load More Replies...I am Canadian and I have never driven. I live in a big city with good transit or I will just walk to wherever I am going. I lived in Texas for a year and whenever i walked down the street random men in cars would honk at me. Asked my American hubby why. he said because only prostitutes or homeless walk there. at the store asked for double bag for the bilk and said cause i am walking. cashier looked at me like I was clinically insane and loudly said WALKING......it was like 3 blocks.
Yeah, true. I lived in small-town Oklahoma. Only dirt poor people didn't have cars, because the only way to get anywhere of any distance was to walk on a narrow highway without a shoulder. But part of the culture, too, is simply that "exercise is hard." I used to swim in the lake nearby. A quarter to a half mile up and back, but near the shore, so the boats and jet skis wouldn't run over me. And people would look at me so strangely, like, "Lady, what are you doing SWIMMING in that lake? Don't you know it's for boaters?" Occasionally, a family would take their little kids for a splash in the lake, but nobody--nobody--swam longer distances for exercise but me. It's sad; and many have weight problems and unhealthy habits. The culture is so different across the Pond. I went to Ireland and couldn't believe it--everybody walked EVERYwhere!
Load More Replies...Civilized countries dont make anti pedestrian rules/laws... also they have f*****g sidewalks
I remember once when I was in Vegas, my first time there, and my wife and I were staying in the Bellagio. We were standing in the foyer and my wife said she really wanted to go and get a picture with the "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign. A doorman overheard us and strongly suggested we get a taxi due to the distance. As this was literally our first day there we did as he said. We were in the taxi for a total of 5 minutes (+/ -). I can remember looking at my wife as if to say "this warranted a taxi ride"? I guessed it couldn't have been more than 2 miles in a straight line. When we arrived the driver asked us if we wanted him to wait to take us back. He looked aghast when we said no, we were going to walk it instead (and hit some casinos on the way obviously).
Enjoy walking? Visit the Czech republic! We have 42 000km of turistic signed trails! Our borderline is only 2290km. Color marking of these trails started 128years ago, with first Club of Czech turists..
It all depends where you live, trying to drive round london is both expensive and slow yet walking you have to watch out for the idiot cyclist who are incapable of following traffic signs or abiding by them.
Meals I'd never had until I moved here: The curry. Never had a curry before I moved here. And now if I go 4/5 days without one, I go into curry withdrawal. Absolutely DIVINE meal
I eat Indian dishes weekly in the US. No idea what's going on here.
Load More Replies...You never had curry in the U.S.? That's honestly weird. I don't know a single American who's never had curry.
I am really curious where this woman is from in the United States. I don't want to sound cruel, but she sounds a little sheltered based on some of the things she has only just started to experience during her time in the UK. I've been to the U.S. and have most certainly eaten curry there.
The Tikka Masala was created for British tastes and is now one of our national dishes. Manchester has a Curry Mile. Every town has at least one Indian takeaway or restaurant.
There is a fantastic curry houses in Edinburgh, Scotland called Kismot. They are renown for having one of the hottest curries in the world, aptly named the "Kismot Killer". The infamous curry made the BBC news back in 2011 when it reportedly sent two people to the hospital during a curry eating charity contest.
Load More Replies...Some of the best Indian cuisine on Earth to be had is actually in London. I learned a lot from my work there. I don't admire colonialism at all, but this was a hell of a benefit to the UK - food!
Try this. Fry some onions until soft, add tomato puree. Beat up six eggs with a teaspoon of chilli powder and a little salt, add some butter to the onions and puree, then add the eggs and turn up the heat and scramble up with a wooden spatula - curried scrambled eggs! Delicious if you get it right, you may want to use more or less chilli powder or puree. I use about half a tube and half a large onion.
To be fair, we literally have any kind of food in America. However, if all you ever shop for groceries at is WalMart then all you'll ever eat is chicken nuggets, box mac & cheese and hot dogs.
We eat a lot of curry here in Pennsylvania. Maybe your parents just weren't into curry so you didn't have any?
Following up on Lisa's comments, we learned that in 2017, US think tank the Commonwealth Fund ranked the UK's NHS the number one health system in a comparison of 11 countries for safety, affordability, and efficiency. It did less well when it came to cancer survival.
The US was ranked last out of the 11 countries.
The American health system came off badly when it came to infant mortality, life expectancy, and preventable deaths, but did relatively better on cancer, heart attack, and stroke survival.
Meanwhile, the gun ownership rate for England and Wales (2007) is 6.2 guns per 100 people. For comparison, the gun ownership rate in the US (2007) is 88.8 guns per 100 people.
Additionally, the gun homicide rate for England and Wales (2012) is 0.7 per 1 million people while in the US (2012) this number is much higher too — 29.7 per 1 million people.
Which of the two countries do you like better? Tell us in the comments.
Things that'd freak Americans out about the UK: Driving in the UK. No chance, okay? The driving test. What you guys have to do to be able to legally drive here is amazing! You guys are all like Nascar drivers. Literally, I took my test in a parking lot in the States.
In the US, driving is a RIGHT, rather than an earned privilege. As Trillian said, you just learn how to operate a vehicle and the very basics of what signs mean, but there's zero training on driving etiquette, defensive/safe driving, driving in adverse conditions, how a car behaves at speed, how to correct a car that's losing control, how to adjust your driving on hills, etc. As an example, I got my license without ever hearing mention of a roundabout, a bike lane, or headlights (all testing was during daylight).
Load More Replies...I'm from the US and my driving test was out on the road with traffic, not in a parking lot. I had to merge on to and drive on the highway, down backroads, parallel park on a busy street. In order to get my driver's license I had to attend drivers education 6 months prior to turning 16. I had to pass all the safety tests and drive with a legal adults at least 500 miles. Then there were restrictions on when I could drive and with whom until I turned 18.
My driving test was w orange cones I had to drive around in the DMV parking lot. Had to parallel park between cones. My daughter just got her license and they don't care if you can parallel park anymore
Load More Replies...In Japan, you can transfer your UK driver's license to a Japanese license with some money and paperwork. US residents (except for 3 states) have to start from scratch, including driver training, tests, and the paperwork. There are many benefits to having a stringent driver training program back home.
Do you know which 3 states those are?
Load More Replies...So you get tested to see if you are responsible enough to drive a car on the streets in full traffic by having the driving test in a parking lot? Seriously?
This isn't true everywhere in the USA. We have a written and went out on the road, do parallel parking k turns all that.
Load More Replies...Have you ever tried driving in streets of some european medieval city centre?
In Germany there are plenty of one-lane roads — with traffic going both directions. (Someone has to slide between parked cars to let oncoming traffic by.)
Load More Replies...Take it from me. Being an American who does know how to drive. Most people here do NOT. It's a lot more than worrying...
Driving test in Egypt? Drive in a straight line. Hence why the Egyptian driving license is invalid in the UK!
Things that taste different in the UK: Sour cream. All things creamy. It's just creamier, so much nicer (in the UK)
I do hope that this woman has tried clotted cream and has had a proper cream tea.
Hahaha I took my American friend out for a cream tea, there was clotted cream, she asked if that was the butter. Could see her point though.
Load More Replies...Yeah. Their fat content is allowed to be higher. Wait till this OP tries French butter!
Sorta like ordering "sour cream" in an authentic Mexican restaurant here. It's "crema", and you can drizzle it over your enchiladas.
That's the difference between full fat and fat free, of course it will taste creamier.
The sour cream from our local taqueria is also not the same sour cream you buy at your local grocery store.
Meals I'd never had until I moved here: "beans on toast." Thought it was absolutely disgusting, now I think it's absolutely divine
Heinz beans and a dash of Worcestershire sauce- some grated cheese finishes this lunchtime delight off to perfection
Load More Replies...Beans n toast is the best. But you have to use Heinz beans - it doesn’t taste right if you use another brand.
I was born in the UK, and I've lived in Britain the majority of my life, and I despise beans.. they're disgusting.
I must go buy a toasted sandwich maker. Yum! Thanks for the reminder
Load More Replies...
That you have to pay to park most places. I kinda thought it was a "well, you can pay if you want but you don't really have to"
Every place I've ever been in the US has paid parking. Either lots that you have to purchase tickets to be in, or parking meters. Rarely is their free parking, unless the lot belongs to a business and even then, in order to use it, you must be going into the business. Even some apartment buildings charge for parking.
This is entirely dependent upon proximity to a city in the US. In suburban and rural towns with a lot of wide open space, it's free for the taking. In cities where it's a little more congested, expect to pay. We are spoiled for space in the US.
Load More Replies...She didn't live somewhere in the US with paid parking? Wow. That's.... um.... where? We have parking meters in Podunk here!
This one's silly "you can pay if you want"? Where is that true anywhere? It's a must pay or free kind of thing.
We have to pay, so you will use your feet, bicycle, public transport to make it cheeper...
Many businesses don't own the land they operate on so a separate company uses the land as a means of making money so they charge for you to park on it. It's private land so they can. However, they also can be really dodgy in that if you park and then go to buy a ticket to put in the window, a parking attendant could see your car hasn't got a ticket in the window and issue you an astronomical fine even though you just got there and was coming back with your ticket. They are a law unto themselves. But they are also not THE law so it's not a fine that can be enforced by a court of law.
Things I'd never done until I moved to the UK: I'd never stayed at an outdoor event in the rain, and not gone home
Its worse in my country. Iceland It can snow sun shine 5 minutes later and then a hurricane and we have a saying that the weather changes every 5 minutes and prepare your outdoor activities with summer rain and winter clothes all year round. If we see someone with an umbrella we know he's a tourist because no Icelander uses umbrellas in the wind destroys it always and then you have to carry a useless umbrella every were you go. We just predict storms everyday or you would always be depressed when it hits you the 10th time the same day. But we think that's completely normal. Its hell packing for camping. The car is filled with every clothing in your closet and then we have tiny space for the tent and etc. But the clothes are most important 😂
Eh, welcome to half the US. How is this odd? If I went home if it rained, I'd never get to do anything!
western washington. do i even need to explain?
Load More Replies...There is an old saying in Britain, If you don't like the weather wait 5 minutes. Meaning it is so changeable. Rain is a way of life. You just have to get used to it. If you stayed in or went home every time it rained you'd never go anywhere.
That's because it's always bloody raining in the UK! You'd never do anything if you avoided the weather. 😂
Yet parts of the US have far more rain. Yes, it does rain a lot in the UK but if you look at lists showing the countries with the highest precipitation UK is not even in the top 50.
Load More Replies...I've been to a few Dave Matthews concert in the rain. If he keeps playing, Ima staying.
Hah, yeh, your social life will diminish to nothing if you let the weather phase you. It's why we talk about the weather so much, we have four seasons in one day!
The time I spent in England, We didn't get out of the "rain" either, that's mostly because we would call that a sprinkle here in Oklahoma. When it rains here you cannot see your neighbor's house for the wall of water falling.
From California? If you go home when it rains in the mid-west, you'll be dry before you reach the car. In the South, you'll be grateful for the cooling rain. In the East, you'd only schedule outdoor events in the months you'd be grateful for the rain.
Umbrellas are useless here
Umbrellas are useless in all countries when there's a strong wind.
I have an umbrella but I've never used it - just use waterproofs as it's so much easier.
Load More Replies...There is a vented umbrella called a GustBuster that does surprisingly well in high winds.
My mother wanted a new umbrella for Christmas last year, so I decided to get her the same one the Queen uses. It was pleasantly sturdy and surprisingly affordable.
The little umbrellas turn inside out occasionally. Get a larger umbrella, or a golf umbrella. I've used mine for 10 years in the UK and it's never let me down
In Iceland to they destroy in the the hurricane winds and then you have to carry a useless umbrella every were you go. You know its a tourist if he has an umbrella.
Chinese-style paper umbrellas work fine in very strong wind and rain. Their stays are bamboo and there's a lot more of them and they're held by a bunch of strings. The combination is very strong but still flexible. Originally the paper was coated in wax and oil, now it's plastic. They last 2-3 years but they're so inexpensive it's no big deal to replace them. I own two, one for just me (with a dragon) and another larger one (with cherry blossoms and 2 cranes) when walking with someone else.
You need to buy a good brolly, not the cheap ones that break after the softest breeze.
Things that'd freak Americans out about the UK: What y'all eat for breakfast. OMG. If they saw: The Mushrooms, The Tomatoes, The Baked Beans. All of this, the "Full English". Absolutely flip out, okay?
Nobody really eats this every day though, it's maybe a once weekly thing. Used to be sundays for my family... but I hate beans, eggs, tomatoes.. it may be the standard full english but they do differ from person to person xP
I eat a big fry up nearly every day. Every sat and sun at home and every day on the road
Load More Replies...We honestly don't eat a full English every day-- our blood pressure would sore through the roof. A full English breakfast is generally targeted at tourists nowadays.
She needs to get out more in the US. Never had curry or migas or omelets apparently. I mean, you can’t have a miga w/out the tomato. PLUS I hate curry and can find curry everywhere.
I'm Canadian, we eat similarly to Americans. The Full English breakfast is not strange at all to me.
Considering I get up at 4am for work. I eat just about anything for breakfast as long as its filling.
That you can drink at 18 here! And also you can drink with your family when you're like 14. I was like whaaat?
There are a few countries where the rules are the same or similar. (NZ, Australia etc)
in italy there is no legal age for alcohol consumption. you can't sell alcoholics to kids under 16 though.
In American English alcoholics are people who can’t control their drinking...we just say can’t sell alcohol.
Load More Replies...I think (but don't quote me) that you can legally drink wine, beer and cider from age 16 in a pub IF you're with an adult and IF you're having a meal (no spirits though at any age younger than 18). I've even recall once being told kids from something like 5 years onwards can consume alcohol legally at home but I'm not sure if that's completely true.
I was taught in school that what you can do when is quite complex. Most pubs just say 18 to avoid any confusion
Load More Replies...But on the other hand, you can't legally buy a gun when you're 16 in the UK.
You can also do much of that in the USA, most people just assume the law is that you have to be 21 but there are exceptions that vary from State to State.
It’s actually 18 in Québec as well as Alberta and Manitoba. 19 for the rest of Canada
Load More Replies...
Things I'd never done until I moved to the UK: Sat outside in the sun with a coat on
Ummm..... We do this in the US. I promise. the OP never got out much, in the US, apparently? ....
Yeah, I was beginning to think the UK sounds a lot like the PNW.
Load More Replies...I don't think you've been to San Francisco or met a San Franciscan. Like litteraly it will be f*****g 65-70 degrees out in sunlight and I'll wear a coat.
San Francisco!! In the summer, at Candlestick for a Giants game 56 degrees brrrrrrrr
Croix de Candlestick...I still have four of the dozen or more I received over the years. I was even there on the night of the ‘89 earthquake.
Load More Replies...That's a normal thing in the US, not sure how she avoided it her whole time in the States
What my husband has been doing now I call sun shifting. As the sun shifs he will shift his chair closer and closer until the edges all the way to the corner of the garden
In fact I'm doing this right now. Stupid tree shade. Hope all my fellow bits are enjoying the sun and are shifting appropriately
Load More Replies...Done this in the US, and done it with shade, too. (Depends where you are!)
Yeah I do this in my yard and patio. I feel like this woman would be shocked to see my patio umbrella that allows me to sit in sun, shade and rain!
Load More Replies...FFS this woman. I just can’t! We have the damn sun, chairs and gardens in the US. She desperately needs better material.
Meals I'd never had until I moved here: I know this is a side dish but it's an absolute gamechanger. Cauliflower & Cheese. Absolutely ELITE
I've had it all my life. I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with her upbringing. On behalf of the US, I apologize. My in-laws (UK origin) love the stuff, but it was around where I grew up in the US. We're okay, I promise! :-)
Load More Replies...How is cheesy cauliflower not a thing in the US, don't they put cheese on everything lol.
It is a thing here. It’s quite common, in fact.
Load More Replies...I don't believe that cheesey cauliflower is regulated to the United Kingdom. I am starting to suspect that this young woman was not an adventurous eater before her travels to the UK.
This woman has led a curiously sheltered life for an American. Or this is all bogus.
have you tried deep fried cauliflower or cheese? Central European replacement for schnitzel, but still a hit.
Meals I'd never had until I moved here: Fish & Chips. We don't have fish & chip shops back home. We have something called Captain D's. It's a franchise, like McDonalds, where you drive through.
This American is weird. I can't count the number of fish and chips I've had in my life. It's very easy to find in the U.S.
Right? It’s on almost every menu in US restaurants...pub grub, fast food, diners, midrange places. I’m guessing she’s from a small town and never left home before.
Load More Replies...Um. . .what part of the US is she from? Some of these leave me scratching my head. Sounds like she lived a very sheltered life in the US. I realize that the US is a pretty big place with little pockets of regional culture/food, but come on.
Honestly, where in the world is this woman from in the United States? Is she living in some isolated, back-water town? Somehow I cannot fathom that you don't have fish and chips in the United States.
We do. I live in a small coastal town in Northern California, and there’s a really good fish and chips place down in Noyo Harbor.
Load More Replies...Much of what this author talks about is common at least in my area of the US. I guess regional differences are bigger then I realized. We have great local Fish and Chip shops here.
Right?! I'm going through these wondering what kind of sheltered this woman had led. Never walked anywhere? Never sat outside and enjoyed the sun? Cauliflower and cheese is common and so is broccoli and cheese. I've lived in California, all over the South East, spent time in Montana and visited various other parts of the USA with the exception of the South West. This woman is just sheltered.
Load More Replies...You missed Arthur Treacher's Fish and Chips (in the US) long ago. It was superb.
We have fish & chips all over California. You can find it at fast food places and higher-end versions at fancier restaurants.
Things I'd never done until I moved to the UK: Parallel parked. I still struggle, If I'm honest. It's a struggle
It's also part of the driving test in at least one US state - I don't know where she did her driving test, but in Arkansas parallel parking is required. I think in several other states as well, but I only have first-hand experience of the one.
Load More Replies...This woman must have not got out much hen she lived in the U.S. Most of these things aren’t uncommon and parallel parking? Never been to NY U.S.city?
Mine changed to maneuverability, which was harder, but they still taught us to parallel park.
Load More Replies...It's the most easy way of parking your car and it requires the least of space to do it. Nothing difficult about it if you know the little secrets how to do it properly.
It’s part of the US driving test, however I couldn’t do it and still passed the test. So there ya go:)
In The Netherlands you would fail the test if you can't get the parking right
Load More Replies...You have to parallel park as part of a driving test! This lady had the most sheltered life.
Things I'd never done until I moved to the UK: I'd never had sweet popcorn in the cinema
There's nothing quite like kettle corn cooked outdoors in an iron kettle. Ye gads, that stuff's to die for. The stuff you buy in bags is, well, yeah, OK, it's popcorn; it's sweet. But in not the same league.
Load More Replies...She probably never called it the cinema either lol. In the Us, you go to the movies.
Kettle corn (sweet and salty popcorn) is sold at every carnival and even at grocery stores, but I agree that at a US movie theater you can only buy buttered popcorn.
I'd guess that sweet popcorn is from the US? Or do you guys just don't sell it in cinema?
I never had sweet popcorn till I moved to the US *South*, and only at carnivals. Our cinema popcorn is salted.
Load More Replies...Kettle corn has been in the U.S. for decades. My favorite--salty and sweet. :-)
Things that'd freak Americans out about the UK: The queues at McDonalds! I don't know about your McDonalds but my McDonalds stays LIT! And by lit I mean on fire! People wrapped around the building and y'all wait. The Americans would not wait in that queue, do you hear me? They would drive two blocks down to the next McDonalds. There's a McDonalds on every damn corner
But McDonalds can't be that invasive in most European countries because of regulations. "What do you mean I want to open another McDonalds 3 miles apart from the existing one? Ain't going to happen, mate."
I don´t get it neither...why eat such a trash, when you can have some nice sandwich or fish& chips or pizza everywhere?
We stayed for a while in Ireland, and cooked for ourselves, or ate out locally, but on the way to the airport everyone was hungry, so we stopped at a McDonalds. Mostly the same as in the states, but the French fries were amazing!
McDonalds french fries for the US and Europe are all made to the exact same recipe in one or two giant factories. I'm pretty sure the Irish ones come off the same production lines as the US ones.
Load More Replies...In California, we don't have long lines for McDonald's bc there are so many and there are better chains for burgers. You should see the ridiculously long, winding lines for In 'N Out though- it's 20 cars deep from open to close!
Things that taste different in the UK: Pickles. We have the big fat sour pickles. I miss those. Yours guys seem to be sweet.
Bless, I am starting to think that this woman has lived a very, very, very sheltered life or was once the world's pickiest eater. We have all different kinds of pickles in the UK.
We have sweet pickles here sweetie, good grief, who raised you? I put sweet pickles (called bread & butter pickles quite often) in my tuna and my chicken salad. Also put them on sandwiches of all kinds. This person led an oddly sheltered life and thinks none fo these very common things exist in the US and it's just not true. We have cauliflower & cheese, we have benches in the sun and we have curry. So we have an entire article based on this girl's limited life experiences and people will take this as gospel.
My Canadian wife did miss the more sour style of pickle that's a bit harder to find in UK (from my experience). Also white vinegar for cleaning. A lot of malt vinegar in UK whereas you can buy a big tub of white vinegar in stores here (Canada)
I'm confused. We have/do most of those things in the US. Parking is not free. Parallel parking is a daily occurrence & a "full English (or Irish)" breakfast can be had at most pubs on a weekend morning. Has she somehow missed the absurd variety of pickles in US supermarkets? I think it's not a US/UK thing but a city/country thing.
That's because you're looking for 'Pickles'. Try looking for 'Whole Gerkins', They are plenty sour.
Here in the UK you can find the sour pickles in the Polish aisle in most supermarkets. I am obsessed with them!
Those aren’t pickles those are gherkins. Gherkins are sweet and smaller. Pickles are sour and come in different sizes. Both exist in the US.
This is the extra-sheltered version of Americanness. Never parallel parked, walked, eaten curry??
Agree. Who the he** in the US never had to walk somewhere, park parallel, or ate Indian food? Where did this person live in the US?! I live in a relatively rural area and even here we have Indian food (made by people from India!), we have to parallel park, and we have to walk places. From the US, been to UK, it's nto that shockingly different, folks.
Load More Replies...This isn't so much "American" as "person who's never left their small town".
What small town doesn't have parallel parking? People who walk? People who sit outside in their coats? People who go to outdoor events in rainy weather? 18-year-olds who drink at funerals? Kettle corn (that's what we call sweet popcorn)? Sweet pickles? Cauliflower and cheese? Sun shifting? Storemade candy?
Load More Replies...I feel like this person lived a very sheltered life in the United States and didn't travel much. Most of the things they shared are common across the US as well. Heck, most of them are common in just the Northeast alone.
And the mid_Atlantic, Great Lakes, the West Coast.... I've seen thi sin Idaho. No idea where she's from. *shrug*
Load More Replies...Parallel parking was part of my driving test. I parallel park all the time. Curry? ohfergawdsake, Indian and Pakistani and Thai and Vietnamese and a plethora of other restaurants serving curry. Sweet, sour, dill, you name it, someone, somewhere here in the states has pickled it, preserved it or "stored it."
My drivers Ed teacher was my gym teacher and he taught it begrudgingly. He hated doing it and we hated having him. My class started out with 6 of his and he yelled and screamed so much all the other kids dropped out of class. He was terrifying and distracting I learned to yell back so he liked me for my spunk. Lol. I was the only student left and some days he was too lazy to take me out onto the street so he would stand and talk with his asst. while I parallel parked over and over. I can parallel park in my sleep now.
Load More Replies...Don’t know where this person lived in the US. Requirement for license, parallel park, Curry-love it, fish &chip shops-East & West Coasts. Outside concerts in the rain, walking-all the time.
The annoying thing about posts like these is that the people who write them clearly needed to move or travel in order to try anything new.
Kimmy Schmidt? Is that you? Did you really end up in London instead of NY?
She has no idea what she's talking about and clearly never left her hometown of 10 people, nor went to a store, nor out to eat.
I’m wondering now if it was an arranged marriage lol. Picked her up from her house, to chapel, to plane.
Load More Replies...Holy crap, I don't know where the hell this person lived, but they must've had a pretty sheltered life. Fish and Chips is called a “Fish Fry” in Buffalo, NY and is as common as a hot dog. So is sun chasing, taking a driving test on an actual road, and outdoor events in the rain (have you never been to a football game or a concert?). Since we wear coats 85% of year here it’s damn near impossible to not ever sit in the sun with a coat on. Parallel parking is done daily in just about every city in America and was part of my road test. I’ve never been downtown in any city and NOT had to pay to park, and cauliflower with cheese is not uncommon. Also, plenty of people, including my wife, have had babies for free (if you have good insurance). Due to the overwhelming use of the word “y’all” I’m thinking this person must’ve lived in the sticks in the deep south. Does BP just literally post anything and everything they can get their hands on now??
Well, IDK where in the US you can have a baby for free -- even with good insurance, it's going to cost you. But everything else you said, I agree with.
Load More Replies...This is the extra-sheltered version of Americanness. Never parallel parked, walked, eaten curry??
Agree. Who the he** in the US never had to walk somewhere, park parallel, or ate Indian food? Where did this person live in the US?! I live in a relatively rural area and even here we have Indian food (made by people from India!), we have to parallel park, and we have to walk places. From the US, been to UK, it's nto that shockingly different, folks.
Load More Replies...This isn't so much "American" as "person who's never left their small town".
What small town doesn't have parallel parking? People who walk? People who sit outside in their coats? People who go to outdoor events in rainy weather? 18-year-olds who drink at funerals? Kettle corn (that's what we call sweet popcorn)? Sweet pickles? Cauliflower and cheese? Sun shifting? Storemade candy?
Load More Replies...I feel like this person lived a very sheltered life in the United States and didn't travel much. Most of the things they shared are common across the US as well. Heck, most of them are common in just the Northeast alone.
And the mid_Atlantic, Great Lakes, the West Coast.... I've seen thi sin Idaho. No idea where she's from. *shrug*
Load More Replies...Parallel parking was part of my driving test. I parallel park all the time. Curry? ohfergawdsake, Indian and Pakistani and Thai and Vietnamese and a plethora of other restaurants serving curry. Sweet, sour, dill, you name it, someone, somewhere here in the states has pickled it, preserved it or "stored it."
My drivers Ed teacher was my gym teacher and he taught it begrudgingly. He hated doing it and we hated having him. My class started out with 6 of his and he yelled and screamed so much all the other kids dropped out of class. He was terrifying and distracting I learned to yell back so he liked me for my spunk. Lol. I was the only student left and some days he was too lazy to take me out onto the street so he would stand and talk with his asst. while I parallel parked over and over. I can parallel park in my sleep now.
Load More Replies...Don’t know where this person lived in the US. Requirement for license, parallel park, Curry-love it, fish &chip shops-East & West Coasts. Outside concerts in the rain, walking-all the time.
The annoying thing about posts like these is that the people who write them clearly needed to move or travel in order to try anything new.
Kimmy Schmidt? Is that you? Did you really end up in London instead of NY?
She has no idea what she's talking about and clearly never left her hometown of 10 people, nor went to a store, nor out to eat.
I’m wondering now if it was an arranged marriage lol. Picked her up from her house, to chapel, to plane.
Load More Replies...Holy crap, I don't know where the hell this person lived, but they must've had a pretty sheltered life. Fish and Chips is called a “Fish Fry” in Buffalo, NY and is as common as a hot dog. So is sun chasing, taking a driving test on an actual road, and outdoor events in the rain (have you never been to a football game or a concert?). Since we wear coats 85% of year here it’s damn near impossible to not ever sit in the sun with a coat on. Parallel parking is done daily in just about every city in America and was part of my road test. I’ve never been downtown in any city and NOT had to pay to park, and cauliflower with cheese is not uncommon. Also, plenty of people, including my wife, have had babies for free (if you have good insurance). Due to the overwhelming use of the word “y’all” I’m thinking this person must’ve lived in the sticks in the deep south. Does BP just literally post anything and everything they can get their hands on now??
Well, IDK where in the US you can have a baby for free -- even with good insurance, it's going to cost you. But everything else you said, I agree with.
Load More Replies...
