Parts of UK culture you WONT/DONT miss?

[ianf77 9]

After much relief of getting our K-1 issued today, it got me thinking about this topic of things I won't miss in the UK right now......

I had the unfortunate experience this Christmas/New Year break of not being with my loved one, stuck in UK, due to delays in processing and now being en route to work won't be going back till mid February with my one way ticket.....

So i thought why not redress the balance of a similar thread in the UK forum but at the other end of the scale....

Please this is just intended to be fun and light hearted....there are many things I love about the UK....however some I don't...Ill start.....

Fuel/Gas----Extortianate prices in the UK but mostly why does the UK petrol stations and companies believe it is a good idea to remove the little catches that you can click to have a hands free fill up at the station.......C'mon y'all have to agree hands free dispensing rocks.....

A big thing i noticed recently in fashion............Adult sized "Onesy's"...I mean #######......an epidemic of adult telly tubbies are emerging..........please go away and don't catch on in the US....and to those lazy individuals that think it is ok to just nip into the garage/grocery store in your PJ's or "Onesey"................STOP IT......!!!

Rain - Living in Texas rain is a joy in the summer and very welcome.......the relentless, grey, dull type in the UK is just not fun........and cars corrode a lot quicker as well.....1-0 Texas on weather...!

Live Football/Soccer - I am a huge Liverpool FC fan (And a season ticket holder for the Houston Dynamo).....I love that I get to watch EPL live all day on a Saturday , especially the 3:00pm games and most games for that matter......2-0 US for coverage..

Convenience/prices - Now I like a life of convenience and it comes in abundance where we live....great food/choice to eat out...cheap electrical goods..numerous hardware stores....if you need something for that weekend job...you will be able to get it within the hour.....another score for the US here...

On a slightly more serious note - Childrens Education/ Extra activities- i believe the education system in the US, especially in our particular area is superior from preschool- college.......Children have an amplitude of extra curricula activities to choose from and far more variety of things to try...Sarah and I are soccer coaches for a young team and the program support where we live is excellent.....I mean we watched High School soccer/football/other sports on TV.......the high schools have their own stadiums....great win here!!..I could go on here......we are never free at weekends as we always have something to do wether ourselves or other friends/family.

My last one for now.......Veteran support/Adult respect......I am only familiar with this in Texas...the ex military support and respect far out ways that of the UK...I am an ex serving forces person of 12 years and I visited a VFW and was welcomed with open arms to talk about old military stories, especially the older generation ...the respect for the nations veterans and currently active servicemen/women is the way it should be in the US.......it hurts to say that our British girls and Boys serving don't have the same support...my opinion....As for adult respect, In Texas, maybe I have been blindsided, but I am always welcomed with a yes sir or I hear yes ma'am.....great manners and respect from all ages up and down the age scale.......The respect for authority and elders in the UK is severely diminishing in my experience.......not everywhere but just a personal view......

Ok...without being to serious now....i like the little things that make a difference and I am sure there is a plethora we could contribute to the thread....would love to hear them!........

[Vanitas 310]

I will not miss UK Politics.

Nor will I miss the Chavs.

And certainly I will not miss the rudeness of British people today.

[Pooky 3,807]

I won't miss Southampton. Just sayin'.

Edited January 8, 2014 by Pooky

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

Rain is part of the UK culture so I won't miss that after three bloody solid weeks of it!!!

[srvman 38]

First of all, huge congratulations!

I am from Northern Ireland. So things I will not miss....

Morons rioting about flags, bonfires, weekly bomb threats, the Northern Irish accent, the Northern Irish smell, the Northern Irish attitude (they can never be happy for you), chavs, petrol prices, VAT (I am going to live in Montana 0%), Rizzle Kicks being a relevant thing, high tides flooding my town every 5 minutes, 4 quid beer ($1.75 in MT), English coverage of the world cup (we get it, you won it 50 years ago, get over it), the 12th of July (seriously despise that holiday, even though I am protestant), Protestants, Catholics, Boots (the pharmacy, horrific staff where I live), no drive thru banks, and no drive thru pharmacys, and finally the sign on the wall as you enter Belfast City Airport (named after a drunk btw) which reads "Welcome to Belfast, please set your watches back 30 years, to conform with local time"

Apart from that, not too much.

[QueenOfBlades 224]

There's plenty of stuff I DO miss, but there are some things I'm not missing of course.

Things I don't miss;

Being apart from my partner. Crappy service in restaurants. Grey sky and terrible weather. Rude people. Chavs and "rude bois". I'm sure I'll think of more later. I don't miss my old job either.

[markonline1 11]

I can't say there is really anything I don't miss. However, the HR director where I work moved out from the UK 27 years ago. I was speaking to her yesterday where she was telling me she's heading back in a few weeks for a month and dreading it. She could probably rack off a list as long as your arm of stuff she doesn't miss from the UK LOL.

With regards to the OP, where I am in California, the schooling is of a lesser standard than the UK apparently, there's not the respect for the armed services except on the flag waving days (I work with an ex navy guy, I was surprised by some of the stuff he told me) and the kids round here are all little rich kids, and have virtually zero respect for anyone.

Edited January 9, 2014 by markonline1

[Gai 18]

A big thing i noticed recently in fashion............Adult sized "Onesy's"...I mean #######......an epidemic of adult telly tubbies are emerging..........please go away and don't catch on in the US....and to those lazy individuals that think it is ok to just nip into the garage/grocery store in your PJ's or "Onesey"................STOP IT......!!!

As the USC...don't go in Walmart. Ever. Pretty sure this trend started over here and is just now catching on there, and it's about 100x worse in the south.

Although the Walmart thing is a good piece of advice for quite a few reasons.

[soapface 16]

Eating in restaurants is so expensive here compared to the US (or at least Nebraska), so I won't miss that. Standing in the rain for half an hour to get a bus to work because I can't afford a car. Summers where it rains every day. Drinks with the stingiest amounts of alcohol in. David Cameron's smug face. The lack of 24 hour Mexican restaurants.

[M Turner 11 0]

Whats wrong with Walmart lol??? I love Walmart! Bargain. But my fave is Krogers!

[Gai 18]

Yeah, it's cheap. But the customer service is terrible, the customers are worse, and I won't get into the politics. Target is much better. The prices are comparable, sometimes cheaper, and their store brand is better quality. I've also never been cussed at by a store associate in Target.

I shop at Krogers. (:

[QueenOfBlades 224]

Whats wrong with Walmart lol??? I love Walmart! Bargain. But my fave is Krogers!

They pay their workers pittance, treat their employees ####### and the customer service is pretty terrible.

The respect for military people down here is huge. Loads of discounts for service men and women in tons of stores, they get priority at the airports, all sorts. I'd never really experienced that before because you don't get a whole lot of it in the UK.

Edited January 9, 2014 by QueenOfBlades

[ianf77 9]

The lack of 24 hour Mexican restaurants.

I hear you !!!

​NO diet coke free refills in any chain restaurant........

[M Turner 11 0]

The respect for military is so true, ive never seen anything like it. I was in Krogers with my fiance when we asked an older gentlemen employee a question about the British food section, i noticed on his name tag it said 'US Veteran' under his name. When we walked away i asked my fiance why that was on his tag and was in awe that this is the norm and its so people will always recognised the fact they have served their country and treat them with the respect and acknowledgement deserved. I couldnt believe it! I was so impressed lol. Nothing like that kind of recognition in the UK. Absolutely great thing about the USA. :-)

[Nich-Nick 3,354]

On the veteran topic. There is something called Honor Flight for WWII veterans. Many large companies pay the entire cost for their retirees who were WWII vets to visit the memorial in Washington DC. I am familiar with the Dow Chemical sponsored one. The vets each had a Dow employee escort to help them with their wheelchairs, walkers, or other personal needs. They fly on corporate jet to DC and have a day of festivities, meals, lay a wreath for their lost comrades and then return home the same day.

Friends and family gathered for a flag waving "welcome home soldier" type reception when they came off the plane. The road to the airport was lined in flags too. It is quite moving to to those who participate. I knew some of the vets and escorts. I think it is such a nice gesture to do this before all of them are gone.

http://www.honorflight.org/