What Won't You Miss About The UK?

[Mags 112]

In reading this thread I'm struck by the enormous similarities between the two countries. To a letter, nearly everything not-missed about the UK exists over here (with the exception of an actual difference between bacon styles).

Whether or not one country is more violent in the ways described here (muggings, fights, etc), depends almost entirely on where in the US you live. Urban centers? Muggings. Farmland? Not so much. One neighborhood in San Francisco - muggings and murder. A lot of other neighborhoods, nary a broken car window. To generalize either country is a bit foolish (though now that I've said that, I really can't imagine the UK - England specifically - being more objectively violent than our gun-crazed culture here, but that's all impression formed from years of watching US media coverage, which rolls around in blood as often as possible).

And the weather, hard water, US-chav concentration, humidity, damp, etc, are all present in various parts of the land. We're just more geographically diverse - so it's easier to find a place that's not-UK here.

I agree (apart from the bacon issue! ) with the fact that all of these things are present in the USA aswell as the UK. But, the UK is a huge press driven country (MUCH more than the USA) and I certainly know that when I was there 4 months ago the constant barrage of news and newspapers reporting the increase of crime was depressing. I guess, from the majority of comments here, that this is half the problem. Ignorance IS bliss if...you can get away from the news.

In contrast I find the USA coverage rather secular. It tends to stick to the state you reside in, local papers are hilarious. Today's news from Indianapolis was something along the lines of a fire in a suburban house. Oh and there are some serious kick ####### thunderstorms coming too. Compare that to the UK news where you get the news from the whole country...and there is a difference (I do realise that the USA is much larger though, so news from all over would take hours). I'm not insulting the USA, I actually prefer this. I like feeling cut off (I live in a very small city, an hour west of Indy) and not hearing serious depressing news has been lovely. I'm sure in busier cities this differs greatly though but I don't want to experience that!

I lived in London and, of course, this has many of the issues mentioned in this thread. My area was relatively quiet and had one of the lowest crime rates in London...but you still got the gangs of kids hanging around, being abusive and this was in a pretty affluent suburban area. Here in Indiana the only kids I see hanging around are on their bikes or just playing. No abusive behaviour, no rudeness, nothing.

What would you prefer? I know what my answer is...

[featherB 1]

Pigeons.

I will not miss pigeons. Specifically, I will not miss the flock of the bloody things that wakes me up every morning flapping and cooing outside my window... hideous birds! I never understood why people hated pigeons so much 'til this particular flock of hell-birds took up residence here. I open the back door and there's about 30 of them crammed shoulder to shoulder along my 'garden' (tiny concrete yard) fence, glaring at me with their red pigeon eyes. It's like something out of The Birds... they're going to get me, I know it!!!

And yeah, I know there's pigeons in the US, but the only ones I've seen are pretty little dove things, not the horrible mutant creatures that you get in London... must be that diet of chewing gum, cigarette butts and discarded kebab that makes them so, um, 'special'.

[lizaanne 0]

I'm not from the UK, the hubby is, but being there once I can tell you exactly what I do not miss.....

Chavs

Public bathrooms

Lack of a decent shower in most places (I could never get the showers to work right)

Garbage on the side of the road and on the side of the train tracks, and graffiti

Drunken teenagers on just about every night of the week.

But I still can't wait to get back there in September.

~Liza

[Leney 0]

It's sort of funny, growing up you always hate where you were born. I always hated being from rural Pennsylvania - the cows, the old farts, the nosey neighbors, the inbred hillbillies, the general lack of culture. I had quite a culture shock moving from rural PA to urban Scotland. I was terrified

I miss Scotland a lot despite my list below, it's the only place other than home I've ever really been homesick for.

What I definitly don't miss about where I lived in the UK:

Neds (aka chavs)

Violence/muggins/fights outside our house at 2am

Litter/Broken glass everywhere

Panhandling

People asking "Bumma **?" (grr I don't smoke!)

Heroin dealers/Junkies

VAT

####### dollar to pound exchange rate!

Techno music

Orange fake tan women (oompaloompas!)

Pound coins (at first I thought this was clever, then my jeans started to sag from carrying too much change )

Getting laughed at when I said pants instead of trousers

[flutter95 4]

feather b That was hilarious! Doesn't it just freak you out when you see their little legs end in gnarled nubs?

I actually disagree lizaanne, I prefer english showers, ones here are weird - but I guess its all in what we are used to

[britty 1]

I will not miss the humidity and the mold (although the humidity makes my fingernails grow better). I won't miss how every time I ask for help in a store, that person always says "you need to go ask someone else." ####### customer service for the most part!

But I will miss Chocolate Hobnobs!!

but you dont need to miss chocolate hobnobs because the Harris Teeter chain stores now stock them !! (also found them at my local Whole Foods). Also, at World Market (another store!), you can get imported cadburys dairy milk, whole nut, and cadburys caramel. They also do my fave, Turkish Delight, so that explains me being 6lbs heavier. :-)

[ajames79 0]

he hee!

I do not miss turkish delight!

never been a fan.

Tastes like flowers to me!

You just reminded me of it!

[flutter95 4]

What I think is funny is when you live somewhere and enjoy things (I'm talking about chocolate, cakes, biscuits, bacon etc etc), you basically take it for granted because its there, you can have it whenever that you end up NOT having it whenever.

When you leave it, you can get it, so if you find it somewhere you binge and eat more than you used to of it just cause you CAN get to it!

[Mags 112]

Pigeons.

I will not miss pigeons. Specifically, I will not miss the flock of the bloody things that wakes me up every morning flapping and cooing outside my window... hideous birds! I never understood why people hated pigeons so much 'til this particular flock of hell-birds took up residence here. I open the back door and there's about 30 of them crammed shoulder to shoulder along my 'garden' (tiny concrete yard) fence, glaring at me with their red pigeon eyes. It's like something out of The Birds... they're going to get me, I know it!!!

And yeah, I know there's pigeons in the US, but the only ones I've seen are pretty little dove things, not the horrible mutant creatures that you get in London... must be that diet of chewing gum, cigarette butts and discarded kebab that makes them so, um, 'special'.

Pigeons are just rats with wings. Hate the buggars and, without being too graphic here, their poop REALLY stinks.

[flutter95 4]

Pigeons.

I will not miss pigeons. Specifically, I will not miss the flock of the bloody things that wakes me up every morning flapping and cooing outside my window... hideous birds! I never understood why people hated pigeons so much 'til this particular flock of hell-birds took up residence here. I open the back door and there's about 30 of them crammed shoulder to shoulder along my 'garden' (tiny concrete yard) fence, glaring at me with their red pigeon eyes. It's like something out of The Birds... they're going to get me, I know it!!!

And yeah, I know there's pigeons in the US, but the only ones I've seen are pretty little dove things, not the horrible mutant creatures that you get in London... must be that diet of chewing gum, cigarette butts and discarded kebab that makes them so, um, 'special'.

Pigeons are just rats with wings. Hate the buggars and, without being too graphic here, their poop REALLY stinks.

Thats true though, but to be honest, what poop doesn't stink?

[Dr_LHA 3]

I clearly am not allowed to miss my home town, because according to Boris Johnson MP, its "one of the most depressed towns in Southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...ire/6521603.stm

Actually, now I think about it, one of the things I don't miss about England is Boris Johnson.

[Mags 112]

Pigeons.

I will not miss pigeons. Specifically, I will not miss the flock of the bloody things that wakes me up every morning flapping and cooing outside my window... hideous birds! I never understood why people hated pigeons so much 'til this particular flock of hell-birds took up residence here. I open the back door and there's about 30 of them crammed shoulder to shoulder along my 'garden' (tiny concrete yard) fence, glaring at me with their red pigeon eyes. It's like something out of The Birds... they're going to get me, I know it!!!

And yeah, I know there's pigeons in the US, but the only ones I've seen are pretty little dove things, not the horrible mutant creatures that you get in London... must be that diet of chewing gum, cigarette butts and discarded kebab that makes them so, um, 'special'.

Pigeons are just rats with wings. Hate the buggars and, without being too graphic here, their poop REALLY stinks.

Thats true though, but to be honest, what poop doesn't stink?

Good point!

I clearly am not allowed to miss my home town, because according to Boris Johnson MP, its "one of the most depressed towns in Southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...ire/6521603.stm

Actually, now I think about it, one of the things I don't miss about England is Boris Johnson.

Good old Boris Johnson. Sticking his foot in it again!

[Dr_LHA 3]

Actually he's quite misinformed as well. Portsmouth has 2 MPs, and only one is Labour (the other being LibDem). I guess 1 is too many for him though.

[fozzie 41]

Pigeons.

I will not miss pigeons. Specifically, I will not miss the flock of the bloody things that wakes me up every morning flapping and cooing outside my window... hideous birds! I never understood why people hated pigeons so much 'til this particular flock of hell-birds took up residence here. I open the back door and there's about 30 of them crammed shoulder to shoulder along my 'garden' (tiny concrete yard) fence, glaring at me with their red pigeon eyes. It's like something out of The Birds... they're going to get me, I know it!!!

And yeah, I know there's pigeons in the US, but the only ones I've seen are pretty little dove things, not the horrible mutant creatures that you get in London... must be that diet of chewing gum, cigarette butts and discarded kebab that makes them so, um, 'special'.

Pigeons are just rats with wings. Hate the buggars and, without being too graphic here, their poop REALLY stinks.

Thats true though, but to be honest, what poop doesn't stink?

Good point!

I clearly am not allowed to miss my home town, because according to Boris Johnson MP, its "one of the most depressed towns in Southern England, a place that is arguably too full of drugs, obesity, underachievement and Labour MPs."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england...ire/6521603.stm

Actually, now I think about it, one of the things I don't miss about England is Boris Johnson.

Good old Boris Johnson. Sticking his foot in it again!

Good ol' BJ. He makes uk politics interesting.

I disagree with the comments about police officers being better here!!! They are too gung ho! here and not the brightest stars in the sky. (Generalisation - sorry to any us police officrs out there)

[Fandango 1,439]

Tell you what. Dave's not from London or a big city...and my life pre-Dave was always big city...New York then Ft Laud/Miami. Before I went there, I was very similar to many who thought that 'UK=London'

And it was a VERY wierd adjustment having a big city girl get used to living in a village, but now after reading this thread...I can't say there's a lot that I can agree with in my own experience there. But I didn't have any probbos with the heat at all...it was always really pretty with all the fields and sprawling green. We were right off the coat and it was not uncomfortable at all for me. I didn't really experience all that much crime...where we lived everyone looked out for everyone. I had never felt such a sense of community as I did there. Walking down the street and people pipping their horns...pulling over asking if I needed a lift, etc. Going to the local where everyone was happy to see you, just sitting around havin some good craic. It is so different than the high paced life I'm used to living (much like London) where it's hot, cramped, fast, rude, etc...Oh, and I must be nuts cos I loved the cold, dark, dreary weather.

I did hate:

Sunday shopping hours...omG #######!!! Actually ALL shopping hours except for Thursday and holiday hours.

Brit Bacon (but we found a Tesco's which had streaky, lol)

The size of most fridges there (#######?)

VAT

the price of ciggies/gas

Instant coffee when you go to visit someone? ####### I SAY!

actually, how expensive many things were. good fruit, for instance.

Chavs (tho they're REALLY funny in Sunderland) 'giz a tab or I'll hit your mate, oh' lol <---actually said to a friend of mine. Two friends walking along, one really small, one really big. So the chavs said that to the big one, hahhahaha. I also hate the fact that they've ruined a Burberry pattern that I had stuff in and now I'm ashamed to wear any of it.

Gotta agree with Amanda about Turkish delight...gross flowery stuff.

I also don't miss the fact that I couldn't find that day glo orange mac n cheese powder anywhere, lol...or real saltines for that matter. But that's strange cos I wanted them all the time there, but haven't eaten it once since back, lol.

I'm sure there's more but I gotta go!