As We Started this Homepage and Laid Out Its' Structure ....
"Living" was going to include Schools, Driving, Have/Have Nots, Climate,
Geography, Electrical, TV / Radio and probably Importing Animals. Some
of those topics are still under development .... but most, it turns out (as a
surprise to us), have been included under "Differences". The surprising
thing is that most of the day-to-day activities are somewhat different. In
any case, this page has developed more into a collection of miscellaneous
observations. This page's fairly random nature is mostly unintentional ....
"living", it seems, doesn't lend itself very well to organisation or
categorisation .... but, in the end, I think we already knew that ....
General Observations, Opinions and Assorted Random Comments:
Mail (Post) is very efficient -- overnight delivery is the rule, not the exception, from about anywhere in the country -- a first class stamp costs 27p -- most bills can be paid at the post office -- return addresses are not particularly popular.
Be aware of the time difference to the US -- all of the UK is on Grenwich Mean Time (GMT), which is 7 hours ahead of Pacific time, 6 hours ahead of Central, and 5 ahead of Eastern. Clocks are changed for Daylight savings time (called summer time) on the same weekends as the US.
Also be aware that the date convention in the UK is different, with the day first, then month -- This can be very confusing. 6/7 here is July 6 (the sixth of the seventh), NOT June 7. We have gotten used to writing out the month for ALL documentation.
UK official Holidays are -- New Year's Day (plus the following Monday if Jan 1 is on a weekend), Good Friday, Easter Monday, The first and last Mondays in May and the last Monday in August(Bank Holidays), Christmas and 26 December (Boxing Day). Obviously no MLKing Day, President's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July (surprise!!), Labor Day or Thanksgiving.
No sales tax here -- instead we have VAT (Value Added Tax at 17%, what a deal). All "shelf" prices include VAT, so you get 1 pence back on a 4.99 purchase with a fiver. Debit cards are very popular, like a credit card, but taken directly from your checking account, with the purchase appearing directly on your checking account statement.
Appointments for repairmen and service people are generally honored as scheduled .... but there is not a strong "sense of urgency" .... "Oh, your furnace isn't working .... well, we'll be out in three days." We watched them paint the trim on our house .... it was completed as scheduled .... but on the top floor, the painter dipped his brush .... trudged up the ladder and applied the paint, then trudged back down for more paint .... another brushful. Patience is more a virtue here than anywhere we've seen ....
So is assertiveness... -- "You think I'll get my insurance policy before the second annual premium is due" .... long pause at the other end of the phone, then (but only then) .... "Let me check on it today". We've also learned .... service people spending more than an hour at your house expect tea .... with a choice of brown or white sugar.
Service in restaurants is very friendly, but not very fast -- the food is normally very good. Tipping is "more optional" than in the US. McD's, Burger King, Pizza (not pissa!!) Hut, KFC are here -- We have not seen Wendy's or Taco Bell.
Our impression is that local pubs are the main places to eat out, as well as socialise. In fact, we had a hard time finding a house to rent. Finally, the real estate broker, said "Well, I do have one more property." It turned out to be just what we were looking for .... when we asked why she hadn't shown it to us earlier, she said "I don't know if I should tell you this, but the nearest pub is .... (horrors) .... a mile and a half away." We still laugh about that.
Generally, the British prefer to conduct business via letters vs. over the phone -- everything is documented (if it ain't, it doesn't really count). The work day usually starts at 8:30 or 9:00 and ends between 5:00 and 6:00 -- this is different than our Midwestern upbringing, and we frankly have not adjusted .... our day still starts between 7:15 and 7:30, and we are "spent" by 4:30. Vacations ("Holiday") seem almost sacred here .... to heck with what's been scheduled, or has come up, at work. Vacations are usually longer as well, about 2 weeks twice a year. Darn Midwestern upbringing getting in the way again -- but we are making every effort to adjust.
Also generalising, the British are much more reserved and understated, much less demonstrative and animated .... often coming across as pompous and stuffy. We've learned that if the only response is "uuunnhhh", you've probably ticked someone off. Although we joke about it, it is important in business dealings -- We often imagine the conversation after we're gone -- "Can you believe those crazy Americans .... how pushy." The lesson .... be alert for and sensitive to subtle signals .... anger, surprise, shock .... even hurt .... normally doesn't show.
Still generalising, the British are friendly and curious about Americans. We have made some good friends in the time we've been here. Being invited to tea, or to the neighbors for a chat or cakes around the holidays is very common, and makes us feel more than "at home". We watch the neighbors house and pets when their gone .... and they watch ours. The local minister hand delivers the monthly newsletter and stays to talk, even though we've never been in the church. Small communities seem very close-knit, and, in our case, have welcomed the "foreigners" with open arms. They've gone out of their way to makes us feel at home .... a part of the village.
We have a milkman where we live .... fresh milk, pasteurised but not homogenised four times a week, along with cheese and bottled water. He brings it right to the door and leaves it in a cooler .... unless the dog is out, in which case he sets it inside the gate .... where the dog (to our shock and surprise) drinks some, and buries the rest for later!!
Newspapers are also somewhat different here -- unlike the US, local papers focus very closely on local issues and news, without much in the way of national coverage. National newspapers, with a few exceptions, also seem to take an overtly biased political stance -- making for more sensationalism, proving the axiom that you can't always believe what you read. We don't regularly subscribe to any, but when we do buy, we get both the local paper plus a National. We vary the National to get a more balanced perspective.
Being further North, the days are much longer in the summer .... sun up at 4:30, sets around 10:00. The downside .... winter .... sun up around 8:00, sets around 4:00. The temperature in central England is much more moderate than the Midwest .... since arriving, we can count on one hand the days where the high was above 85F, or the low was below 25F.
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[Hits Since 03/21/99 16:45 GMT -- {or, English Style, 21/03/99}]
