What do you miss most about the UK?

[Hotter Otter 1,211]

the petrol prices in the US arent better, when you consider the way the engines are ridiculous inefficient. I mean 300 on one tank of gas in a sedan? Jeez.

Only if you buy a proudly made in the US barge or gas guzzling SUV, plenty of fuel efficient European and Japanese made cars on the market. As a side note... why does anyone buy Buick, Mercury, Lincoln, Saturn or any of those brands? Are they stupidly cheap or do people just buy them because they are US brands? They look horrendous!

[Glyn and Kathy 288]

British sausage! Well, we haven't moved back to the US yet, but last time we came back it was something we both missed! We can get just about everything else...oh Staffordshire Oatcakes...can't get those either.

[catie-b 2]

Fruit cake. I LOVE it! I asked my fiance why I couldn't find any anywhere and he said no one really likes it over there, what's that about?? Also Cadbury chocolate (Bourneville especially). My parents promised to send me a miniature hamper of food every Christmas haha.

[rjm_cmyk 75]

Hah, I was thinking the same. Although I hope you're not moving to San Francisco proper like us, where it is pretty much chilly and overcast most days (there's a reason everyone wears hoodies 24/7)! At least in the Bay Area, you're never more than a few minutes drive from ACTUAL decent warm, sunny weather.

Nope - Novato - still get some fog on the hills but it burns off pretty quick. I remember chatting to someone who could afford a house so close to the GGB that he reckoned he spent more time staring at fog than someone in London - he was right. As he said - looks like a great place to live when the sun us shining !

Edited June 15, 2013 by rjm_cmyk

[Zoe&Chris 5]

I would miss a duvet like crazy! I flew my awesome king one out in my hand luggage already when I visited at Easter, so its waiting for me there Luckily my fiance likes duvets too. We also bought a duvet from IKEA in the US though. It was called a comforter but it was exactly the same as a UK duvet, all feathery and lovely. The only difference seems to be that we bought the thickest one for very cold temperatures and it seems like a regular UK duvet - not a special thick one like I use in the winter!

The funniest thing to me is how they call the thing that goes on a comforter a "duvet cover" but don't call anything a duvet. I was on the sears website browsing duvet covers and I kept pressing the button marked duvet to look at duvets but I just got covers. Took some research to find out you just buy a comforter but cos some people don't cover them its not a duvet unless its covered!

Anyway I've got my two duvets now so I should be happy when i move. Now need to work out where my Yorkshire Tea and Nando's sauce is coming from... My fiance loves marmite, even though he is the USC. Luckily our new appartment in Philly is right next to an Indian grocery that sells it.

Also, to the people mentioning clotted cream, I was curious about that earlier this week so I googled it and its ridiculously easy to make - you literally just get heavy whipping cream, put it in the overn at 180F (whatever that is) and leave is 18 hours! I can't wait to try

[rjm_cmyk 75]

Also, to the people mentioning clotted cream, I was curious about that earlier this week so I googled it and its ridiculously easy to make - you literally just get heavy whipping cream, put it in the overn at 180F (whatever that is) and leave is 18 hours! I can't wait to try

That's about 17 hours longer than the scones you bake at the same time will last :-)

[katieflossom 54]

Ok, it's decided, I'm going to open an English tea shop when I finally move to Colorado!

[katieflossom 54]

Things I already know I'll miss (family and friends aside!)

A Sunday roast being normality

Custard creams and trifle (will have to actually start making these things now!)

Country pubs (and sitting by log fires in the winter in country pubs)

Wiltshire accents (my homeland)

Easily catching the bus/train/tube in London (where I live now)

Walking everywhere when I need to

Very few animals/insects here can kill you (in the words of Bill Bailey - but a badger can give you a nasty bite haha)

Never being far from a decent curry

On the plus side, all these things have given me great ideas for starting a business over in the US!

[rjm_cmyk 75]

I think a combined curry house / tea shop is the way to go. Never had a night at a curry house in the style of Brit High Street one in the US. Had some fairly good Indian sub-continent food but never quite the same atmosphere as it's served up as an "international cuisine" rather than the place you go after the pub chucks out....

I have tried to explain to various furriners how the curry-out fits in with British culcha but don't think they've ever got it. At work I once took a Belgian, two Finns, a German and two Dutch guys out for their first curry . Sounds like the lead in to a joke and I suppose it had it's funny side.

[Master Semaj 2]

Can I just add that as someone moving to the Bay Area but currently sitting in Watford listening to the rain hammer down as we start our <cough> summer I really won't miss the weather. Yes I will miss the sunny spring days in the UK and yes I know all about the rain and fog in SF during the <cough> winter.

Haha no way, another Watford-ite? Same here! I'm hoping to get out to the US by the end of the year. I won't miss this weather either.

I say I'll miss the NHS, but the service I have experienced from them when I had previously been quite unwell really paled in comparrison to when I had to use a hospital in the US.

One thing I and my fiancee miss are Heinz baked beans. I converted her to becoming a fan of beans on toast, something that was apparently unheard of over there lol Though its hard to find beans in tomato sauce in her area and their flavours just arent the same as UK Heinz beans.

[Marilyn. 340]

I love beans on toast. I find it hard to find beans not in tomato sauce over here. I dislike those kind I prefer them in a brown sugar type sauce..

[Owen_London 65]

I've been living in the Houston suburbs now for about 7 months. These are just some of the things I miss:

- the temperate climate

- UK friends and family

- good curry (especially Shad Indian - incredibly good, and a mile from my flat)

- great beer

- proper bacon

- public transport and the ability to walk everywhere

- my brass band

- museums and other culture in London

- the green and rolling countryside and beautiful scenery a few hours' drive away

- politics that are only slightly depressing

But then these are things I wouldn't have in the UK:

- my new family

- tex-mex (for those in Houston, I got taken out to Alicia's for Father's Day yesterday, and it was great, as it nearly always is)

- great steak

- a huge house in a nice area for the price of a 1-bed flat in central London

- a pool in walking distance

- a job (possibly - the UK office where I worked closes in two weeks)

- incredible scenery a short plane ride away (we went to Arches National Park over Memorial Day weekend)

[JoannaV 174]

Anyway I've got my two duvets now so I should be happy when i move. Now need to work out where my Yorkshire Tea and Nando's sauce is coming from... My fiance loves marmite, even though he is the USC. Luckily our new appartment in Philly is right next to an Indian grocery that sells it.

Amazon sells Yorkshire Tea.

Fruit cake. I LOVE it! I asked my fiance why I couldn't find any anywhere and he said no one really likes it over there, what's that about?? Also Cadbury chocolate (Bourneville especially). My parents promised to send me a miniature hamper of food every Christmas haha.

Oh yes! Fruit cake! Can't believe I forgot that! My mother sent us some a few months ago. Most of the stuff you find over here labelled "fruit cake" is like congealed gelatised fruit, or something.

Edited June 17, 2013 by JoannaV

[NotworkSte 19]

I laughed the photo in post #2 because my first case had crumpets too!

I can list my top 5 in no particular order except 1 and 2 (and not including family which is a given).

1 - NHS

2 - British holidays - American time off is pathetic. And they scam you with PTO which means they roll sick days into your vacations

3 - Bacon

4 - Cadbury

5- Tayto

Agree with the same poster above too, health care is political but it is real world. If you don't have good coverage, you're going to be in for a shock. Everyone is out to get your money. Everyone specializes. Getting seen for something involves taking labcorp tests in run down area of cities and being pushed from pillar to post by various specialists, whose only efficient thing they do is billing. My wife got wheeled into hospital with heart issues and I was followed closely behind with an administrator looking for a credit card payment. It was a wake up call for sure. I'm not turning this into a debate on the pro's and con's, just that if you need to use a hospital, guaranteed it will become the biggest issue you will deal with and you will be shocked.

I wish I had my old 6 weeks vacation. God knows me and my team work hard enough for it.

Woodbridge is nice, they have an Ikea there my wife liked to go to every weekend. The whole NOVA area I liked a lot, and much different from the chain link fences and sandy run down verges of Florida. Lived there for about a year.

[elmcitymaven 9,712]

The butcher at the end of my road has gone all posh and will now do me proper bacon! Very exciting. Coupled with the REAL Cadbury's chocolate, Aero bars, Yorkie bars and Malteasers now available at the little grocery next door (run by Indian Sikhs), I am nearly fine.

It's weird -- nearly six years back over here, and I guess I feel pretty American again most of the time. But I still get words "wrong" all the time, and feel flummoxed by healthcare and political viewpoints, and get funny looks from people when what I'm doing runs against the grain. The funniest thing is that my boyfriend has now picked up sayings from me without thinking about it, and people are now taking the piss out of him!