Parts of UK culture you WONT/DONT miss?

[rascalflatt 6]

Sorry but gonna have to jump in on the whole groceries / convenience / prices thing here...

Groceries and supermarkets in general are WAY cheaper in the UK! There is much more competition between the rival stores there, and as for convenience, I miss having a Tesco Express or equivalent in my neighborhood. Instead now I have to drive to a supermarket....

As for Walmart - it cannot really be compared with a regular supermarket as it mainly stocks non-food.

Try getting a decent baguette or loaf of bread at a good price! Impossible!

[MacUK 983]

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. :-)

We do get a 'Veterans Badge' here in the UK.

But the average British serving/ex service personnel generally aren't really comfortable with getting spontaneous applause although some acknowledgement for service would be nice.

As for schooling, it must vary drastically from state to state. Where I was living in Florida I was actually quite disgusted with the quality of education there.

Maybe Florida isn't the best place to comment about things you don't miss from UK. There's so many Brit tourist and ex-pats there that there were time when it didn't feel too different from good old Blighty, just with better weather.

[Gai 18]

Education on all levels in the US is utterly appalling, unless you make loads of money and can send your children to private schools or Montessori schools. Public schools or religiously aligned schools here are just terrible. Of course, it does vary greatly state-to-state, with the southern (Red) states being some of the worst and the northern (Blue) states being a little better. In my own state, our local district recently received a D+ as far as test scores, and we're one of the best in the state! Our governor is trying to start a voucher system for charter schools to offset the amount of under-performing schools. Ridiculous!

[Anna Grant 169]

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

Oh! I have got so used to this now in the US. My husband couldn't believe it when he came to London and found there were no free refills. Our local cinema also does free refills of popcorn (max 2 refills). We get to the cinema early for the film. Finish our first popcorn before the movie starts. Get another refill. Then get a final refill after the film finishes to take home.

I love the whole drive thru thing in the US. If I'm out, I can 'drive thru':

A coffee from Starbucks (McD's, Dunkin' Donuts, tec)

My bank to pay in a check or use the ATM

My pharmacy to pick up a prescription

A didn't learn to drive until we decided I was going to move to the US, so I was 49 when I passed my test. So the whole 'jump n my car to go anyway' is still quite a novelty. The only time I've taken public transport since I got here is to go 'downtown' in Chicago. You really don't want to drive there!

I also love Target but hate Walmart. The customer service in Walmart is appalling. I only ever go there if I use their 'site to store' because the item is cheaper on Walmart's website.

I love the whole coupon collecting thing over here. I did this in the UK too but it was kinda looked down on. In the US, it's a competitive sport! My husband says 'Let's go out to dinner this weekend. Where would you like to go?' I say 'Let me check where I have coupons for'. I can usually find a coupon for an all you can eat buffet type restaurant for $18.99 for 2 including beverages.

Another thing I don't miss is the drinking culture in the UK. Both my husband and I are tee-total. In the US, this doesn't stand out at all. You can go out for dinner and very few people will be drinking alcohol. At a party, most people will be more controlled in their alcohol consumption. In the UK, it was more commented that we don't drink.

[MacUK 983]

Oh! I have got so used to this now in the US. My husband couldn't believe it when he came to London and found there were no free refills.

There are some places in UK that do free refills.

I love the whole drive thru thing in the US. If I'm out, I can 'drive thru':

A coffee from Starbucks (McD's, Dunkin' Donuts, tec)

My bank to pay in a check or use the ATM

My pharmacy to pick up a prescription

Plenty of drive thru Mickey Ds and even a few Starbucks here too.

Although, I grant you. Banks and pharmacies are still lacking in that department.

I love the whole coupon collecting thing over here. I did this in the UK too but it was kinda looked down on. In the US, it's a competitive sport! My husband says 'Let's go out to dinner this weekend. Where would you like to go?' I say 'Let me check where I have coupons for'. I can usually find a coupon for an all you can eat buffet type restaurant for $18.99 for 2 including beverages.

Really? I've never seen it looked down on to use vouchers or coupons in the UK

Another thing I don't miss is the drinking culture in the UK. Both my husband and I are tee-total. In the US, this doesn't stand out at all. You can go out for dinner and very few people will be drinking alcohol. At a party, most people will be more controlled in their alcohol consumption. In the UK, it was more commented that we don't drink.

That's one of the things I missed about the UK. The ability to go out and just have a sociable drink. At least where I was the general point of view was that if you drink then you are a drunk. So many people I met in the States seemed to be petrified of having a drink in case it turned them in to a monster.

I really missed just nipping out for a pint on a sunny afternoon.