THE DIVERSITY. I knew London was diverse but geez louise! I’m pretty sure on a day to day I encounter someone from every continent in the world. It’s extremely facinating and comforting at the same time. I’ve never been in a room yet where everyone looks the same.
WHERE”S THE BRITISH ACCENT? Because of the diversity, I hear so many accents aside from the British accent. Even when Sunita was visiting she was like, “I thought I would hear way more of the British accent.” It’s actually kind of interesting because you don’t really hear it as much as you think you would.
AM I HOME? London is a lot like NY and Boston…ok so this part I knew already but it kind of just hit me hard again this time. London to me is the NY of Europe, it’s such a hustle out here and fast paced. Everyone is on the move! Some neighborhoods look JUST like NY and others look JUST like Boston. To my knowledge, applying history, the settlers that first came to Boston were from England so I can imagine they built the city to replicate the one they came from. Shrugs*
ONLINE SHOPPING. Online shopping SUCKS….Amazon Prime is not the same here at all, it doesn’t offer the same variety as the States, not even close. And a lot of online stores in general still don’t ship to UK or it’s super expensive. Simple things I could buy easily at home are a bit of a hassle here.
NO ONE STOP SHOP. Stores are more compartmentalized. You’re not finding a super Walmart or Target out here! Which means you have to bounce around to different stores to complete your shopping list. I couldn’t even find normal scissors at Boots which is a popular convenience store/pharmacy chain out here.
PARKING. People park facing any direction on the street. Its very odd. So all the cars are parked lined up any which way along the side of the street.
OUTLETS. This part I actually like. The outlets have switches so you can turn the electricity on or off. I imagine this saves you a bit of money. (At least my place is like this, not sure if it’s everywhere)
ELECTRICITY. You have to “top up” your electricity. At least in my flat you do. I take a little key down to the local store and add more money to it it so it’s like a prepaid phone for electricity. I actually like this way better because you have way more control over how much you spend on electricity. You can check the meter to see when you’re running low. It cost me less and a pound a day. So cheap!
LANGUAGE. The first time I was in London I kept asking where the “restroom” was and people were directing me to the lounge area. Which actually make sense. I know they know that word here, but I guess I was asking the wrong people. The most common things to say when you are asking for the bathroom is to ask for the “toilet.” It’s so weird because back home that’s not very classy to say, but here it is normal. I find myself asking now, “Where’s the toilet?” I better switch back though before get back to the States and people look at me funny! Also sometimes I have a hard time understanding people. When they talk really fast with the British accent, I sometimes get lost on certain words. I just pretend I heard and nod along.
WEATHER. It’s not as gloomy as people say. Yes it’s cold and actually it’s been the rainiest the past few days then during my entire stay but overall the vibe of London doesn’t feel gloomy. I think because the city is always bustling with people and quite energetic. It makes up for the sun going down before 4pm!
This was such a good post! I’m a dual citizen of the UK/USA and I couldn’t agree more. Especially with the language difference. I always end up saying “toilet” in America and “restroom” in England – it’s so annoying.
I loved my visit to london but i havent lived there, so this is a very interesting post.
This was such a good post! I’m a dual citizen of the UK/USA and I couldn’t agree more. Especially with the language difference. I always end up saying “toilet” in America and “restroom” in England – it’s so annoying.
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Haha glad I’m not the only one!!