Thank you to everyone who has watched this and left a comment. I have made a video to respond to all these comments, check it out here: th-cam.com/video/vBEYjh757So/w-d-xo.html
We have only one currency Sterling However many that can issue there own sterling renditions Scotland and Ireland the most noted It would be like each state makeing there version of the doller But to be accepted universally I think that would be cool And the new UK notes are some of the most secure in the world But I do have a question I know Canada have the doller Is it a different doller IE Canadian doller or can it be used in the states too ¿?
There is only one currency here and that’s pound Sterling, what you are mixing up is the fact that banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland can print their own notes but they are still £ Sterling
I second that and will extend on that by saying that as they scotland and northern island print there own notes they have their own design so that is why they look like a different currency. I was always told as long as it has sterling on then it is okay. The only exception I would say is that you cant accept money from the isle of man jersey or guernsey as they are crown dependences and have their own banking system and currency.
Scottish currency is NOT LEGALLY acceptable currency for payment in England and Wales. It is up to individual stores if they want to take it. Just the same if a store in England wants to accept the Japanese Yen or Euro for payment. I would refer to the Bank of England website if people can't understand this. Many people in the UK also confuse the term 'legal tender'. This is an English and Welsh law term which means a judge orders payment in English pound sterling. It doesn't mean that Scottish bank notes are legally acceptable for payment South of the Border. They are not.
American here living in the UK for over 20 years. There is loads of variety in supermarkets here as much as in the USA. It’s just that people here want other types of variety. I can get pretty much anything I can think of that I missed from across the Atlantic. If the supermarkets don’t sell it, Amazon or other online retailers will. My top tip would be try the local version or something similar. You’ll soon get used to it and most likely discover loads of new things that you’ll come to love.
Thank you for saying this, I was confused when they mentioned this. I would actually argue there is far more variety when it comes to Indian, Italian, Carribbean foods especially.
I hate england its soo depressing, all you see all day is counsel estates with wet leaves on the ground and you hear old women coughing and everyone is so ugly
You got to remember that many Anerican foods contain ingredients that are banned in the EU and UK. Especially breakfast cereals, there are flavourings and E-numbers that are just not allowed here. American foods tendt to be over processed. But you guys will get it, you only been here a couple of years.
My culture shock when returning back to the UK, was the overwhelming feeling of feeling safe, safe in the knowledge I wouldn't be shot for accidentally strolling onto private land,
@@ramrod1752 then when eventually you get your passports and learn America is not on everyone’s list globally don’t visit 😂 Iv been to the states and was quite shocked !! Attitude and naivety !! 🇬🇧
The reason you had problems finding eggs is simple. In the US eggs are washed removing a natural protective layer and so have to be kept in the refrigerator to keep them fresh. In the U.K. we don’t wash off the natural protective layer so our eggs do not have to be refrigerated. Meaning our eggs are the home bakery isle US eggs are in the chiller section.
As a Brit when visiting the USA, my culture shock is not being able to buy passable artisan quality food at reasonable prices in regular grocery stores. So for example, bread - ALL the bread in regular grocery stores in America is plastic packed low quality mass produced stuff. In the UK, we have that too but you can also go to the in-store bakery where they make the at least half decent fresh bread every day and pay just a little more for it. In the US, you would have to go elsewhere and find a specialist artisan bakery store.
This was actually one of my favorite things about moving here. I love bread and totally agree that it just sucks in your average American grocery store.
As a real American native American I came to the UK at the age of 14 to be with my Welsh father I love this country the history culture and living in Wales it's fantastic also my family back in my native American country can't get over the fact my health care is free , I told them all about Wales and the UK they loved the history and I've even taught some of Them Welsh and my Welsh family my native language ,
These 2 make Americans look bad, and have the whole “America is so much better in every way” vibe instead of just being informative. They also sounded dumb, and didn’t bother to fact check their assumptions they just sat back and laughed at. Plus I didn’t really gain any insight at all after watching this. I am American planning to relocate, and am genuinely curious about the topic.
So interesting because I am from NZ and I had the opposite experience! I found the USA had less variety than NZ, but the UK had more in their supermarkets... weird!
These two, seem to be encouraging the US American stereotype by equating, 'if it's not like the US, it's bad'. They got so much wrong in this short video and come across as ignorant and arrogant.
I'm from England and moved to the US when I was 17. The cultural shock was unbelievable. Gun violence, drugs, and overall crime just to name a few. I lived in NJ. NJ and NY people are not the most warm and friendly.
As a New Yorker, i think we're nice it's just that lots of us have cold personalities and lots of people confuse that with being "rude" or "mean". If you ask us a question about how to get somewhere, you'll find lots of helpful people.
Im from london Im going to minnestona how ever you spell it next year to visit my cousin and see if I like it, but every time I go somewhere for holiday I always get homesick and start to miss london so much thats why I don’t travel alot because I love staying in london.
The 'variety' thing, in supermarkets, is weird. American supermarkets have oodles of the same stuff ie different 'brands' of the same stuff. British supermarkets, on the other hand, have loads of stuff, but fewer brands.I have an allegiance to very few brands: Lurpak butter, Andrex toilet paper, Tetley Tea (I prefer Ringtons but can't afford it) and Heinz Ketchup. So, I found American supermarkets to be limited. Like I said, 'weird'!
@@ShelbeyHunt Pukey-Gold!? Seriously, that stuff is rank! But, you're catered for in that department, in most UK stores. The variety of different items, especially in the 'fruit and veg' section of UK stores and the 'ready meal' section, knock US supermarkets out of the park. I don't wish to appear churlish; there might be a dozen different peanut butters to choose from, over there, but that's not 'variety', it's just more of the same. Doubtless, there are items which you consider 'essentials' and they'll be very hard to come by, over here. Eggnog - the origins of which are widely debated - has been, largely eschewed in the UK, because we have mulled wine. The Puritans, unhappy that people were having fun, founded your country. :) .
@@ShelbeyHunt having lived in California I hated the supermarkets , just masses and masses of the same thing, but just in every bloody artificial flavour you can think of, plus if I want just some cling film, why I'm god's name are there about 50 different varieties 🤣🤣..at first I thought I'd never get to leave and would be celebrating countless birthdays roaming the aisles for ranch dressing 🤣
We do not have different currencies in the U.K., we only have the Pound Sterling, we do however have lots of different pound notes in circulation in each country within the U.K. for example, each country is allowed to print its own bank notes to reflect the culture of the country. But each country can not just print money without any control. All money is regulated by the Bank of England. All bank notes are designated pounds and have exactly the same value across the entire U.K.
Not quite true. In Scotland and Ireland, it is individual banks that are allowed to print their own notes. But they can only do so if they first deposit an equivalent sum with the Bank of England, which then prints special high denomination notes to that value and locks them away in its vaults. The Scottish or Irish bank then issues its own notes up to that value. There is a good video here: th-cam.com/video/AYRtfeXqZkI/w-d-xo.html which talks about the Bank of England £100million "titan" banknotes and the £1million "giant" banknotes.
The coins are also different, one side bears the Sovereign's head and the other often has national or commemorative designs. As far as I know, all UK coins are "struck" by the Royal Mint, which is based in Llantrisant, South Wales.
I’ve heard the variety thing said before in regards to shopping. I think in the U.K. there’s more of a focus on variety of items, rather than variety of brands
I’m English and married to an American. He’s lived here for quite a few years now and is becoming nicely anglicised! 😂 When we visit the country of his birth, and go to a supermarket, I’m just stunned at how expensive it is for basic items. He’s got used to me screeching, “Oh my god! How much?” every 10 seconds now! The funny thing is that the in-laws like us to take over supplies of things they can’t get there, like decent chocolate for one! Anyway, I love your sense of humour 🙂
dont know what supermarkets you were using, but i would suggest going outside and using a real one, there are loads around, and all with a HUGE variety of stuff for sale, EVEN filter coffee or coffee beans, believe it or not. gods sake, even lidl and aldi sell filter coffee! stop looking for over processed american"food style" products.
We found in the U.S.A. Supermarkets that so much food & cookies (biscuits) are crammed FULL OF SUGAR. That’s why there is so much variety on American shelves.
As far as I'm aware, eggnog wthout alcohol is not commonly drunk here in the UK. However, it can still be a tradition at Christmas to buy a bottle of advocaat, which combines egg, sugar and brandy into a thick creamy liquid, usually diluted by lemonade to your taste. It's often called a 'snowball'. It looks innocent, but it can get your granny quite squiffy drinking it. Robert, UK
I'm not ancient but every Christmas when I was a kid from the age 13 up my mum would allow me to drink a small bottle of Babycham while watching the Christmas movie then during Christmas lunch she would allow me to have small glass of wine which always went well with lunch. Later when I was a bit older i bought a 4 pack of Snowball for Christmas even though it has this reputation of being fashioned something only your granny would drink i tried it and really enjoyed it. So my Christmas tradition is to have a Snowball at Christmas because I enjoy it. I don't drink alcohol for the rest of the year only at Christmas and new year i allow myself to drink wine during my Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day Lunch and New Year's Eve dinner and New Year's Day lunch. That's my festive tradition.
We dont really drink eggnog. According to wikipedia, it started as a rich mans drink in the UK (as only the rich could afford strong alcohol, cream and eggs in quantity. It made it over the US in the 18th century where the colonists subbed brandy out for rum, which was cheap. They also had large amounts of dairy so it became popular. I've drank it once. At christmas we'll have mulled wine or get smashed on low quality lager.
Brits don't drink inadequate eggnogs. In fact....your average Brit wouldn't touch them with a ten foot barge pole. This is probably the main reason as to why you struggled to find them in the U.K.
I've recently learnt about this. Why the hell would you put the price tag on an item and then charge the customer more when paying for it?😕 Talk about disingenuous.
The reason why you need proof of address to open a bank account is mainly for money laundering regulations. You may well have money but where did it come from - drug dealing, asset stripping from a former communist country?! I don't mean you of course but you get the point. By the way I think its harder opening a bank account in other European countries, ditto supermarket choice.
@@JonathanMarques98America is decades behind, all our taxes are done electronically and we get monthly salary statements that account for the deductions. An address has to be registered with the local authority, proven with bills, credit cards, driving licenses and passports. It's a way more secure system as they have the tax, expenditure and income records from the last paycheck as well.
Actually,getting shops to accept Scottish currency in English shops is often a problem (also there are 3 Scottish banks each with their own designs,on top of which they have a £100 note,something we haven't had in England since 1945)🎩
I haven’t lived in usa but a mind blowing thing for me (I’m from Scotland, U.K.) was how wide the gaps are between the doors and doorframes of public toilets…that’s something I think I will never get used to, one other is the size of items at Walmart, buckets of cheese balls, massive massive bags of crisps, and the different tax rates in cities, my brain is drained calculating what my total spend is each time I do a haul at target 🤓
Im american and in the case of the giant space between the floor and bathroom doors, i feel like it’s so we can see if it’s occupied or not. If we see someone’s feet on the floor, that’s how we know the stall’s taken. Idk. It’s confusing
@@anthonylong9067 you can see the people walking by your stall quite clearly so it’s disconcerting to feel they can see me in the toilet just as clear….it’s definitely something I don’t think I could get used to lol
I regularly visit the states and shop in a range of supermarkets. There is a huge variety in some sections, but plenty of items that I can get in my local Sussex town are completely missing. Specifically, game and venison, most quality cuts of lamb and the range of sausages, cooked meats and varieties of cheese. The fish counter is much more restricted than our town market fishmonger and the poultry is generally not very good quality. I wanted to cook a meal with partridge for my American family and it turned out that my only option was to buy a whole box that would be air freighted from another state. At home they are plentiful and very inexpensive. I know that it is regional in the USA, but also the farmers markets in the Carolinas are nowhere near as good as in England. I think the UK puts much more emphasis on local provenance; most of what we eat is produced locally or within our allotment. That is a concept which doesn't exist with my American daughter-in-law and her family. It is great to shop in large, uncrowded, US supermarkets and it work well for the local specialities, such as crab and prawns in South Carolina, but our regular diet does not match up with what is available on the rows of shelves. Food of the equivalent provenance is generally way more expensive in the USA than in the UK.
@Rita Roork Our weekly farmers market sells venison, rabbit, wood pigeon, pheasant, partridge, quail, wild duck, as well as the more mainstream items such as lamb, mutton, and poultry. All of it is sourced from within ten miles. Likewise, there is produce that we don't have at hand when I shop in South Carolina.
When I went on vacation I would sit on tables in restaurants next to Americans to listen to their funny comments about the country they were in - their failure to understand other countries was usually breathtakingly hilarious. I would definitely sit close to you two!
What’s amusing about American people moaning about the lack of variety of groceries in the UK, is that when you visit them in the US, they buy the same things every day, week or month. Variety is just like really old churches in the UK… No one notices until it’s no longer there.
You all right? To me, an Englishman, the American version of "What's up?" has the same meaning that "Are you all right" has to Americans. We ask people who are upset, "what's up?" . Nothing is up, what do you mean, is there a problem!? Haha! Funny how the two mean the same thing and are perceived as the opposite meaning on both sides of the pond!
Hey there, so just update you, there is only one currancy in the UK, the pound sterling. It just that different banks in the 4 different devolved countries within the UK print different styles of notes. Great video 😎👍
true however there are no welsh notes, the Irish pound, it's not legal tender in England and an English business does not need to accept it (but can choose to) unlike the Scottish pound which is legal tender in England and must be accepted, but is harder to process so business do not like to use it. (counting machines are set up for the English pound notes)
Have never had egg nog! Only 1 currency for all countries in UK, pound sterling printed differently in Scotland etc, far more variety of food that not over processed. Eggs safer as do not need refrigeration as natural protection not removed.
One thing you didn’t mention but many Americans do react to in similar TH-cam videos is the fact that eggs are not refrigerated in Western Europe. The US is one of the very few countries that wash their eggs but this removes the CUTICLE, a natural protective barrier, and thereby they need refrigeration. Without washing eggs stay fresh for weeks at room temperature. You also didn’t mention that the U.K. drive on the left, one of only three European countries, the other two being Malta & Cyprus. But over 60 countries, one THIRD of the world, drive on the left and these countries have a total population of 2.5 Billion.
@@ShelbeyHunt our supermarkets here have everything that you need, what fake shite couldnt you get here that you can get in america, cheese out of can or something like that,cheetos, shite like that maybe lol
America's can't find the different grades of chlorinated chicken they desire, or good soaked in so much salt and sugar they are inedible to anyone with taste buds.
What are you talking about we have one currency? The bank notes may have been issued by banks in different UK nations but the currency is still pounds Stirling.
Oh your poor devils getting your culture shock ;) !! However! It gave me some fun and a laugh too ;) I am going to enjoy your channel! Thank you both for a fun laugh! :) Happy Christmas too LOL
A few years back on one of my many American adventures I was travelling in the South and asked if there was a bus going to a place we wanted to visit. I was told by the hotel receptionist no but by the waitress at the diner yes. I lined up for the bus (which went exactly where I wanted to go) and soon struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. She was quite lovely but a bit concerned for us. I had not noticed we were the only white people on the bus, which was filled by workers going home from the tourist area. She reassured me I was fine, not that I was anything other than curious. She said when the kids got out there might be a few whites riding the bus so maybe as they grow up things will change. I am from a city in the UK where we had our very own bus boycott in the 60s... I thought America was a leader in civil rights and they would never stand for any kind of segregation there. Anyway I went back on my own a couple of years later and rode the busses every day for a fortnight... loved every bit of it... searching out the real America.
I’m from the UK and currently live here, but I have lived in the USA in NC. banking here especially card transactions over the contactless limit is more secure than the US. As is our tax system, thankfully! Food wise, i can’t agree. The choice here is far superior than I found in Food Lion for example, Walmart is ok but quality here is better, cost in USA is less for sure.
Let’s face it. If it’s not American, it’s wrong. If it’s not what you eat or drink in America, it’s wrong. If our houses aren’t like American houses, they’re wrong. If we don’t drive on the same side of the road as Americans, it’s wrong. Americans don’t have a culture shock when they travel to other countries, they suffer from culture denial. They weren’t born in the land of the free, they only think they were. They are shocked when they arrive in Europe and find that WE live in the Land of the Free. Freedom of choice to create supermarkets how we like them and we’re not surprised to find when we visit France, Germany, Spain and so on, that they are Free too. They have designed supermarkets that stock the foods the inhabitants of the particular country have freely chosen ie the food THEY like. We, as travellers, absolutely love that, and enjoy experiencing foreign culture without feeling the need to tell the locals it’s wrong or constantly say it’s not like in America. Over many years and on numerous occasions I’ve travelled extensively by car in America and Canada, going from extreme North to the very tip of Florida…also from the East coast to the West coast and loads of detours into various towns. I have always thought of the locals as friendly and accepting. When in school a teacher gave us a mantra that’s served as good advice for anyone sensible enough to take notice, “Before opening mouth, please engage brain.”
Came back to the UK after 31 years in the States and find the UK supermarkets are far superior to the US. The US supermarkets are full of TV dinners, lots of processed, sweet, high cholesterol and generally unhealthy food. Yes we have unhealthy food as well but not nearly so much. Of course there is chicken,pork, beef,lamb like here and many many more of the same. More on the shelves there,, quantity not so much variety.
My wife and I have just recently returned from visiting her sister and family in New Jersey … we went to the local supermarket (Shop Right) we found it to be a really nice place well set out and stocked with lots of fresh produce and an excellent deli counter with lots of different cold meats and cheese they also had some really good fresh bread options … we tried the Sourdough fruit and nut ( very tasty) but it was $10 dollars and it wasn’t a full size loaf … what we found as we went around the store was that on average the prices were around a half to two thirds more than what we pay over here in the UK ! We were quite shocked by how much the Americans are over paying for their groceries …..
A note about notes. The different bank notes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland are all pounds sterling, there is only one currency. However, the status of the Scottish and Northern Irish notes is legally different, not just different designs. The notes and coins issued by the Bank of England (the ones with the Queen on) are the legal tender currency of the UK, all across the UK. The Bank of England is the central bank for the whole UK and has had a legal monopoly on issuing banknotes in England and Wales, but not Scotland and Northern Ireland since 1921. In Scotland and Northern Ireland a number of commercial banks have permission to issue notes of their own. However, these are technically promissory notes and the banks are obliged to hold an amount of Bank of England currency or gold equal to the value of the notes they issue. These notes are therefore not legal tender, even in Scotland and Northern Ireland. That is to say, you are not legally obliged to accept them in payment. Confusing? Yes, it's the UK. Welcome. It is foolish not to accept Scots and Northern Irish notes, as when you pay them in to your bank they will treat them exactly like Bank of England notes. Also, as Rachel found, refusing them can also be taken as a personal and national insult and can lead to long, heated, tedious, and ill informed arguments about them being legal tender (they're not) and, in extreme cases, can end with you suddenly blacking out and then coming to on your hands and knees picking your teeth up off the floor.
The reason why we don't take non-BoE notes at work (shop) is simply nobody knows whether they are the current notes or whether they are withdrawn/old ones. The shop's bank might refuse to take out-of-date notes. I mean, who the hell knows/remembers what a 1978 Clydesdale note looked like? If you try to pay that into the bank, the cashier won't know, so will dither and go to get the manager, who likewise won't probably know and spend ten minutes contemplating it or going off to ring someone about it. Etc. Etc. Whilst you can always redeem a note against the issuing bank as a one-off - I run a shop and want to pay it in easily with the rest of my take.
Scottish currency. Your not the only one. You can go into large stores in London and they will take dollars, euros etc. Hand them a Scottish £20 and they look at you like you have 3 eyes.
@@lisaroberts8135 I've done it several times. I live about 30 miles south of the Scottish Border and even here there are places which don't like taking Scottish notes
I'm from Northern Ireland ( which has been part of the UK since 1921) and have had that exact same problem with using Notes printed by our own banks, Shops won't accept them anywhere in Wales, where I live now, Nor pretty much everywhere in England, and to a small part in Scotland, though they're not too bad. I always have to go into a bank and exchange it for a Bank of England note. I was in a post office and wanted to pay for something they told me they don't accept foreign notes, I'd have to use the foreign exchange based in the same shop, I got in line and low and behold who served me only the same fella, took my note, and handed me a £10 back if it was a foreign note would there not have been an exchange rate. He knew full well that my NI note was legal tender, was just being an arse.
I've heard that American practice is to wash eggs or sanitise them and that this strips off a protective layer which keeps eggs fresh. Is that true? as a result American practice is to refrigerate. Our eggs can keep longer out of a fridge. Here's how I know when an egg is fresh(apart from date) that is to put an egg in a pan of water.If it stays laying on it's side horizontal it's fresh, if it tips toward the vertical a little, not so fresh.
I don't know where you are shopping in England but Tesco and all the main supermarkets have a large selection of stuff from around the world. You can buy food or ingredients to make food even American brands. You need to open your eyes.
We used to live right by a Tesco extra in Cardiff but now the two we go to the most is a large ASDA and a large Sainsbury’s and I can tell you that there is quite a difference in selection between a US supermarket and a UK one. I’m not sure what you mean by open our eyes, we have lived here for over two years and have been to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose, M&S, and more.
@@ShelbeyHunt explain to me what the difference is between the two. Because I don't see a problem. Also all Tesco Extras are small. What can you get in America you can't get here?
@@juliantompkins9650 Also, let me clarify something, maybe I should have said variety. And it really is hard to convey the differences unless I flew you to America and had you go around a grocery store there. Or how about this, when I walk into any grocery store, there will be a section, maybe 2-3 rows for the produce. A typical produce section in the US would take up the same amount of space, plus all the space for the refrigerated stuff and probably the next few aisles that usually contain cleaning supplies and toiletries. And that doesn't mean you wouldn't have all those aisles cause you still would have all of that.
The Eggs and bread are always at the back of the supermarket, furthest away from the entrance because as they are such essential items, you need to walk through the whole store to get to them. That means that you will pick up a whole load of things that you did not actually know you needed. Hey ho!
As a British person who loves Egg Nog when in the US here's a tip around Christmas time...buy a bottle of Advocaat, pour a decent shot then add lemonade and a slice of lime and you now have a Snowball, which for some Brits is Yuletide in a glass 😉
Oh yes, I grew up with Snowballs each Christmas. They were the taste of Christmas. Still have them to this day. But, of course (unwritten rule) only at Christmas!
The number of people in UK drinking eggnog is about the same as those of us that have catfish and grits for breakfast. [ as offered to me, on a visit to the USA ] l had difficulty finding the culture there, until l realised it was mainly in the yogurt. 😊
So glad I stumbled on this. Not least because of the attention to grammar - which I like (I'm like that, or so I'm told). But also because my brother went to Texas A&M. Go Aggies! Admittedly, it was a very long time ago and we're British, but he spent a year there and he has repeatedly told me ever since (and regularly) that it was a life-changing experience. I'm a bit older than him so, being in gainful employment and reasonably solvent at the time, in the middle of his year I flew over to visit him at College Station (this would be in '95). That was an amazing time. The sheer size of the campus (not to mention the football stadium!) just blew me away. And we went to Houston one day with some of his friends to visit the Johnson Space Center - something I will never forget. We were not American novices having lived in Denver in the late 70s/early 80s when we were little kids, but to visit Texas in my 20s? That was fantastic. I know this video was over a year ago so I hope you're still having a good time if you're still in the "Motherland" (lol). If not, I wish both of you all the very best in whatever you're doing now. Thanks for the fun cross-cultural insights :)
50 slightly different packs of the same cereal, isn't really more choice, when only two companies make all of them. It's the appearance of choice that fools US Americans.
My husband and I lived in The UK in the 70s. One of the culture shock moments for us was when we had a knock at our door and there was a truck with a satellite dish on it. We were told we were in violation of the Television license fee. We were supposed to pay a license fee to watch the TV. And if you didn’t pay it they came knocking at the door. What a shock. Then there was the time a British teenager asked me if we really travelled in covered wagons like she watched on TV.
We were told by some friends about the tv license so we avoided getting any kind of cable. Luckily today there is plenty to watch on streaming services.
Strictly, the TV license (at present, £159 for the year) applies solely to anything produced by the BBC. At one time, there was only the BBC as a programme outlet, but those days are long gone now.
@@2eleven48 they now claim it’s for using a tv set or device for any live tv of any kind not just the bbc? I know they lie a lot . For example if you don’t have a license they keep sending bogus letters we are visiting on the 20th of this month. But when you open the letter it states lower down “will you be in”? Lool
4:09 The middle note is old Irish currency which has now been replaced by the Euro, which is not legal tender in the UK. You should have shown a note from Northern Ireland.
There are a lot of English people who don't realise that the Scots and Irish banks issue their own notes. I used to visit Scotland quite frequently and made a point of coming back with Scottish bank notes. The look on some English people's faces when I presented them as payment was a picture to behold. 🤣🤣
@@scottirvine121 There is nowhere in England or Wales, that (if they actually take cash) can refuse Scottish or Northern Irish Banknotes as they are legal currency (legal tender is it own thing and let's not go there).
Been to America more times than I can count, but more recently it was holiday related, but the biggest "shocks" I have are in no particular order 1, Flying the Flag, us Brits just don't do it, but Americans....... OMG!!!! everywhere you look are Flags 2, Paying for goods then getting shafted by tax being added on......... such a shitty thing to do 3, Tips for "employees", you've got a job plus a wage!!! do your job, get paid by your employer, don't expect me to give you extra!!!!! I HATE this part of America, tipping - - - 4, Healthcare is a total shambles........... every American should be downright ASHAMED 5, Homeless people, never seen so many anywhere, and I've been all over the world. Don't get me wrong, we love going there on holiday, in fact our last 5 holidays have all been Las Vegas, but these five things really opened my eyes
Eggs are not needed to be refrigerated in the UK, We don't wash the eggs , which destroys the natural way of protecting any germs entering the egg.The chickens are also kept in a better and cleaner environment. I always buy Free Range eggs, from the Supermarket.
'Free range' means no more than 13 hens (because all the male chickens are killed) per square metre and access to open-air runs for half their lifetime (all 56 days of it). Not the idyllic picture of animal welfare you may imagine. 'Barn eggs' are even worse and little better than battery farming.
2 days into my holiday in Germany, 3 of my culture shocks; 1) They sell cigarettes in Aldi and Lidl. 2) You're allowed to smoke in bars. 3) The roads are massive. And 4) No pubs. Honestly, I miss them.
The two brothers that started Aldi split the stores between Germany and The US years ago over selling cigarettes. The brother who rab the American stores would not sell cigarettes in American stores.
The UK does not have different currencies, it uniquely has different issuing banks for pound sterling bank notes in different constituent countries. Scotland has 3 issuing banks and Northern Ireland has 4. As mentioned, England and Wales use Bank of England banknotes. That middle note shown was not UK sterling, it was a pre-Euro, Republic of Ireland Irish pound / punt. Nothing to do with the UK.
This is just weird... 1) UK supermarkets aren't understocked - how much choice do you need?! 2) Egg-nog isn't really a thing here - but I've known people make their own. Why would you buy some weird pre-prepared crap if it's that special 3) Scottish/N. Irish banknotes are odd when you come across them (although it's rare in England). It's not difficult though as they're worth exactly the same. 4) I prefer filter coffee and literally EVERY coffee shop does it. It's normally the cheapest by a mile too.
Very fun video! Keep them coming. One moment of culture shock that still stands out to me was when I first arrived in Beijing and would watch this street food vendor guy preparing my dubiously named "Taiwanese Pancake" while smoking a cigarette with a centimeter-long head of ash hanging precariously over the food. Naturally, I kept coming back and ordering the same thing.
If it says STERLING on it you can accept it, you have to remember Scotland and NI are separate countries so of course their money is printed different to that of England's....But it is ALL sterling so just check for that and you're good. Also I've never seen that Eggnog in my life, think most Brits stick to Advocaat but even that's not the same... TBH Eggnog is just not a thing here.
To be pedantic (sorry) the only notes that are legal tender in the UK are issued by the Bank of England. Various Scottish banks issue their own notes which MAY be accepted but B of E notes MUST be accepted. As for the Republic of Ireland, that is a foreign country which is in the British Isles but not the UK. Would people in the US accept Mexican pesos? ........................................................the ancient Englishman
As a brit ur wrong about the coffee in literally every supermarket in the Isle there are huge choices for its ground coffee not filter perhaps that's why you couldn't find it
Thank you to everyone who has watched this and left a comment. I have made a video to respond to all these comments, check it out here: th-cam.com/video/vBEYjh757So/w-d-xo.html
GO BACK TO USA!!
We have only one currency
Sterling
However many that can issue there own sterling renditions
Scotland and Ireland the most noted
It would be like each state makeing there version of the doller
But to be accepted universally
I think that would be cool
And the new UK notes are some of the most secure in the world
But I do have a question
I know Canada have the doller
Is it a different doller IE Canadian doller or can it be used in the states too ¿?
Nice job of the original reaction I will watch now
We don't drink eggnog?
@@madyottoyotto3055 Stop being a fool. Can you use Pakistan rupees in India? Educate yourself. This is 21st century. 😠
There is only one currency here and that’s pound Sterling, what you are mixing up is the fact that banks in Scotland and Northern Ireland can print their own notes but they are still £ Sterling
I second that and will extend on that by saying that as they scotland and northern island print there own notes they have their own design so that is why they look like a different currency. I was always told as long as it has sterling on then it is okay. The only exception I would say is that you cant accept money from the isle of man jersey or guernsey as they are crown dependences and have their own banking system and currency.
Don't forget Isles of man the Channel Inlands as well
Scottish currency is NOT LEGALLY acceptable currency for payment in England and Wales. It is up to individual stores if they want to take it. Just the same if a store in England wants to accept the Japanese Yen or Euro for payment. I would refer to the Bank of England website if people can't understand this. Many people in the UK also confuse the term 'legal tender'. This is an English and Welsh law term which means a judge orders payment in English pound sterling. It doesn't mean that Scottish bank notes are legally acceptable for payment South of the Border. They are not.
Ive seen plenty of price tags in euros.
@@COMEINTOMYWORLD Wrong my friend, they are as acceptable as any other form of exchange. They are just not legal tender, not even in Scotland.
American here living in the UK for over 20 years. There is loads of variety in supermarkets here as much as in the USA. It’s just that people here want other types of variety. I can get pretty much anything I can think of that I missed from across the Atlantic. If the supermarkets don’t sell it, Amazon or other online retailers will. My top tip would be try the local version or something similar. You’ll soon get used to it and most likely discover loads of new things that you’ll come to love.
Thank you for saying this, I was confused when they mentioned this. I would actually argue there is far more variety when it comes to Indian, Italian, Carribbean foods especially.
I hate england its soo depressing, all you see all day is counsel estates with wet leaves on the ground and you hear old women coughing and everyone is so ugly
A very good comment 👍
As the old saying goes "When in Rome do as the Romans"
There is more chose in any supermarket in Mexico than England
@@lorenaledger6547 You mean 'choice'.
We Brits have mulled wine in the Christmas season. We are not in to eggnog.
Wrong.
You got to remember that many Anerican foods contain ingredients that are banned in the EU and UK.
Especially breakfast cereals, there are flavourings and E-numbers that are just not allowed here.
American foods tendt to be over processed. But you guys will get it, you only been here a couple of years.
My culture shock when returning back to the UK, was the overwhelming feeling of feeling safe, safe in the knowledge I wouldn't be shot for accidentally strolling onto private land,
Oh please ! 😂
As an English person I have no idea why I find Americans on youtube moving to the UK so amusing.
It is and sometimes it’s Americans taking the piss.
They must like the crap weather!
The majority of Americans have no passport ! These are the chosen few 😂 that think America is still important !! 🇬🇧
@@ramrod1752 then when eventually you get your passports and learn America is not on everyone’s list globally don’t visit 😂 Iv been to the states and was quite shocked !! Attitude and naivety !! 🇬🇧
@@ramrod1752 good 👍 I’m old enough to be your mother or grandmother ! 😂 come on then. X age does not matter ? It’s a European thing 😉 x
The reason you had problems finding eggs is simple.
In the US eggs are washed removing a natural protective layer and so have to be kept in the refrigerator to keep them fresh.
In the U.K. we don’t wash off the natural protective layer so our eggs do not have to be refrigerated.
Meaning our eggs are the home bakery isle US eggs are in the chiller section.
US eggs are nowhere...they're not sold in UK for not meeting food standards.
@@avaggdu1with the word "US eggs" he was clearly saying "eggs in the USA"
From sunny South Africa 🇿🇦, I found it amusing to see Americans keeping eggs in the fridge. Thanks for the clarification.
As a Brit when visiting the USA, my culture shock is not being able to buy passable artisan quality food at reasonable prices in regular grocery stores. So for example, bread - ALL the bread in regular grocery stores in America is plastic packed low quality mass produced stuff. In the UK, we have that too but you can also go to the in-store bakery where they make the at least half decent fresh bread every day and pay just a little more for it. In the US, you would have to go elsewhere and find a specialist artisan bakery store.
This was actually one of my favorite things about moving here. I love bread and totally agree that it just sucks in your average American grocery store.
That’s definitely not true. I go to the in-store bakery and buy fresh bread that was made that day or the day before.
That isn’t accurate. Every major grocery store has a bakery where they have different baked breads versus mass produced aisle
@@puterbac still nowhere near the quality of British bread though
@@glastonbury4304 may very well be true, but I can’t comment as only been to Germany a couple of times.
As a real American native American I came to the UK at the age of 14 to be with my Welsh father I love this country the history culture and living in Wales it's fantastic also my family back in my native American country can't get over the fact my health care is free , I told them all about Wales and the UK they loved the history and I've even taught some of Them Welsh and my Welsh family my native language ,
You would be Jones The Apache.
These 2 make Americans look bad, and have the whole “America is so much better in every way” vibe instead of just being informative. They also sounded dumb, and didn’t bother to fact check their assumptions they just sat back and laughed at. Plus I didn’t really gain any insight at all after watching this. I am American planning to relocate, and am genuinely curious about the topic.
No multiple currencies in the U.K. Different notes but all pounds sterling!
So interesting because I am from NZ and I had the opposite experience! I found the USA had less variety than NZ, but the UK had more in their supermarkets... weird!
Where in the U.S were you?
These two, seem to be encouraging the US American stereotype by equating, 'if it's not like the US, it's bad'. They got so much wrong in this short video and come across as ignorant and arrogant.
I'm from England and moved to the US when I was 17. The cultural shock was unbelievable. Gun violence, drugs, and overall crime just to name a few. I lived in NJ. NJ and NY people are not the most warm and friendly.
As a New Yorker, i think we're nice it's just that lots of us have cold personalities and lots of people confuse that with being "rude" or "mean". If you ask us a question about how to get somewhere, you'll find lots of helpful people.
I spent a night in JFK and that immediately became apparent especially the not being warm and friendly part.
Im from london Im going to minnestona how ever you spell it next year to visit my cousin and see if I like it, but every time I go somewhere for holiday I always get homesick and start to miss london so much thats why I don’t travel alot because I love staying in london.
"British people have been drinking inadequate eggnog..."
No. British people have not been drinking eggnog.
We did invent it, so we must have drank it at some point!
Don't even know what it is 😂
@@Mutzig79 you missed the point
@@fenman7147 Nope, hack daniels said we have not been drinking eggnog, and I replied as we invented it, we must have drank it at some point
Mulled wine is what we're on at christmas
The 'variety' thing, in supermarkets, is weird. American supermarkets have oodles of the same stuff ie different 'brands' of the same stuff.
British supermarkets, on the other hand, have loads of stuff, but fewer brands.I have an allegiance to very few brands: Lurpak butter, Andrex toilet paper, Tetley Tea (I prefer Ringtons but can't afford it) and Heinz Ketchup.
So, I found American supermarkets to be limited.
Like I said, 'weird'!
That is an interesting way of looking at it. Understand the brand loyalty thing as we only buy Kerry gold butter
@@ShelbeyHunt Pukey-Gold!? Seriously, that stuff is rank!
But, you're catered for in that department, in most UK stores.
The variety of different items, especially in the 'fruit and veg' section of UK stores and the 'ready meal' section, knock US supermarkets out of the park.
I don't wish to appear churlish; there might be a dozen different peanut butters to choose from, over there, but that's not 'variety', it's just more of the same.
Doubtless, there are items which you consider 'essentials' and they'll be very hard to come by, over here.
Eggnog - the origins of which are widely debated - has been, largely eschewed in the UK, because we have mulled wine.
The Puritans, unhappy that people were having fun, founded your country.
:)
.
You have convinced me that the puritans left because of eggnog!
@@ShelbeyHunt Ha!
@@ShelbeyHunt having lived in California I hated the supermarkets , just masses and masses of the same thing, but just in every bloody artificial flavour you can think of, plus if I want just some cling film, why I'm god's name are there about 50 different varieties 🤣🤣..at first I thought I'd never get to leave and would be celebrating countless birthdays roaming the aisles for ranch dressing 🤣
Still not sure wether this was made to have a dig and piss off us Brits!
Would recommend listening to Amanda Rae
We do not have different currencies in the U.K., we only have the Pound Sterling, we do however have lots of different pound notes in circulation in each country within the U.K. for example, each country is allowed to print its own bank notes to reflect the culture of the country. But each country can not just print money without any control. All money is regulated by the Bank of England. All bank notes are designated pounds and have exactly the same value across the entire U.K.
Best summarised as One Legal Tender - 3 Currencies.
Not quite true. In Scotland and Ireland, it is individual banks that are allowed to print their own notes. But they can only do so if they first deposit an equivalent sum with the Bank of England, which then prints special high denomination notes to that value and locks them away in its vaults. The Scottish or Irish bank then issues its own notes up to that value. There is a good video here: th-cam.com/video/AYRtfeXqZkI/w-d-xo.html which talks about the Bank of England £100million "titan" banknotes and the £1million "giant" banknotes.
@@claratrevlyn5304 Ireland is not part of the UK.
You are right. The whole of the island of Ireland is not part of the UK. However, part of the island of Ireland IS part of the whole of the UK.
The coins are also different, one side bears the Sovereign's head and the other often has national or commemorative designs. As far as I know, all UK coins are "struck" by the Royal Mint, which is based in Llantrisant, South Wales.
I’ve heard the variety thing said before in regards to shopping. I think in the U.K. there’s more of a focus on variety of items, rather than variety of brands
Often in US it looks like massive variety of a product. But in reality its all from 1 or 2 companies, masquerading as different.
I bet someone said "I think you'll find that's legal tender".
Always counter with I am sorry but it’s not....not even in Scotland
I’m English and married to an American. He’s lived here for quite a few years now and is becoming nicely anglicised! 😂 When we visit the country of his birth, and go to a supermarket, I’m just stunned at how expensive it is for basic items. He’s got used to me screeching, “Oh my god! How much?” every 10 seconds now! The funny thing is that the in-laws like us to take over supplies of things they can’t get there, like decent chocolate for one! Anyway, I love your sense of humour 🙂
dont know what supermarkets you were using, but i would suggest going outside and using a real one, there are loads around, and all with a HUGE variety of stuff for sale, EVEN filter coffee or coffee beans, believe it or not. gods sake, even lidl and aldi sell filter coffee! stop looking for over processed american"food style" products.
We found in the U.S.A. Supermarkets that so much food & cookies (biscuits) are crammed FULL OF SUGAR. That’s why there is so much variety on American shelves.
As far as I'm aware, eggnog wthout alcohol is not commonly drunk here in the UK. However, it can still be a tradition at Christmas to buy a bottle of advocaat, which combines egg, sugar and brandy into a thick creamy liquid, usually diluted by lemonade to your taste. It's often called a 'snowball'. It looks innocent, but it can get your granny quite squiffy drinking it. Robert, UK
I'm not ancient but every Christmas when I was a kid from the age 13 up my mum would allow me to drink a small bottle of Babycham while watching the Christmas movie then during Christmas lunch she would allow me to have small glass of wine which always went well with lunch. Later when I was a bit older i bought a 4 pack of Snowball for Christmas even though it has this reputation of being fashioned something only your granny would drink i tried it and really enjoyed it. So my Christmas tradition is to have a Snowball at Christmas because I enjoy it. I don't drink alcohol for the rest of the year only at Christmas and new year i allow myself to drink wine during my Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day Lunch and New Year's Eve dinner and New Year's Day lunch. That's my festive tradition.
Coffee in the US is horrid! They drink Robusta, not Arabica. That's an abomination.
We dont really drink eggnog. According to wikipedia, it started as a rich mans drink in the UK (as only the rich could afford strong alcohol, cream and eggs in quantity. It made it over the US in the 18th century where the colonists subbed brandy out for rum, which was cheap. They also had large amounts of dairy so it became popular. I've drank it once. At christmas we'll have mulled wine or get smashed on low quality lager.
Ah thanks for the info, and that totally makes sense.
It’s awful, so that’s a big factor.
@@ShelbeyHunt Try and get some advocaat - I think it's pretty much the same sort of thing.
@@hedonistkandi it’s not
Brit here who lived in Texas for 17 years. I miss egg nog 🙂. (We don't have it here.) It's quite calorific, though.
I'm English, lived my whole life here and I also find "Alright?" baffling and stupid. I say yes thanks I'm fine...
Brits don't drink inadequate eggnogs. In fact....your average Brit wouldn't touch them with a ten foot barge pole. This is probably the main reason as to why you struggled to find them in the U.K.
I thought the bigger shock would've been that tax is included in the price in the UK, whereas in the US, you get rather a surprise at the till....
True, and it is different depending on the state so if you are visiting somewhere else your surprise may be bigger than you expected!
@@ShelbeyHunt Monthly food shopping keeps the heart fluttering no doubt...
@@ShelbeyHunt Yep. Minnesota's good for clothes. I still wear T-shirts I bought there twenty years ago!
I've recently learnt about this.
Why the hell would you put the price tag on an item and then charge the customer more when paying for it?😕
Talk about disingenuous.
@@grahamtravers4522 I'll buy you a t-shirt or two!
You’ve got the right sense of humour to live here.👍🏻
Thank you!
Never even tasted eggnog. I don't think it's common or easily found in all of Europe. We drink mulled wine at Christmas, lol.
Yeah, from the comments it for sure seems like egg nog just is not a thing here. We do enjoy a good mulled wine around Christmas
Ivy Ruonakoski I also have never sampled Egg Nogg. If I wanted something in that line I would buy Dutch Advocaat. I have been told they are similar.
_Warnincks Advocaat_ is in every supermarket booze aisle. Normally near the Sherry. Much nicer than that stuff in a box you showed. 🥴
@@keithparker5103 That's exactly what I drink at Xmas...always!....
@@ShelbeyHunt I need an egg nog or instant bank account like a small Yule log 😀
The reason why you need proof of address to open a bank account is mainly for money laundering regulations. You may well have money but where did it come from - drug dealing, asset stripping from a former communist country?! I don't mean you of course but you get the point. By the way I think its harder opening a bank account in other European countries, ditto supermarket choice.
And how does an address prove that? lol. In the USA you have to pay yearly taxes we’re they see all the inflow and outflow of your money.
@@JonathanMarques98America is decades behind, all our taxes are done electronically and we get monthly salary statements that account for the deductions. An address has to be registered with the local authority, proven with bills, credit cards, driving licenses and passports. It's a way more secure system as they have the tax, expenditure and income records from the last paycheck as well.
Actually,getting shops to accept Scottish currency in English shops is often a problem (also there are 3 Scottish banks each with their own designs,on top of which they have a £100 note,something we haven't had in England since 1945)🎩
I haven’t lived in usa but a mind blowing thing for me (I’m from Scotland, U.K.) was how wide the gaps are between the doors and doorframes of public toilets…that’s something I think I will never get used to, one other is the size of items at Walmart, buckets of cheese balls, massive massive bags of crisps, and the different tax rates in cities, my brain is drained calculating what my total spend is each time I do a haul at target 🤓
Im american and in the case of the giant space between the floor and bathroom doors, i feel like it’s so we can see if it’s occupied or not. If we see someone’s feet on the floor, that’s how we know the stall’s taken. Idk. It’s confusing
@@anthonylong9067 you can see the people walking by your stall quite clearly so it’s disconcerting to feel they can see me in the toilet just as clear….it’s definitely something I don’t think I could get used to lol
@@jennyli7749 I dont think half the population here are used to it, to be fair. Lol
I regularly visit the states and shop in a range of supermarkets. There is a huge variety in some sections, but plenty of items that I can get in my local Sussex town are completely missing. Specifically, game and venison, most quality cuts of lamb and the range of sausages, cooked meats and varieties of cheese. The fish counter is much more restricted than our town market fishmonger and the poultry is generally not very good quality.
I wanted to cook a meal with partridge for my American family and it turned out that my only option was to buy a whole box that would be air freighted from another state. At home they are plentiful and very inexpensive.
I know that it is regional in the USA, but also the farmers markets in the Carolinas are nowhere near as good as in England.
I think the UK puts much more emphasis on local provenance; most of what we eat is produced locally or within our allotment. That is a concept which doesn't exist with my American daughter-in-law and her family.
It is great to shop in large, uncrowded, US supermarkets and it work well for the local specialities, such as crab and prawns in South Carolina, but our regular diet does not match up with what is available on the rows of shelves.
Food of the equivalent provenance is generally way more expensive in the USA than in the UK.
@Rita Roork Our weekly farmers market sells venison, rabbit, wood pigeon, pheasant, partridge, quail, wild duck, as well as the more mainstream items such as lamb, mutton, and poultry. All of it is sourced from within ten miles. Likewise, there is produce that we don't have at hand when I shop in South Carolina.
@Rita Roork They live natural lives and do not suffer the stress of abattoirs.
When I went on vacation I would sit on tables in restaurants next to Americans to listen to their funny comments about the country they were in - their failure to understand other countries was usually breathtakingly hilarious. I would definitely sit close to you two!
What’s amusing about American people moaning about the lack of variety of groceries in the UK, is that when you visit them in the US, they buy the same things every day, week or month. Variety is just like really old churches in the UK… No one notices until it’s no longer there.
You all right? To me, an Englishman, the American version of "What's up?" has the same meaning that "Are you all right" has to Americans. We ask people who are upset, "what's up?" . Nothing is up, what do you mean, is there a problem!? Haha! Funny how the two mean the same thing and are perceived as the opposite meaning on both sides of the pond!
The problem with America is you have too much choice. Its off the scale
Why do you need 15 different types of dog food or washing powder?
Hey there, so just update you, there is only one currancy in the UK, the pound sterling. It just that different banks in the 4 different devolved countries within the UK print different styles of notes. Great video 😎👍
Thanks for the clarification. That helps explain it.
true however there are no welsh notes, the Irish pound, it's not legal tender in England and an English business does not need to accept it (but can choose to) unlike the Scottish pound which is legal tender in England and must be accepted, but is harder to process so business do not like to use it. (counting machines are set up for the English pound notes)
@@beatles9880 Ah, that sounds more like what Rachel's boss said when he explained it.
Some places in international tourist hot spots like central London and Windsor accept Euros.
... and you forgot the Isle of Man, with its own notes and coins, which are also useable in the UK.
Have never had egg nog! Only 1 currency for all countries in UK, pound sterling printed differently in Scotland etc, far more variety of food that not over processed. Eggs safer as do not need refrigeration as natural protection not removed.
Too funny I didn't realise how weird it was for foreigners to get used to the UK way of life.
Just remember queue queue queue lol
And we came from a place that can be similar in some ways!
....and say sorry
@@andym9571 sorry I forgot to say sorry 😞
@@robertcreighton4635 so sorry I had to remind you.
Don't worry they aren't Russian..
Americans who move to a totally different country, and moan about not having American things in said country.
One thing you didn’t mention but many Americans do react to in similar TH-cam videos is the fact that eggs are not refrigerated in Western Europe.
The US is one of the very few countries that wash their eggs but this removes the CUTICLE, a natural protective barrier, and thereby they need refrigeration. Without washing eggs stay fresh for weeks at room temperature.
You also didn’t mention that the U.K. drive on the left, one of only three European countries, the other two being Malta & Cyprus. But over 60 countries, one THIRD of the world, drive on the left and these countries have a total population of 2.5 Billion.
The funny thing is that we did mention it but I cut it out as we are planning to eventually do a video just on grocery stores.
They drive on the left on the Republic of Ireland, too.
@@timash4101 👍👍
@@ShelbeyHunt We call grocery stores supermarkets
@@ShelbeyHunt our supermarkets here have everything that you need, what fake shite couldnt you get here that you can get in america, cheese out of can or something like that,cheetos, shite like that maybe lol
Dw im 18 and has lived in the same little english village my whole life....the scottish money difference, i only just realised
America's can't find the different grades of chlorinated chicken they desire, or good soaked in so much salt and sugar they are inedible to anyone with taste buds.
British supermarkets don’t lack variety, they just don’t have as many pre-made stuff
What are you talking about we have one currency? The bank notes may have been issued by banks in different UK nations but the currency is still pounds Stirling.
The need for identity when banking etc is anti money laundering legislation.
2 years and still getting it wrong!
Iceland is the best supermarket because they bring it in bags to your house.
As do all the other supermarkets, except Aldi and Lidl.
@@miaschu8175 Sainsburys does not! No bags there!
Why would you want eggnog... it has raw egg.. raw egg = salmonella...... Christmas is all about mauled wine
Oh your poor devils getting your culture shock ;) !! However! It gave me some fun and a laugh too ;) I am going to enjoy your channel! Thank you both for a fun laugh! :) Happy Christmas too LOL
A few years back on one of my many American adventures I was travelling in the South and asked if there was a bus going to a place we wanted to visit. I was told by the hotel receptionist no but by the waitress at the diner yes. I lined up for the bus (which went exactly where I wanted to go) and soon struck up a conversation with a fellow passenger. She was quite lovely but a bit concerned for us. I had not noticed we were the only white people on the bus, which was filled by workers going home from the tourist area. She reassured me I was fine, not that I was anything other than curious. She said when the kids got out there might be a few whites riding the bus so maybe as they grow up things will change. I am from a city in the UK where we had our very own bus boycott in the 60s... I thought America was a leader in civil rights and they would never stand for any kind of segregation there. Anyway I went back on my own a couple of years later and rode the busses every day for a fortnight... loved every bit of it... searching out the real America.
The UK doesn’t not have different currencies: it’s all Pound Sterling, it’s just that the national central banks can print their own pound notes.
I’m from the UK and currently live here, but I have lived in the USA in NC. banking here especially card transactions over the contactless limit is more secure than the US. As is our tax system, thankfully! Food wise, i can’t agree. The choice here is far superior than I found in Food Lion for example, Walmart is ok but quality here is better, cost in USA is less for sure.
Let’s face it. If it’s not American, it’s wrong. If it’s not what you eat or drink in America, it’s wrong. If our houses aren’t like American houses, they’re wrong. If we don’t drive on the same side of the road as Americans, it’s wrong. Americans don’t have a culture shock when they travel to other countries, they suffer from culture denial. They weren’t born in the land of the free, they only think they were. They are shocked when they arrive in Europe and find that WE live in the Land of the Free. Freedom of choice to create supermarkets how we like them and we’re not surprised to find when we visit France, Germany, Spain and so on, that they are Free too. They have designed supermarkets that stock the foods the inhabitants of the particular country have freely chosen ie the food THEY like. We, as travellers, absolutely love that, and enjoy experiencing foreign culture without feeling the need to tell the locals it’s wrong or constantly say it’s not like in America. Over many years and on numerous occasions I’ve travelled extensively by car in America and Canada, going from extreme North to the very tip of Florida…also from the East coast to the West coast and loads of detours into various towns. I have always thought of the locals as friendly and accepting. When in school a teacher gave us a mantra that’s served as good advice for anyone sensible enough to take notice, “Before opening mouth, please engage brain.”
Came back to the UK after 31 years in the States and find the UK supermarkets are far superior to the US. The US supermarkets are full of TV dinners, lots of processed, sweet, high cholesterol and generally unhealthy food. Yes we have unhealthy food as well but not nearly so much. Of course there is chicken,pork, beef,lamb like here and many many more of the same. More on the shelves there,, quantity not so much variety.
My wife and I have just recently returned from visiting her sister and family in New Jersey … we went to the local supermarket (Shop Right) we found it to be a really nice place well set out and stocked with lots of fresh produce and an excellent deli counter with lots of different cold meats and cheese they also had some really good fresh bread options … we tried the Sourdough fruit and nut ( very tasty) but it was $10 dollars and it wasn’t a full size loaf … what we found as we went around the store was that on average the prices were around a half to two thirds more than what we pay over here in the UK !
We were quite shocked by how much the Americans are over paying for their groceries …..
You sure got that right and with Uncle Joe and Power it's only going to get worse!😢
I don’t know any English person that drinks eggnog. I mean seriously, wtf is it?
Eggs are used to make cakes so that might be why they were in the baking section.
Many US Americans, especially in the cities and big towns, do not bake or know how to in many cases.
A note about notes.
The different bank notes issued in Scotland and Northern Ireland are all pounds sterling, there is only one currency. However, the status of the Scottish and Northern Irish notes is legally different, not just different designs. The notes and coins issued by the Bank of England (the ones with the Queen on) are the legal tender currency of the UK, all across the UK. The Bank of England is the central bank for the whole UK and has had a legal monopoly on issuing banknotes in England and Wales, but not Scotland and Northern Ireland since 1921.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland a number of commercial banks have permission to issue notes of their own. However, these are technically promissory notes and the banks are obliged to hold an amount of Bank of England currency or gold equal to the value of the notes they issue. These notes are therefore not legal tender, even in Scotland and Northern Ireland. That is to say, you are not legally obliged to accept them in payment. Confusing? Yes, it's the UK. Welcome.
It is foolish not to accept Scots and Northern Irish notes, as when you pay them in to your bank they will treat them exactly like Bank of England notes. Also, as Rachel found, refusing them can also be taken as a personal and national insult and can lead to long, heated, tedious, and ill informed arguments about them being legal tender (they're not) and, in extreme cases, can end with you suddenly blacking out and then coming to on your hands and knees picking your teeth up off the floor.
That is interesting.
Bank of England notes and coins are only legal tender in England.
The reason why we don't take non-BoE notes at work (shop) is simply nobody knows whether they are the current notes or whether they are withdrawn/old ones. The shop's bank might refuse to take out-of-date notes. I mean, who the hell knows/remembers what a 1978 Clydesdale note looked like? If you try to pay that into the bank, the cashier won't know, so will dither and go to get the manager, who likewise won't probably know and spend ten minutes contemplating it or going off to ring someone about it. Etc. Etc. Whilst you can always redeem a note against the issuing bank as a one-off - I run a shop and want to pay it in easily with the rest of my take.
We don't drink eggnog over here....at all! I don't know anyone who does. That's why what you purchased was rubbish, it's not a UK thing 🤷🏿♂️
It's one currency. Worth exactly the same. Just different bank notes in different countries of the UK.
Well..you`re going to find us a bit weird....because we`re a bit weird.
Alright?
Yeah but we are a bit weird as well so we can all be a bit weird together!
Nah mate , you got to be the right type of weird. I'm not sure what that is , so you'll probably be fine.
🙂
Scottish currency. Your not the only one. You can go into large stores in London and they will take dollars, euros etc. Hand them a Scottish £20 and they look at you like you have 3 eyes.
Not true
@@lisaroberts8135 I've done it several times. I live about 30 miles south of the Scottish Border and even here there are places which don't like taking Scottish notes
@@harrymc9263 I’ve never had a problem spending Scottish notes in Cornwall
I'm from Northern Ireland ( which has been part of the UK since 1921) and have had that exact same problem with using Notes printed by our own banks, Shops won't accept them anywhere in Wales, where I live now, Nor pretty much everywhere in England, and to a small part in Scotland, though they're not too bad. I always have to go into a bank and exchange it for a Bank of England note.
I was in a post office and wanted to pay for something they told me they don't accept foreign notes, I'd have to use the foreign exchange based in the same shop, I got in line and low and behold who served me only the same fella, took my note, and handed me a £10 back if it was a foreign note would there not have been an exchange rate. He knew full well that my NI note was legal tender, was just being an arse.
That’s not true. Never experienced that.
We don't drink egg nog also we don't celebrate the 4th july.
Shock and horror.
Tea, Crisps and Biscuits, the Holy Trinity. :D
I don't need the crisps
Amen 🙏
i'd add chocolate..
nice bar of galaxy 🙂 x
We don't drive eggnog. Ever. It is not a British thing
As a non Brit 25 years plus here you left out fish fingers that is the 4th National Food Group after tea, biscuits and crisps
So true!
Not much choice in supermarkets?
The food choice in the UK is amazing.
From Asian to Indian there is far more choice.
I've heard that American practice is to wash eggs or sanitise them and that this strips off a protective layer which keeps eggs fresh. Is that true? as a result American practice is to refrigerate. Our eggs can keep longer out of a fridge.
Here's how I know when an egg is fresh(apart from date) that is to put an egg in a pan of water.If it stays laying on it's side horizontal it's fresh, if it tips toward the vertical a little, not so fresh.
FDA law! Bleach everything. Kinder eggs can't be bleached so they are banned! That's not 100% true but it might as well be.
And if the egg floats to the surface don't crack it open! It's full of gas which will be smelly!
We don't drink eggnog at all.
I don't know where you are shopping in England but Tesco and all the main supermarkets have a large selection of stuff from around the world. You can buy food or ingredients to make food even American brands. You need to open your eyes.
We used to live right by a Tesco extra in Cardiff but now the two we go to the most is a large ASDA and a large Sainsbury’s and I can tell you that there is quite a difference in selection between a US supermarket and a UK one. I’m not sure what you mean by open our eyes, we have lived here for over two years and have been to Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrison’s, Waitrose, M&S, and more.
Lack of choice. FFS - we aren’t exactly starving over here. How much choice do you actually need......
@@ShelbeyHunt explain to me what the difference is between the two. Because I don't see a problem. Also all Tesco Extras are small. What can you get in America you can't get here?
@@juliantompkins9650 Well for one thing I can get all the eggnog I would ever want...
@@juliantompkins9650 Also, let me clarify something, maybe I should have said variety. And it really is hard to convey the differences unless I flew you to America and had you go around a grocery store there. Or how about this, when I walk into any grocery store, there will be a section, maybe 2-3 rows for the produce. A typical produce section in the US would take up the same amount of space, plus all the space for the refrigerated stuff and probably the next few aisles that usually contain cleaning supplies and toiletries. And that doesn't mean you wouldn't have all those aisles cause you still would have all of that.
The Eggs and bread are always at the back of the supermarket, furthest away from the entrance because as they are such essential items, you need to walk through the whole store to get to them. That means that you will pick up a whole load of things that you did not actually know you needed. Hey ho!
As a British person who loves Egg Nog when in the US here's a tip around Christmas time...buy a bottle of Advocaat, pour a decent shot then add lemonade and a slice of lime and you now have a Snowball, which for some Brits is Yuletide in a glass 😉
Oh yes, I grew up with Snowballs each Christmas. They were the taste of Christmas. Still have them to this day. But, of course (unwritten rule) only at Christmas!
Nothing beats a good American eggnog - and I'm British.
It's not just bread and water, love in super markets.
We don't drink eggnog we do drink warming spicy mulled wine and a black coffee is called an Americano.
The number of people in UK drinking eggnog is about the same as those of us that have catfish and grits for breakfast. [ as offered to me, on a visit to the USA ] l had difficulty finding the culture there, until l realised it was mainly in the yogurt. 😊
Brilliant!
no one drinks egg nogg in the uk ever.
So glad I stumbled on this. Not least because of the attention to grammar - which I like (I'm like that, or so I'm told). But also because my brother went to Texas A&M. Go Aggies!
Admittedly, it was a very long time ago and we're British, but he spent a year there and he has repeatedly told me ever since (and regularly) that it was a life-changing experience.
I'm a bit older than him so, being in gainful employment and reasonably solvent at the time, in the middle of his year I flew over to visit him at College Station (this would be in '95). That was an amazing time. The sheer size of the campus (not to mention the football stadium!) just blew me away. And we went to Houston one day with some of his friends to visit the Johnson Space Center - something I will never forget.
We were not American novices having lived in Denver in the late 70s/early 80s when we were little kids, but to visit Texas in my 20s? That was fantastic.
I know this video was over a year ago so I hope you're still having a good time if you're still in the "Motherland" (lol). If not, I wish both of you all the very best in whatever you're doing now.
Thanks for the fun cross-cultural insights :)
They didn’t say anything about the NHS and the free medical care….
No, this video felt like a veiled way of just criticising the UK. "Culture shock" =/= dissing the country you've moved to.
I don't have culture shocks when I have travel to other country I have all round never experienced it that I watched your channel
Thanks for the observations. I do sometimes think that in the US consumer choice is confused with the concept of "freedom"
50 slightly different packs of the same cereal, isn't really more choice, when only two companies make all of them. It's the appearance of choice that fools US Americans.
My husband and I lived in The UK in the 70s. One of the culture shock moments for us was when we had a knock at our door and there was a truck with a satellite dish on it. We were told we were in violation of the Television license fee. We were supposed to pay a license fee to watch the TV. And if you didn’t pay it they came knocking at the door. What a shock. Then there was the time a British teenager asked me if we really travelled in covered wagons like she watched on TV.
We were told by some friends about the tv license so we avoided getting any kind of cable. Luckily today there is plenty to watch on streaming services.
If thy knock at your door you can tell them to clear off, and there's not a thing they can do about it.
@@johndonson1603 yep the TV licence is complete bs
Strictly, the TV license (at present, £159 for the year) applies solely to anything produced by the BBC. At one time, there was only the BBC as a programme outlet, but those days are long gone now.
@@2eleven48 they now claim it’s for using a tv set or device for any live tv of any kind not just the bbc? I know they lie a lot . For example if you don’t have a license they keep sending bogus letters we are visiting on the 20th of this month. But when you open the letter it states lower down “will you be in”? Lool
4:09 The middle note is old Irish currency which has now been replaced by the Euro, which is not legal tender in the UK.
You should have shown a note from Northern Ireland.
There are a lot of English people who don't realise that the Scots and Irish banks issue their own notes. I used to visit Scotland quite frequently and made a point of coming back with Scottish bank notes. The look on some English people's faces when I presented them as payment was a picture to behold. 🤣🤣
And look at you funny when you try to use them and sometimes refuse
@@scottirvine121 There is nowhere in England or Wales, that (if they actually take cash) can refuse Scottish or Northern Irish Banknotes as they are legal currency (legal tender is it own thing and let's not go there).
It's extraordinary - the UK is different. How shocking.
There’s ONE currency
I’m so glad Rachel corrected grammar so quickly.
This happens more than you know in our house.
😂🤣
@@ShelbeyHunt I am the expert when it comes to spelling.
Been to America more times than I can count, but more recently it was holiday related, but the biggest "shocks" I have are in no particular order
1, Flying the Flag, us Brits just don't do it, but Americans....... OMG!!!! everywhere you look are Flags
2, Paying for goods then getting shafted by tax being added on......... such a shitty thing to do
3, Tips for "employees", you've got a job plus a wage!!! do your job, get paid by your employer, don't expect me to give you extra!!!!! I HATE this part of America, tipping - - -
4, Healthcare is a total shambles........... every American should be downright ASHAMED
5, Homeless people, never seen so many anywhere, and I've been all over the world.
Don't get me wrong, we love going there on holiday, in fact our last 5 holidays have all been Las Vegas, but these five things really opened my eyes
Eggs are not needed to be refrigerated in the UK, We don't wash the eggs , which destroys the natural way of protecting any germs entering the egg.The chickens are also kept in a better and cleaner environment. I always buy Free Range eggs, from the Supermarket.
'Free range' means no more than 13 hens (because all the male chickens are killed) per square metre and access to open-air runs for half their lifetime (all 56 days of it). Not the idyllic picture of animal welfare you may imagine. 'Barn eggs' are even worse and little better than battery farming.
2 days into my holiday in Germany, 3 of my culture shocks;
1) They sell cigarettes in Aldi and Lidl.
2) You're allowed to smoke in bars.
3) The roads are massive.
And
4) No pubs. Honestly, I miss them.
The two brothers that started Aldi split the stores between Germany and The US years ago over selling cigarettes. The brother who rab the American stores would not sell cigarettes in American stores.
The UK does not have different currencies, it uniquely has different issuing banks for pound sterling bank notes in different constituent countries.
Scotland has 3 issuing banks and Northern Ireland has 4.
As mentioned, England and Wales use Bank of England banknotes.
That middle note shown was not UK sterling, it was a pre-Euro, Republic of Ireland Irish pound / punt. Nothing to do with the UK.
I was confused when an American asked me "What's up?" Here that means "What's wrong?" So I told him nothing was up. 😂
This is just weird...
1) UK supermarkets aren't understocked - how much choice do you need?!
2) Egg-nog isn't really a thing here - but I've known people make their own. Why would you buy some weird pre-prepared crap if it's that special
3) Scottish/N. Irish banknotes are odd when you come across them (although it's rare in England). It's not difficult though as they're worth exactly the same.
4) I prefer filter coffee and literally EVERY coffee shop does it. It's normally the cheapest by a mile too.
Very fun video! Keep them coming. One moment of culture shock that still stands out to me was when I first arrived in Beijing and would watch this street food vendor guy preparing my dubiously named "Taiwanese Pancake" while smoking a cigarette with a centimeter-long head of ash hanging precariously over the food. Naturally, I kept coming back and ordering the same thing.
Naturally, also, what is a Taiwanese Pancake?
@@ShelbeyHunt mil
If it says STERLING on it you can accept it, you have to remember Scotland and NI are separate countries so of course their money is printed different to that of England's....But it is ALL sterling so just check for that and you're good.
Also I've never seen that Eggnog in my life, think most Brits stick to Advocaat but even that's not the same... TBH Eggnog is just not a thing here.
You'd better hide the welsh will be after you for forgetting about them lol
@@danielcampbell3686 Do Wales have their own bank notes? I honestly didnt think they did oops.
@@layla1385 No they just use the regular Bank of England notes
eggnog is shite anyway lol
To be pedantic (sorry) the only notes that are legal tender in the UK are issued by the Bank of England. Various Scottish banks issue their
own notes which MAY be accepted but B of E notes MUST be accepted. As for the Republic of Ireland, that is a foreign country which is in
the British Isles but not the UK. Would people in the US accept Mexican pesos? ........................................................the ancient Englishman
No problem at all, thank you for sharing your ancient wisdom!
northern irish money is accepted in the uk.
@@finnplanb3 that is because Northern Ireland is part of the UK.
@@georgebarnes8163 no shit sherlock
@@georgebarnes8163 Yes.
As a brit ur wrong about the coffee in literally every supermarket in the Isle there are huge choices for its ground coffee not filter perhaps that's why you couldn't find it