I'm a Brit, but spent a few years in Colorado. To quote my Coloradan neighbour: " Rain is awesome - you don't have to shovel rain". Made me smile, and stopped me complaining about rain when I returned home
@@darkkrenify it’s £3.80 in my excellent local and £2.57 in the local spoons, its cheaper than my Northern hometown. London is for the young, beautiful, smart and curious, it’s where they go to meet their contemporaries, make their own opportunities and build an interesting life. London is definitely not for the narrow minded or those who are frightened of change, the foreign or the different.
I stayed in the UK for a couple of months in my own flat so I did a bit of homecooking but also ate a lot of M&S ready meals and went to cafes/restaurants. I absolutely loved British food! People back here are surprised when I say this but it’s true!
An Englishman was in Anglesey ranting about foreigners "coming over and not speaking the language". The Welshman he was talking to said "yeah, we've had that problem for years". The Englishman didn't get the meaning.
As a Brit I've never eaten jellied eels..ever..and never would. I think it's a southern thing, I've never even seen them being sold anywhere in the midlands.
I went to a party where jellied eels were on the buffet table but couldn't bring myself to eat them. Strange for me as I love all fish and seafood. Edit from Surrey
Jellied eels were (traditionally) a London dish - the eels being harvested from the Thames - and a cheap meal for common people. My wedding buffet included jellied eels, but I wasn't an Eastender and it wasn't something which appealed to me. Maybe, if I were born at a different time and was brought up in the East End and times were hard ... eat it or starve I think was the motto LOL Jellied eels were/are popular in traditional Pie n Mash Shops. Now, Pie N Mash? Scrummy!!!
For the first 20 years of my life I lived in London. Finally moved out when I was 21 and missed it for about 5 minutes. The hardest thing to get used to is knowing where to get stuff. While I was in London, whatever I wanted, no matter how obscure, I could walk out the door and be back, half an hour later with exactly what I wanted. Whether it be a specific transistor for some electronic project, an obscure ingredient for a foreign recipe, or a reconditioned red telephone box. Everything was available if you knew where to look and, having lived there all my life, I knew where to look. I recall during my early days living in the countryside wanting a 4 inch stainless steel bolt with an M12 thread. Simple enough right? Took me about a week trudging around the local towns before I found one. Even owners of hardware shops would say "Oh dear, I don't know where you'd get one of those" And this was just one incident. Something like this would come up on a regular basis. Things got a lot easier as my knowledge base of the local area grew and, now with the internet, there's absolutely nothing would drag me back to living in London.
I had a lodger from New Zealand who lived in the uk for ten years. He used to tell me how homesick he was for New Zealand. However what he found when he returned was that he was homesick for England. Other people have said that it takes ten years to really feel at home somewhere and that after ten years part of you will still be where you lived for those ten years
i am a brit living in America (Florida), and I went through the acceptance stage all visitors feel when visiting or living in a new country. Getting used to your new home and environment takes time. Now America is my home and I love it here. I have been away for 18 years, and looking forward to a visit home.
I'm glad you mentioned food as it does get a bit tiresome that Britain has this reputation for bad food. I'm a Brit living in Croatia and I find a lot of Croatian food to be bland compared to British equivalents. In particular the cheese and apples here are tasteless. A lot of the cakes here look very neat and artistic but don't have much flavour. I miss Branston pickle and on one road trip to UK I brought back a case of the stuff!
it does get quite tiresome, i think the modern internet has trained people into only liking food that *looks* pretty not actually tasting great, a lot of northern european food historically is very grey, our climate is conducive to great potatoes, mushrooms, truffles and more rooty ingredients, people expecting the vibrant colours of south america or east asia are very misconceived. stews, gravies, roasts, they may look one note but they are rich and delicious! the reality is we have amazing produce and i think weve learned to appreciate the ingredient rather than the dish.
I've always thought that Britain's reputation for having crap food is one of the biggest misconceptions going. It may once have been true but there is a lot of great British food now plus the fact that immigrant populations have massively influenced British cuisine so there are aa lot more different types of food now that can be considered British. People also travel more (or at least they did!) so are exposed to more different sorts of cuisine that they may assimilate into British cooking. The fact that most decent supermarkets have a "world foods" section kind of supports this
I think the reputation is mostly from the war and rationing years. If you read old British recipes they are very full flavoured. Like others here say, we have embraced cuisines from around the world. The British empire basically started with a search for spices. This is a bit of a digression, but the reputation of British people being uptight about sex is also an outdated idea. In my experience most people born after 1955 will talk freely about any aspect of sex with people they just met. Unlike Ireland. I don't have any experience of other countries.
Totally agree about snow! I´m a Londoner living in Finland now & I have exactly the same thought as you. Snow is ok to look at but keep it at Christmas! Its not just the snow & ice itself. It´s all the clothes you have to wear, for example. For me it rains, it stops raining & most of the time the rain is gone. Snow comes & then you have it there for weeks & most of that time is spent trying to not break a hip! Give me rain all the time!
I lived for five years in Canada (1 in Thunder Bay, 4 in Toronto), and I loved it but never, ever learned to like snow. Snow is fine in its rightful place: on mountaintops and Christmas cards.
Jellied eels are a thing in Kent because they're a thing in London, a typical working class dish. Many people have moved out of London and into the surrounding counties, taking a love of jellied eels with them. Although as a born and bred Londoner myself, who had a father who lived for jellied eels...you couldn't pay me enough to eat them! 😁
@@davidshattock9522 P.G. Wodehouse said that the reason we don't get invaded is that our enemies are intimidated by a race that can eat jellied eels, winkles, whelks and candyfloss and then go on a roller coaster.
Just discovered your channel today and I utterly love it! So glad you are part of our community! I’m an old fashioned Yorkshireman but a world traveler and love the time I’ve spent within other cultures and locations. That said, much as I enjoy visits to London, I’m never happier than when I’m on the train going back home! I adore seeing your take on the UK, please keep posting thoughts on your experiences. X 👍 👍 👍
I have lived in 47 places around the world, my parents were military, then I was and after the military my work took me around the world. I class myself as human from Planet Earth and I suppose I have England as home base, but I miss everywhere else.
7:18 That's the same everywhere. Take Florence. The vast bulk of Florentines don't live in a 15th century renaissance apartment, they live in a concrete apartment block in a dull suburb
As an Englishman living in Ontario for 20 years, I have to 100% agree with what you're saying here. When you mentioned Canadian food I immediately thought "poutine". It's the only thing that I can think of as well. ...and, the London thing. It so does not represent the UK at all. Have you made it to the Cotswolds yet? Or Edinburgh?
Moved to Canada 1990 - give me six months of snow any day over rain. Although be prepared in the Winter, it can get to -40C quite easily in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary etc. Beaver tails are quite Canadian, poutine is not bad though. Keep up the good work.
I lived in Latin America for 6 years and have travelled a lot. I have found that people often forget that the one common feature that is always there is..... themselves. Different people will interact differently and some just don't like change. You have come with an open mind, some don't even know they have preconceptions!
It's like people who would love to live in the Lake District having been there during the summer. I grew up 50 miles to the North in the Scottish Borders and often visited the area in winter. Its spectacular yes, but cold wet and often snowty and being further north it can get dark at 3.30.
8 years ago I moved from the South of England to Cumbria. It is scenic, but no effective public transport, poor access to medical services (major surgery all done in Newcastle), poor policing, etc. Scotland is far better in so many ways and that's where we are heading!
Its not so much we have a lot, but its pretty much constant, as a northerner i have been to london only 3 times, and each of those times i was happier leaving than arriving
This culture of everything closing down for 2 inches of snow is relatively modern. I worked as a delivery driver and we used to go out in deep snow and blizzards, but at the place where I worked they don't go out for 2 inches of snow now. I recall having to dig my way through snow drifts to get home from work in my car. Schools didn't shut unless the snow got knee high. It seems we spawned a generation of pussies who freak out from a dusting of snow. In 1947 four feet of snow brought the country to a halt and now it takes just 2 inches.
I'm not old enough to remember '47 but I do remember '62/'63 well enough, our local milkman got a friend of his with a grey Fergie tractor to take him around with the crates of milk in a link box on the back. I think the current 'elf 'n' safety' obsession has led to the 'pussification' of the UK.
I agree. I moved to a country district from a city in the winter 1969-1970. I remember the villagers digging the snow that had drifted up and blocked the village school door before they trudged to the train station at 7.30 in the morning.
I get the sentiment but it’s a bit rude to call us pussies your generation created global warming and capitalism were not used to snow and nothing works right here when it snows so it isn’t really our fault
@@biutifulmediauk8856 My generation did no such thing. There were only half as many people and back then our personal energy consumption was much smaller than today's generation. I lived on a large council estate and only 2 families had a car. Most people went to work on a bus or bicycle. The average family had no domestic electrical appliances. No vacuum cleaners, washing machines, dishwashers, and TV did not exist. There was no internet or cell phones. Flying was only for the well off, and Heathrow was a little one runway airport with maybe a dozen planes a day.
I was born in London (Charlton) and moved to Kent many moons ago. Now living nr Rochester airport, top of Bluebell Hill and know what you mean about living outside a big city. It's nice to 'come home' to the country. Although not a small village its much nicer and only a few minutes walk into open fields, farmland etc. 😊
I've been to London a couple of times. My favourite view of London that makes me just feel amazing, warm and fuzzy and just plain joyful is in the rear view mirror of my car as I'm leaving.
I lived there for four years. Amazing culture, food, but I could never live there again. Even though everybody is living on top of each other, I found it a very lonely city. Not that friendly...or people are so busy either trying to make money or trying to make ends meet that they dont seem to have time to stop and talk and if you try and talk to someone, it's like you're a crazy person
A great video, Alanna. I really get the London thing. I was born in north-east London and have lived most of my life there, doing the daily commute into the City or Canary Wharf. I’m now retired and we’re planning on moving to Northumberland, permanently. And a greater contrast you could not possibly get! As an aside, you and your partner should visit Northumberland (if you haven’t already done so) a place of stunning beauty and steeped in history and culture (there are more castles, both standing and ruins, than anywhere else in the UK) and the people are wonderful!
I lived in various places in London for about 20 years. The last was East Ham. It was a great place to live. We'd have a note through the door saying: "There is a party at number 20 on Saturday night, you are all invited. Don't complain about the noise if you don't come". Good times.
I think willingness to embrace the culture of the place you find yourself is key and, as your TH-cam channel demonstrates, that's something you have clearly done! It's really interesting to hear your perspectives on the differences and similarities between the two countries.
Copenhagen is great, try Berlin, a truly wonderful city with very welcoming and warm people. Free or very cheap museums about their regret re WW2 - bang on straight talking and descriptions of pre war politics. Have travelled loads and felt very safe and welcome there even late at night. They very much appreciate tourists of all nationalities and have excellent genuine hospitality towards them in my own humble experience. Jason from North London
I, and many fellow countrymen was/were brought up to regard Commonwealth citizens from Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand as temporary "returnees" with a right to be here as we have been very glad of them in two world wars.
Still bingeing your great show with my cold. London is pretty dry, and so is Kent. Yorkshire, Devon, well not so much. Things have changed a lot in my lifetime. NOTHING closed because of snow in the 60s, 70s, 80s. Glad you fit in, but I have to say every Canadian I have met over here has been sociable and polite. British food used to be absolutely appalling for many years. I grew up in London and still think of it as home. When I worked there at first it was wonderful, but it has changed so much over the years. If you have plenty of money or are young and energetic it may be OK still. I still love it over anywhere to visit, mind you.
I think the idea UK food is bland goes all the way back to WW2 when troops from North America came over here and sampled the rationed foods Brits where subjected to.
Yeah.... And we had had food rationing until 1953....whilst the money we were repaying to the USA was used to rebuild Germany & Japan. "Special Relationship" ? My foot. I played on bomb sites in Manchester well into the 60's. Whilst Americans got fatter. And Fatter.(That at least has had some justice......eventually.....) The USA designed it to destroy the British Empire....whilst building one of their own. (And they have done so. Unhindered, until recently.) Anti-Colonialist? They are the epitome of empire builders. Yes, the Chinese are now having a stab at Colonialism..... Investing heavily in Africa (As did the Russians in the 70's) And building islands in the South China Sea..... As military bases.... just as the Americans did after WW2 all over the world. Not one bomb fell on the USA during WW2. The main casualties were caused by "rubber-neckers" illuminating THEIR ships to U-boats....along the coastal roads! Homer Simpson! "Gee Marge...I love shining the headlights out to sea..... so we can watch ships get blown up....."
I live in an housing estate, which in my youth was fields of a farm. A couple of miles away Worcester Cathedral is more than a thousand years old. Villages nearby also have origins from a thousand ago. Long before "we" discovered Canada. It is nice hearing your views from outside this country.
I live in Central Scotland, in a suburb of a smallish town. There are woods and fields at the bottom of my road, and my front garden has a view of the Ochil Hills, which are only three miles away. At the back we have more houses but also countryside views, including an 100 year old Jacobean style mansion. The houses aren't fancy but the surroundings are lovely. I suppose if you have miles and miles of suburbs or housing schemes it can be a bit grim, but in smaller places they can be fine.
I'm from a large town in the north of England and moved to London in my early twenties . Might as well have moved to Canada as all the misconceptions are relatable due to being a "foreigner" in the south. I've moved back via south wales which felt much more like home.
I agree about the advantages in living in a town or village outside London. Although the Brits complain about their trains, the rail links are so good compared to Canada that some place like Tunbridge Wells in Kent is excellent for enjoying town life with the ability to pop into London easily any time of the day.
I'm from Dartford way, but I live in Nottingham. With my accent, there isn't a day goes by when some East Midlander makes some cockernee crack about it. And jellied eels. I tried jellied eels once, never eaten jellied eels again. If folks down at the Kent coast actually eat them (I know they're sold), I'm slightly surprised.
Really thankful to have come across your channel. I'm currently living in Kingston Ontario and saving and hoping to try and go to the UK in the next 2 years. I really appreciate the brutal honesty and just the sheer amount of information I've been able to get from you! Wish me luck! ☺
Well you've been london more times than I have and I'm a couple train stops away. But it's so nice to hear someone talk nicely about the place that's grown so mundane to me. Helps me appreciate the lottery I won being born in such a great place. :)
I have family in Hamilton Ontario, when we've visited we've always had a great time in Canada. Canadians are really friendly and very like Brits I find.
Living in London . Many English people who grew up or once lived in London now shudder at the thought . It's a place for tourists ,people who have to work there and need to live close by and the great influx of immigrants, who in their own country think that big cities are nirvana .No ,given the choice ,a lot of us are glad never to step foot in the place again. I was in London throughout the War years and experienced all the bombing and then the rebuilding ,which removed much of the neighbourhood spirit, which made the city such an interesting place once.
Great video! The fear about not fitting in hits hard. And it's definitely true that you don't truly know what it's like to live somewhere until you've done all the day-to-day boring stuff. Those things have a bigger impact than one would think.
I took a trip to the UK for a month after I graduated college. I spent a couple of weeks in London (1 week at start and 1 week at the end), but the rest of the time I was in Bristol for the majority, except for about 3 days in Edinburgh. I gotta say that my time in Bristol was the most enjoyable. Easy to get to other places via rail, very walkable, interesting places to eat, esp. pub food. The only reasons I found to stay in London were my proximity to the British Museum (within from my BnB), and other historic places and museums to visit (yeah, big history herd here.) Really, just too busy for my taste. The smaller cities and villages definitely nicer to live in. Plus, so much in walking district in those locations.
When I lived in Wales, I always thought of London as a different country! I often visited and stayed there, and always enjoyed it, but it always gave me a headache!
Great video thanks! As a friend of mine said about living in London “after a week I just really wanted to see some grass”. Hope you’re having a great week
It seems that this year, the Co-op started selling a limited edition "All Dressed Seriously Saucy" crisp. And Aldi apparently sell Clancy's brand All Dressed. Probably neither quite what you want but you never know if you can get hold of them :)
I think you might change your mind about the extra days of rain if you lived in parts of Scotland or Wales that get 3 to 5 times the rain that London gets.
Canadian food: poutine, Hawaiian pizza, ginger beef, Nanaimo bars, butter tarts, maple syrup. There's actually a bunch more from ON and QC that I never really had growing up in BC: peameal bacon, tourtiere, sugar pie, etc
The beautiful places in uk (thatched quaint cottages, Victorian architecture, manor houses, tutor houses beautiful stone houses, converted barns or churches) cost a LOT of money. They are not usually within the budget of a first time buyer or someone moving from abroad. Most first timers or foreigners (unless they have a lot of money) will be living in a brick house or a concrete flat/apartment.
There's so much difference in culture and accents between just the _counties_ here I see people from other _countries_ the same as I would from just 100miles away. The only major difference of any worth, there ain't be nobody in this country calling crisps 'potato chips' ;)
You are overly self-deprecating when you see Canada as without a cousine. The country, being so vast, has lots of regional foods, as opposed to dishes enjoyed nationally. Even little UK has those (haggis, laver bread, etc). In BC, for example, there are: BC rolls, Dungeness crab, Sockeye and Coho, Nanaimo bars, butter chicken (even on pizza!), BC oysters, Tacofino, butter tarts, fish cowder, and Gulf Islands lamb.
Hello sweetie. The whole London thing is something I fully understand. It's great to visit, but personally, I don't like being in a place where the only way you can see the sky is to look straight up.
One of your best videos yet. So many good "realities" of London and life here in general. The fact that going somewhere on holiday is not really living the day to day pains should be taken on board by anyone thinking that going to place XYZ will make it so much better.
Chips and Gravy is a Northern (and Midlands) English staple as well. As a native Southerner who has lived in the North and Midlands for many years now, I still don't get it and can't understand how anyone enjoys smothering perfectly good chips in gravy-flavoured slop (I'm not even sure it's actual gravy, most of the time!). Having said that, I tend to drench my chips with Mayonnaise, which some people here still seem to be appalled by but I absolutely love! Chips and mushy peas on the other hand is an absolute genius invention that you don't see as often down South, or at least you didn't when I was growing up there. If you haven't yet tried fish & chips with mushy peas then I would highly recommend it! I'm with you on Jellied Eels. That's from my "neck of the woods" so to speak and my granddad used to eat them, but I've never really liked it. Pie & Mash is great though.
I feel you on the London thing, I grew up in Kent and lived in London for a few years in my twenties and much as I loved the experience it never felt like home. I still love to visit but I too get that feeling of relief when I leave. London is an amazing city but it can also be a lonely place.
On your london point, as a born and bred suburban Londoner I could never imagine living in a small English town! Everything would be far too quiet and slow for me! London and the rest of the uk are very different things and I think not many visitors understand that difference! I love your videos though and seeing someone who is from outside the uk’s view on English things :) keep up the good work!
I live in a small Scottish town, in 20 minutes I can walk to the airport and head off to Europe. In an hour I could drive to a different airport and go to most countries. Even just in the town there is plenty to do.
Based on all your vids over the years you've always seemed very open-minded and willing to give things a try... that surely has to be the way to go in terms of adjusting and enjoying. I'm with you in relation to London - great to visit but never want to live there, luckily I manage to get the balance right for me and enjoy rural village life but am only an hour's train ride from 'The Smoke". Thanks for another great vid Alanna.
Hi, Alanna, another excellent video, it was really interesting. You mentioned Jellied Eels and if you've never tried them that would be a brilliant taste test. I obviously have never tried them but you are brave. It would be record viewing figures for that.
@@AdventuresAndNaps Eels are just slightly better than surstromming in my opinion (ie puke), and Im a brit. Now THAT would be a taste test I'd bring the popcorn for! You know it makes sense.
I once worked in a small office where everyone thought it would be a hoot to try jellied eels from a traditional pie and mash shop. Everyone except for me, the sole vegetarian. The next day I was the only person in the office, everyone else had food poisoning.
I live in Stamford town lincs, and it is said is the finest stone town in the uk , Stamford once had the most pubs per square mile in uk (52), every one is an alcoholic! I have lived in
You’re soo right about London! London’s like a whole separate country to the rest of England. All Londoners, both the indigenous population and the immigrant population, seem like foreigners to the rest of the UK. The culture is so different there.
Yep, I can't stand London. Mind you, I can't stand big cities anyway. I used to live about 30 miles or so north of it for about 30 years and only ever visited about 5 or 6 times in my life. Now live nearly 300 miles from it in Cornwall in a small fishing village. After living somewhere for nearly 15 years where for example crime is almost non-existent, I could never go back, nor would I ever want to!
What we know as “England” was formed by the amalgamation of seven separate kingdoms around the 10th century. Given that most people didn’t venture more than a few miles from their homes for centuries afterwards it’s not surprising that each region has its own culture. This is what makes me laugh when people talk about losing the “English” cultural identity … there probably wasn’t a single one to start with.
Talking of soulless places Milton Keynes has to be top of the list, the only thing thats good about the place is that its next to Blechly Park, (Station X).😂
It's refreshing to see someone moving to the UK and NOT falling into the London is where it starts and ends. I am not a fan of London at all, but I'm not a fan of big cities and its one of the biggest cityest cities around. There's a lot to do and see in the UK outside that, and outside the other cities. A lot to see and do outside England too.
Good on you for choosing to live in a small town or village. Have you ever tried mead? It's a honey-based alcoholic drink. I think a taste-testing video would be enjoyable for you to make.
I think the contrast (the A+N) is one of the things I love about your channel. Whether you’re giving us interesting insights, trying not to burn the house down while wearing oversized oven gloves or sitting on the floor getting tipsy, it’s all good. The marmite hate is disappointing though 😂
Interesting to hear the difference between Kent and Toronto (or Torono as you speak it) Would rather snow to rain though, maybe because snow is so rare here I suppose. 😉
I like the way youve been kinda main-streaming/streamlining the intro and outro of your videos, but still maintaining your signature pace (not switching fast cuts) throughout the vid 🙏👌
Mr algorithm took me to your Nanaimo Bars video from 2018. Firstly, you have changed so much! Secondly, your comment on Poutine then was near word for word (except the gravy) exactly the same as today 🙂
I’m really enjoying this channel as a Brit! You seem like a very down-to-earth person and it’s interesting to see how things that are just normal to me are different from a foreign perspective
Your not wrong about snow, a week of snow is more than enough. I actually quite like the rain it’s calming and nothing like a good thunder storm to go with it. Ahhhh
Some people do dislike Marmite. Several years ago (I think in the 90s) Marmite actually had an advertising campaign based around the fact that not everyone likes it with a "You either love it or hate it" slogan. I don't know if those adverts are on here to view but try and find them somewhere if you can, they were quite funny.
Ads for Marmite usually go along the lines of 'we're here at this address because a report of neglect (pics like where a dog or cat is recued from idiot owners), and we found this little chap at the back of the cupboard (shows small, dusty jar of Marmite) we're going to make sure he goes to a home where they appreciate him for what he is'.
Canada is a very big place and my experience being from the left side of Canada and that being a rainforest is that it barely rains in Kent. When in rains in Vancouver it rains for a week or more and it is relentless. In kent, it might rain for a few hrs and give up for a few then start again. In fact the weather in Kent is very similar to Vancouver temperatures but it just rains lots more in Vancouver. British food can be as good as anywhere but it can be a bit more challenging to find high end food here than other places I have found. I have been lucky enough to have been all over the UK and for the most part it is really quite beautiful but yes there are some nasty places but even those places have character😁. Totally Agree London is overrated but it can be fun to visit for the day then go home. Or, you can get some cheap deals on a London hotel so you can have fun at night too. If you want to spend a lot there is the Savoy and the Ritz and to be honest the Savoy is better 😁. If you are up there you should just walk into the Savoy and look about maybe pop up to the American bar and have a cheeky cider! 😁
In Vancouver BC and surrounding areas we get more rain in the winter than snow. Our winters are typically far more mild than the rest of Canada. last winter it only snowed in town a few inches a couple times and was gone in two days. I park on the street so I did need to shovel once last year, but mainly because I drive a sports car that is definitely not meant for snow. I'll take rain over snow most days. I can go up to local mountains to ski or snowboard if I really want snow. As for Canadain food some people seem to think we eat maple syrup and poutine regularly. I like poutine once and a while but it can be extremely salty. I only have maple syrup a few times a year with breakfast or maybe a maple flavor donut from Tim Hortons once a year. Stereo types about Canada drive me crazy. Glad you feel at home in the UK but please don't forget about Canada. I'm sure your family will make sure you don't.
I know what you mean about London, there's loads to see and do. I sometimes think that I'd have had broader life experiences if I grew up and lived there, but in truth, much as I like to visit the big smoke, I'm a small town boy from Surrey. I find that big cities give me sensory overload after a while; the constant noise, traffic and hurly burly becomes tiring and I find that, like you, it's a relief to leave it behind until the next visit! 😜
Great video as always! I must say that I also prefer the rain over Canadian winter! I always laugh when I hear a UKer talk about how much snow they got or how it plummeted to -3 the other day...oh my gawd. I always tell them to look up Newfoundland in the winter. Hell, even New Brunswick or out West. The snow...and the actual plummeting/freezing temperatures of up to -45 with the windchill....now THAT is winter in Canada, lol. With snow up to our hips, we still make our way to work and then home again in the worst weather possible. I can only speak for New Brunswick where I'm from. I hate having to commute it the winter but like you said, it is pretty ❄☃️
Congrats on 125k subscribers, I still can't believe that this little channel with 1,000 subscribers turned into this! Are you sure about that rain chart? Most rain coats are actually precipitation charts do include snow. If that's the case, what it shows is that there are more reading days in London but summer storms in Toronto are heavier
my best buds cousin came to the uk from Canada on a dual passport 40 yrs ago, for 6 months. You don't even want to know how messy his last week in the uk was ... 3 yrs later lol
as far as snow as far goes I agree with you. I moved to Australia in 1962 as a 16 year old only been to the snow 2 times since then too bloody cold . and before you ask yes we get snow in Aus . in fact we have more snow than swiss . i live in Sydney and would have to drive about 2 1/2 hours south to the Snowy mountains .
London gets little rain compared to places on the west coast of Britain - Manchester, the Lake District, Argyllshire. Snow: not liking it is a sign of getting old, like being older than the Prime Minister or only being able to drink wine costing more than £20 per bottle.
I'm a Brit, but spent a few years in Colorado. To quote my Coloradan neighbour: " Rain is awesome - you don't have to shovel rain". Made me smile, and stopped me complaining about rain when I returned home
It always makes me chuckle when foreigners talk about London, because Brits avoid London whenever possible.
fuckin aye the prices for a pint down there its highway robbery
You mean you avoid London. Most people I know love it.
@@darkkrenify it’s £3.80 in my excellent local and £2.57 in the local spoons, its cheaper than my Northern hometown. London is for the young, beautiful, smart and curious, it’s where they go to meet their contemporaries, make their own opportunities and build an interesting life. London is definitely not for the narrow minded or those who are frightened of change, the foreign or the different.
Ha Ha, you bet! The only places in London I like are Euston, Kings Cross and St Pancras.
I dont
I stayed in the UK for a couple of months in my own flat so I did a bit of homecooking but also ate a lot of M&S ready meals and went to cafes/restaurants. I absolutely loved British food! People back here are surprised when I say this but it’s true!
Alanna, I'm a British and Canadian citizen who grew up in London. Today is Easter Monday and it is snowing in Toronto. You have made the right choice.
😂 I can't believe you've got snow!! Ahh!
An Englishman was in Anglesey ranting about foreigners "coming over and not speaking the language". The Welshman he was talking to said "yeah, we've had that problem for years". The Englishman didn't get the meaning.
As a Brit I've never eaten jellied eels..ever..and never would. I think it's a southern thing, I've never even seen them being sold anywhere in the midlands.
Brit from Kent here; jellied eels is a generational thing. My grandparents ate this a lot, my parents as a holiday treat, and myself not at all.
I went to a party where jellied eels were on the buffet table but couldn't bring myself to eat them. Strange for me as I love all fish and seafood.
Edit from Surrey
Jellied eels were (traditionally) a London dish - the eels being harvested from the Thames - and a cheap meal for common people. My wedding buffet included jellied eels, but I wasn't an Eastender and it wasn't something which appealed to me. Maybe, if I were born at a different time and was brought up in the East End and times were hard ... eat it or starve I think was the motto LOL Jellied eels were/are popular in traditional Pie n Mash Shops. Now, Pie N Mash? Scrummy!!!
They're actually really nice.
They were a fifties thing, everything was in jello, Americans fid it with meatloaf.
I heard a Canadian once say " At least you don't have to shovel rain" 🤣
For the first 20 years of my life I lived in London. Finally moved out when I was 21 and missed it for about 5 minutes. The hardest thing to get used to is knowing where to get stuff. While I was in London, whatever I wanted, no matter how obscure, I could walk out the door and be back, half an hour later with exactly what I wanted. Whether it be a specific transistor for some electronic project, an obscure ingredient for a foreign recipe, or a reconditioned red telephone box. Everything was available if you knew where to look and, having lived there all my life, I knew where to look.
I recall during my early days living in the countryside wanting a 4 inch stainless steel bolt with an M12 thread. Simple enough right? Took me about a week trudging around the local towns before I found one. Even owners of hardware shops would say "Oh dear, I don't know where you'd get one of those" And this was just one incident. Something like this would come up on a regular basis. Things got a lot easier as my knowledge base of the local area grew and, now with the internet, there's absolutely nothing would drag me back to living in London.
I had a lodger from New Zealand who lived in the uk for ten years. He used to tell me how homesick he was for New Zealand. However what he found when he returned was that he was homesick for England. Other people have said that it takes ten years to really feel at home somewhere and that after ten years part of you will still be where you lived for those ten years
i am a brit living in America (Florida), and I went through the acceptance stage all visitors feel when visiting or living in a new country. Getting used to your new home and environment takes time. Now America is my home and I love it here. I have been away for 18 years, and looking forward to a visit home.
One day I might try jellied eels. (I am English, always lived here, 73 years)
On second thoughts I shan’t bother.
I'm glad you mentioned food as it does get a bit tiresome that Britain has this reputation for bad food. I'm a Brit living in Croatia and I find a lot of Croatian food to be bland compared to British equivalents. In particular the cheese and apples here are tasteless. A lot of the cakes here look very neat and artistic but don't have much flavour. I miss Branston pickle and on one road trip to UK I brought back a case of the stuff!
Thanks for watching!
Bring out the Branston 🧀
it does get quite tiresome, i think the modern internet has trained people into only liking food that *looks* pretty not actually tasting great, a lot of northern european food historically is very grey, our climate is conducive to great potatoes, mushrooms, truffles and more rooty ingredients, people expecting the vibrant colours of south america or east asia are very misconceived. stews, gravies, roasts, they may look one note but they are rich and delicious! the reality is we have amazing produce and i think weve learned to appreciate the ingredient rather than the dish.
I've always thought that Britain's reputation for having crap food is one of the biggest misconceptions going. It may once have been true but there is a lot of great British food now plus the fact that immigrant populations have massively influenced British cuisine so there are aa lot more different types of food now that can be considered British. People also travel more (or at least they did!) so are exposed to more different sorts of cuisine that they may assimilate into British cooking. The fact that most decent supermarkets have a "world foods" section kind of supports this
I think the reputation is mostly from the war and rationing years. If you read old British recipes they are very full flavoured. Like others here say, we have embraced cuisines from around the world. The British empire basically started with a search for spices. This is a bit of a digression, but the reputation of British people being uptight about sex is also an outdated idea. In my experience most people born after 1955 will talk freely about any aspect of sex with people they just met. Unlike Ireland. I don't have any experience of other countries.
Totally agree about snow! I´m a Londoner living in Finland now & I have exactly the same thought as you. Snow is ok to look at but keep it at Christmas! Its not just the snow & ice itself. It´s all the clothes you have to wear, for example.
For me it rains, it stops raining & most of the time the rain is gone. Snow comes & then you have it there for weeks & most of that time is spent trying to not break a hip! Give me rain all the time!
I lived for five years in Canada (1 in Thunder Bay, 4 in Toronto), and I loved it but never, ever learned to like snow. Snow is fine in its rightful place: on mountaintops and Christmas cards.
I agree!!
Jellied eels are a thing in Kent because they're a thing in London, a typical working class dish. Many people have moved out of London and into the surrounding counties, taking a love of jellied eels with them. Although as a born and bred Londoner myself, who had a father who lived for jellied eels...you couldn't pay me enough to eat them! 😁
I live in Kent eels urgh .nasty.winkles etc like snot bogeys with crash helmets on
@@davidshattock9522 P.G. Wodehouse said that the reason we don't get invaded is that our enemies are intimidated by a race that can eat jellied eels, winkles, whelks and candyfloss and then go on a roller coaster.
Just discovered your channel today and I utterly love it!
So glad you are part of our community!
I’m an old fashioned Yorkshireman but a world traveler and love the time I’ve spent within other cultures and locations.
That said, much as I enjoy visits to London, I’m never happier than when I’m on the train going back home!
I adore seeing your take on the UK, please keep posting thoughts on your experiences.
X
👍 👍 👍
I have lived in 47 places around the world, my parents were military, then I was and after the military my work took me around the world. I class myself as human from Planet Earth and I suppose I have England as home base, but I miss everywhere else.
7:18 That's the same everywhere. Take Florence. The vast bulk of Florentines don't live in a 15th century renaissance apartment, they live in a concrete apartment block in a dull suburb
As an Englishman living in Ontario for 20 years, I have to 100% agree with what you're saying here. When you mentioned Canadian food I immediately thought "poutine". It's the only thing that I can think of as well. ...and, the London thing. It so does not represent the UK at all. Have you made it to the Cotswolds yet? Or Edinburgh?
Moved to Canada 1990 - give me six months of snow any day over rain. Although be prepared in the Winter, it can get to -40C quite easily in Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary etc. Beaver tails are quite Canadian, poutine is not bad though. Keep up the good work.
I lived in Latin America for 6 years and have travelled a lot. I have found that people often forget that the one common feature that is always there is..... themselves. Different people will interact differently and some just don't like change. You have come with an open mind, some don't even know they have preconceptions!
It's like people who would love to live in the Lake District having been there during the summer. I grew up 50 miles to the North in the Scottish Borders and often visited the area in winter. Its spectacular yes, but cold wet and often snowty and being further north it can get dark at 3.30.
8 years ago I moved from the South of England to Cumbria. It is scenic, but no effective public transport, poor access to medical services (major surgery all done in Newcastle), poor policing, etc. Scotland is far better in so many ways and that's where we are heading!
@@Crusty_Camper Byeeeeee! Give Fish Lips my regards, do!
Its not so much we have a lot, but its pretty much constant, as a northerner i have been to london only 3 times, and each of those times i was happier leaving than arriving
This culture of everything closing down for 2 inches of snow is relatively modern. I worked as a delivery driver and we used to go out in deep snow and blizzards, but at the place where I worked they don't go out for 2 inches of snow now. I recall having to dig my way through snow drifts to get home from work in my car. Schools didn't shut unless the snow got knee high. It seems we spawned a generation of pussies who freak out from a dusting of snow. In 1947 four feet of snow brought the country to a halt and now it takes just 2 inches.
2 inches of snow! 😳
That’s a bit of an exaggeration, 2mm maybe. 😆
Perhaps it happened because we went metric. 😉
I'm not old enough to remember '47 but I do remember '62/'63 well enough, our local milkman got a friend of his with a grey Fergie tractor to take him around with the crates of milk in a link box on the back. I think the current 'elf 'n' safety' obsession has led to the 'pussification' of the UK.
I agree. I moved to a country district from a city in the winter 1969-1970. I remember the villagers digging the snow that had drifted up and blocked the village school door before they trudged to the train station at 7.30 in the morning.
I get the sentiment but it’s a bit rude to call us pussies your generation created global warming and capitalism were not used to snow and nothing works right here when it snows so it isn’t really our fault
@@biutifulmediauk8856 My generation did no such thing. There were only half as many people and back then our personal energy consumption was much smaller than today's generation. I lived on a large council estate and only 2 families had a car. Most people went to work on a bus or bicycle. The average family had no domestic electrical appliances. No vacuum cleaners, washing machines, dishwashers, and TV did not exist. There was no internet or cell phones. Flying was only for the well off, and Heathrow was a little one runway airport with maybe a dozen planes a day.
Nearly every foreigner that comes to London expecting it to be rainy comes from a place that has more rain than London.
I was born in London (Charlton) and moved to Kent many moons ago. Now living nr Rochester airport, top of Bluebell Hill and know what you mean about living outside a big city. It's nice to 'come home' to the country. Although not a small village its much nicer and only a few minutes walk into open fields, farmland etc. 😊
Thanks for watching!
I've been to London a couple of times. My favourite view of London that makes me just feel amazing, warm and fuzzy and just plain joyful is in the rear view mirror of my car as I'm leaving.
I lived there for four years. Amazing culture, food, but I could never live there again. Even though everybody is living on top of each other, I found it a very lonely city. Not that friendly...or people are so busy either trying to make money or trying to make ends meet that they dont seem to have time to stop and talk and if you try and talk to someone, it's like you're a crazy person
London is NOT England.
A great video, Alanna. I really get the London thing. I was born in north-east London and have lived most of my life there, doing the daily commute into the City or Canary Wharf. I’m now retired and we’re planning on moving to Northumberland, permanently. And a greater contrast you could not possibly get! As an aside, you and your partner should visit Northumberland (if you haven’t already done so) a place of stunning beauty and steeped in history and culture (there are more castles, both standing and ruins, than anywhere else in the UK) and the people are wonderful!
I lived in various places in London for about 20 years. The last was East Ham.
It was a great place to live.
We'd have a note through the door saying: "There is a party at number 20 on Saturday night, you are all invited. Don't complain about the noise if you don't come".
Good times.
I think willingness to embrace the culture of the place you find yourself is key and, as your TH-cam channel demonstrates, that's something you have clearly done! It's really interesting to hear your perspectives on the differences and similarities between the two countries.
Thank you so much!!
Copenhagen is great, try Berlin, a truly wonderful city with very welcoming and warm people. Free or very cheap museums about their regret re WW2 - bang on straight talking and descriptions of pre war politics. Have travelled loads and felt very safe and welcome there even late at night. They very much appreciate tourists of all nationalities and have excellent genuine hospitality towards them in my own humble experience. Jason from North London
I, and many fellow countrymen was/were brought up to regard Commonwealth citizens from Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand as temporary "returnees" with a right to be here as we have been very glad of them in two world wars.
London... great place to visit. Superb. But HELL to live in. I lived there for eight years... would never move back!
Still bingeing your great show with my cold. London is pretty dry, and so is Kent. Yorkshire, Devon, well not so much. Things have changed a lot in my lifetime. NOTHING closed because of snow in the 60s, 70s, 80s. Glad you fit in, but I have to say every Canadian I have met over here has been sociable and polite. British food used to be absolutely appalling for many years. I grew up in London and still think of it as home. When I worked there at first it was wonderful, but it has changed so much over the years. If you have plenty of money or are young and energetic it may be OK still. I still love it over anywhere to visit, mind you.
6:24 “I would do things for all dressed chips”….. The mind boggles 🤣💪
agree100% rain better than snow any time... I lived in Alaska for 10 yrs.
I think the idea UK food is bland goes all the way back to WW2 when troops from North America came over here and sampled the rationed foods Brits where subjected to.
Yeah....
And we had had food rationing until 1953....whilst the money we were repaying to the USA was used to rebuild Germany & Japan.
"Special Relationship" ? My foot. I played on bomb sites in Manchester well into the 60's.
Whilst Americans got fatter. And Fatter.(That at least has had some justice......eventually.....)
The USA designed it to destroy the British Empire....whilst building one of their own. (And they have done so. Unhindered, until recently.)
Anti-Colonialist? They are the epitome of empire builders.
Yes, the Chinese are now having a stab at Colonialism..... Investing heavily in Africa (As did the Russians in the 70's)
And building islands in the South China Sea..... As military bases.... just as the Americans did after WW2 all over the world.
Not one bomb fell on the USA during WW2.
The main casualties were caused by "rubber-neckers" illuminating THEIR ships to U-boats....along the coastal roads!
Homer Simpson! "Gee Marge...I love shining the headlights out to sea..... so we can watch ships get blown up....."
I live in an housing estate, which in my youth was fields of a farm. A couple of miles away Worcester Cathedral is more than a thousand years old. Villages nearby also have origins from a thousand ago. Long before "we" discovered Canada.
It is nice hearing your views from outside this country.
I live in Central Scotland, in a suburb of a smallish town. There are woods and fields at the bottom of my road, and my front garden has a view of the Ochil Hills, which are only three miles away. At the back we have more houses but also countryside views, including an 100 year old Jacobean style mansion. The houses aren't fancy but the surroundings are lovely. I suppose if you have miles and miles of suburbs or housing schemes it can be a bit grim, but in smaller places they can be fine.
I'm from a large town in the north of England and moved to London in my early twenties . Might as well have moved to Canada as all the misconceptions are relatable due to being a "foreigner" in the south. I've moved back via south wales which felt much more like home.
Not everybody in the South are like Londoners lol.
I agree about the advantages in living in a town or village outside London. Although the Brits complain about their trains, the rail links are so good compared to Canada that some place like Tunbridge Wells in Kent is excellent for enjoying town life with the ability to pop into London easily any time of the day.
I live part of the year in Spain, Madrid's great but 4 days max and I'm back up country for the small town life, wonderful.
I'm from Dartford way, but I live in Nottingham. With my accent, there isn't a day goes by when some East Midlander makes some cockernee crack about it. And jellied eels. I tried jellied eels once, never eaten jellied eels again. If folks down at the Kent coast actually eat them (I know they're sold), I'm slightly surprised.
Someone needs to get Alanna a life time subscription to all dressed chips! 🤣
😂 Yes please!
Really thankful to have come across your channel. I'm currently living in Kingston Ontario and saving and hoping to try and go to the UK in the next 2 years. I really appreciate the brutal honesty and just the sheer amount of information I've been able to get from you! Wish me luck! ☺
Ahhh I'm so glad to hear it! Hope everything works out for you!
Well you've been london more times than I have and I'm a couple train stops away. But it's so nice to hear someone talk nicely about the place that's grown so mundane to me. Helps me appreciate the lottery I won being born in such a great place. :)
I have family in Hamilton Ontario, when we've visited we've always had a great time in Canada. Canadians are really friendly and very like Brits I find.
Living in London .
Many English people who grew up or once lived in London now shudder at the thought .
It's a place for tourists ,people who have to work there and need to live close by and the great influx of immigrants, who in their own country think that big cities are nirvana .No ,given the choice ,a lot of us are glad never to step foot in the place again.
I was in London throughout the War years and experienced all the bombing and then the rebuilding ,which removed much of the neighbourhood spirit, which made the city such an interesting place once.
Great video! The fear about not fitting in hits hard. And it's definitely true that you don't truly know what it's like to live somewhere until you've done all the day-to-day boring stuff. Those things have a bigger impact than one would think.
Thanks pal, really appreciate it!
You’re awesome ❤
I took a trip to the UK for a month after I graduated college. I spent a couple of weeks in London (1 week at start and 1 week at the end), but the rest of the time I was in Bristol for the majority, except for about 3 days in Edinburgh. I gotta say that my time in Bristol was the most enjoyable. Easy to get to other places via rail, very walkable, interesting places to eat, esp. pub food. The only reasons I found to stay in London were my proximity to the British Museum (within from my BnB), and other historic places and museums to visit (yeah, big history herd here.) Really, just too busy for my taste. The smaller cities and villages definitely nicer to live in. Plus, so much in walking district in those locations.
When I lived in Wales, I always thought of London as a different country! I often visited and stayed there, and always enjoyed it, but it always gave me a headache!
Great Friday episode. I always appreciate your honesty about your daily experiences living in Kent...
Thanks so much!!
Love your videos. So glad you were able to settle here👍❤
Great video thanks! As a friend of mine said about living in London “after a week I just really wanted to see some grass”. Hope you’re having a great week
Thanks for watching!
Indeed, I think he was potentially exaggerating for comic effect 😂😂
It seems that this year, the Co-op started selling a limited edition "All Dressed Seriously Saucy" crisp. And Aldi apparently sell Clancy's brand All Dressed. Probably neither quite what you want but you never know if you can get hold of them :)
its good to know you are being made welcome here ...long may it continue..
I think you might change your mind about the extra days of rain if you lived in parts of Scotland or Wales that get 3 to 5 times the rain that London gets.
Canadian food: poutine, Hawaiian pizza, ginger beef, Nanaimo bars, butter tarts, maple syrup. There's actually a bunch more from ON and QC that I never really had growing up in BC: peameal bacon, tourtiere, sugar pie, etc
Ah yes, the great Canadian province of Hawaii!
@@B-A-L Hawaiian pizza (ham and pineapple) was invented in Chatham, Ontario, Canada in the 1960s
The beautiful places in uk (thatched quaint cottages, Victorian architecture, manor houses, tutor houses beautiful stone houses, converted barns or churches) cost a LOT of money. They are not usually within the budget of a first time buyer or someone moving from abroad. Most first timers or foreigners (unless they have a lot of money) will be living in a brick house or a concrete flat/apartment.
It rains more in New York each year than it does in London. It's just very variable in the UK
There's so much difference in culture and accents between just the _counties_ here I see people from other _countries_ the same as I would from just 100miles away. The only major difference of any worth, there ain't be nobody in this country calling crisps 'potato chips' ;)
I agree...how on earth are "crisps" called "Potato Chips"? It's just DAFT! Daft I tell you. Go see a shrink...FFS!
I worked in London for 30 years. A complete cesspit that has got worse and worse.
You are overly self-deprecating when you see Canada as without a cousine. The country, being so vast, has lots of regional foods, as opposed to dishes enjoyed nationally. Even little UK has those (haggis, laver bread, etc). In BC, for example, there are: BC rolls, Dungeness crab, Sockeye and Coho, Nanaimo bars, butter chicken (even on pizza!), BC oysters, Tacofino, butter tarts, fish cowder, and Gulf Islands lamb.
There is a small costal area in Kent that is officially semi-desert I.E. between 5 to 10mm rain !
Hello sweetie. The whole London thing is something I fully understand. It's great to visit, but personally, I don't like being in a place where the only way you can see the sky is to look straight up.
As a brit i have only travelled abroad once i have been to Scotland ad whales and Devon Dorset all are brilliant trips and grest holiday destinations
One of your best videos yet. So many good "realities" of London and life here in general. The fact that going somewhere on holiday is not really living the day to day pains should be taken on board by anyone thinking that going to place XYZ will make it so much better.
Thank you!!
Chips and Gravy is a Northern (and Midlands) English staple as well. As a native Southerner who has lived in the North and Midlands for many years now, I still don't get it and can't understand how anyone enjoys smothering perfectly good chips in gravy-flavoured slop (I'm not even sure it's actual gravy, most of the time!). Having said that, I tend to drench my chips with Mayonnaise, which some people here still seem to be appalled by but I absolutely love!
Chips and mushy peas on the other hand is an absolute genius invention that you don't see as often down South, or at least you didn't when I was growing up there. If you haven't yet tried fish & chips with mushy peas then I would highly recommend it!
I'm with you on Jellied Eels. That's from my "neck of the woods" so to speak and my granddad used to eat them, but I've never really liked it. Pie & Mash is great though.
I feel you on the London thing, I grew up in Kent and lived in London for a few years in my twenties and much as I loved the experience it never felt like home. I still love to visit but I too get that feeling of relief when I leave. London is an amazing city but it can also be a lonely place.
I agree!
When you started talking about naff places. My mind immediately went to Slough, Milton Keynes, and most tired old seaside towns.
Snow is just rain but colder
On your london point, as a born and bred suburban Londoner I could never imagine living in a small English town! Everything would be far too quiet and slow for me! London and the rest of the uk are very different things and I think not many visitors understand that difference! I love your videos though and seeing someone who is from outside the uk’s view on English things :) keep up the good work!
I live in a small Scottish town, in 20 minutes I can walk to the airport and head off to Europe. In an hour I could drive to a different airport and go to most countries. Even just in the town there is plenty to do.
Based on all your vids over the years you've always seemed very open-minded and willing to give things a try... that surely has to be the way to go in terms of adjusting and enjoying. I'm with you in relation to London - great to visit but never want to live there, luckily I manage to get the balance right for me and enjoy rural village life but am only an hour's train ride from 'The Smoke". Thanks for another great vid Alanna.
Thanks so much!!
@@AdventuresAndNaps technically u are a brit anyway, even before u moved to england. cos canada is part of the commonwealth.
Hi, Alanna, another excellent video, it was really interesting. You mentioned Jellied Eels and if you've never tried them that would be a brilliant taste test. I obviously have never tried them but you are brave. It would be record viewing figures for that.
Thanks Stephen!! I've thought about jellied eels but... 😬 We'll see! 😂
@@AdventuresAndNaps Eels are just slightly better than surstromming in my opinion (ie puke), and Im a brit. Now THAT would be a taste test I'd bring the popcorn for! You know it makes sense.
I once worked in a small office where everyone thought it would be a hoot to try jellied eels from a traditional pie and mash shop. Everyone except for me, the sole vegetarian. The next day I was the only person in the office, everyone else had food poisoning.
@@Tom_TH-cam_stole_my_handle bloody veggies 🤣🤣
London is the answer to your question. Many Kentish people have family connections to London ( me included) I don't like them.
I live in Stamford town lincs, and it is said is the finest stone town in the uk , Stamford once had the most pubs per square mile in uk (52), every one is an alcoholic! I have lived in
You’re soo right about London! London’s like a whole separate country to the rest of England. All Londoners, both the indigenous population and the immigrant population, seem like foreigners to the rest of the UK. The culture is so different there.
Yep, I can't stand London. Mind you, I can't stand big cities anyway. I used to live about 30 miles or so north of it for about 30 years and only ever visited about 5 or 6 times in my life. Now live nearly 300 miles from it in Cornwall in a small fishing village. After living somewhere for nearly 15 years where for example crime is almost non-existent, I could never go back, nor would I ever want to!
Its not the whole of the UK, places like Brighton, Bristol, Manchester can feel very similar.
@@TheDccottrell - Town planners seem to have an obsession with making every town and city look like every other town or city.
What we know as “England” was formed by the amalgamation of seven separate kingdoms around the 10th century.
Given that most people didn’t venture more than a few miles from their homes for centuries afterwards it’s not surprising that each region has its own culture.
This is what makes me laugh when people talk about losing the “English” cultural identity … there probably wasn’t a single one to start with.
Oh Def London is not England
Talking of soulless places Milton Keynes has to be top of the list, the only thing thats good about the place is that its next to Blechly Park, (Station X).😂
It's refreshing to see someone moving to the UK and NOT falling into the London is where it starts and ends.
I am not a fan of London at all, but I'm not a fan of big cities and its one of the biggest cityest cities around.
There's a lot to do and see in the UK outside that, and outside the other cities. A lot to see and do outside England too.
Good on you for choosing to live in a small town or village. Have you ever tried mead? It's a honey-based alcoholic drink. I think a taste-testing video would be enjoyable for you to make.
I have tried mead and really enjoyed it! Was on Patreon
I think the contrast (the A+N) is one of the things I love about your channel. Whether you’re giving us interesting insights, trying not to burn the house down while wearing oversized oven gloves or sitting on the floor getting tipsy, it’s all good. The marmite hate is disappointing though 😂
😂 I appreciate it!! Give me a few more years and MAYBE I'll come around to marmite...
@@AdventuresAndNaps I've occasionally tasted marmite over 60 years and still no.
@@AdventuresAndNaps i doubt it...hanging in there with ya ALANNA!... Marmite is snail food
Interesting to hear the difference between Kent and Toronto (or Torono as you speak it) Would rather snow to rain though, maybe because snow is so rare here I suppose. 😉
@@AdventuresAndNaps use to love marmite as a kid can't stand it now
I like the way youve been kinda main-streaming/streamlining the intro and outro of your videos, but still maintaining your signature pace (not switching fast cuts) throughout the vid 🙏👌
Mr algorithm took me to your Nanaimo Bars video from 2018. Firstly, you have changed so much! Secondly, your comment on Poutine then was near word for word (except the gravy) exactly the same as today 🙂
That's incredible! 😂
I’m really enjoying this channel as a Brit! You seem like a very down-to-earth person and it’s interesting to see how things that are just normal to me are different from a foreign perspective
Thank you so much!!
I grew up in Kent and have fond memories of it. Enjoy living in London, certainly while I’m working. Perhaps when I retire I’ll live further out.
Your not wrong about snow, a week of snow is more than enough. I actually quite like the rain it’s calming and nothing like a good thunder storm to go with it. Ahhhh
Some people do dislike Marmite. Several years ago (I think in the 90s) Marmite actually had an advertising campaign based around the fact that not everyone likes it with a "You either love it or hate it" slogan. I don't know if those adverts are on here to view but try and find them somewhere if you can, they were quite funny.
Ads for Marmite usually go along the lines of 'we're here at this address because a report of neglect (pics like where a dog or cat is recued from idiot owners), and we found this little chap at the back of the cupboard (shows small, dusty jar of Marmite) we're going to make sure he goes to a home where they appreciate him for what he is'.
I like how people say our food is bland but we have so many curry houses they used to be a lot more westernised but a lot are more authentic
happy Easter hope you get a big Easter egg.
Thank you!!
Canada is a very big place and my experience being from the left side of Canada and that being a rainforest is that it barely rains in Kent. When in rains in Vancouver it rains for a week or more and it is relentless. In kent, it might rain for a few hrs and give up for a few then start again. In fact the weather in Kent is very similar to Vancouver temperatures but it just rains lots more in Vancouver. British food can be as good as anywhere but it can be a bit more challenging to find high end food here than other places I have found. I have been lucky enough to have been all over the UK and for the most part it is really quite beautiful but yes there are some nasty places but even those places have character😁. Totally Agree London is overrated but it can be fun to visit for the day then go home. Or, you can get some cheap deals on a London hotel so you can have fun at night too. If you want to spend a lot there is the Savoy and the Ritz and to be honest the Savoy is better 😁. If you are up there you should just walk into the Savoy and look about maybe pop up to the American bar and have a cheeky cider! 😁
In Vancouver BC and surrounding areas we get more rain in the winter than snow.
Our winters are typically far more mild than the rest of Canada.
last winter it only snowed in town a few inches a couple times and was gone in two days. I park on the street so I did need to shovel once last year, but mainly because I drive a sports car that is definitely not meant for snow.
I'll take rain over snow most days.
I can go up to local mountains to ski or snowboard if I really want snow.
As for Canadain food some people seem to think we eat maple syrup and poutine regularly.
I like poutine once and a while but
it can be extremely salty. I only have maple syrup a few times a year with breakfast or maybe a maple flavor donut from Tim Hortons once a year.
Stereo types about Canada drive me crazy. Glad you feel at home in the UK but please don't forget about Canada. I'm sure your family will make sure you don't.
I know what you mean about London, there's loads to see and do. I sometimes think that I'd have had broader life experiences if I grew up and lived there, but in truth, much as I like to visit the big smoke, I'm a small town boy from Surrey. I find that big cities give me sensory overload after a while; the constant noise, traffic and hurly burly becomes tiring and I find that, like you, it's a relief to leave it behind until the next visit! 😜
Great video as always!
I must say that I also prefer the rain over Canadian winter! I always laugh when I hear a UKer talk about how much snow they got or how it plummeted to -3 the other day...oh my gawd.
I always tell them to look up Newfoundland in the winter. Hell, even New Brunswick or out West. The snow...and the actual plummeting/freezing temperatures of up to -45 with the windchill....now THAT is winter in Canada, lol. With snow up to our hips, we still make our way to work and then home again in the worst weather possible. I can only speak for New Brunswick where I'm from. I hate having to commute it the winter but like you said, it is pretty ❄☃️
Usually a little sign nearby indicating distance to water feed
Congrats on 125k subscribers, I still can't believe that this little channel with 1,000 subscribers turned into this!
Are you sure about that rain chart? Most rain coats are actually precipitation charts do include snow. If that's the case, what it shows is that there are more reading days in London but summer storms in Toronto are heavier
To be totally honest although not classed as Canadian,
The best clam chowder I've ever had by a mile was on Victoria Island.
my best buds cousin came to the uk from Canada on a dual passport 40 yrs ago, for 6 months. You don't even want to know how messy his last week in the uk was ... 3 yrs later lol
Your attitude to "SNOW" matches mine perfectly! I hate the stuff!
Hello from Mexico! Hola Alana.
Hello!!
as far as snow as far goes I agree with you. I moved to Australia in 1962 as a 16 year old only been to the snow 2 times since then too bloody cold . and before you ask yes we get snow in Aus . in fact we have more snow than swiss . i live in Sydney and would have to drive about 2 1/2 hours south to the Snowy mountains .
London gets little rain compared to places on the west coast of Britain - Manchester, the Lake District, Argyllshire. Snow: not liking it is a sign of getting old, like being older than the Prime Minister or only being able to drink wine costing more than £20 per bottle.