Getting around
In London, travel begins with a lot of walking
Have not had a day in 3 months without at least 30 minutes of walking
Public transportation is very good
The Tube (subway system) is primary for longer distances
Buses are good for shorter trips and for seeing the city
Easy to walk in the central areas
Sidewalks are everywhere
People walk until late at night—it’s generally safe to walk almost anywhere in central London until around midnight
Very little violent crime
People cannot own guns and cannot carry knives
I’m guessing the NRA would have a meltdown
There are video cameras filming most public areas—it’d be easy to get caught on tape committing a crime
Which would probably cause US privacy advocates to meltdown
The Tube doesn’t close until midnight, and I’ve never felt unsafe in it
The primary crime you have to worry about is petty theft—pickpockets and brazen thieves are relatively common
Coffee shops often display signs to beware of people trying to steal your bags—because it happens so often in them
Though, so far, only one of our group has lost anything—and that was in Paris
Groceries
Food tends to be much fresher
Very few preservatives in the food
Very little frozen food available in the heart of the city
Most people buy for just 1-2 days at a time
Means the food doesn’t keep long, but tastes better
Pre-prepared meals are WAY better
Usually can tell exactly what you’re getting (they’re refrigerated, not frozen so you can see them in the packaging—no tiny little shrimp compared to the big prawns on the package)
Store brands, especially Marks & Spencer, are very good
For some reason, almost all packaging is difficult to open
Hard to get it open, and nothing recloses
Even things that come in jars can be difficult to reseal
Best guess—attempt to be environmentally friendly with packaging
One of my favorite differences is fresh bacon—which looks more like ham and tastes wonderful
Restaurants
The experience at British restaurants is different
There is no rush
Americans sometimes see this as poor customer service, but—for the most part—the assumption is that they are giving as long as you want to eat and socialize
In truth, it feels more genuine than a lot of American restaurant service that is geared around getting people out of the place as quickly as possible
A good dinner can last 2 1/2 hours, though
There is a lot of variety—mostly authentic dishes from various countries, especially ones that were once part of the Empire
Generally, the food is good
Traditional British food tends to be a bit bland for American (or at least, Texan) palates
Other nationalities have some very spicy food, though
I have gotten close to finding things too hot—not an easy accomplishment with a boy who grew up in Louisiana
My favorite British dish—roast lamb
I have enjoyed most of the national foods: Chinese, Turkish, Indian, Brazilian, etc.
Restaurants tend to be very expensive
Difficult to eat for less than $10 a person at anything other than very light “grab and go” sandwich places
The “pubs” are considered some of the best priced sit-down places, but even at them, if there is no special, dinner tends to run over $10—and that’s drinking water
Soft drinks are incredibly expensive
At almost any sit down restaurant, a soft drink will cost about $3, and usually that’s for a small bottle with no refills
Only a handful of places give unlimited refills
Also seldom more than 2-3 pieces of ice
I have yet to see “iced tea” on a menu—which is probably OK, since English teas are made to be brewed and served hot
Actually, since I wrote this originally, I have seen iced tea once—but it was twice the price of a Coca-Cola
American fast food comparisons
McDonald’s here is considerably worse than it is in the states—and yes I know that’s saying a lot
Subway is about the same—though I really miss PepperJack cheese
Pizza Hut is quite a bit better; actually a very good pizza
I have no explanation for this other than that Pizza Hut apparently bought out a local chain and kept their recipes
People
Londoners tend to be very cold to strangers
No one makes eye contact anywhere—especially not on the Tube
Few people speak or are friendly in any way
This isn’t as true when you get outside of London—the people are considerably more open and friendly
OTOH, even Londoners tend to be very friendly toward someone to whom they have an introduction
Either a personal introduction from a friend or some reason to do business will usually generate a much different attitude
Londoners tend to be indirect in their approach to things
They don’t tend to say things straight out—especially if it’s a request or a concern
They expect you to read through their self-depreciating humor or their “it’s all right” politeness
They are extremely polite in conversation, sometimes in odd ways
Today I had a Starbucks employee go out of his way to help me make a connection to the Internet and then walk over to me a minute later and tell me the shop was closing
In most cases, lines (called queues) are very orderly and handled fairly
They tend to be scrupulous in making sure that whoever got there first gets served next
Cut in line and you’ll get some very angry reactions
Two places where politeness doesn’t apply: waiting for the Tube or crossing the street
The law of the jungle applies in those areas
You can get pushed aside or run over if you don’t hold your own
Recycling, safety and obeying the rules all seem to be important
One thing that is noticeable is that the filters people put on themselves are different.
Language can be much more coarse.
Some of the T-Shirts we’ve seen are far more vulgar than you’d see in the states.
We’ve seen some public displays of affection that got rather out of hand as well.
Good weather brings people out to the parks in droves. Even a small park will have a couple of hundred people in it for the afternoon when the weather is nice
Smoking
This one is a bit odd.
The anti-smoking crusade has been strong here. It’s banned in all public buildings and most private ones (maybe, you can smoke in your own house). The messages on the boxes look to be as tough as they are in the states. I even heard about a law that would make the people selling cigarettes place them where they can’t be seen.
Despite all this, people smoke like crazy
The outdoors in the area are a danger to your breathing
There are a lot of outdoor areas for cafes and restaurants, but you can sit at them if you’re at all sensitive to smoke
People stand outside almost every building smoking it seems; along with people wandering around
I noticed the other day that there was a small group sitting outside on the church steps smoking after church—something you never see in Texas anymore
It’s as bad as being in North Carolina in the 70s—smoke all over the place
Not sure how to account for the difference between England and the states on this—for some reason the social pressure hasn’t changed things here
History
There is a real sense of living in the midst of history
You can visit a pub that is 500 years old—and that’s actually fairly routine
Today I went into a building that was 400 years old when the first settlers arrived in Jamestown
This seems to lead to more of a sense of patience than Americans
Though this doesn’t apply to traffic
Still, they are long-suffering with difficulties, queue up quietly and orderly whenever there’s a need for a line and are generally slow to get angry
Living areas
Most housing is much smaller than in the US
In fact, that’s true even of new housing and of housing that’s out of town
One noticeable difference in hotels and apartments where we’ve been is the difference in baths
Tend to be poor water pressure
Often limited or erratic hot water
A lot of places still have separate hot and cold spigots in the sink
OTOH, toilets generally flush powerfully
There are few public restrooms
Even large department stores may not have one
Often a shopping area will have one public restroom area that costs about 20 pence to use
Banking
Don’t get me started here
Even coming into a bank to try to open a checking/savings account for a corporate account with a good bit of money, we found the rules and bureaucracy to be a nightmare
One example: we applied to get a debit card on January 20. We finally got a working card on April 4.
Rules trump customer service in a lot of places in London; the banks are the most extreme example
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