Here are some useful advice and tips to know before coming to the UK, from a resident Brit.
1) It’s more than just London
The amount of times I’ve heard people say “England is in London”…….. London is England’s capital city, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only place you should visit. We have beautiful lakes, moorlands, national parks, mountain ranges and sandy beaches all across the UK. So whether you’re staying in one particular area, it’s not too far to travel to see some beautiful sights, and we have a vast array of public transport. If cities are what you’ve come to see, I’d recommend hitting all the capitals (Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff) as well as Oxford, Bath, Bristol (Cabot Circus) and Leeds. Personally, I only tend to go to Camden market or Soho if I’m in London as lot’s of the shops can be found elsewhere but without massive crowds. Check out UK travel inspiration for more ideas.
2) Football is huge! (but not everyone’s a fan)
If you happen to be in a shop when the world cup is on and someone yells “It’s coming home” the whole shop will burst into song and start singing the song and it can be quite confusing if you don’t know it or what’s going on. Similarly, if you’re in a pub when the game is on, be prepared to have your eardrums burst when a goal is scored by either cheering or cursing and swearing. However, as I said, not everyone is a fan, and this usually depends on how you were brought up. Personally, I was brought up in a sporty household, but we never watched football and my family were always more interested in playing rather than watching and were very passionate about the political/money side of sports. Also, remember you MUST call it football, because if you say ‘soccer’ you’ll usually be asking for trouble!
3) It’s not always raining, but it does quite a lot
I guess we have global warming to blame for our whacky weather these days. Sweltering (for the UK at least) heat one day, and then snow the next followed by an evening of hail or thunder. Always check the weather before going out, and if there’s more than a 40% chance of rain, might be a good idea to carry a coat or umbrella with you.
4) Avoid politics if you can
Politics can be a touchy subject for many brits, and it will often end in a VERY heated conversation, usually with the person telling you that you’re wrong. Or at least that’s what has happened with pretty much every political conversation I’ve ever had with my fellow brits! If you’re looking to make friends that will last a long time, stick to less controversial topics. However, a political conversation can be educational so if you’re looking to learn feel free to approach the subject but be warned to spend a long time listening!
5) We do love our bevs, but we’re not all alcoholics
We do love regular trips to the local (the local pub), in fact we love our pubs so much that it 2019 it was reported that there were 47,200 pubs in the UK! To put that into context, there were 1300 McDonald’s in the UK in 2018 and if that’s not a good enough comparison, there were 32,000 swans as of 2020, a seventh of the world’s over all population. That’s a LOT of pubs! The legal drinking age in the UK is 18, however a 16 year old can have a drink at a restaurant with a meal when accompanied by an adult, preferably their parent
6) Tipping isn’t customary, but it’s very appreciated
Tipping isn’t that big of a thing, but when going to a restaurant, it’s a nice gesture as wages aren’t amazing and it will brighten the waiters day if you do, but it’s not really expected. Similarly, if going to a small, unchained coffee shop, it’s a really nice thing to just say ‘keep the change’ with a smile.
7) Might be a good idea to learn some of our slang
Here are a few key phrases and words that you should know:
- Beef – a disagreement that can lead to violence
- Pretty much add ‘ed’ to the end of any word and we Brits will use it to describe being drunk e.g. ‘floored’, ‘trousered’, ‘trollied’, ‘sloshed’
- Gaff – house
- Skint – broke or poor
- Grafting – a guy trying to get a girl to like him
- Bird – woman or girl
- Chav – a derogatory word for a flashy (often) working class person showing off their designer wear (usually sportswear) and are often brash, loud, and display anti-social behaviour. Also describes girls who wear too much make up that’s often badly applied.
- Chirpsing – flirting
- Bare – a lot of, very
- Pants – this could either mean underwear or something being bad e.g. ‘the weather’s pants today’
- Bevs – short for beverage, however in recent years it has been used to describe ones boyfriend or girlfriend, this isn’t very widely used though and has only really come about since Lucy Donlan’s appearance on Love Island 2019.
- Nosh – food
- Kerfuffle – making a fuss or a mess of a situation
- Airing – ignoring someone and therefore ‘being aired’ is being ignored
- Wagwan/wagwarn – what’s going on or hello
- Spill the tea / beans – spill the gossip
- Faffing around – not doing much or time wasting when asked to do something
- Chunder – throw up, vomit
- Mandem – group of male friends
- Wifey or the Mrs – girlfriend, fiance or wife but usually girlfriend
- Allow it – stop it
- Have a gander (or sometimes have a goosey) – have a look
- Telling porky pies or porkies – lying
- Roadman – essentially the same as a Chav
- Peng ting – someone who’s fit or good looking
- The C bomb – can be used affectionately, but some may take offence so only use this around your mates!
8) Slang in other places could mean something completely different in the UK
Here are a few American to English slang words that you should probably learn the difference for.
- ‘Fanny’ often refers to a backside in America, but means lady parts in Britain (best avoid that one unless talking about bum bags/fanny packs). It can be taken as an insult by some people as well.
- ‘Zucchini’ is known as a courgette in England, similarly, ‘eggplant’ is known as an Aubergine.
- The ‘first floor’ in the UK is the first floor you get to above ground level, as that is called the ground floor. In America, it is sometimes referred to as the ‘second floor’, so this is a good thing to know when visiting a friend’s flat (apartment) so that you don’t end up knocking on the wrong door!! When using a lift (elevator), you’ll see a ‘G’ meaning the ground floor, which is where you would exit onto the street.
- If you say ‘soccer’ to an English person, they may stop talking to you, or give you a massive speech about how it’s ‘football’ not soccer.
- ‘Rubber’ in America is what we call a ‘Johnny’, if you ask a Brit for a ‘rubber’ they may think you’re asking for an ‘eraser’, so best to probably use the universal term!
9) People say hello to strangers when on walks
As a child, I always used to wonder why people we didn’t know would say hello to us when we were out on a walk, and my mum would say, “we just do”. They might say ‘hello’ or ‘you alright’ or even just a nod of the head. Just respond with a hello back or ‘yeah’ or nod back and smile. Sometimes, usually if hiking, when you pass someone coming down as you’re going up a hill, they’ll give you advice like ‘it’s really muddy’ or ‘the stream up there has burst it’s banks’ and it is sort of then expected that you pass this information on to anyone else you meet who’s going up too and then relay your own information about the hike when going down.
10) Different parts of the UK have different words for things
Take a bacon sandwich for instance. Across the country these are known by so many different name it’s hard to keep up! Here are the basic examples that should get you by:
- Barm / barmcake – North West
- Bap / sarnie / roll / butty / muffin / bun / sandwich – fairly universal
- Cob – East Midlands
- Scuffler – Yorkshire
- Softie – Aberdeen
- Bara – Wales
- Teacake – West Yorkshire
- Morning roll – Scotland
- Stotty – Yorkshire
- Oven bottom – Lancashire
- Batch – Warwickshire
- Breadcake – Yorkshire
Now, this isn’t true for everyone in these places, however you may see it on a menu or be offered one with a cup of tea when visiting someone’s house. If you’re confused, these names are essentially to do with the type of bread used. For instance, a bun is the same as a burger bun, but sandwich would be slices of a loaf of bread.
11) Our plug sockets have on-off switches
In some countries, you just put the plug into the socket (outlet) and it instantly starts working. In the UK this isn’t the case unless it’s a USB port. You really don’t want to get caught out without a charged phone when you desperately need one, so ALWAYS check it’s turned on!!
12) People tend to give up seats on the tube for the elderly or pregnant women
I’m told that in America and other place, seats are often offered to women in general and the elderly. Whilst many women would be grateful that you’re offering them your seat, some may feel that you think they look old or fat! This is very rare that people think this when being offered a seat, however I have witnessed some poor man being given an earful from a woman because she felt insulted by the offer.
Leave a comment below, maybe this inspired your next trip!
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