5 Things You Might Not Know About the UK

As an American abroad, I've learned that my expectations are often incorrect. In England, it's become quite clear that there is a lot to learn.

At face value, Americans and Brits seem very similar. Surely we are more similar than we are different. Despite this assumption, there is a lot to learn about the UK that may surprise you. So whether you are from the US or elsewhere, I have some fun facts to share about the UK that you might not know!

First off, just so we’re on the same page. Are we sure we know what the UK is? Right, you’re not stupid, I know that (you're reading my blog!) but you might not have this completely right.

1. You might not know what the UK even refers to.

United Kingdom (UK): This term refers to a few different places. I explain the difference between the UK, Great Britain, and England here.

In summary, the UK is made up of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and England.

You also might not know that Scotland, Northern Ireland, and England each have different money! They all use the British pound, yes, but their money has different designs!

So let's jump to what you might not know about weather.

2. You might not know much about the weather in the UK.

But, Tess, I already know the weather in England! It's cold and cloudy!

Ugh! Do you ever let me finish? I know you know it's cloudy, but do you know why? And did you know that the UK actually has more temperate winters than other countries in similar latitudes? I didn't think so!

Here is a real life, unedited photo of weather in the UK

One thing I learned when I came to England was how the Atlantic currents affect the weather in the UK. I am not a scientist or someone who studies the waves and currents (woah! that would be an epic job!) but I will explain in my own words some things that have been explained to me:

Essentially, currents come from Nova Scotia go down to the Caribbean, get all nice and warm, and carry that warmth back up all the way to Britain (which we now know, is a landmass!). This kind of counter-clockwise cycle brings some warmth up to the British isles, keeping it warmer than one might expect. These warm temperatures, combined with some winds from the Arctic, and the proximity to the ocean, create many clouds around the isles. The clouds come from evaporated heat (from these warm tides) but it's not too warm, otherwise the water wouldn't stay condensed as clouds (that's where the cold polar air comes in).

As a result, England isn't too cold in winter, at least not as cold as one might expect. Given how north the area in question is, we could expect frigid temperatures. I personally expected it to get colder, and to see snow. I found that despite the fact that I was much more north than my home of Washington DC, there was no snow, and it was much warmer than it was at home. As a matter of fact, one day in January, it was 8 degrees in both Washington DC and London. But the latter was in celsius. That’s a 38 degree difference in fahrenheit! It was 38 degrees warmer in England, but in latitude, I was 13 degrees more north!

This also keeps England moderate in the summer. While we suffer in heat and humidity in DC, England and the rest of the UK has mild summer months. In July, expect about 70 degrees fehrenheit, with a cool breeze.

I also cannot over emphasize that the warm-cold combo I explained that brings the clouds, really brings the clouds. My friend Alyssa has lived in England for about six years now, and warned me before I moved that “it’s not like DC, where it snows, but then the sun comes out the next day. It gets cloudy here, and stays cloudy. People don’t see the sun for months in London.” Woah! Scary, but you get used to it. When the spring comes, the clouds are not as ever present, but it's still a pretty cloudy place in comparison to others.

This all being said, I will venture to say that I've learned that the weather here is not actually that bad. Yeah, I said it. It’s not bad. I mean, it’s by no means good, and I certainly miss the sun at times. Heck, I miss it to the point of it hurting, but the weather won't kill you. Spring and summer are quite lovely, and almost, almost, make up for it.

Look, mom! No clouds!

3. You might not know about British night life. On a similar note to weather and geography, did you know in the summer the sun goes down really, really late in the UK? Yeah, I know it does everywhere, but because of how North the UK is, and how the Earth tilts on its axis, the UK sees the sun go down as late 10 pm. Yeah.

So we know the sun likes to stay out late in the UK—but what about the people?!

Well, they tend to go to bed a bit early, actually. Obviously ignoring for a second the late night club scenes, I was surprised to see how early the UK calls it a night. Pubs close around 11 pm, and the tub stops at midnight on weekends. There's talks of this changing, but at the moment, even London gets pretty quiet after midnight.

If you plan to get your drink on in London or elsewhere in the UK, plan to start the party earlier. In may experience, it seems people start drinking as early as six, and keep the party going til about midnight. Of course there's clubs and afterparties at flats and all of that excitement, but as a visitor, you're probably looking at an early night.

4. You might not know that the restaurants are different. There are quite a few differences between eating food in the UK** and eating food in the US. Let's break it down:

• Forget free refills. It's not a thing anywhere. But what if I don't want to stop drinking my soda? I know, it's absurd and unfair. It never gets beter. On that note, you can definitely also forget about your bottomless brunch. I. know.

• But... you also can forget tipping. Yep, in the UK as well as other parts of Europe, tipping is minimal or nonexistent. Typically, people leave a few coins (which may add up to £3-4, mind you), but it's never the obligatory 20% which adds a great deal to your meal total. This goes for drinks too; you don't really need to tip the bartender. When I buy a drink in the US, I always give the bartender something. Not really the case in the UK. It's polite to do, but hardly expected of you.

• No one will ask you how you'd like your burger cooked. I know, I'm sorry, I'm sharing appalling things again. You order a burger, and you will get it the way you get it. Forget ordering medium-rare. It comes pretty well-done.

• No one is going to bring you water. What! I know, I'm parched just thinking about it! You have to ask for water, whereas in the US we pretty much expect it. Ask for some instead, but do it very politely.

• Waiters are different, too. In the US, waiters are commonly extremely friendly (see: tips) and if you want, you could easily strike up a conversation with your waiter and really get to know him or her. In a few minutes, he or she will be telling you about where they're from and what their kid is like. Additionally, people are proud to be waiters, and proud to be good at it. Sorry, my British pals, but it just doesn't seem the same with your waiters here. It seems here that the waiter is kind of awkward. They don't really talk to you much. They bring you your food and go away. They ask you how it was, but expect you to say "good" quickly and politely and just be done with all this convesation already. British people are polite, and are more likely to say, "um, excuse me, would you mind just fetching me some water? It seems I've ingested your toenail in this soup. I'm sorry!" rather than, "THERE'S SALT IN THIS SOUP?! SEND IT BACK I'M SENSITIVE TO SALT! WHY DID WE EVEN COME HERE JOSEPHINE!" It's just different.

Actually, that brings me to my next point...

5. You probably don't know how polite British people are. I mean, they are so polite. They are super quiet, always avoiding calling too much attention to themselves or cause you any trouble (that is, when they are sober). Let me paint a picture for you:

Let's say you are on the tube with your sweaty smelly self, and you start making out with your irresistible sweaty lover. While in the heat of your nastiness, you find yourself leaning on a British man on his way to work. This man will probably say, "sorry, excuse me" and maybe move if he's truly trying to make a scene.

Okay, I am exaggerating, but my point is, British people are very polite, and it's just adorable, or annoyingly condescending, depending on your mood when it happens (sorry British friends). They simply never want to be rude or risk embarassment. They say sorry a lot. This is pretty different from Americans. We are stereotypically loud and obnoxious, and don't really apologize for it—but that's a post for another day.

So there you have it, 5 Things You Might Not Know About the UK. Hope it was informative!

Footnotes

*Except Wales. It’s not represented in the Union Jack, because Wales is a principality of England not a country.

**Actually, these things are different in a lot of countries. The US seems to be the weird one here (again, see: metric system).

#England #UK #science #geography #europe