Life British r/AskUK

‘What’s something you wish you’d known earlier about living in the UK?’ – 21 people mystified by the strange ways of the British

British people have many ways of thinking about themselves as a nation, most of which are highly contradictory. Are we tolerant? Buttoned up? Friendly? Stiff-upper-lipped? Kind? Grumpy? Funny?

Whether you see yourself in any of those, there’s one common way we appear to people who have come to our country from abroad: a bit weird. And deservedly so. User Babiesbrunette posted this on the AskUK subreddit:

‘What’s something you wish you’d known earlier about living in the UK? It took me long time to realise that ‘you alright’ is not a question about your wellbeing. It is the British way of saying “hello”.’

And those who were not born on these strange isles had plenty more to say about the things it had taken them a while to get to grips with.

1.

‘A small jog is required when crossing a zebra if a car has waited for you. Tt doesn’t need to be faster than walking but it’s almost like a physical ‘Thank you, I’ll be quick.”
littlechill94

2.

‘That people actually like ‘small talk’ and they will even use it to ‘get to know you’. Coming from Eastern Europe and working in hospitality I have to do small talk daily and still can’t get used to it after 10 years.

‘I had a conversation with a Romanian lady the other day. They were eating at my restaurant and she had some questions for me. Nothing awkward or invasive, but we had a 10 minute conversation (that I thoroughly enjoyed) and we now know more about each other than some of my neighbours that I have known for four years.’
Binlorry_Yellowlorry

3.

‘There is a queue at the bus stop. It’s not a physical one, but it’s in people’s heads. You need to know when you arrived and who was before you. It’s SO rude when people turn up and just get on before people who’ve been waiting longer.

‘Exceptions: anyone who might need extra assistance is usually invited by the first person in the queue to go first. If this is you, you first need to decline and then they’ll say no no I insist, and then you go ‘Ah thanks, that’s amazing, thanks’.’
Qu1rkycat

4.

‘I’ve spoken to Eastern Europeans who find it hilarious that we thank the bus driver.’
ClarkyCat97

5.

”Maybe’ means ‘No’. They just see it as more polite.’
GlassCrepe

6.

‘Correct. Other ‘polite’ ways of saying no include ‘I’ll think about it’, ‘I/we will see’ and my personal favourite, ‘Yeah, definitely!’ (which means absolutely not but I’ll only let you know last minute).’
autumn-knight

7.

‘Your local community has a LOT going on. I’m in my 40s and going to an NHS class thing. I was absolutely blown away cos the amount of other stuff going on I just never thought about.

‘Bird watching groups, park ‘friends’ who litter pick on Saturdays, running clubs, free classes for flower arranging or crochet. It’s endless opportunities to do things. And I strongly recommend going to things you wouldn’t normally. I’m a bloke but I loved the winter nature crafting class and it opened up so many other opportunities!’
SleipnirSolid

8.

‘Hay fever. I wish I had known about hay fever lasting from May til August.’
After_Tune9089

9.

‘Ask the taxi driver if he’s been busy.’
Amazing_Bat_152

10.

‘Don’t ever say ‘no’ within general conversation/interaction. It can be really distressing for some. Say stuff like ‘Great idea, I’ll consider it’ (to meet up suggestions) or ‘I haven’t thought about it this way’ followed by a ‘I actually thought it’s [this] way around’ (for discussion).’
aninspiringname

11.

‘There is no sir or ma’am. Only mate and love. If you’re a scouser, you may swap love for sausage.

‘British humour is extremely dry and sometimes downright mean. I still have trouble differentiating between people taking the piss and being straight-up bullied.’
MewMeowHowdy