‘What’s something you learned from another country that you wish the UK would adopt?’ – 22 things that would make Britain better

Despite people endlessly denigrating the place for social media clout, the UK is actually a pretty good place to live.

However, there’s always room for improvement, which is something they’ve been discussing on the AskUK subreddit after user Vlederic_KAI posted their thoughts on the matter…

‘What is something you learned from another country that you wish your own country would adopt?’

And they added just a little bit more context.

‘After spending time observing different cultures, I realized how much small cultural or infrastructural details can improve daily living—whether it’s walkability, recycling systems, or how people respect personal space in public.

‘I’d love to hear your thoughts: What is a habit, policy, or system you experienced in another country that made you think, “Why don’t we do this back home?”‘

Lots of people had some excellent ides which they’d picked up in other places. Check these out…

1.

‘Japan – your employer pays for your commuting costs.’
–apeliott

2.

‘Teaching Japanese children to be responsible for their environment from nursery school on. Small kids clean their classrooms each day, including wiping off desks and sweeping the floor.

‘Because they know they have to clean up the mess at the end of the day they are tidier throughout the day by putting toys away when finished playing and making sure trash is deposited in the bin instead of leaving it for someone else to take care of it. The kids even serve the food at lunchtime and clean up afterwards.’
–Superb_Yak7074

3.

‘The German Pfandflaschen system. This means you get a 25 cent deposit back for every bottle or drinks can that you feed into a machine. Why is this not a thing in every developed country?’
–Bbew_Mot

4.

‘Finland, contentment, they’re not the happiest country because they do anything differently, they just accept mediocrity as good.

‘Denmark, no class system, people from all walks of life will be friends, you will see the CEO dining with the janitor and any attempt by someone to think they are better than you is soon defeated.’
–Equivalent_Parking_8

5.

‘Dutch cycling infrastructure and culture of cycling to get easily from A-B.’
–Ashwah

6.

‘I have just come back from Germany. The cleanliness was such a pleasant contrast with the U.K. I wish people here would stop dropping litter, chewing gum and fag ends everywhere and care about their environment more. It’s so ugly and it costs a fortune to clear up.’
–EldritchCleavage

7.

‘The Spanish siesta, who doesn’t love an afternoon nap?’
–buffalosoldier111

8.

‘Italy seems to have a longer shopping day, thanks to the midday close-down. A huge cultural change for us, to be sure, but I found it so much more relaxing.’
–spudfish83

9.

‘in France, new car parks must be roofed over with solar panels. Genius, as it creates a cheap local supply of power so incentivises installing EV charging too.

‘Switzerland doesn’t allow non-domiciled non-citizens to own residential properties. That’s also genius. Means you have to be invested in society and a local taxpayer to settle there properly. if you don’t want to pay taxes you have to pay rent to someone who does.’
–CarpeCyprinidae

10.

‘I love living in the UK as an American but why why why do the windows not have screens?!? I could really do without the influx of various insects in the summer.’
–UniqueTart6744

11.

‘China for having such a wide variety of cheap takeout cuisine that it’s often cheaper to buy than to cook.’
–tristrampuppy

12.

‘Week numbers in Denmark. Everyone knows the week numbers and use them as shorthand instead of saying actual dates. Its nice when a group meets “on even weeks” for example. Your calendar has week numbers on it, so also easy to figure it out once you forget.’
–Salty-Preference2448