Someone asked about the bits of British life Americans romanticise which are ‘actually a bit rubbish’ – 23 UK stereotypes that don’t live up to the hype

13.

‘Christmas markets, although this isn’t unique to American tourists. They used to be good, and some smaller ones still are, with genuine small-time producers selling their handmade stuff.

‘But the big ones now are all run by the same conglomerate, and just have the same five stalls on repeat selling shite from AliExpress.’
–I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS

14.

‘London – its a very big city with lots of different areas. Films always seem to be in Notting hill or other parts with beautiful stucco fronted, architect designed houses. People wander around Portobello Road market buying things from bespoke stalls and shops. Rarely in some grotty estate in Mile End or Canning Town, buying a meal deal from Tescos.

‘Most people dont’ live in those places, it’s all multi million estate stuff. I’m not saying London overall is rubbish, far from it….but it’s definitely seen through rose tinted glasses and only certain places are shown, that’s normally ‘west London’.’
–k8s-problem-solved

15.

‘Beautiful old homes with bonus points for thatched roofing and charming little villages where cosy crime shows kill off a new person every episode.

‘I now live in one of these thatched homes in one of these villages and my house is full of poorly fitting windows and spiders and walls with cracks in them, not to mention weird plumbing and random small cupboards. I enjoy the odd old house but could do without the old house drawbacks. My neighbours also almost never get murdered.’
–ProfessionalGrade423

16.

‘The average British residential street has way less gardens/greenery than Americans envision.’
–Quiet-Excitement-310

17.

‘Making tea is often hastily done and not some kind of fancy thing. Making a brew can be done within 20 seconds of the kettle boiling. Often in a mug with stains. For a lot of people it’s such a common thing that it’s like grabbing a glass of water.’
–BeardyRamblinGames

18.

‘Hardly anyone actually lives in some of the tiny quaint seaside villages. They’re all Airbnb. The houses are so expensive and the people who are serving you ice creams earn minimum wage and could never afford to buy a house there.’
–RemoveComfortable982

19.

‘Posh English accents. The vast majority of us sound very different and far from posh.’
–OnlyJ0eking

20.

‘Maybe not Americans specifically but Greggs. Saw a huge gaggle of tourists eating stuff from Greggs recently. It’s alright, but it’s sort of one of those overly twee performatively British internet things to say that you LOOOVE Greggs.’
–ChickyChickyNugget

21.

‘In media from the USA rain often looks cinematic and there’s always somewhere cosy to escape to with perfect lighting. In reality days and days of rain in January just looks drab – everything is grey and damp and cold.’
–Taucher1979

22.

‘National parks. Farms and towns and what? Yeah, we didn’t create national parks until after we had already settled and farmed everywhere. The parks really are just places we decided to stop over developing.’
–LordOfRuinsOtherSelf

23.

‘We actually keep our child wizards captive in cupboards under the stairs. It’s barbaric.’
–Ok-Pumpkin-6203

And finally …

‘Posh people.

‘Most of them are c****.’
LonelyArmpit

Source r/AskUK Image Screenshot