A month in England and I certainly learned a lot about the country. A month in any country will teach you something. Cultures only really open up to you when you spend a long time in one. There’s only so much to notice in a few days. It’s part of the reason I like to travel slow- you learn more about each place. A month in England taught me that:
The English will sit in their assigned seat. If a person is assigned a seat right next to you, they’ll sit there even if the rest of the carriage is empty.
Every night is a drinking night. It’s no surprise the British like to drink but what surprised me was the sheer quantity they do it in. No matter what day of the week it is or if there’s work the next day, they’ll drink. I saw quite a few scenes on a Tuesday that only happens on a weekend in America. The English love to put the drinks back any night of the week.
Two hours away is too far away. “Where you going from here?” I’d get ask. “Ohh that’s very far” was the usual response. In a country that can fit into Texas a few times over, the British sense of distance is slightly warped. For m,e it’s a short ride but not for the Brits. I know distance is relative but what really shocked me was that most English don’t travel around their own country because “it’s too far.”
The British Rail system is overpriced. You can’t get cheap tickets unless you book far in advance. Otherwise, you’ll pay 50 pounds to go two hours on a train. Like the airlines, the closer to the date you want to go, the higher the price. It’s ridiculous for a public rail system to be so expensive. I think it’s also totally ridiculous that it cost me more to take a three hour bus than it did to fly to Amsterdam. Luckily, I found some cheap ways to get across England and so could avoid this system. No wonder so few people enjoy taking the train.
Everyone loves to hate London. No one likes London, even Londoners. Londoners are cold, the city is overpriced, it’s hectic- the list of complaints goes on. Yet everyone always ends up moving there for awhile. The English have a total love/hate relationship with the city. Despite all the down sides, they stay there. As everyone (including Londoners) told me, “London is shit. Wait to you get out of the city. England is much better there.”
No one talks in London. Speaking of London, get on the tube. It’s so quite. No one talks to each other. They just sit and try to avoid eye contact. No one says anything to each other. No apologies for being bumped. It’s eerie. It’s a bit anti-social.
The English wear wet suits in the water. Since cold water surrounds England, the English go in wearing wet suits so they aren’t too cold. Whether it’s a river, lake, or the ocean, 75% of the English had a wet suit on. When I saw this, I thought to myself- “wimps.” In New England, our water is just as cold but unlike the English, we can take it. Well, maybe not me, but everyone else. Babies.
They treat parks as beaches. There’s nothing like a good day at the beach but if you’re English, your park is your beach. Everyone comes out in beach attire to capture the four minutes of sun that’s out for the day. They bring footballs, dogs, and frisbees. They lounge like it’s the Greek Islands. Because remember, driving an hour to the beach is simply too far.
The TV shows are awful. I thought shows in American were bad but the British take it to new lows with Hollyoaks, East Enders, and especially a much less censored version of Big Brother.
England has a lot of Poles.The whole service industry of England is dominated by Polish immigrants. I wasn’t served by an English person unless it was in tiny towns of Cornwall. The Poles come to England for the wages and, since the English have no desire to wait tables, dominate the service and other low wage industries. I saw in many ways similarities between the immigration of the Poles and Hispanics into the United States. In fact the debate between a lot of my English friends about whether this is good or bad also mirrors the immigration debate we have in America. Some issues transcend borders.
Overall, the countryside was my favorite. London’s good but overhyped. There’s a lot to do but the city really only reveals itself to those with deep pockets. The countryside is much more approachable- prices are reasonable, the people friendlier, and the area far more beautiful. I still can’t decide if I liked the Lake District or Cornwall more but both are leagues better than London. And where didn’t I like? One place comes to mind- The city of Birmingham. England was certainly an interesting place and one I look forward to seeing again.
HI Matt
Very interesting post – it’s always good to read about your home town from an outsider’s perspective. And, sadly, I agree with most of what you say except for one key point. I love London, I love the buzz of the city, all the parks, the theatre, the cliched multi-cutural melange of society here.
Whenever I travel (and I do quite a bit) I always get excited, not about coming back to England but about coming back to the city.
I’m not sure I’m not the only one but then again, perhaps other people think it’s cooler to be negative about it.
You must have met the wrong Londoners then! I love London, and so do all my friends. When I was growing up, I always knew there was only one place I wanted to go to University, and that was London. I moved here at 18 for that and have never left, and I adore the place, for all its faults. Whenever I go to any other city on my travels, I always have a fantastic time, but I’ve never felt I would enjoy living there more than London (except maybe Berlin). Most Londoners I know look down on the rest of the country as being a bit backwards, and in many ways we even like it when tourists (or visitors from other bits of the UK) don’t like it – it just confirms to us what we already think we know, that some people just can’t cope with the city.
I wouldn’t agree Londoners are cold either – we just don’t see the point of faking friendliness. British visitors to the US often comment on the over-enthusiastic friendliness of american waiting & shop staff. To us, it comes across as false.
Pretty much agree with everything else you have to say about our little country though!
Matt, I just finished my project (2 days ago) that has been consuming my life forever and found your email about your website. I’m so sorry we never got together before you left, but your “review of London” has me in stitches. What are your plans for this winter? I have booked tix already for Sri Lanka and am soon booking for India! Miss you!
When did smiling and being polite become fake? That’s so typical Northern Europeans to have that opinion. I love the rest of the world for being much more polite and interested in the people around them rather than just themselves.
That’s my opinion. Had to let it out. I love Northern England for the friendly people and good atmosphere (people smile!) much more than London too. Not that I don’t like London, but I find it to be very superficial. And overly hyped, I agree with Matt. There’s so many big cities a lot more interesting all the while still multi-cultural and everything else you’d find in London.
I’ve never been to England, but this sounds exactly like New Zealand!! I guess the Brits did their job when they colonized NZ… it’s a replica!
Apart of that NZ doesn’t have a lot of Poles, it has a lot of Brits.
Cultures only really open up to you when you spend a long time there.
True… great observation.
Some interesting observations there Matt and I’d have to pretty much agree with them –
Although I love Cornwall, you won’t catch me in the water with or without a wetsuit – it’s just too cold!
But you didn’t mention our national obsession with the weather – especially in this wet summer we have to make the most of any little ray of sunshine that comes our way. For any summer outing you need to pack suncream and umbrellas.
@tamara: I guess my friends just joined a trend!
@geoff: Well, you and tamara make two people I know who love to love London. I did notice a bitterness between londoners and non-londoners. Each had a negative view of each other….sort of like north vs south englanders…
and we’re not being fake nice…it’s just our overly happy culture!
@ashley: your alive!! I’m in Thailand this winter…stop over in Bangkok
@sabine: thanks for agreeing! good luck on your trip too! will be following you around.
@Heather: yes, you love to discuss and complain about the weather.
Thanks for this post Matt. Moving to London in January 2009 – have heard mixed reviews but doesn’t stop me from doing it. I like having you on the one side (the North American side) and Geoff on the other to truly get a good perspective!
I lived and worked in London for a year a while back. For the first few months it seemed overly subdued–i.e. your example of people not talking on the tube. But when I moved back to NYC I felt like everyone was yelling at me those first few months. London is one of the best travel hubs in the world. I miss going to Istanbul for the weekend and any number of places that are close and reasonably cheap to get to.
A tough subject to broach, and you did it well. Naturally I don’t agree with everything, but I do want to applaud you on the observation that we, the English do think 2 hours is a long way to go! Its only when I set off travelling and was forced onto buses day and night (and day again) that this myth of our upbringing was dispelled. In all honesty, I think its down to petrol prices – a two hour drive isn’t that long, its just bloody expensive!
Hi Matt
I really didn’t mean to be negative about your friends. Please don’t take offence. I just wanted to point out that there are people here in London who love the city as well as those who love to hate it – as you point out.
I completely agree with you – the Lake District is amazing – but it pales into insignificance when compared to some of the landscapes in your home country!
Tamara
That so made me laugh aloud! Most of my friends are Brits and being in England for a bit, you were spot on. I haven’t traveled as much as you have there, but I guess I will stick to outside of London,eh? Considering last time I got robbed! I wrote a post about converting Brit slang to American, which might be up your alley, or at least good for a few laughs. Check it out if you want a chuckle or two.
Well said, that to know a place better and to see and experience their culture one should travel slow, rather than covering a whole country in a week or even less. Seeing life in its true colors are the memories that would last longer about a place.
Aswathy.
Very entertaining and quite true! I am returning to England for a second time this fall and only scheduled London for two days this time. On to read your takes on Oxford and Bath…