Whether you're moving to the U.K. or have already arrived, it can take a bit of time to get adjusted to how your new country works. Here are five tips to hopefully help you adjust:
Grocery Delivery Yes, delivery! All the major chains will deliver whatever you need: ice, meat, alcohol, toiletries. You name it. If you can get it at Tesco you can get it delivered. Consider that if you're living in London and might not have a car having your heavy or bulky items delivered is fantastic. And speaking of delivery, Amazon will also deliver anything from toilet paper to potting soil. Talk about convenience!
Sticker Shock. Remember a couple of years ago when someone posted a picture online of a seven dollar cauliflower? You're going to feel that shock every single time you pull out your wallet for a solid 6 months. You might feel faint after you look at the bill for your first family fish and chip dinner and inadvertently do a quick calculation of what that cost you in Canadian dollars. Eventually you'll stop doing the conversion rates and you'll just accept that a meal out and a movie with 2 kids can cost you a couple hundred bucks. On the bright side, groceries here are a lot cheaper than you think, particularly staples. The quality of the produce is superior to that which you're getting in Canada.
Traveling. An English kilometer is not the same as a Canadian kilometer. If you're traveling across the country by car, you'll have to come to terms with the fact that it can take 3 hours to drive 100 km. England has many wonderful things but a straight road is not one of them (plus the traffic!). Make sure everyone has a bathroom break before you leave the house. Every. Time.
Coffee. Ordering coffee in the UK is an experience in and of itself. Forget walking into a coffee shop and asking for a double-double. Nope. Cream in coffee is almost unheard of. In fact, if you ask for cream in your coffee chances are you'll get an Americano with some whipped cream squirted on top! Ask for a white Americano or a flat white instead.
Customer Service. Customer Service here, at least in London, stinks. In Canada, we are accustomed to being treated as though our business is appreciated and wanted. That doesn't always happen here. Quite often you'll enter a shop and you'll be completely ignored by the staff. Servers in restaurants might stop by your table once to see if you need anything but they might not. Banks, movie theaters and several other kinds of businesses are almost completely automated as well. It's weird but you'll get used to it.
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