So I have been living in the UK, England specifically, for 3 months now. Life, in general, is good and I am loving it here for the most part. But there are some odd things which just make my cancuckistani head shake. So here are some observations of life in the UK, from a Canadian perspective:
- Buying over the counter pain medication, like Advil or Aspirin, is quite the trial. In Canada we’re so used to just walking in and getting a bottle of 50-72 tablets of whatever and the cashier & pharmacist not batting an eyelash. Here you can packets of 6 or 12 and no more than 3 packets at a time, and the cashier cannot sell it to you without the pharmacist’s okay, even though there is no prescription required. The UK is very much a nanny-state when it comes to people trying to self-medicate themselves .. the premise being that they want to make sure that people do not have enough to overdose. I find this odd and rather patronizing. I mean, we are adults, if we are stupid enough to accidently overdose it’s our fault. And if we want to kill ourselves there’s nothing stopping is from going from shop to shop getting enough to do the dead. But oh well. I can cope.
- I have allergies so I take an antihistamine. The one I took in Canada was Allegra-D, it’s the only one that is lactose-free. In the UK it is sold under a different name – Telfast – and you need a doctor’s prescription to get it.
- You need to sign up with a GP, no biggie, except they all seem to function on the premise that people can easily come in before 5pm for an appointment. Many people work, so finding a GP that is open past 6pm is really hard. I found one. Now the trick is to find one that is also open on Saturday. I guess I was spoilt in this regard, when I lived in Toronto. If I had a UTI I could go to a walk-in clinic 7-days a week and get taken care of.
- It’s much easier to buy healthy food in the UK. In Canadian grocery stores if you are a single person buying most products in the stores is difficult. Chicken tends to be packed with 4 breasts or 4 legs minimum. Same with pork chops etc. Everything is usually packaged with the family in mind. I can easily walk into my ASDA and get enough minced meat for just me & Munkie for a single meal. There is less wastage this way. Same goes for other items. I can purchase small packs of eggs and not feel like I am being robbed.
- The UK, unlike Canada, seems to be obsessed with Genetically Modified Foods and most consumers will not purchase the stuff. There is a requirement for food to be labeled properly so that people can make informed decisions.
- There’s a big drive here to eat UK local produce. Especially now that there’s a scandal over multi-nationals such as Starbucks and Amazon and McDonald’s not paying their fair share of income tax.
- There’s booze in the grocery stores.
- Buses, especially in more rural areas (ie. Anything outside of London), are a pain to deal with. Does not matter if you are standing by the bus stop, unless you wave your hand to flag the bus driver he/she will not stop. This happened to me in Lyndhurst out there in Hampshire. I was told by friends that it didn’t matter that I was by the bus stop, because I didn’t wave it was my fault the bus driver didn’t stop. Thankfully Munkie was able to pick me up.
- Flapjacks are what we call granola bars in Canada.
- I’m trying to get used to the fact that most houses do not have a tree in their front yard, atleast on the south coast in Hampshire. All this barrenness is very unnerving for me.
- Some of the biggest talking points for people are the price of commuting by train, and heating costs. Those of you in Canada be thankful that your heating costs are heavily subsidized by the government.
- The Great British Bake Off is AMAZING!!!
- I’ve become addicted to a reality programme – 24 Hours in A&E – it’s a programme that looks at the ER department at King’s College Hospital in London, and each episode is a single day in the life of the ER department, speaking to patients, their loved ones, the staff.
So in general life here is pretty good. Would I move back to Canada? At this point I’d say no, there is a tone of stuff to explore here, and life can be interesting here. But I do miss my Momma Bean and my friends.
Natasha said:
So glad you find our shores to your liking. I give it another three months before you want to overdose (but you see you can’t because the nanny state has got your back). You see, there are The Queues, the rain, the queues, did I mention the rain? The cold you’re used to, and we must sound like pussies in comparison to our Canadian counterparts, but in honour of your arrival we shall be having the coldest Winter in 120 years, so we’ve got that to look forward to, as well.
But, if you manage to survive our winter (which starts in September and finishes in June), you will probably fall in love with England. The countryside is beautiful (there is nowhere on Earth that compares to England during those two days of Summer), the food is fresh and our butter is actually yellow and tastes of, well, food. The people are quirky and can be charming, as long as you don’t insult their pets or their cars, and there’s always plenty to do.
And let us not forget your Munkles. In life, when we find our soulmate, home could be Hades; it would still feel like home.
Welcome! Welcome to our shores! xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 🙂 🙂 🙂
opinionatedbean said:
What I have noticed is a serious lack of insulation in homes. A bit of insulation would go a long way towards keeping homes warm 😀 … and the lack of trees I mentioned? wonderful wind-barrier, especially in winter.
I am still wandering about the place in capris and no socks, so I get odd looks from people.
Ren Reynolds (@RenZephyr) said:
“I find this odd and rather patronizing. I mean, we are adults, if we are stupid enough to accidently overdose it’s our fault” – on balance it probably helps more people than it inconveniences tho, there could be an argument for greater education about pain meds, but it seems fine the way it is. Especially as we are a less medication based society – for years I never even took pills for a headache.
“that people can easily come in before 5pm” – yes, but taking time out of work to go to the GP is more of a social norm here. I wonder what the overall cost would be to have GP’s open later, given also the stress of being a GP.
“unless you wave your hand to flag the bus driver he/she will not stop” – of course 🙂 There are so many unwritten local rules that really should be in the Britishness test. I’m not sure these are better or worse than other places, they are just, well, local.
“Flapjacks are what we call granola bars” – are you sure? We have granola bars too, I think Flapjacks are more oat based.
“There is less wastage this way.” – yes, one of the things that dries me nuts grocery shopping in the US is that for many things it’s impossible to buy a small portion. It’s all part of the US’s normative take on ‘family’ where ‘family’ is defined as a unit with one or more children.
opinionatedbean said:
what you call flapjacks in the UK are granola bars in Canada … or all those oat based thingies I ate in Canada lied about their identities.
Since the GP surgeries I’ve been to have multiple doctors, staggering their schedules makes sense. That’s how we do it in Canada. 😀 I’m lucky I found one that is open til 8pm on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Deviant Chaperone said:
You can buy packs of eleventy bajillion pills just fine, you just need to ask for them and they can only be sold by a pharmacist, so you can’t get them online.
And what’s the problem with buying a pack of a dozen chicken legs or whatever? Oh, I suppose it’s because all of Canada is a gigantic freezer so you don’t have them indoors and if you store stuff outside all the bears will eat it 🙂
opinionatedbean said:
I personally do not like having to justify myself to a pharmacist. If the pills do not require a prescription then it isn’t his or her business why I want 72 tablets of advil 😀 I’ve had a few “consultations” where the pharmacist then approves my purchasing the tablets. I just purchased a bottle of pepto bismol, and I had to spend 5 minutes describing my symptoms .. again, if I want to self-medicate with an over the counter medication which does not require a prescription why should the pharmacist care? just take my money 😀
As for the chicken .. there are days where I just cannot stomach the thought of another chicken dinner 😀
Deviant Chaperone said:
The pharmacist cares because they are an NHS service provider, not just a pill shop. Part of their job is to stop people from just self-medicating when they actually need to see a doctor. And you could put other stuff in the freezer too, you know!
opinionatedbean said:
you speak madness! my freezer would be full of chicken and not much else. my freezer should be used for such necessary items like ice cream.
Geeklawyer said:
Booze in supermarkets makes all your pro-Canada points irrelevant. FACT
opinionatedbean said:
I did say The Great British Bake Off is amazing … i’m sure you’ll be waiting for my next blog post about my experiences with a GP 😀
Johan De Meersman said:
Wait, let me get this right: most of the anti-allergy meds give you an allergic reaction? Excuse me while I die laughing 🙂
opinionatedbean said:
I am lactose-intolerant and most allergy meds use lactose as a filler. I could have clear sinuses, but spend my days farting & sitting on the toilet 😀
Emma said:
You forgot the most important factor – the chocolate in the UK ROCKS!
opinionatedbean said:
No, Belgian chocoloate rocks .. UK chocolate is passable .. though Hotel Chocolat does make a decent effort 😀