It’s no longer the big differences I note when I visit England after living in the U.S. for so long. It’s the little things. From driving a car to crossing the street and doggy bags to dogs, small differences can be huge.
Let’s start with driving. Full disclosure I haven’t driven in England since I started to drive here; it’s too confusing. Grumpy, on the other hand, drives with all the skills of a getaway driver, whichever side of the pond he’s on.
In England, we refer to our GPS devices as Sat Navs, short for Satellite Navigation. They’re pretty much the same as over here except they are more polite. Instead of issuing a blunt instruction, they actually add “please.” Wonder if I can find that here under “settings?”
Of course, our phones work perfectly well over there so we could just use Google maps like we do here. When we have tried it, I’ve been super impressed that the speaker knows foreign roads so well when she’s never seen them before. Pronunciation? Not so much.
When out on the road, one thing I do prefer is the length of time it takes for the traffic lights to change. Over here there’s enough time for the average driver to eat an entire bowl of breakfast cereal before red moves to green. In England, they change much more efficiently, hence the popularity of breakfast bars.
One thing I had completely forgotten was the public do not have right of way on pedestrian crossings like they often do here, which I quickly remembered thanks to a near miss and a lot of beeping. We actually call them zebra crossings, which now that I think of it is a strange term because even if a zebra was allowed out of the zoo, how would they know they’re only meant to cross on the black-and-white striped portion of the street?
If driving is tricky, parking presents a bigger challenge. One thing we have in abundance in this country are parking lots, often, but not necessarily, with spaces. These can be multistory with wide ramps to take you up to the next floor, or street level like those outside strip malls. Although smaller cars are more common in England than here, that doesn’t excuse the fact that some spaces are so small you’d be hard pressed to park a Hot Wheels vehicle successfully. If you have to drive up to the next floor, it often takes a 27-point turn just to get onto the ramp, with everyone breathing in to make sure you don’t scrape the sides as you ascend.
I wonder if any of this is why it’s much more common to see people walking in England than here? It might be different for city folk, but here in Naperville we all drive whenever we want to go anywhere. We park outside our preferred destination in a comfy space before driving home again. No one incorporates walking into their daily routine unless they’re exercising themselves or their dog.
I admit, that’s something I miss. My daughter lives within walking distance of her town center, which means she can walk her daughters to school and do a little shopping on the way home without having to worry about the car at all.
Speaking of dogs and shopping, that’s another major difference. Dogs are everywhere in England. You can take them into many stores, including some cafes and restaurants, which brings me to my next point.
Eating out can be very different in England and I don’t just mean because they serve portions sized for a regular person rather than a contestant in an eating championship.
For a start, meals may take a little longer than over here. I’m not saying service is bad, but on our last visit we did participate in two meals that took three hours each. In the U.S. it’s very difficult to make going out for dinner an entire evening’s event. Wait staff always seem to assume you only have 20 minutes to spare, sometimes to the extent of bringing up different courses at the same time. I challenge any couple here to stay seated in a restaurant for more than an hour, even if it isn’t busy. The English take a more leisurely approach, giving you ample opportunity to digest your food before deciding if you want anything else.
And don’t expect to see diners leave with bags of leftovers. That’s a very American thing and something I’ve found hard to get used to. I’ll admit sometimes I will take a doggy bag and throw it away when I get home so the waiter isn’t insulted. Even if I’ve thoroughly enjoyed a meal, it’s very unlikely I’ll want the remains the next day. A lot of things just don’t heat up well, or maybe too small to be worth eating. I understand there’s a perceived value in paying for more food than you want so you can spread it over two meals, but personally I’d rather pay less and eat less each time.
Something that annoys me even more than that is the issue with silverware, or cutlery as we English call it. In England, whether at home or in a restaurant unless it’s McDonalds, we use different forks, spoons or knives for different courses. I hate it here when a server will politely pick up my fork and drop it back on the table so I can reuse it. Is the amount of extra silverware that would need to be washed really such a problem for restaurants? I’m surprised they don’t make you reuse your plate.
One thing I do miss over there though is the lack of free refills on drinks. You always have another if you want it, but you have to pay for it.
That’s probably to help balance out the cost of all that extra dish soap.
Hilary Decent is a freelance journalist who moved to Naperville from England in 2007.
