They're the little things that are wildly different, that took some time to get used to.
Here are a few things that have definitely caught me off guard since I moved from Canada to the UK.
Where's the air conditioning?
A grocery store in the UK.
I learned pretty quickly that older homes in London are built very differently from Canadian homes. They were designed to keep heat in, which sounds great in theory until summer rolls around and the house turns into an oven.
Air conditioning also isn't the norm here, which was a bit of a shock coming from Canada, where it's pretty common. During a few particularly hot days last June, I found myself walking to Tesco and Waitrose just to cool off. Grocery stores quickly became my unofficial air-conditioned refuge. Not exactly exciting, but it got the job done.
Football Fever
A football club sign.
I always thought Canadians were fiercely passionate about hockey, but they have nothing on the Brits and their allegiance to football (aka soccer).
In the UK, football isn't just a hobby. It's a religion, and it's definitely not taken lightly. Pubs turn matchdays into full-blown events, and fans can get so rowdy that some establishments don't even serve glassware to avoid injuries. I live near Chelsea Football Club, and on matchdays the whole area comes alive. Roads are closed, the streets overflow with fans knocking back their pre-match pints, and the pub next door is completely buzzing. Football loyalty runs deep here, with rivalries that can last generations. Honestly, it's like stepping into a different world every Saturday.
Getting Schooled on British Pop Culture
I thought I knew British TV, but living here showed me how different it really is.
I only fully dipped into UK pop culture when I started watching I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here with a housemate last year. I had zero interest at first, but the Fear Factor-style challenges drew me in, and before long, I was glued to the couch every night at 9 p.m.
My housemate filled me in on the backstory of each C-list celebrity, and I quickly learned about who GK Barry was and the chokehold Ant & Dec have on the country.
UK TV is quirkier, more sarcastic, and far more comfortable with nudity than Canadian shows. I still can't believe I'm rooting for reality TV contestants now — never in a million years would that have happened back home.
Tipping Culture
Beers on a table.
If you go out to dinner in the UK, don't expect to see a tipping option pop up when you go to pay.
Tipping here isn't a thing in the same way it is in Canada. Some restaurants include a small service charge on the bill, but it's nowhere near the average 18% you'd expect back home. Basically, if you go out of your way to leave a tip in the UK, it usually means you received truly exceptional service. The same goes for beauty treatments. A haircut or manicure won't suddenly cost an extra percentage at the end.
Which Way Do You Walk? UK Pedestrian Chaos
People walking on a sidewalk.
I've noticed this across Europe, but in the UK it really stands out.
In Canada, everyone naturally stays to the right, which helps avoid foot traffic jams and makes walking through crowded areas much easier and less stressful.
In the UK, though, chaos reigns in heavily trafficked areas. Oxford Street is particularly notorious and a big reason locals try to avoid it whenever possible. Underground in the tube, however, the rules are taken very seriously and plastered everywhere, so there's really no excuse. On the escalators, you must stand to the right to let people in a rush pass on the left (and if you don't, expect major passive-aggressive glares), while on the stairs, you must stay to the left. It's confusing. I still haven't figured out why they don't just stick to one side for everything.
"Parcel Roulette"
In the UK, delivery drivers often leave packages with a neighbour, outside your door, or in some mysterious "safe spot" if you aren't home.
One was even tossed onto my tiny, nearly nonexistent second-story balcony, which my Ring camera thankfully caught. After 30 years of Canada Post simply leaving a pickup notice, this gave me instant anxiety. I now obsessively track every parcel and try to be home when it arrives, so it doesn't end up somewhere easy to snatch. Luckily, I haven't had any issues so far, and I have a great housemate and neighbour with whom I swap package pickup duties.
Life hacks: check your balcony first.
Driving on the "wrong" side
Everything I knew about driving was wrong the moment I stepped into a car in the UK. They drive on the left, which makes roundabouts and lane discipline feel like an alternate reality.
Luckily, I got used to it pretty quickly, at least when walking, and it helps that most crosswalks have reminders painted on the road telling you which way to look for traffic. Biking is common here, with rentals easy to find throughout the city. However, and I'm embarrassed to admit this, the only reason I haven't hopped on a Lime bike is that I'm petrified of riding on the "wrong" side of the road. After 15 years of driving in Canada, I have a feeling I'd instinctively drift onto the wrong side and become roadkill. Not exactly a confidence booster.
Before you get going, check out our Responsible Travel Guide so you can be informed, be safe, be smart, and most of all, be respectful on your adventure.
