20 things I have already noticed

After 6 weeks living in the UK the following are some of our initial observations.

1.  Unlike Australia and NZ the post is delivered six days every week.  And it gets delivered right to your door!

2.  99.9% of people we have met are very friendly and helpful.

3.  I’ve previously mentioned the courtesy of the drivers

4.  Almost everyone in urban areas appear to be living in small multi-storey housing.  Land is at a premium!

5.  People do more walking, which is probably better for their general health.

6.  The contents of tea bags are more concentrated.

7.  It’s difficult to identify the country of origin of the food you purchase.  Often it just states “packaged in XXXX”.

8.  The road are narrower and there isn’t much use for a car equipped with cruise control.

9.  Bank staff are so willing to assist.  We received a call at 7.00pm from the local bank to advise our query had been resolved.

10.  You don’t pay to withdraw your own cash from an ATM …… Any bank’s ATM!!!!

11.  The food is cheaper than Australia, however petrol is more expensive.

12.  Water goes down the drain in the opposite direction.

13.  There are many more “free to air” TV channels.

14.  People seem to be just as “sports mad!”

15.  So many blonde women.  Although a number look as if they may be “bottle blondes”!

16.  We have both noticed the large number of people (male & female) with tattoo's.

17.  I have also notice there appears to be a significant percentage of the population who smoke.  Jan tells me it’s no different to Australia and that I've only noticed the smokers because I rarely go into a city, and have worked the last 17 years in a smoke free environment.

18.  Compared with Australia, the strawberries and raspberries actual have a flavour.

19.  The tomato sauce is more concentrate (runny in Oz and thick here).  And it’s not caused by the temperature as they both come out of our fridge to be used.

20.  Compared to Australia, more people use their local parks and other recreational areas.  I assume this is partially due to the lack of open space in their homes.