Britpicking my life

It’s almost been 90 days since we moved to London! It took pretty much the whole three months to get settled, with the remaining logistics wrapping up only about a week ago.

In May, we secured our long-term flat and moved out of our temporary accommodations. The final piece was the arrival of our sea shipment coming from the US which was estimated to arrive in mid-June. After being stuck in customs processing for an extra week,¹ the last of our stuff was delivered on the hottest day of 2025.

I felt so bad for the movers. Despite our meager shipment size, it was still brutal to carry boxes and furnitures up and down the stairs of our centuries-old non-airconditioned flat. I tried to help shuttle in the smaller pieces and even ran out to buy bottled waters, sticking them in the freezer in a desperate attempt to keep cool. Just unpacking the boxes had me soaked in sweat in minutes. But after hours of organizing in a London heatwave, cursing myself for not having the foresight to purchase a fan, our new house was set up!

So at long last, we have all the basic necessities needed to enjoy day-to-day living. I can finally take a breath and reflect on our initial impressions of living in London and the UK. Overall, we experienced much less culture shock compared to our move to Japan, but it certainly wasn’t a completely confusion-free transition to UK. Little-by-little, we are learning how to adjust our expectations and habits to more easily integrate into life here.

In high school, I went through a period of reading a truly embarrassing amount of Harry Potter fanfiction. Many of the writers were actually American/non-British, so a consistent problem with their writing was the anachronistic language or ideas that they added which in reality would never be used by British characters. The solution was a cadre of enthusiastic volunteer editors with experience living in the UK. These generous people² would help by “britpicking”, or correcting, these inconsistencies. You could also describe our attempt to become locals in London as a “britpicking” of our lives.

Below are some differences between British and American life we’ve observed so far.

British terms

• Letting a flat: you “let” a “flat” instead of renting an apartment. “Flat” is derived from the Old English word flett, while the more commonly used American word “apartment” comes from appartement in French. Stay tuned for a follow-up post breaking down the truly painful process of finding a flat in London.
• Cheers: seemingly all-purpose phrase for appreciation or farewells. For example, when you get your food from a server use “cheers” instead of “thanks.” Doesn’t require an acknowledgement from the receiving party, which is perhaps why British people prefer it over verbally accepting thanks
• Takeaway: never “take-out” when getting food to go.
• Toilet or loo: most common words for bathroom. Apparently WC is no longer colloquially used and mostly appears on signage.
• Bap: common name for a breakfast sandwich made with egg and sausage and/or bacon. I thought bap was an acronym like “B.L.T.” before a older woman running a local cafe explained it was the name of the soft white bread favored for sandwiches. It’s apparently a Scottish version of brioche.
• Sausage dogs: dachshunds are called “sausage dogs” instead of wiener dogs here.
• Man with a van: the actual category name for movers in the UK, which I find so charming and funny. You call up a “man with a van” service when you need to move flats. We used the literally named Super Man With A Van company for our recent move.
• Wifi for hire: I never thought I would be praising an awful company like Comcast, but here we are. In America, even if you have a terrible Internet provider, at least you get a modem shipped to you within days when you sign up for service. Not so in London. It took three weeks for Sky to ship us a modem. Apparently, this is so typical that there are plenty of temporary wifi for hire companies happy to price gouge you for glorified cellular hot spots in the meantime.

Transit, infrastructure, and travel

• Drive on the left, stand on the right: In Japan, cars drive on the left side of the road. It therefore makes sense that commuters also stand on the left side of escalators. Despite also driving on the left, people in the UK stand on the right side of the escalator for some reason.
• Light switches are on the outside of bathrooms: this drives me insane because I always walk into the bathroom first, and then have to go back outside to turn on the light. Apparently it’s even a requirement in modern houses for electric safety, even though other advanced countries have figured out how to waterproof their light switches.
• Simple tube pricing: the London Tube caps the maximum amount you pay on daily and weekly basis so you never exceed the price of a travelcard. It’s only worth getting if you use mixed modes of transport (rail and subway, for instance). I love that using contactless payment is simple and no hassle.
• Biking: If you haven’t tried biking in London, it’s an absolutely delightful way to commute and explore the city. Use one of the many bike-share apps or use the employee benefit Cyclescheme to buy your own bike tax-free.
• Dogs: As one of our friends put it, “London has fewer dogs, but they’re more welcome everywhere.” It might be the most dog-friendly city I’ve ever lived in! As the second-greenest city in the world (right behind Tokyo), there are so many places for dogs to romp and go. They’re welcome in most shops and restaurants, as well as on the tube and trains. All the dogs we meet are also generally very well-trained and polite, briefly greeting our dog before bounding away. Since Knuckles is generally uninterested in other dogs, this suits her just fine. I think this is the happiest our dog has ever been in her life.
• European travel: we’ve been so focused on settling into a good daily rhythm here in London, so we haven’t been able to do any travel around Europe yet. However, every single expat we’ve met has gushed about the convenience of traveling. We’re so excited to explore more of Europe!

Hampstead Heath is our favorite park in the world. Our dog’s too.

Food

• Diversity of cuisine: the #1 thing that friends warned me about before moving to the UK was the lack of good food. Classic British cuisine is sometimes genuinely revolting and begs the question of whether British traditionalists know we are no longer doing wartime food rationing. Despite the warnings, I have not been disappointed by food in London because of it’s rich multicultural landscape. In our short time here we’ve already eaten at delicious Indian, Chinese, Italian, Greek, Lebanese, and West African restaurants. I’m also looking forward to visiting New Malden, a London suburb that is home to one of Europe’s largest Korean communities. (Though wandering just a bit outside of London into the British countryside is a whole other story.)
• Afraid of salt: I genuinely think most British food establishments are afraid of salt. The number of well-cooked but dramatically underseasoned Sunday roasts I’ve had now is already uncountable.
• Avocado toast: I don’t know why this one shocks me so much. I suppose I’m used to avocado toast being so strongly associated with California given how much the State produces. Other cities in the US have very mediocre versions with insultingly small amount of mashed avocado, like the disappointing avo toast I had a year ago in New York. But I am just now learning about how limited my understanding was of avo toast’s global popularity. Avocados grow abundantly in Southern Spain, and London’s consumption of avocado toast apparently peaked in 2017, though it still dominates brunch menus in 2025. Even the origin of the “millennials spending too much on avocado toast” meme actually originated from an interview with an Australian millionaire rather than an American rich guy ragging on West Coast liberals. (However there is no excuse for the monstrosity that is the 1966 British Avocado Pears competition.)
• Black or white Americano: I’m still not used to being asked “black or white?” after absent-mindedly ordering an Americano. When in the UK, the typical way to order the drink is to say “black Americano” or “white Americano.”
• Supermarkets vs greengrocers: In American English, we usually use “grocery store” and “supermarket” interchangeably. In the UK, there is a clear distinction here between nationwide supermarket chains (Sainsbury’s, Tesco, M&S) from greengrocers who sell more local (typically more expensive) produce. I have been pleasantly surprised at how affordable the price of groceries is here in the UK. The range of options is definitely more limited, especially compared to the abundance of fresh fruit and veg when living in California. While I don’t feel that the produce itself tastes worse than America (due to low standards probably), my coworkers from Spain and Germany complain bitterly about the lack of flavor and added sugar compared to their home countries.
• Eating habits: British people love to stand outside pubs, rain or shine, hot or cold. And apparently getting invited into someone’s home for dinner/BBQ is quite rare, demanding a next-level of closeness in the relationship to be considered “dinner” friends.

The many faces of avocado toast in London.

Tips & tricks

• Daily convenience apps: I lived in Silicon Valley, the beating heart of the US tech industry, but daily life conveniences like setting up a phone line and bank account still require going in person. The UK has this figured out with convenient mobile apps! We used Monzo app to get a bank account set up abroad before we even had an apartment (just use your company’s office address). And because we don’t have enough credit history to get the better EE mobile network, giffgaff works in a pinch, setting up a new UK eSIM within in minutes.
• AMEX global transfer: this was a great hack we learned from a friend to kickstart your UK credit score. If you have an American AMEX, you’ll be able to use your US credit history to open a UK card. Great way to get a higher limit from the get-go!
• Emperor beds: we made a very deliberate decision to not ship our bed to the UK and planned to buy a new one as soon as we arrived. Since we’ve slept on a California King mattress for years, we automatically looked for the largest mattress size in the UK: an emperor. This was a terrible mistake because it’s so uncommon. Most stores don’t stock accessories in this size, so you have very limited options for bedframes and sheets. If you want a large bed, opt for the superking size instead.
• Uber-British Airways partnership: Since British Airways is the main airline operating in the UK, we want to collect as many AVIOS points as possible. With just a quick enrollment, we collect free AVIOS points anytime we book rides in the UK.

Other universal British experiences

• Terrible customer service: when I asked fellow expats what the biggest difference was about life in the UK, customer service was always one of the top answers. It’s truly humbling to learn how high American standards are for basic customer service. I’m not even talking about the over-the-top “customer is always right mentality” or constantly being presented with a smile. I’m simply referring to the concept of caring about the customer’s experience at all. It’s almost impossible to find a phone number or email to contact. Not to mention the slow, unhurried nature of a lot of service interactions I’ve had. I find myself frequently wondering if the companies even want to make money from me. It really elevates my appreciation for Monty Python’s pet shop skit because now I really understand it in a visceral way. The dreadfulness of customer service here is constantly a wonder to behold.
• BBC TV licensing: I thought the concept of running away from the NHK guy a uniquely Japanese thinb, but there is similar phenomenon in the UK too. Residents regularly hide from BBC TV licensing inspectors who attempt to collect a licensing fee. Apparently this is mandatory for any household that watches the BBC, including if you watch it on streaming services like YouTube! How can they even know or enforce this?! I have been advised to just never open my door and ignore them, which is simultaneously hilarious and worrisome. Why it’s not funded by taxes is a mystery to me, forcing this public agency to shake down it’s citizens like debt collectors. American public broadcasting’s budget has a large portion funded by the government, although this historical standard is currently under threat.

1. I consider myself lucky that it wasn't a lengthier delay considering all the trouble that America's tariff policies have been causing on small-time shipping of personal items. I send my favorite books to friends every year for the holidays, including friends who live abroad. For the past few years I've been able to mail a small package of 2-3 books for ~$50USD to Denmark. This year, it was $80 for international shipping and ended up being completely wasted! Both me and my friend A didn't realize that Denmark would charge an additional $40USD import fee to receive the books. And because the notice sent by mail was overlooked for so long, the Danish government ended up shipping it back to California. Luckily we were able to get it to her by mailing it instead to her friend in the midwest, who then hand-carried it to Copenhagen. ↵

2. Or, more realistically, they were rude readers who would leave nasty comments about how the author was so stupid to use the word "pants" instead of "trousers." ↵