(if this isn’t allowed please let me know and direct me to the correct subreddit)
hi there! i’m on mobile so i’m sorry about the formatting. my partner and i are americans wanting to move to the UK. does anyone have advice before we move? nothing about visas or the logistics please, we are more interested in general culture and advice you may have.
some more info: we have never visited before. we are curious about the Manchester area. we are from Texas but we hate it here.
EDIT: wow y’all have lots of good advice, thank you! i appreciate it all so much 🙂 i’ve seen a lot of comments about drinking, but i don’t really drink (it conflicts with my current medication). i hope that’s not too much of an issue lol
30 comments
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By formatting, do you mean using capitals at the start of the sentences? I’m wondering which phone would do this?
Start building up your alcohol tolerence before you go.
My advice is visit before you set your heart on living here. It may be completely different from your assumptions.
Learn how to make tea correctly.
Be prepared for it to be dark.
You might have already thought that it will be colder than you are used to. But we’re also much further north and the difference in daylight hours in winter is very noticeable.
I would rather live in Texas than Manchester.
It’s an ok city. Lots to do and see. But as previous comments say, visit first for a month or so and see how you like it.
Culturally there’s some differences between UK and USA. Humour and sarcasm being something I’ve noticed isn’t the same between our countries. Also, sense of community and pride in the UK isn’t as strong as it is in the USA (in my opinion).
I wouldn’t move to a city/country that I’d never even visited.
It’s very likely that your preconceptions about Manchester are different to reality.
I’d suggest you spend some time there before you start the long (and potentially unsuccessful) process of obtaining a visa.
There are a lot of things about British culture that might seem weird to you when you come over.
As far as working goes, you will find yourself having at least 25 days of paid holiday a year, possibly on top of all the normal bank holidays (of which there are 7 or 8, but I could be wrong). Most people will use most if not all of their allowance on a yearly basis, and choice days get booked up quickly, so be prepared at the start of the new holiday year.
There is a big difference in hospitality as well. At a sit down restaurant you can tip if you wish to, but it is far from the social obligation that exists in the US.
Bank accounts. Over in the UK we typically use direct debits (money taken directly out of accounts, which are transferred electronically) as opposed to cheques. These can be near instantaneous if you are transferring money to a faster payment enabled account.
Drinking culture. There are a lot of people who like to drink socially, and will typically go to the pub after work, or on an evening to meet up with friends. When going out with friends, you will typically end up having drinks bought for you in rounds. It is polite to reciprocate if someone buys a round.
You are going to find a massive array of different types of alcohol you can buy, and the pint you choose will say a lot about you to the people you are with. You may get mocked for buying a particular lager or beer, but this is likely to just be banter.
Talking of banter, when you get in with a group of friends, they will get increasingly more likely to start mocking you and having jokes at your expense. This is banter, and is generally meant to be affectionate. Say something if you don’t like it, and generally people will tone it down.
Football (not soccer. For the love of god, not soccer) is widely regarded as an incredibly large part of a lot of people’s lives. Do not insult football teams, or try to make a joke by saying the wrong local team. Some people are very, very passionate.
visit first is the best advice
Visit in the winter. If you’re still set on the idea of immigrating after that, then you’ll at least be okay with the weather.
Understand the world doesn’t see the USA as a great country
When someone in the UK asks if you’re all right or just goes ‘All right?’ the appropriate answer is ‘Yeah, good, you?’. They’ll answer more or less the same and that’ll be the end of the interaction. If they want to chat further, they might ask ‘How are you doing?’ or ask a more specific question and then you can have a conversation. ‘All right?’ Does not mean ‘are you ok?’. It can be confusing.
Not everyone drinks tea and a lot of people now drink coffee. However, do try to have some English breakfast tea with milk and sugar to find what you like. You might be offered it at some point and I think it’s generally good to know what all the fuss around tea is about in the UK 🙂 Also, try some British snacks and sweets.
The Mancunian (Manchester) accent is a bit difficult to understand but you’ll get used to it. There are more accents in the UK than you might expect and even going a few miles down the road into the next town/city means you’ll encounter a slightly different accent or words you’d never heard as they’re part of the local dialect.
There are regional rivalries. Lancashire where Manchester is has a historic mutual dislike with Yorkshire. It’s mostly just the subject of jokes now and not to be taken seriously apart from in football.
Soccer (football) is bigger here than in the US. If you like it, you could go to your local pub and see what games are on. You can strike conversations with people quite easily on this topic.
Have a Sunday lunch at the pub. It’s great. Also have a full English breakfast (or fry up as it’s known in some places). There’s a lot of culinary variety now in the UK and you should be able to find most foods you like here as well. However, it might be difficult to find proper Mexican or generally South American, Cajun etc food. You might have less choice around the food you might be used to in the US but on the flip side you might find your next favourite cuisine.
You won’t see guns but you might hear of knife crime in the UK. Try to find out what the bad areas are in Manchester and avoid them. You might also see young boys on bikes being a nuisance. Try to avoid them as well.
Get used to chatting about the weather. It changes a lot here and it’s a frequent small talk topic.
Hope you like it here!
That’s your mess you’ve made now you stay there until it’s cleaned up.
So, according to what I’ve seen on TikTok
– We go a lot harder when drinking
– We walk journeys less than a mile rather than drive.
– Drink diving is much less accepted.
– Our meal deals are great.
– Rain is not a reason to cancel things. You just have to get wet and get on with it.
– Tipping is much less common. The only real argument is whether you need to tip in restaurants and how much – some people are happy leaving a token amount.
– You’re not really friends with someone unless you are aggressively abusive to them. When a Brit insults you that means they like you.
Manchester is a great place – it my nearest city. There are some rough places but some really lovely areas to live too. And it’s much cheaper than London!
My only advice is to “tone it down” a little. Americans can come across full on to Brits and you may inadvertently alienate yourself.
I’d suggest coming on holiday before moving here. And visit the non touristy parts and in winter. To see what it’s really like.
Not saying you specifically are loud, but in general Americans tend to be quite loud and also quite outgoing/ extroverted.
Also, have you watched much British TV or films? There are some subtle differences in words we use. Most of us are familiar with what the American word means but if you live here you might want to get used to saying British words, especially for anything that could be considered slightly vulgar. For example pants in the UK refer to under wear. We say trousers/jeans/leggings. Also fanny isn’t a word you hear in polite conversation here, it refers to ladies genitals.
No one has mentioned guns. We don’t do that.
It will be cold and damp, you will live in a substantially smaller house/flat. It will currently be daylight to 10 pm but dark by 4 pm at Christmas. Driving across Manchester will take about 50% longer than driving from one side of Houston to the other in the rush hour, and cost twice as much, and there won’t be anywhere to park, so don’t if you can help it. Mancunians are fairly grumpy. An arc of about 30 degrees more or less south of the city centre is occupied almost entirely by students, academics, and blow-ins who used to be students, and you will not stand out particularly there. The Chinese food is excellent in the city centre but may be different from Chinese food you are used to. (Chinese food everywhere else, same applies except for the “excellent” bit). The general rule for international moves is that you can get ready for the big things but there will be a zillion small things to figure out that nobody will realise you don’t know; also, you will tend to do stuff the expensive way because you don’t know the cheap ways to do them yet. You’ll be fine and it WILL be better than Texas once you stop feeling the cold or pining for decent Mexican food (which you will struggle to find).
What is the culture like?…..it’s lacking it!
British people can be very reserved and cliquey. The confidence and friendliness of Americans can scare British people a bit. Be easy with British people. They usually need alcohol to socialise
Manchester = rain. And (slightly) fewer fat people than Texas*.
*Unless you’re from Austin, then Manchester people are fatter.
What is it about Manchester that interests you?
I’m genuinely intrigued as you say you have never visited so I’m wondering what you have seen/heard to give you the idea of living there.
We are a lot drier in our humour and Sarcasm is the first language of the UK. Some classic comedy Duos are Fry and Laurie, and the two Ronnies, you should watch some of them on youtube. The most classic group of comedians is of course Monty Python. Most everyone in the UK can quote some of the lines of monty python even without having seen them.
Stephen Fry and Meatloaf translating a sentence together
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=affMGZ1YcpU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=affMGZ1YcpU)
Generally there are no store greeters and it may take a bit of time before a store employee approaches you to help if at all.
Our food is smaller portions and will taste different as we have stricter rules for food than the US and have less sugar. I’ve heard a lot of Americans say they lost weight while being here even when they were drinking more and eating just as much.
Everyone will know that you are an American.
Large parts of Manchester are pedestrianised which means that there are no cars and limited public transport in those locals.
Don’t bother mate
We are going to hell in a hand cart and we are only two steps away from you anyway
Be prepared for salaries to be a lot lower than what you’re used to. I’ve seen a lot of US based redditors be very confused about wages here. Average UK salary is something like £31,000
Don’t try explaining/justifying your religious beliefs to anyone here. We just don’t do that.
I suspect the antipathy to the word Soccer is because of its association with the US.
Never force someone to have a cup of tea. And most importantly unconscious people don’t drink tea
I suspect that is because the name soccer is thought of as American and is thus deemed unacceptable.