Relocating to UK

[SunDancer]

I never been to UK (Ireland, Scotland, Britian, Wales), ect...just curious as what it is like to live in each of the countries above? I always been interested in Ireland and Scotland. What is life in these parts of the wolrd like to live.

[Chief Rum]

Here's some things to take with you:

1) They're all cannibals...every damn one of them...well, maybe not...
2) They like football, but if you mention a pigskin, you'll get your arse kicked.
3) It's "God Save The Queen", not "My Country Tis Of Thee"--once again, you'll get yer arse kicked if you say otherwise.
4) Beers (pardon me, ales) are served warm.
5) No underwear under the kilts...or at least so I have heard.
6) Be prepared not to understand a single word being told you, even though the person speaking is using perfect English.
7) The Underground is fucking cool! (cleanest subway I have ever seen)
8) Don't say anything bad about the Queen--this country has a history of cutting off people's heads (although not half as much as France).
9) Speaking of France, I understand that bagging on the French is almost as accepted there as it is here.
10) Don't believe a word of anything above, because I have only been to London when I was a kid, and only for a week...wait until a real British citizen answers ya. Well, the Underground is fucking cool.

CR

[Chief Rum]

Oh, Good Lord, my 3000th post was about the British.

CR

[CAsterling]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
Oh, Good Lord, my 3000th post was about the British.

CR

I can't think of a better subject for a 3000th post.

[3ric]

Always order "a pint of bitter" when in a pub. Trust me.

[droogiebunberry]

2) They like football, but if you mention a pigskin, you'll get your arse kicked.

That much is true.

Perhaps not 'get your arse kicked' but for people here (and by here I mean Scotland more than England but it is similar there too) there is only 1 sport. Soccer (of course just called football here). If you look at the sports pages of ANY newspaper, you'll see 18 pages of soccer-football and 2 pages of rugby, cricket, hockey (not ice hockey) and anything else combined.

3) It's "God Save The Queen", not "My Country Tis Of Thee"--once again, you'll get yer arse kicked if you say otherwise.

There is a reasonably large anti-queen feeling in scotland. Kinda like "why should she get our taxes. she does f*ck all"

4) Beers (pardon me, ales) are served warm.

yup. but not always. Irn Bru is the softdrink of choice in scotland. I love the stuff but word to the wise. Drink it COLD or not at all. WHen that stuff gets warm, its like drinking disinfectant. When its COLD, its beautiful.

5) No underwear under the kilts...or at least so I have heard.

true. but folk only wear kilts at special occassions like weddings. in fact, ONLY at weddings.

6) Be prepared not to understand a single word being told you, even though the person speaking is using perfect English.

A guy I know lives in the states now (originally from Glasgow Scotland). In a bar, the bartender said to him "sorry, I don't speak your language can you speak ENGLISH". nuff said

7) The Underground is fucking cool! (cleanest subway I have ever seen)

London underground is very very good. but in rush hour almost un-usable because of the heat and sweat. Glasgow underground is great but doesn't really go anywhere you'd want to go. you can do the whole circuit (theres just one line) in abotu an hour

8) Don't say anything bad about the Queen--this country has a history of cutting off people's heads (although not half as much as France).

see 3

9) Speaking of France, I understand that bagging on the French is almost as accepted there as it is here.

Yup. And in scotland, strange as it may seem, you can say anything you like about the english and get away with it. I think there is a persecution complex over here

10) Don't believe a word of anything above, because I have only been to London when I was a kid, and only for a week...wait until a real British citizen answers ya. Well, the Underground is fucking cool.

I lived in london for about 5 months. kinda smelly but what big city isn't?

Edinburgh is beautiful. Stirling is one of the most surreal places i've ever lived because people REALLY don't realise how lovely it is. Most of the city is between two big grassy hills (big mountainesque (only smaller) hills). and on one side you have a massive big phallic thing called the Wallace Monument (Named after mel gibson i think) and on the other hill you have a beautiful castle. Folk in Stirling don't know how good they've got it. Mind you. outisde of 'cultural' thinkgs like that, there aint all that much to do in stirling.

My recommendation is Edinburgh, its quite cosmopoliton, got most of the clubby / pubby / city things that people like. PLUS it has some lovely architecture and sites.

Glasgow is my PERSONAL favourite but I lived there all my life so I am Biased. I think the people in Glasgow are more laid back than edinburgh, Edinburgh can be a wee bit poncy.

If you do come to glasgow / edinburgh, and want to see a game of American Football - BritBall style, email me and i'll give you details. There are quite a few amature teams in scotland.

d

[CK#12]

Hey Sundancer,

Scotland is a lovely place to live and the people are generally friendly but the weather is a bit crap.
It seemed to rain a lot of the time I lived in Edinburgh (18 months).

If you are the type to go out /socialise/party I would probably say anyone of the major cities is great.
I would suggest LONDON, MANCHESTER or NEWCASTLE in England and as already mentioned GLASGOW or EDINBURGH in Scotland.
Never lived in Wales, Ireland or Northern Ireland so can not recommend anything (although Dublin is a great city to visit).

My personal favourite city of the above is NEWCASTLE where the women wear short skirts and skimpy tops even when it is -10 C and will chat you up as long as you have a pulse.

I always have a great time in Newcastle.

[andy m]

this thread needs a bit more stereotyping and more basic geographical errors (ireland is part of the UK?!) from misinformed americans.

a couple of weeks ago i met a guy from kent (ohio) who was on tour with his rock band. he seemed to know more about british and european history than your average brit. it was nice to meet an american with that kind of world view.

[Super Ugly]

"My personal favourite city of the above is NEWCASTLE where the women wear short skirts and skimpy tops even when it is -10 C and will chat you up as long as you have a pulse."

Aargh! Are you a Geordie, by any chance? I hear that Newcastle's a cool place nowadays, but I still have nightmares about the Metroland (or whatever it's called now) and that terrible, terrible accent ...



You might want to check out Brighton - I lievd there for a few years and it's a good alternative to London. Bristol's a good place as well.

One thing, though - why do people have this idea that we drink warm beer in Britain? In all my years I've never once come across anybody who admits to doing such a shameful thing. Perhaps I've led a very sheltered life.

[droogiebunberry]

There is a very specific definition of United Kingdom and it doesn't Include Ireland.

However, Northern Ireland IS part of Great Britain and the British Isles.

And Northern Ireland is governed by the British government.

Southern Ireland is independant.

And that split is the cause of no end of problems...

[aej]

The basics:

UK = United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

GB = England, Scotland and Wales

British Isles = GB & Ireland and:

Other Islands:
GB/UK:
E - Isle of Wight, Scilly Isles, Lindisfarne, Lundy
S - Shetland Islands, Orkney Islands, Inner & Outer Hebrides, Arran, Bute, Cumbray
W - Anglesey, Caldey
UK only:
NI - Rathlin

British crown dependancies (not GB/UK):
Isle of Man & Channel Islands

[MIJB#19]

And Gibraltar is?

[damnMikeBrown]

Originally posted by Chief Rum
7) The Underground is fucking cool! (cleanest subway I have ever seen)

Not to be contrary, but. . . My GF took me to London & Ramsgate in '93. She had gone to boarding school there & wanted me to see it. . . Anyway, first time I ever saw a Rat was in the London Tube. Damn thing looked like a puppy at first. It was not alone.

[Easy Mac]

If you go to Wales, bring a sheep to feel accepted.

[CK#12]

I'm not a Geordie,
just have a few relatives from up there.

I don't have the problem with most accents but I do with the Ulster/Belfast accent.
I once lived in the same house as a guy from Belfast and it took me 2 months before I could understand him.
He was a loyal supporter of the UVF (could have been UDA) and is now ironically a policeman in Sheffield.

To get back on Topic, I forgot to mention if you are coming from the states EVERYTHING is expensive in the UK.
Houses, especially in and around London and increasingly in areas like Manchester are really expensive.
Food and clothes, I would think what you pay in dollars we pay in GBP(£) which makes everything about 60% more.
Petrol (Gasoline), about $1.20 a litre ($6.00 a gallon).

[SunDancer]

I love the landscaping and artitect in these countries. I thinkt he biggest problem in the states is that alot of our cities don't take advantage of such landscape.

[Chief Rum]

Originally posted by andy m
this thread needs a bit more stereotyping and more basic geographical errors (ireland is part of the UK?!) from misinformed americans.

a couple of weeks ago i met a guy from kent (ohio) who was on tour with his rock band. he seemed to know more about british and european history than your average brit. it was nice to meet an american with that kind of world view.

I figure that first sentence is sarcastic, of course, and partly aimed at me. If it matters any, this was all done completely tongue-in-cheek and I am probably as aware of Great Britain's history and political divisions as that guy you met from Kent. There was just no point in breaking up a good joke by pointing out to SunDancer that Ireland is not a part of the UK (or at least most of it).

CR

[GoldenEagle]

Originally posted by Chief Rum

5) No underwear under the kilts...or at least so I have heard.

Suuuuuure

[aej]

Originally posted by MIJB#19

And Gibraltar is?

....in the Med just off Spain - nowhere near the British Isles at all.

[SunDancer]

Wanted to bump this up for a few reasons...

I am starting to explore overseas study abroad opportunities for next fall (possibly), and want to head to the UK. I like to go to Ireland alot, escp. Dublin or maybe a city in Scotland. What I want is a beautiful place that has a social scene, a well-mixed one as well, and nice people that would be awesome to met, but has a school that would match with my one here.

I actually ran into five Irish girls walking back from Canada over the bridge, they were on a tour of the US I think ( I though they said they were from Argentina, my friends each though Arlington (TX) and the other one said Ireland) (and not bad at all lookin), almost brought them back, but room in the car couldn't fit them at all.