Americans - What we love about the UK 

You are very kind in all your comments. It is so nice to hear positive comments on the UK. I hope you continue to have a very positive experience here.

Welcome to the UK, its great to have such nice-seeming people here

It is good to know that you are liking your life in the UK.

I think you are the first American couple who appreciate roundabouts.😂

There are currently 880 comments on here and you have taken the time to reply to everyone…that’s a lovely thing to do. Very insightful and interesting thanks

Hi, my uncle is a British naturalised American, my U.S. cousins in their 50s in age now. One thing that completely jaw dropped, and astonished them was the history on their 'doorstep' when visiting the UK. Here in Hertfordshire, 30 miles north of central London, there are 1000+ years old still active churches within 10 minutes drive into the countryside. Worth researching where you are. Best wishes

Just saw your vid. Welcome TSgt. I was at Lakenheath for several years, went back to the states and decided to come back for good. Once you get out more and clear the conditioned American mind you'll see the many pros we can implement back home...mainly work to live not live to work. Enjoy👍🏾

I have viisted the USA 14 times,been to 23 states.I find Americans way more laid back than people here in the UK.Amazing country.Your theme parks are the best ever.

I am moving to England, next year. The States, are so bad here. I have cousin's who were born and raised in London. I have some friends in all of The UK.

Welcome to the UK. My husband is ex military and we retired here in the UK. We found food, especially fresh food more expensive in the USA. Wait until you explore the rest of the UK, you will see how beautiful it is. Figure you are in Suffolk, enjoy the area. Ely is nice, Cambridge and Biry St Edmunds.

Travelling to other countries/ cultures is the best education to realise there is more love than hate between different nationalities…. What a wonderful advert you 2 make of most Americans.. respect from 🇬🇧

What a lovely couple - and such great 'ambassadors' for their country. Americans like this are ALWAYS welcome here: they're 'family', after all!😉😉😉

What delightful people you are. I hope you have the most wonderful time while you're here.

Glad you are enjoying your time in the U.K. ❤

What a lovely film. I suddenly realise its not such a bad place ! I do think British plugs and sockets are the best. Nice and secure and stable. Great that you are enjoying your stay. You are very charming people.

I loved the slight awkwardness throughout - perfectly suited to the UK! Shame you're going to be leaving us.

I drive 650 miles north to south and the back again at least once a year and the behaviour of other drivers is mostly excellent. Once you realise other drivers are your teammates it works so well.

My first time in the US was in 1982. When chatting to a guy onan internal flight he asked me about how big the UK was. I told him 'about 900 miles from each extreme North to South' he said "Oh, I can go and do that all in three days maybe four." I couldn't make him understand he could spend a week in any location and not see t all.

I'm glad you think that we British drivers are courteous - we seem far less so since I learnt to drive in 1973!

Petrol prices are crazy in the UK, as well as Gas and Electricity. As for pets (dogs) you will find that most places accept dogs, we're an animal loving Country. You're pretty spot on with your views.

One other thing, our 3 pin outlets wall sockets have switches. The earth pin is longer normally because it pushes up 2 little internal live and neutral outlet protectors to stop children inserting things into these more dangerous outlet holes. Enjoy your time in the U.K. My eldest son is a maths professor in Austin TX - he says that the standard of driving and basic car roadworthiness is terrible, but he’s married to a USA wife and has a good job in TX. He loves it there. Hates the health system but loves the enormous variety of choices that people have in the supermarkets.

As a young brit dealing and watching the cost of living seeing these perspectives is really refreshing. Really lovely video from both of you and very interesting

I really enjoyed this video. As a Brit, it's funny to hear these things that actually a lot of us take for granted! I love that you touched on the fresh, healthy food because that is for sure something that should be standard everywhere. In regards to the energy prices, I'm sure you've seen the outrage at them and it's an unfortunate time because they really are not 'normal' at the moment, like 300% higher is ridiculous. They will come back down eventually. I hope! So glad to see a lot of positivity and you both did great! Liked and subbed easily :)

I’m really glad you’ve enjoyed your time here. The UK like most countries has its problems but there are also a lot of good things that I think us Brits often don’t realise and take for granted.

It's great that you're enjoying yourself and like so much about being here. Never be afraid to do the opposite though and tell us what you miss. 😀

Nice to hear your comments. (PS 220 volts isn't wrong - it's not consistently 240). Thanks for diplomatically leaving out the things you don't like here. (We know we're far from perfect). Enjoy the rest of your stay.

One difference I notice is that I havnt seen a moustache on a man under 50 since the 1990s . My grandpa had a moustache all his life but he was in the RAF.

Really interesting to hear your views about UK but also what you have to tell us about US. Fascinating.

You 'enjoyed' the traffic lights!!! Bloody hell, you're easy to please! :)

Can we keep you guys in the UK? You both seem lovely? Thank you for reminding me of some of the good things in this country ❤

It's nice that you have been made welcome here. Thank you for your kind comments in return. We have our problems, of course, but you accentuate the positives and it's great to hear that you are happy here.

Great video 👍 Glad your experience is positive and hope you enjoy more of the UK. One of the take aways for you guys is how energy aware in everyday life you have become and will put into your future home updates 😊

The only foreign country (as a Brit) I have driven in was the USA. This was in Florida some years ago. I found that other drivers were considerate, kept their distance and stuck to the speed limits. I got used to driving on the other side of the road after a couple of days. I saw some roundabouts at Gettysburg which seemed to be working well. Gas prices in the UK include a heavy excise duty plus VAT at 20%, which makes it very expensive. Gas stations make very little on each litre.

Glad you are loving your UK experience. Take care.

Consider getting an EV, if you are able to charge the vehicle at home. It costs £5 to fill an EV tank from the home charger. It costs £60 to fill your car with petrol. Both will have the same 300 mile range! The UK is a very green country, lots of vegetation, which requires a lot of rain....lol. The Temperature swings are not as severe as the US but the high latitudes mean the length of day varies quite a bit.

Good video. Thank you for the nice things you have to say about our weird old country. I hope you do well with your channel, and look forward to more of your stuff.

welcome our friends from the USA. we respect you more than you know. all the best good luck and enjoy being in your new place of life. respect.

Lovely to hear two yanks speak so kindly about my country. My good American friend came to stay with me last year for three weeks in the UK and he loved it here so much so he wants to come here to live and work for a few years, he totally got the culture and laid back living compared to the states. We aren’t such a bad bunch here in the UK. Thanks for this video makes me feel good to be British 👍🏻🇺🇸❤️🇬🇧

Absolute pleasure listening too your observations.All the best from Ironbridge, Shropshire.....you should come here ...tea is on me 👍

Great comparison. The only thing I don't recognise is the pull cord to switch off all the lights together. That's an unusual feature in my experience, handy though!

You are right about courteous uk drivers. So polite. Let you in when you need to. and when 2 lanes narrow to one lane people move to 1 lane right away instead of using the soon to close lane to the very end then force yourself infront of everyone like we do in the US. Please note we traveled to Belgium right after living 6 weeks in the uk and the drivers in Belgium do not display the courteous characteristics- they are aggressively hostile like in the US.

Just stumbled across your channel. Some great insights in this video and I'm very happy to see you are enjoying your time in the UK. I look forward to binging your other videos very soon! Love and peace from Devon in the south-west. :)

Just watched your video which I really enjoyed... I was surprised to hear that you both liked roundabouts, because in my experience most Americans develop a cold sweat with the idea of driving around them even after I've explained how to do so...😂 I truly hope that you manage to explore as much as the UK as possible during your deployment here including my part of the UK of Wales...🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Enjoy your stay...

I heard another American once talking about how 'polite' people are when driving in the UK and his conclusion was that our roads are so narrow, there are so many cars parked in small streets and with all the mini-roundabouts where people have to give way to traffic coming from the right that we can all only get from A to B if we co-operate with each other. Otherwise it would be chaos! I think he had a point. With cost of petrol, if you look at prices across Europe I think you'll realise it's not so much that it's expensive here but that it's really cheap in the USA.

What a lovely video. As a Brit it was great to hear your thoughts! I'm glad you enjoyed your time here 😃.

Hi. Welcome to the UK and glad that you are enjoying yourselves. Have Fun 🙂

Hello Jess & Chris, I’m thoroughly enjoying your vids and now subscribed! Welcome to the U.K.! It’s fascinating finding out about your thoughts and experiences here, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing your future adventures! I come from Dorset on the south coast - I would heartily recommend a visit, particularly during the summer. You can go fossil hunting on the Jurassic Coast, see the most photogenic castle ruin at Corfe Castle, take a trip to a protected wildlife habitat on Brownsea Island, enjoy the wild ponies in the New Forest. All wonderful things to do. Are you going to try fresh scones with jam and clotted cream? What about a traditional Sunday Roast? So excited for you and what’s to come! With kindest regards, Andy

Wow - your video has gone viral! Congratulations 🎉 This was such an interesting and positive video. It was great to hear you say that we Brits are kind to other drivers. We are Brits living in America and it was quite a shock to find out that in the US other drivers wouldn't let you in if you (often) found yourself in the wrong lane, LOL! Oh yes, the public bathrooms in the US with the big gaps - what's that all about?!! 😂 I'm now back in the UK for the summer and I'm always forgetting to press the switch down on the outlet when charging my phone. It's annoying to return to it and realize there's still not charge! We're looking forward to watching more of your videos!🤗❤

The whole outlet design is special and safety orientated. There's a video on this that you might like to have a look at

Great video. My friend in Arizona loved having more than green beans and sweetcorn as vegetables when he was here .

It's great hearing you talk about the small things which are different. Bravo.

Glad you enjoyed living here in the uk 🇬🇧 👊😃

Most Americans I know live off base from USAF based at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath. They love the roundabouts and quick pace of traffic. Also the electrical outlets are much safer than US ones. Yes energy prices are high BUT you can switch suppliers for a better deal. For petrol / gas, does go up and down and the government takes 60% in taxes for pertol /gas. Also the UK does have a wide range of places to visit and see within the country including our history and historic places. Enjoy the UK.

Thank you for being so kind😊

Very insightful, thanks for visiting us!

Perhaps as a serviceman here you might want to check out, The Battle of Bamber Bridge. An insight into how GIs were treated during WWII in Britain. Also how the Brits told the US Army to shove their rules.

You did it! These videos often get a lot of views, but you can't count on it. I'm happy for you that you've published just a couple days ago and had a huge number of views! Perfect timing to help you get that 1K subs goal... happy early birthday! I'm an American who has been visiting the UK for 30 years and have spent the last 3 summers living here. I agree with your observations. Love grocery shopping here and love that the food prices are lower but the quality is usually better! The switches on the outlets are a great idea... it is just a learning curve to remember to switch them on. So annoying to "charge your phone" all night and realise you didn't turn it on! haha Fun video, y'all! XX Dara

So pleased you like it here. Really enjoy your videos. Hope you enjoy the summer, there is so much to see and do, especially when the weather is nice

What a lovely video. Welcome to the U.K. we’re new to your channel. Loved your views on driving, I drove once in Miami! Not gonna lied I was scared to death! We’re looking forward to checking out more of your videos. Cheers 🍻

Glad you are enjoying the difference. On driving, many Brits go to France and other countries where they drive on your side of the road. We get used to it after half an hour. Admittedly it's a bit scary at first, but there's more worry than difficulty.

You are very welcome in the UK. I am glad you are enjoying it. It is always nice to get the views of visitors to our country. I expect the lack of AC and small fridges are going to be things that are not so good here compared to back home, but I am sure you have adapted. You should visit Liverpool if you have not already done so. If you are here for a while, and love History, then it may be worth getting a family membership to The National Trust. It gets you into castles and stately homes / gardens without further expense. Anyway, enjoy your stay.

I totally agree with you guys regarding the trains i went to America on holiday once with my parents and we were travelling from Niagara Falls by train and I can’t quite remember where we were heading to but I do remember the train being quite slow and I remember at one point the train completely stopped near a bridge and we were sat on the train for probably over half an hour I Can’t quite remember but I know it was a very long time and we were thinking what the hell is going on. When I went to New York and this is probably just something that New York City does and that is dog play areas a bit like children’s play ground and you saw people meeting up and their dogs would be playing in these mini playgrounds. It may have something to do with not many places for dogs to go, but it was interesting.

Yeah, i'm so glad you're enjoying your time here, guys! All the very best to you!!!! 😊x.

As a British person that has lived in the states for 10 years this video has got me quite excited about my first trip to the Upper Peninsula, Michigan in August!

Hi, Guys just got back to the UK after 5 Years of living in the US with my wife and 2 Kids. I just wanted to address the Petrol price issue you raised (Gas Prices 😂😂). You are correct they are expensive here like crazy expensive, however, it's important to bear in mind most people drive in the US on average at least 4 - 5 times as many miles as regular people here do (obviously not including city driving). Also, most Cars in the US are much bigger gas Guzzlers than the UK. I would say depending on what you drive in the US you probably get between 12 and 20 miles per gallon whereas here it's probably more like 25 to 35 miles per gallon on average. Also not sure where in the States you guys are from but in South Florida where we were Food prices are at least 2 sometimes 3 times more than UK. For example, let's take a lower-end store like Walmart for a full trolly (Cart) of food you could probably get a full trolly at says marks and spencers food here for the same price. Also, car insurance prices are crazy there, and usually every 6 months which we were paying $1100 twice a year for Tundra and Explorer so $2200 per year. Here for similer cars here you would be paying approx $900 a year.

Very interesting round up, thanks. Glad you're enjoying yourselves in dear old Blighty!❤

Well Hello welcome to the UK I hope you enjoy your stay here

Loved this! I agree with the gas prices, while i haven't been to the UK in a very long time, they're still very expensive. Thank you for making this video! It was very enjoyable to watch.

For car fuel costs keep in mind a European diesel car with a full tank should do around 650 miles before refuelling, sometimes even better.

Thank you for your kind words about my country x it’s always nice to hear ❤

Hi, glad your enjoying your life here. I think you're a great polite family, if you ever consider moving to this country I would find you all very welcome. 😁

You seem like very nice people, hope you enjoy yourselves here.

Glad you're enjoying being in the UK. It's always a great pleasure to visit the States and enjoy the warm welcome Americans bestow upon us, so it's a privilege to be able to return some hospitality :-)

Welcome to the UK , Super Happy when Americans choose our country :) , theres loads of history and culture that are truely amazing :) dating back to the roman times {bath} for example, but just a note on the MOT, there are many shady testers that will fault your car just to get another test fee from you, so chat to some car ppl in ur area find a good one :)

Great to have you over here guys

Hi, I agree with a lot of these things. I think pull cords are found in older houses. Amazing how different, but how alike the two countries are. X

If we could adopt the best bits from each country to each other wouldn’t that be great.

Regarding fuel prices, when you think about it theres not much difference. In the US you travel longer distances and usually have larger engines, in the UK most cars are economical and travel less mileage, so it tends to cancel out the price at pump difference.

Children can go in pubs but they very often want to play, do somersaults, and round around everywhere. So, yes, dogs, are more well behaved in pubs. I sometimes go into a pub just for coffee, as I find the ambience to be on a totally different planet to places like Starducks, AND I can take my coffee into the garden if I want to.

There are a lot of shops that will leave water bowls outside so dogs can get a drink .

Your video popped up in my YT recommendations. You two come across as very courteous, thoughtful, decent people. Interesting comments too. I visited the USA several times every year during the '90s. Then lived and worked there (MA, TX, then MA) for part of the 2000s. This may seem like a weird suggestion, but I'll recommend visiting Europe. It's on your door step. Outside the summer holiday season, travel becomes more affordable. A train ride through the channel tunnel to Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam might be an experience. You might even take your car. Flights, booked well in advance or last minute can be very reasonable (beware of Ryanair, who charge for extras in flight). Like the US, staying a Saturday night usually reduces ticket prices down from inflated weekday business travel prices. A small suggestion, which you might already know. However, you might be accustomed to Air Conditioning, and not tried it before. If your house doesn't have them, you might consider getting thermal curtains (drapes). They have obvious value in the winter, keeping heat in. However, if you want to keep bedrooms cooler on hot days through the summer, you might close the curtains (drapes) during the day. It looks a bit gloomy, but hopefully not an issue through week days. Closing heavy thermal curtains (drapes) during the day will reduce the temperature of a room by nightfall. Maybe Initially try on one bedroom if it's south facing. A rough guide is 1kW per square yard per hour of sunlight. So large windows could easily allow 16kW hours of heat to build up in a room through the day. (Imagine a 2kW heater blasting into a room for 8 hours.) Just some thoughts. Best Wishes. ☮ PS - I forgot to press "Save" on this one, so my comments will arrive out of order.

I always find it interesting listening to Americans speak about their experiences of UK life as someone who over the years has travelled extensively in the US in fact the only places States not visited are Alaska, Hawaii and the protectorate of Puerto Rico. The thing that always bugs me in the US is your grocery stores is the large range of the same item on offer it's too larger a choice I usually walk away not getting what I went for as the selection is overwhelming..

As a car guy, I thought you would love the idea of yearly checks and MOT's.

Thanks for your service. Assume you are based at Lakenheath/Mildenhall. We visit regularly and love watching all your aircraft. Lovely to hear your positive thoughts about the UK. We have our problems but in general is a great place to live (and to raise a family).

Our fuel prices are high and that is mostly due to tax. But I think its kind of seen as a general money raising tax because broadly speaking transport applies to all goods and all people, so if it wasn't on fuel they would just get it some other way 😀

Hi guy's it's happy to no that you enjoyed our lovely country and the positive kind words, as for another person here saying about the cost of gas and electricity it's the same in every country across the world it's not just the UK or the EU.

Hi guys, glad your are liking it here, interesting insightful video. Thanks and take care!!

Being originally from London,but having lived in the U.S for 23 yrs,of course there's many,many differences!.And one thing has to be factured in each State basically is run like a separate Country! U have State Laws,which vary from State to State and of course u have Federal Laws..So in essence these are like different Worlds! So when u travel,u have to learn to adapt,some people manage it,others not so well!

I'm surprised you mentioned kind and courteous drivers. Frankly, most people think there has been a marked decline in driving standards in the UK over the last 10 or 15 years.

According to this page, I am your 1,000th subscriber. And I love the wooden jetski on the wall.........

Welcome to the UK. You'll find a few things you're not used to or familiar with, but you'll be fine. Here on RU-vid there is a lady from the US, - Amanda Rae - who moved to the UK ten years ago, when she married a British guy. She has had 2 children here, and she now considers Britain her home. She has also developed a taste for some of the foods we have here, and are not available in the US. Maybe you'll meet her here on RU-vid? I think you'll fit in just fine..... If you're here for 3 years, try to take in the Highlands of Scotland, the Lake District in Northern England, North Yorkshire, and Devon and Cornwall......

Yes - public bathroom in the US are horrendous. I believe you are the only country that gives you so little privacy.

The US has always had really cheap Petrol (Gas) prices compared to Europe. It's only since our recent 'energy crisis' thanks mainly to the war in Ukraine that our Natural Gas and Electricity prices have become exorbitant. Prior to this I was paying £90 per month for gas and electric - now that has pretty much trebled!

Hi ya'll Great to learn your experiences have been a pleasant one visiting our shores and you've taken some useful tips back to the states. My wife is a driving instructer and currently teaches someone from the states how to drive in the UK even though he's driven for years in his home country. and in far bigger cars he's hoping to get used to manual gear shift, something he's never driven before so he can take back to the states what he's learned and share his experiences with others. much like yourselves. Glad you enjoyed our hospitality welcome back anytime. STAY SAFE.

Have a great time and enjoy !!

I like how you mention the sales tax and how you need to add on the tax yourself to figure out what you have to pay at the till ..Strangely that does happen in the UK by an American company called Snap on lol..So just like in the US their brochure shows the price they charge and then they add on the tax once you buy it...

I have followed you both for a while now & have loved all the videos. Other North Americans have commented on how cheap Internet/mobile phones are here (offsets fuel prices a little-lol). I like the comment about the MOT for cars having seen some of the junk allowed on USA roads. As you are stationed here for another couple of years it gives time to see more of what there is to offer in the UK. My parents travelled the USA & Canada quite a lot and loved it (apart from the size of meals - lol). Anyway keep up the good work and thank you for your service, all Americans are welcomed as family by 99.9% of us. there is the 0.1% who are just ar**holes 😁

Hi Jess, Chris, Shane and Collette. I’ve just recently found you on YT and have been working my way through your video stories, which are extremely good and the fact that you reply to each and every comment is amazing and very courteous…it must seem like a full time job. I still have many to see yet and looking forward to them all. So very happy to know that you are enjoying your time here in the UK and you are all a welcome addition. This is the first time I have commented and I just wanted to say, whatever you do, don’t leave a British appliance unplugged on the floor with the plug’s 3 prongs facing up..if you step on one barefooted or just in your socks you will experience pain like never before! Trust me, I know! 😂 Paul. P.S. I love your country too and have visited over the years around 16 times, I’m lucky to have American friends in Boston, NYC, Melbourne Fla, and New Hope PA.

That’s a great point to make about just heating the rooms that are actually used. I live in a large four bedroom house, but since the kids have flown the nest, we use (and heat) fewer than half our rooms.

Great video guys! Another thing about our traffic lights is a lot of them have sensors, so if there is not traffic crossing in front of you, they will quickly change to green to save you waiting! Our trains are very frequent, and are about to reach double the speed of our current ones, due to the HS2 ( High Speed 2 ) rail project being built right now from London and heading north. Our crossings are much safer than US ones. I have seen the many tragedies that happen on American ones. You do have some roundabouts in the US but nowhere near enough. They would ease your traffic congestion and cut down on road rage. Our gas prices are so high because every year for decades our successive governments slap yet more taxes on gas, cigarettes and alcohol, but in saying that, a lot of other things in the UK are cheaper than in the US. Food, the internet, phone charges, free museums, and so much more, so it's all swings and roundabouts, if you'll pardon the pun! In some European countries such as Sweden and Switzerland the gas prices are even higher, so the US wins on that one! But you have further to travel over there for just basic things, where as here virtually everything is within walking distance. The public bathroom stalls in the US must be paradise for the pervs, which could lead to crazy situations. It's madness and just asking for trouble, and making people feel unsafe. We often have wall switches next to the beds to turn off the main bedroom light, to save getting out of bed to do it. UK voltage varies between 220-240 and as you know most outlets have on and off switches. Our plugs are safer and better designed, and it's impossible for the wires to get pulled out and damaged, a thing that happens to my American g/f all the time in MO. She is always having to replace various leads, and often has power outtages, a common thing in the US, but very rare in the UK. My g/f complains about the cost of food in the US, when we compare our shopping and prices, and also her energy bills, as she has the cold air running day and night in the humidity and heat of Missouri. She loves English cheddar cheese and English tea, and describes them as the best in the world. Here is another interesting video from 2 Americans that love visiting the UK, so do as they do and get out and have fun exploring! 😊💖 Bob. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-tsGVvyb03Rk.html