An American Moves Home || Reverse Culture Shock US vs UK 

I’ve just done the reverse and moved back to the UK after 10yrs in the US. My observations are: 1. Things stay up later in the US. 2. Supermarkets seem cheaper and healthier in the UK though that depends on where in the US you compare to 3. Governmental services are so much more efficient in the UK. Difference is stark. 4. UK towns are smaller but also much more walkable 5. Political scandals and debate in the UK are so much more normal and tame compared to the divided conspiracy theory craziness of the US 6. Fewer adverts on tv and better quality tv in general (not bombarded my medical adverts for one thing!)

I lived in the UK for several years while in the US military. The military prepared us for culture shock, but when I moved there I fell in love with the country immediately, and transitioned into the culture without a problem. Just a little time to adjust to the British language. I purposely rented a cottage well away from the base, living on the economy and living as a local. The food, the roads, the music, the history, the scenery & nature ... all of it captivated my heart. The thing that tore me apart was moving back to the States ... THAT was my culture shock.

Our fridges are smaller because most of us are near good supplies of fresh food, so we shop more often.

When I worked in the US, I soon realised that to Americans 100 years was a long time and to sn Englishman 100 miles was a long way!

“They’re barely food”…that made me laugh out loud ..brilliant

I think customer service is great in big cities in US and awful in small towns whereas the opposite is true in the UK

Great video… my brother lives in the US and I recognise your list. Our NHS isn’t perfect but it is still amazing… and free at source no matter what your social standing and ability to pay.

I’m a Brit that’s lived in Florida for 37 years. There is no utopia that I’m aware of. Every country has its problems. I can probably list a dozen things that are better or worse between the UK and the US. We definitely need to realize that whatever side of the pond we live in that we’re very fortunate. Choosing one country over another really depends on where your interests lie. English people tell me I’m so fortunate to live in Florida and Americans ask me why I would ever leave the UK. It’s all a matter of perspective.

The customer service differance is because in the state's service workers are paid so poorly they are practically working for nothing, they are so dependant on the kindness of strangers tipping well for their service, In Europe and the UK we pay service trades enough that they can live without having to beg.

I just wanted to make a point about your comments about the NHS. While it is currently under more pressure than ever before, I doubt you will find more than a handful of Brits who would swap it for the US healthcare system. That said, British people can sometimes dump on the US way too much - it is almost a cliche here to dismiss a problem (especially racism) by saying it is not as bad as the US. I would just like to say that the US has enormous cultural.impact here, and no-one I know wishes any Ill will to the American people. It is heartbreaking to hear about US citizens struggling with healthcare costs, which is not a thing most people in the UK even think about. I have worked in the NHS and been politically active for a long time, so I am happy to elaborate on the advantages and disadvantages of the NHS (it is almost all positive), but for anyone thinking someone promoting 'socialised.medicine' is attacking the US - please realise this is not the case. It is awful to see our brothers and sisters across the pond deal with some unspeakable situations, and remember, the US spends nearly DOUBLE what the UK does on healthcare per capita. Anyone who wishes to know more, feel free to ask in the comments, and for anyone who feels like 'socialised medicine' is anti-American, please ask yourself what could be more anti-American than a system that impoverishes and denies healthcare to so many of your citizens?

I would think customer service in the USA is better because they expect a tip whereas you don't necessarily tip in the UK

Nice balanced view, what I have noticed in last few years is, how many Americans are moving to the U.K.

It’s nice to have your observations on our cultures .....I’m British and I have an American fishing buddy (bill) from New Jersey when we’re away on one of our trips I think we both appreciate each other’s outlook on life , plus the banter we have. I think it enhances the trip in general . Just one thing my body really craves fresh greens whilst I’m away 👍👍👍👍🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸😎

Thanks for popping By, I hope all goes well back home.

Hey, Matthew. I'm an American living in the UK since 2018. I love it. I thought we were kindred and always enjoyed your videos. I'm wondering if you'll ever consider coming back.

Sorry to hear that you had to leave the UK due to Covid Visa issues. I thought you'd just returned for work. Hope you get the chance to come back.

It’s important to note that the issues with the NHS are essentially political/funding. Imagine what the NHS would be like if we spent the same amount of money as the US does on its public healthcare (ie not even including private spending). It could easily be the best healthcare system in the world for outcomes. The U.K. spends very little of its GDP on healthcare compared to other developed nations. It therefore delivers a lot for very little.

Delightful as always - I am from the UK but have several American friends, including one of my good friends ex-wife. She started appreciating good curry, but most of all the NHS - I'm in Wales where we have free meds - paid by taxes and it rains quite a bit, my thermometer says it's 27 °C = 80.6 °F - not super warm , but it's July so in a maritime climate it's rarely too cool or hot - it does rain quite a bit bit but I can't really complain. In Wales we have free prescriptions and free access to hospitals - it breaks my heart when I hear of the the population of the richest country in the world going bankrupt for essential surgery Much love from Wales. XXX.

Good to see you again Matt! Hope the family are all doing well 💕

Thanks! Interesting video. Always good seeing differences from those who’ve travelled and lived overseas.

You're welcome back any time :)

It's sad that after a year in the UK, you still prefer customer service staff to behave as if they are inferior to you. Isn't it nicer in the UK, where a low wage doesn't make someone any less your equal?

Matt, I get you with the humor. I am near Columbus, OH and have become addicted to UK comedians. I am still working from home and watch them on my lunch to relax. I would also like to have the term “nutter” adopted here. LoL. I hope to visit there after all the COVID issues are worked out. BTW, we have kale :)

Love your vids, keep up the good work mate.

I had some friends who emigrated to the US, he through work, his wife had a baby born with complications and she suffered post natal complications as well, the Insurance refused to pay and after a costly legal battle they had to declare bankruptcy, coming back with nothing to the UK, fortunately his employer provided support once back home but unable whilst in the US. It was a subsidiary company in the US that actually employed him not the UK parent company. Says a lot for US companies providing care for employees.

The big one for me is health care and primarily that pre existing conditions cant be covered with the insurance companies and hospitals able to just refuse you cover or care for things that will determine if you are alive in the morning

Yeah, we in Germany also eat healthier and have a lower diabetes rate but we also are getting closer and closer to the US standard. Somehow Germany always does something the US does (good or bad) and we used to be 10 years behind when I was a child but now the time increments are getting shorter.

Any sign on you guys coming back to the UK once covid dies down? Loved you vids fella. Hope the family is all safe!

Hope that the four of you can come back one day.

If service workers didn't rely on tips in the US I think you would notice a difference in service!

It's a shame you had to leave early - enjoyed your videos - I hope your move back went well amybe you can come back sometimes!!

Love the large american expanses. This is why long road trips can cover more milage in the US compared to the UK.

Thank You 💙💎🕊️

Maybe one of the reasons for the unhealthy food in the USA is because good health does not provide the same profits that illness does?

Thanks for making an interesting video. Must admit I don't like kale but we still have a long way to try and improve our processed food but we do have a good selection of fruit and vegetables in our larger supermarkets. Love to see a video about work/life balance as I understand Americans have less holiday compared to Brits and Europeans.

I stayed subscribed hoping to get this video! i'm glad you have! Nice to see you and your family have settled back in. only one question, did you buy Kale in the U.K. or was there an equivalent?

Welcome back Matthew. I was concerned when you took down all of the last videos about what was happening as your other channel still had regular content. Hope you are all well. Ray.

There are things wrong with the NHS, BUT you can always use the private aspect of our medical system if you want something faster or it's not available on the NHS, mostly there is an equivalent treatment for most things on the NHS, yes sometime you have to wait for some treatments but usually if it needs doing, then it's done. It's open to all residents and no-one is left without treatment, I'd take the NHS over the American system EVERYTIME.

I think the one thing about social healthcare (NHS) is that it is not political here in the UK, every political party in the UK agrees that free healthcare at the point of need and throughout your life is is a right not just because you happen to be rich

I do like visiting America, and love American people for their friendliness and kindness and have been several times for holidays to different parts of the USA . The thing that bugs me the most is the obsession with tipping. asking,yes asking for 15% to 20% on top of your bill, because the customer has to subsidise the restaurant's wages bill, American having no minimum wage. Even a hugely rich company like Disney, pay pants wages and expect customers to subsidise them. I've been a waitress, so am more than happy to tip, I'm not tight fisted, but people ask for tips for the smallest service, I've had waiting staff actually plonk the bill down and point to the total and tell me what to tip. USA should have minimum wage, it's disgusting that such a rich country treats it's employees like this.

I just can't get on with the American customer service culture, it's so forced and so fake, everyone seems to be working from a script and being "nice" to attract the tip.

Coming back everything seems huge.. freaky..my car felt a block long..lol

Miss you guys.

The roads are bigger, the houses are bigger, the fridges are bigger, the PEOPLE are bigger... LOL

The staff pay you so much attention in the usa and go overboard in the customer service dept is so you will tip them well where in the uk waiting staff already get a decent wage x

I am so glad you enjoyed good old blighty and I hope you are both better people for the experiance, I am already drunk, see ye, bro. x

For a Country that claims to care about the Individual WHY do you not have a National Health Service Paid as in the UK by a National Insurance Contribution direct from your Income But Why Do the US not have a (Pay As You Earn)Tax System ???

Customer service is way better in the states. They work harder to get a tip because their wages are crap.

We ❤️ our NHS. Sure, not perfect, but so much better with a choice of topping up private cover if you want the fastest, most personal care.

What appears to be a huge difference is how gullible a lot of Americans seem to be , I feel sorry for them believing what they have is the best when most societies just wouldn't put up with it. How can all these republicans believe Trump won the election' they clearly will believe anything. Why ? It is such a waste.

enjoy your views, since left uk , main problem i have, price petrol costing £1 32p litre, transfer not US GALLON, KEEP UP YOUR VIDEO COMING

Hope you come back mate

Servuce staff are only interested in the size. Of the tip

Your health care system doesn’t work for everyone were in the UK it is set up to work for all. We do have people who will pay into a healthcare scheme, if their company pays part of the cost but that becomes prohibitive the older you get older as premiums go up with age, but at least they know the NHS is there. Our medication is also subsidised or free over a certain age, which is another failure in the American system.

Come back, brother! You're family now x

Thanks for the video! You have a very pleasant way of expressing your thoughts. Really enjoyed it. Yes, everything is larger in the US. Hence sadly also the carbon dioxide emissions per person are roughly double when compared to those of Europeans per person. In the US quantity instead of quality is appreciated and when everything has grown bigger and bigger, the human scale has been lost. One should consume only what is necessary. Consumerism creates problems for the planet.

120 F 95% humidity, knee deep in snow! When are you coming back?

Cultural differences aside, I'm sure aspects of the UK environment can seem claustrophobic. We could use a bit more space.

Hiya. Are you able to tell us what happened with the house? Stay safe. All the best to you.

Thank you for your generous compliments. Americans are very kind at being complimentary, not muted as sometimes people in the UK can be. I really appreciate that in Americans

On things being bigger in the US, you missed out mentioning mouths, they are definitely bigger.

The Wandering Ravens have gone back too - but think they are missing good old Blighty …. What reverse culture shock, shocked them the most was a notice on the door of their local shop “only open carried guns allowed in here ….” Oh myyyy liiiife! 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😱😱😱🤯

Coming from Africa, having had experience in both the us and the uk, I found there are more than just pros and cons to living in either country. If I'm honest, the US is huge compared to the UK and there are opportunities to see and experience so much more than I ever imagined.

3:10. If you wanted to go to Dayton, why did you fly to Chicago? Its like flying to the UK and wanting to go to Newcastle but Flying to London, Heathrow. Both trips are about 300 miles, and that distance is the same whether you are in Europe or the US. The road trip would be the same. If Chicago was the only option to fly to it has more to do with poor air connections than the US being "bigger", surely?

Just two words about the customer service. I've see few video like this one of you but ever annoyed me a litte is that evryone who spoke about this is from the point of view of the customer and nobody cares the point of view of the people who doet theyr work in to the shop. I understand that is a plesure wend all the attenctinos are over you (not for ev'rybody, I'm amusing of walk in the store while nobody cares me and I can just watch everythings for myself. If I need I ask) but is not better if the rapport between you and the worker is just the same like you encounter them in any other place? sorry my bad english.

What's going on with your hair Matt?

Heck yeah!! Dayton Ohio!! Area code 937

The UK being 53 degrees north - equal in longitude to Edmonton Canada.... Of course the US is going to be vastly more hot... 🤣

what is going with your hair?

The US health care issue is cultural. The government doesn't assist the people and many people are ok with that. The US has unbridled Capitalism.

Everything is bigger in TEXAS! 😂

I lived in NJ for a couple of years I hated it.

And produce is cheap , though Brexit will soon affect that

You state there's not a few but a lot of things wrong with the nhs. Please state them.

Americans are a lot bigger too !

I can’t stand US customer service. It makes me feel so uncomfortable.

Do NOT look for kale in Walmart. In the US I can find baby kale in loads of places (just not Walmart)... but I haven’t seen baby kale in a single store here in the UK. And I’ve been to just about every place 😉

The health care in the US is sadly in humane a country the size and the wealth of the US they should made healthcare available to all

NHS baby.

Not very specific regarding healthcare.

Perhaps your USA BOARDER CONTROL STAFF COULD TAKE ON SOME OF CUSTOMER CARE SKILLS when dealing with non-American visitors! They are unnecessarily rude, sharp, suspicious and unwelcoming!

Preparing for a car jumping off the road hitting you!? If you could prepare you wouldn't be on that road.

Glad you are pleased to be home ok, but what’s going on with the hair? Is that an American thing?

I took a year out from the UK to explore the USA, and to be totally honest the people were great (maybe sometimes false) but really nice to talk to however....when you come.from somewhere like the UK you really learn to appreciate what you have, the USA is so samey (if that's a word) there seems to be no culture no real sense of history, the buildings are all the same it is like Minecraft everything is square and flat, every town has the same shops selling the same things, the fruit and veg is huge and looks luscious but tastes like nothing, nothing is walkable, however there was really little to see, to be honest I won't go back, I found the whole experience depressing as hell, even going out for a drink was weird all people.wanted to talk about was Trump and couldn't understand that it had nothing to do with me, people's politics were obvious just by 5he news channel in the background, as I said the people are so sweet but they are NOT open to contradiction at all

It’s ok you criticising the NHS because you know what you are talking about. You raised that in one of your videos when you were living in Sussex. Americans, don’t criticise the NHS or the Royal Family. It just doesn’t go down well in the Uk.

If your child was born in the UK I hope you get her British citizenship quock so she can have the advantages of dual citizenship for her future✌️

It's freeks me out as a brit it seems so facke

Brits tend to be deeply distrustful of what we see as insincere smiles, which is a standard of the US service industry. We know that servers in the US probably won’t even be making making minimum wage, unless they kiss the asses of entitled customers. Your service industry just creates more customers who behave that way because they know they’ll get away with it. Try acting like that in France. Workers rights in the US are virtually nonexistent, and it shows. Your tipping culture is also really confusing to outsiders. Most people will be aware of tipping wait staff, but you guys seem to tip various different kinds of service staff, except fast food workers. So we don’t know who to tip, and how much

Do you not notice tent cities and other homelessness, or opiad and other addicts, people everywhere not outside exercising and enjoying nature - I like your stuff but damn it's middle-class.

The best healthcare in the world is in South Korea

Often, it's not at clear whether you are talking about the UK or the US.

People who call customer svc friendliness "fake" are idiots. Of course it is. I mean, yeah, on occasion their personality slips in. We're all human right? But having to deal with customer after customer after customer you have to practice it. Fake. It's so uninformed.

To summarise: extreme Capitalism is a disaster? Perhaps a little humanity and care for other people’s wellbeing matters.

Why don’t you do a difference in humour between the UK and the US. 😂😦

The UK is very secular. The Queen is the head of the Christian Church.

I live in the uk and I've been to America 5 times and I have to agree there is no customer service in the UK people are miserable now in America I felt more welcomed its nothing to do with tipping um they have got more manners than us in the UK sorry just my opinion if I had a choice I would rather live in America all day long

Sorry about your hair