Perks of Britain and Scotland
Differences between Canada and the UK
What is Britain?
First of all, I’m going to try and clear up the whole confusion over what the difference is between Britain, UK, and British Isles are etc. England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland are all technically their own country and together they make up the United Kingdom. The UK government in London is the highest government in the land; however Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland all have their own devolved governments that have some policy jurisdiction. Britain is a term used to describe the main island of the United Kingdom which England, Scotland, and Wales are all part of and Great Britain is that main island plus all the other small islands around it that are still part of either England, Scotland, or the UK. With me so far? The United Kingdom = England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. Britain = England, Scotland, Wales. The British Islands refer to the UK as well as the Isle of Man, Jersey, and Guernsey. The British Isles refer to everything in the British Islands, however it also includes the Republic of Ireland which was formerly under British control. Then there is the Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc.) as well as British Overseas Territories (Gibraltar, Bermuda etc.). Got it? Here’s a visual aid to help.
Transport/Travel
Nearly all vehicles are manual transmission, and that holds true across most of Europe. Many vehicles here are diesel that wouldn't be diesel back home, such as Mini Coopers and small SUV’s/crossovers. Also, fuel is more expensive here largely because it’s all a higher octane which in turn increases the engine efficiency. Additionally, cars on average are noticeably smaller here than in North America, as are the roads. So: smaller cars, smaller engines, more efficient because of higher octane fuel. I like how the vehicles are designed to be so much more efficient here.
Discount airlines are amazing. Assuming you book a flight around a month or more in advance, you can get on a plane in Glasgow and fly to pretty much any major city in Western/Central Europe for varying prices. Most of the prices are in a 20-50GBP range which is incredible! London, Paris, Munich, Brussels, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Lisbon etc…hell you can even fly from Manchester to Casablanca for only 50 pounds each way! In November, a bunch of us flew to Dublin and back for a roundtrip cost of about 40 pounds because it’s so close. The flight itself was only about 30 minutes. I really really wish North America had something similar. It costs something insane like $250 Canadian just to fly from Toronto to Ottawa one way.
In addition to flying being so much more convenient, public transportation in general is ubiquitous here. Back home, from Ottawa to Kingston to visit Taylor I would have to sit on a bus for over 2 1/2 hours and pay $50 for a roundtrip. There would only be 3 buses a day to choose from. Or I could pay double to take the train for which there would be around 6 choices a day. Here I could get on about two dozen different buses a day, or just as many if not more different train options. It can get kind of pricey, but for someone who is here long term or uses the services regularly there some really good discount cards/memberships. The point I’m trying to make is that in Scotland you can take a bus or train to and from pretty much any town or city. It’s no substitute for the convenience and freedom of having your own car but it’s a far better system than what we have in Canada. I couldn't take a bus or train from Orangeville to Newmarket even if I wanted to.
Shopping
Nearly all products here are more expensive and, quite simply, that sucks. Food, clothes (especially clothes), alcohol, electronics…. the list goes on. In the case of food and alcohol, the numeric value of something is often the same or similar as back home. Something that would be 5CAD would be listed at 5GBP here, except 5GBP is actually around 9CAD. This rule doesn’t universally apply but I think it’s fairly accurate.
The price of clothes and electronics borders on the preposterous. Something like a pair of pants that would cost maybe 30-40CAD would cost around 50GBP. That’s like 90 dollars for a pair of pants! Even at a UK based chain the prices are still this way. The only exception to this rule I’ve seen is Primark which has to be one of the best things to come out of Ireland since Guinness. A PS4 back home starts at $399 but here it starts at 349GBP which is 628CAD! I guess part of that is the Canadian dollar being low at the moment while the Pound has gone up but that’s still a little ridiculous.
The customer service throughout much of Europe that I have experienced so far is not like in North America. “The customer is always right” does not apply whatsoever here. It’s not that the employees are rude or anything, just less is expected of them. Also, most things open a little later and close a little earlier than North America. A good illustration of the point I'm trying to make would be the British TV show Faulty Towers.
Grocery stores are much smaller. There are a few massive superstores out in the more suburban areas but in the city centre the grocery stores are smaller than a downtown grocery store in Canada. The self-checkout is also emphasized a lot more here.
A bar of Dove soap is not labelled as soap but as a “beauty cream bar.” Very masculine sounding.
Going Out
Most restaurants and bars (at least the ones I can afford) have you go to the counter and order/pay first and then bring your food and/or drink. I think it’s a little more convenient because when you are done you can just get up and go instead of having to wait for a bill to be brought to you.
European Christmas markets are fantastic. They’re also a cheap way to get food, especially if you’re on a travel budget.
Scotland is the jay walking capital of the world. Everyone does it all the time.
Around half of Hollywood films release significantly later over here (at least a few weeks), however there are some British films that might get very limited release in North America if any at all that are pretty good. If you want an example, watch the movie Filth. Also, going to the movies here is slightly different. For one, people don’t tend to show up until very near the start time. Back home before a movie starts, there is usually a few commercial advertisements followed by about 15 minutes of previews, however in the UK there’s a solid 10 minutes of advertisements followed by 15 minutes of previews. Even after all the pre-show messages are concluded, like turning off cell phones etc., you think ‘ok, the movie has to be starting now’ but there is ALWAYS one of two Kevin Bacon commercials right before the movie starts. One where he’s in a really long cha-cha line, and another one where he’s sitting in a restaurant. It’s a really good fake-out.
Everyone mistakes me for an American. Not once has a stranger heard me speak and think I was Canadian. But it doesn’t bother me.
Miscellaneous:
The Pound Sterling is actually different in Scotland than in England. While the value is virtually the same and you can use Scottish Pounds in England and vice-versa, the bills look very different. The three major Scottish banks all print their own Pounds so there is at least three different designs for each bill, plus the design of the English version of the bill. Also, the coins come in increments of 1 pence, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, and then 1 and 2 pounds. For some odd reason, the 2 pence coin is massive and quite frankly utterly useless unless you need something to throw or feel like giving money to a homeless person.
Being so much further north here than Ontario, there is a lot less daylight even when the sky is clear. By December, sunrise wouldn’t come until shortly after 9am, and it would be pitch black by around 3:30-4 pm.
Phone service is so much cheaper here. Obviously a phone being an electronic product is more expensive to buy initially, however for only 12 GBP a month (about 22CAD) I get 500 minutes, unlimited texting, and unlimited data. It’s fantastic!
Almost every electric outlet here has an on/off switch.
About 95 percent of sink taps here have two different faucets, one scalding hot and one ice cold. This is an enormous pain in the ass for obvious reasons. I’m not sure why the taps are like this; I don’t see how it could be cheaper or more efficient having two different pipes connected to the tap because it means there’s more water overall and more hot water being used. In the odd case there’s only one faucet, like my flat’s kitchen, there are separate streams coming out of the same faucet for hot and cold water which is a little more convenient but not a great deal. And sometimes in public bathrooms there is only one tap like what’s normal in North America, however most of the single tap public bathroom faucets here are only scalding hot whereas the ones back home are usually lukewarm. So far I’ve noticed that the rest of Europe does not do this, only the UK.
Well I hope this list gave you a bit of an idea of some of the noticeable differences one encounters over here. It’s by no means exhaustive but these are many of the major and minor differences I have noticed. Any questions or comments I’d love to hear them!
