American Family Moved to the UK

If it's one of the big stores with the half doors, you can see feet inside the stall and know it's occupied, no need for the indicators. As you can see in your post #7, the stalls are small, I am mildly claustrophobic, I would hate a small area fully enclosed.
so don't you close the door in your bathroom at home when other people are in the house ? :oops:
 

@Bonnie, this very young couple are tourists they don't live in the USA...

...also the first thing they start off with is the HUGE portion sizes of food, which is precisely what all my friends dislike , so they generalised straight away by saying ''we''ll tell you what all Brits love''....and the absolute nonsense they're spouting about the UK not having open plan housing...and that tv isn't as good as the USA...


...but of course there's just as many Brits who love the USA as Americans who love the UK... it's not a competition , just an observation from Mike's video :love:
 
so don't you close the door in your bathroom at home when other people are in the house ? :oops:
Yes, but my private bathroom is 2-3 times the size of the public stalls. Of course, we also have handicapped stalls for people on wheelchairs, those are much bigger to allow wheeelchairs, but able bodied people are not supposed to use them if there are people waiting for a stall.

See below how easy it is to see if the public stalls are occupied.

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That's actually really interesting that you don't have an '' engaged indicator'' on the toilet stall doors... wonder why :unsure:
Because you can see shoes. It's a good idea in case some one made a mistake and entered the wrong gender room.
Once happened to me. I spotted high heels next to me. So I got wondering. Am I in the right place? I waited until she left.
 
Because you can see shoes. It's a good idea in case some one made a mistake and entered the wrong gender room.
Once happened to me. I spotted high heels next to me. So I got wondering. Am I in the right place? I waited until she left.
I once went into a public bathroom and saw this ''man'' at the sink washing hands. I quickly exited but checked and the sign said ''Women''. The ''man'' came out, it was one of those people whose sex you cannot figure out. She had a very short haircut, wore cargo pants, and was flat chested.
 
That's actually really interesting that you don't have an '' engaged indicator'' on the toilet stall doors... wonder why :unsure:
Probably because they have slide locks. When you push on the door if it doesn't open it's because someone is using it.

Since toilet use seems to be the focus I'm curious does every public facility in the UK have the same setup as in the video?
 
@Bonnie, this very young couple are tourists they don't live in the USA...
...also the first thing they start off with is the HUGE portion sizes of food, which is precisely what all my friends dislike , so they generalised straight away by saying ''we''ll tell you what all Brits love''....and the absolute nonsense they're spouting about the UK not having open plan housing...and that tv isn't as good as the USA...
...but of course there's just as many Brits who love the USA as Americans who love the UK... it's not a competition , just an observation from Mike's video :love:


I understand that you love your country @hollydolly, that's very obvious .... BUT the thing is, we love ours every bit as much..
So please don't put us down so often.
We all see things differently, and live differently, and do things differently ... that goes for every country in the world.

Comparing our way of life to yours doesn't even make sense to me. ... If you ever came to this country, you might be amazed!
 
I understand that you love your country @hollydolly, that's very obvious .... BUT the thing is, we love ours every bit as much..
So please don't put us down so often.
We all see things differently, and live differently, and do things differently ... that goes for every country in the world.

Comparing our way of life to yours doesn't even make sense to me. ... If you ever came to this country, you might be amazed!
The main problem I have with the video is that of generalization, it's a very broad sweep. The US (and the UK) has many and all different kind of people and places and houses and scenery. There are houses that are mansions, and houses that are shacks. The public bathrooms from Walmart and swanky stores are obviously different. You just can't paint a huge country with a broad sweep of the canvas.

EDIT = Even the English couple raving about America is generalization in everything they said. You can't make a single statement about a country that spans 4000 miles. Even the big portions of restaurant food is not always true, depends on the restaurant. Generally, the more you pay for your meal the less you get. :cool:

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I understand that you love your country @hollydolly, that's very obvious .... BUT the thing is, we love ours every bit as much..
So please don't put us down so often.
We all see things differently, and live differently, and do things differently ... that goes for every country in the world.

Comparing our way of life to yours doesn't even make sense to me. ... If you ever came to this country, you might be amazed!
errrm where am I ''putting you down so often''??...I'm just pointed out that after an American said they have 1/2 door toilets in the USA that I wouldn't like to have them, and that was all until this thread took feet. I even said that we too don't have kerbs and pavements in many places... For goodness sake don't be so sensitive, surely we can say something wouldn't suit us without you taking offence... but I'm taking offence at you saying I put your country down ''often'' that's simply not true and I defy you to prove that, because I'm the very opposite, I am always singing the praises of Americans even tho' I've never visited.

However my daughter has on several occasions as have many friends, all, different areas, and there's some things they like, and some things they don't. Equally anyone who comes here to the UK would say the same thing, you can't like everything.... but I wouldn't take offence at someone talking about a small thing like a half door..I did take offence at English youngsters telling lies in the video tho'...not Americans..

I';ve got nothing more to say on this subject it's just ridiculous!!
 
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I have visited England 3 times, it is very different from sunny Florida. I never saw a single palm tree. It was rather chilly the time I went in November.
I remember having to be very careful crossing the street because the traffic was coming from the opposite direction.
 
I have visited England 3 times, it is very different from sunny Florida. I never saw a single palm tree. It was rather chilly the time I went in November.
I remember having to be very careful crossing the street because the traffic was coming from the opposite direction.
To get palm trees in the UK Manatee, you need to visit either
Torquay in Devon, or the West Coast of the Highlands in
Scotland, where the Gulf Stream strikes the coast.

Mike.
 
"....I remember having to be very careful crossing the street because the traffic was coming from the opposite direction....".
Yeah. I apparently have a brain-freeze with the directions. I come over to the UK every year for about 8 years now and even in London, where it's common to have printing on sidewalks to "look right", I often don't and I walk into traffic. That's why I'll strictly use public transport.
 
Yeah. I apparently have a brain-freeze with the directions. I come over to the UK every year for about 8 years now and even in London, where it's common to have printing on sidewalks to "look right", I often don't and I walk into traffic. That's why I'll strictly use public transport.
Look right, look left and look right again.. .. :D that's what we were taught as children. However you can always walk further down the road and cross at a zebra crossing or a set of traffic lights..

Do you usually use the tube when you're in London?
 
For comparison it would have been nice if that American had posted where in America he moved from.

The reason for wishing for comparison is this part of your post.

Quote
"awww that sound like he's fallen completely in love with England...and why not, it's for the most part a wonderful country..outside the cities, and he's living on the coast down here in the south, so it's beautiful there too."

Not the beauty part because I think that can be found in every country.

The part about "it's for the most part a wonderful country..outside the cities,"

What about the cities isn't wonderful?
 
For comparison it would have been nice if that American had posted where in America he moved from.

The reason for wishing for comparison is this part of your post.

Quote
"awww that sound like he's fallen completely in love with England...and why not, it's for the most part a wonderful country..outside the cities, and he's living on the coast down here in the south, so it's beautiful there too."

Not the beauty part because I think that can be found in every country.

The part about "it's for the most part a wonderful country..outside the cities,"

What about the cities isn't wonderful?
Parts of the cities in the uk, are typical of cities in many countries.. Poverty stricken in places, failing infrastructure etc
 
I've lived in and / or travelled through most of the UK. I've worked in or travelled through 11 US states and several European countries. I've been sunburned, frozen, soaked and nearly blown away in many places. I've seen mansions and hovels, palm trees and tumbleweed. I've had great meals and some pretty bad ones.

You just can't generalise about countries based on a holiday or a short stay - especially a large one. Live somewhere for a year or two, learn about the history, culture etc.. and then you can tell us what you "love" about it.
 
Parts of the cities in the uk, are typical of cities in many countries.. Poverty stricken in places, failing infrastructure etc
To his credit the video maker did say he was only there for 2 months, he certainly presents some really great insights into what he has experienced so far. Thank you for explaining that UK cities are typical of many countries. I wonder what he does to support his family And how he & his family will qualify for the health care system in the UK . Any thoughts about that?
 
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To his credit the video maker did say he was only there for 2 months, he certainly presents some really great insights into what he has experienced so far. Thank you for explaining that UK cities are typical of many countries. I wonder what he does to support his family And how he & his family will qualify for the health care system in the UK . Any thoughts about that?
yes I said in one of my first posts on here that I'd love to hear his views after a year of living here, and after his honeymoon period , As for his eligibility for the NHS I wouldn't know because I don't know his status., but he does mention his church, and we're not big on churches or organised religion in the uk generally, so I have an inkling his job could possibly be with the church

However he's made some really lovely videos , about England and the uk... here's a couple more...

In the first one near the end he will explain about British people and their reticence to discuss politics publicly or with strangers, which is something Americans or other non brits have noticed about many of us on forums as well ..

anyway enjoy... hopefully it will give you a little American insight into this land and it's people.. I think by the sounds of it before settling down 2 or 3 months ago he's probably travelled widely within the UK




In this next one he talks about some differences in our languages (words that are new to him )..and touches on our food etc..

if you're really interested in his take on the UK.. you can subscribe to his channel or view his other videos or even ask him a question...
 
I did visit London 20 years ago, so, of course, I'm supremely able to comment on this thread. Somehow, I doubt tourism promoters in the UK are rolling out an ad campaign touting their toilets, as the ones Matthew loves. And sorry, Matt, there was nothing in your video , which makes me want to pack my bags, and fly over. From my brief stay in the UK, I felt very much at home. But Matt, you're not a great salesman. I don't know how many country lanes have sidewalks? And yeah, if you aren't in a built up urban area ,and surrounded by cows, you might be in the countryside.. Gee WOW! Matt, you got to get out a lot more.
 

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