UK vs USA – Page 3

January 8, 2016 by: Sunny London

When to Use a Fake British Accent (like Madonna)

‘Are you going to have a fake British accent like Madonna?’

That’s the big question my personal Facebook friends asked me when I announced I was getting married and moving back to London from America.

A fake British accent was the least of my worries.

Finding an international shipping company, applying for a fiance visa, and getting a job held top spots on my list. Then, I planned to get ‘Into the Groove’ of London life. However, I knew I wasn’t going back to Florida with a fake British accent and having all my friends ~~mates~~ wonder ‘Who’s That Girl?’ when I visited.

Like most Americans, I find a British accent endearing. But, I’m not trying to be a phony. I’m American. Not British (even though my great grandmother was from North London). I had no plans to speak with an accent. Well, not at first.

After a few months of living in London, I ~~realized~~ realised I would need to give in. ‘What would be the reason to have a fake British accent?’, you ask.

Let me explain…

While Americans and Britons technically speak English, it’s no news that British people use different words than Americans for many things. Knowing them is one thing. Using them is another.

Some of these words sound silly to me when I hear them. For example, if you’re at a restaurant or pub in London, it’s standard to say, ‘Where’s the toilet?’ if you need to use the bathroom.

I have issues with that. It just sounds so crass to me. I feel like I am saying, ‘I have to take a piss. Where’s the pot in this place to do that?’ It’s just not cool.

For the first few months I continued to ask for the restroom. Finally, I just got plain sick of the blank stare back from the person I was asking. Saying it over and over at a louder, slower pace always works but it is time-consuming. I realised I needed to surrender.

In a conversation with my sister, who moved from Florida to Michigan a few years ago and is noticeably losing her Southern twang and speaking like a Michigander, the phenomenon I explained to her made sense.

She said that if I start talking like British people, it is more a matter of speaking to be understood than trying to have a fake British accent (like Madonna). You reach a point where you just need to Express Yourself. It was a Ray of Light for me!

Reluctantly, I have started to convert.

I cringe every time I say ‘veg’ in London instead of vegetables. My eyes silently roll to the back of my head when I say the word ‘brolly’ when referring to an umbrella.

And, I’m starting to really let the American accent mutha flippin’ go by dropping the ‘r’ sound from many words like ‘paper’ ‘water’ and ‘register’ so I can save time and not have to repeat what I need so often. It’s time efficient, not an attempt to be a Material Girl.

I just don’t have the time and energy to keep going round, and round, and round in London.

The basics for when and how to have a fake British accent:

Be a Wanker- Choose certain words that you know are different for American vs British English when you need to communicate something quickly. It’s not Borderline. It’s a matter of talking to people in a language they understand. And- it will make life or your ~~visit~~ Holiday easier.
Open Your Heart- There’s a few keywords that go a long way in England. Please, Thank You, and Sorry. Master them with the full on accent. Sometimes you just need to say these words in order to keep calm and carry on ‘being British’ for a few fleeting London moments. Sorry.
Deepah and Deepah- Drop the ‘R’ if it ends a word. Think of that dreaded thick Boston accent that Matt Damon and Ben Affleck rocked back in the day of Good Will Hunting.
Don’t Start Spreadin’ the News- I have a friend who left New York two years ago and has completely Hung Up her thick New Yawk kawwwwfeeee talk. She sounds nearly British now. It’s not very Vogue. In fact, it’s a little too fast and phony for me. However, another American expat friend of mine (also from New York) has lived in London for 16 years and has no trace of Brit speak when I talk to her. It’s refreshing. Yet, when she speaks with English people, she fluently converts to the exact words she needs with mild British inflections. Bloody brilliant!
Crazy for You- Don’t use a fake British accent with your UK spouse, if that’s your living scenario like me. If you married a Brit and moved to London as an American expat, translating your ‘parseltongue’ is part of the deal he/she signed up for. You don’t have to wave the whole Union Jack at home.
Like a Virgin, Talkin’ for the Very First Time- When you’re with a group of American expat friends in London, on a return trip home in the US, or entertaining American visitors in the UK, remember your roots. Don’t try to show off your ‘bilingualism’ and have a fake British accent in their company. The need is gone so you’ll look like a ridiculous show off with no social skills. Those are times you don’t need to take extra steps to bridge any gaps.

These are the words and phrases I am still refusing to use: ‘take the mick’, kip, chuffed, fag (for the word ‘cigarette’), gutted, ‘got the hump’, knackered and whinge. What words are on your list?

These are the words I secretly love and actually try to use as much as possible: dodgey, slapper, nicked, ‘on the p***’, ‘one off’, Blimey! Bullocks! Crikey! Hiya!

What words do you find yourself using to have a fake British accent in London, if you’re an American expat living here? Any Canadians, Kiwis, or Aussies suffering from the same language barriers?

Do you agree that it’s a matter of being understood and not being an imposter when you purposely say things with another accent as an expat? Is it any different from speaking Spanish or French with the proper accent? If it is, then maybe I should visit sites like UKLP.com to schedule some language lessons with a tutor so I can learn the basics. But surely it can’t make that much of a difference?

For ~~the Sunny friends~~ you lot who want to know more about the American expat experience in London, just Like a Prayer there are loads of articles on the blog to explore.

I think that’s about all for now. Innit, brov? Unless, you want to read this blog post again to see how many Madonna songs were featured? Please, please don’t click on the picture below. You’ll be sorry!!!

If you’re planning a visit to London, the Sunny News YouTube channel has regular updates of advice for things to do and what you’ll need to know about London. This includes safety tips, pub advice, and a shopping guide.

October 2, 2015 by: Sunny London

An Expat Shopping List: What Do Expats Buy When Home?

What are things you absolutely could not live without? Aside from family, health and the other non-materialistic obvious necessities, there are certainly items that you cherish and probably can’t imagine not having.

What would you do if those things weren’t as readily available to you because you moved to another country?

This phenomenon happens to expats around the globe. While many items are available worldwide, sometimes this means paying substantially more than you would in your home country and possibly having the goods shipped across continents to you.

Each time I visit my home country, America, I have a list of items I plan on buying.

An American Expat Shopping List:

Michael Kors.

Anything Michael Kors. While there’s several stores in London that most likely carry the exact same items, I feel it’s much cheaper to buy my favourite brand in the U.S.

This past trip I stocked up on prescription glasses, a handbag, perfume and two dresses.

Kate Spade.

Again, you can find her merchandise at London’s Westfield Malls and Covent Garden. Plus soon there will be a store on Regent Street.

However, look at the price difference below. Days before I flew home I purchased the yellow iPhone 6 case for £40 (around $55 US dollars). While in Florida two weeks later, I found the bottom phone cover for 50% off. It was originally $40 (around £25) but I paid $20 (around £12). Look at the price tags near the barcodes. They both say ’40’ but the pound sterling sure doesn’t equal a dollar.

Hmmmm.

I also stock up on shirts for Mr. Sunny. While Nautica and other labels he loves are available in London, they are nearly half the price in America. On top of this, I use tons of coupons at Macy’s, This stack of shirts was about £70.

Yankee Candles.

I’ve mentioned my fetish for Yankee Candles several times on the blog. People always include in the comments or on Twitter that they’re available in the UK stores and online. I know that. But the selection is so limited and, unflavourful if you will, that I don’t even bother.

Look at the Fall line, which was on display in Florida when I was there in August…

Seriously. There’s an entire product line devoted to wine!

A British Expat Shopping List:

When I interviewed a British expat living in America for the past twenty years, she also had a clear list of what she purchased when she visited London.

Her items weren’t focused on apparel and accessories like my must have shopping list. Instead, they hit another home ‘comfort’ category- food.

This British expat stocks up on Marmite and Twiglets.

While we aren’t talking about cuisine in this blog post, she did mention that satisfying as many crispy duck cravings in London’s Chinatown and eating authentic Indian food also were goals she had when visiting home as an British expat living in America.

Those are just two small lists from one other person and myself. Surely, if you’re an expat or have ever been one, there are many items you can add. Please write them in the comments below.

Expat Shopping List: Final Thoughts

I’d love to hear more from you about this topic. Please leave your comments and questions about expat life and what you miss below.

December 15, 2014 by: Sunny London

Moving to London: An Expat’s Tips to Save Money

Moving to London is a dream for many people. London has some of the world’s best museums, a fantastic theatre district, stunning architecture, and yes- incredible food! But, sadly it is often credited as one of the world’s most expensive cities in which to live.

When I first lived in London during my Florida State University Study Abroad Programme years, my parents financed my life. I was extremely lucky and lived on Great Russell Street next to the British Museum. It’s when I met my husband (Mr. Sunny) too.

Our lives went different directions, and we reconnected in 2010. Deciding which one of us would leave our country was difficult. Family, money, culture, and lifestyle were discussion points. We decided it would be me moving to London. It was a tough decision and the move wasn’t easy. For example, I had no idea that when I moved to London I wouldn’t have a credit rating. Luckily, I used the best credit cards to build credit and we could secure a good mortgage and all that but I wish I had considered it sooner.

A huge part of the conversations involved financial decisions. When I was invited to write a sponsored post on my experience of moving to London and expat tips to save money during the process, I immediately said ‘Yes!’ Americans, other expats and Londoners frequently ask me about my experience, so an advice post was a great idea!

Moving to London: Two Visas and a Wedding

Any person living in London on a fiance or spouse visa could write pages on that experience. In summary, know all of the costs before even planning a wedding. Also, plan on the fees increasing and the unknown to happen. It sure did to me.

I had the misfortune of sending my fiance visa application to the UK Embassy in New York City the day Hurricane Sandy took seige of the area. What was supposed to be a ‘two week process’ per our immigration attorney’s advice, was two and a half months of agony.

The smart things I did prior to my plan for moving to London were not purchasing the airline ticket for the flight and arranging to stay with my parents while waiting. The not so smart things in my moving to London process: resigning from my very lucrative job and renting a flat in London prior to my visa’s approval.

Once I did arrive to live in London on my fiance visa, I only stayed a few months. I had to return to the US because of my father’s illness. This stopped my ability to work, and my fiance visa expired.

We were finally able to get married in November 2013 in the US and opted for a wedding ceremony with four guests to save money. Saving money on the wedding was pretty easy, There’s lots of tips on how to save money here that might help you out if you’re looking to save too.

We had to pay for the entire UK visa process again. This time we paid the additional priority process fee. It was perhaps one of the best investments we ever made because my visa was approved and returned in 10 days. No matter what type of visa for which you apply- pay priority! It will probably cut down on the ‘ride’ you have while waiting for your approval.

Moving to London: Job Search Expectations

Once we were finally married and I could begin job seeking, a whole new set of problems surfaced. Monthly prices on flat rentals had increased as much as 20%. We were forced to live even further away from Central London than the year before, and it had been 14 months since I worked fulltime.

People warn you about how difficult it is to get a job in London. Listen to them and plan for it. Prior to moving to London, double the time/money you think you will need to job search. So plan accordingly to this and be savvy on things like bills. For example, if you are looking for the cheapest broadband you should try to use a comparison site like Simply Switch. Also, expect the currency exchange rate to fluctuate wildly. Since moving to London, I’ve seen the dollar equal anywhere from £1.49 to £1.71 in less than a year.

If you are moving to London for a job transfer, you’re certainly one of the lucky ones. If not, be ready to accept a position for which you are drastically over qualified. This also means calculating your lifestyle on a budget lower than what you are accustom.

Moving to London: Food and Travel

My husband and I shop carefully but still treat ourselves to dining out as often as we can. The concept of coupons barely exists in London. However, grocery stores still have things ‘on offer’ regularly. Having discount cards on restaurants and pubs helps tremendously. Research these through your bank and online as soon as you can.

Don’t mistakenly think you’ll save a lot by forgoing a car, in fact, I looked into getting a car, and found cheap insurance online. There a ton of different places online for you to find cheap car insurance if you are interested in driving in London, for example, somewhere like cheapautoinsurance.co.uk and Admiral to name a couple. Cabs in London are very expensive. Plan on using busses or the Underground as much as possible. I’ve written a separate advice post on that. But, buying an Oyster card and avoiding peak travel times are some of my top tips to save money on travel in London.

Since London is in such proximity of fantastic holiday destinations, you’ll have many travel temptations. Be advised a train is not always the cheapest alternative. In fact, many times it’s more expensive than flying.

Don’t underestimate all the free museums and historic locations in and around London that you can visit also.

Moving to London: Final Expat Tips to Save Money

Making money decisions is never easy or perfect. My husband and I know that once I get situated with a permanent job, our next step is to buy a home in London. For me this will be particularly intimidating because I will be a first time home buyer in the UK. Thankfully, like the US, it seems there are several types of mortgages available for people in my situation who are challenged with an expat move, job searching and the rising costs of property in London.

Did you find a move to London challenging?
What advice do you have to add either as a Londoner or expat?

What can you add to my advice for the UK visa application process?

You can read more about the expat experience on the blog. Be sure to see the review of an international shipping company, which includes a discount for you.

If you’re visiting London for the the first time (especially the NFL in London Games this Fall), read my ‘Guide to London for Americans Visiting the First Time!’ Or you can subscribe to Sunny in London emails. I’m happy to help Americans find their way here faster, so share this post or that one if you have friends travelling here soon.

March 6, 2016 by: Sunny London

Moving to London: What Household Goods to Ship

When you’re preparing for an international move, it’s difficult to assess what household items you should ship overseas. For example, if you are planning on moving to California from another state, to help make the moving process a lot easier, looking into something like the California movers page on My Long Distance Movers website would hopefully make this time in your life a lot less stressful, as we all know how the moving process can go. The same goes for wherever you live in the world. There’s always something out there to give you a helping hand. If you’ve never lived outside of your country, predicting what daily life will be like in a foreign environment is tricky.

Luckily, when I prepared for my last move from the US to London, I had the advantage of having lived in London once before. I wasn’t sure whether to move to Canada or London. I checked out Thorton real estate and found some beautiful houses however I decided London would be better for my career. This gave me some idea of what I should and shouldn’t take, for example, where to find the best mortgage rates that might be helpful for buying a house or an apartment. If you’re planning on moving to London, perhaps my shipping experience and suggestions of what you should and shouldn’t bring will help.

Recently, I wrote about my excellent experience with an international shipping company. At the beginning of this year, they delivered 45+ boxes I had in storage in New York since I sold my townhouse at the end of 2012. Using an international shipping company like this and ones such as plexusfreight.com will help you get your things in the right place without worry!

Now that I’ve finally unpacked all the boxes and have everything settled, I can reflect on what should and should not have been in the boxes.

For the most part, I am thrilled about everything I included, even if it doesn’t all quite fit in to my London flat perfectly. In fact, I regret more about what I left behind than feeling like I shipped too much.

Before I left, I sold all of my furniture except for two storage cabinets. I moved to London on a spouse visa, as my husband is British. We felt it would be best for me to get settled in to life here and then ship my belongings overseas. Once we found a flat big enough to hold all of my items, we unpacked them and bought furniture from Ikea that met our spacial and storage needs. This turned out to be an excellent plan for us.

Household Goods to Ship: Art

That white cabinet above is one of our Ikea purchases. I love it. However, even more important to me is the wall art above it. It’s not expensive. I purchased the decor from Pier 1 Imports in New York. It’s a piece that always meant something to me, so I decided it was getting packed for the move to London. When factoring what I could’ve sold it for against what it cost to ship it, the decision was easy. Also, I knew household items like that would be expensive in London.

Also included in my shipment were these decorative accents from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I actually sent three of them. The other one is featured on another wall in our kitchen. You see, this wall above wasn’t big enough to show all of them together like I had them displayed in my New York townhome:

Again, the pictures weren’t expensive, but I love them. I also sent the two pottery vases you can see in the far left corner. Oh, and do you recognise that teapot on the right? It’s the same one that is in the first art work picture you saw above too. I plan on writing a separate blog on all the kitchen items you should include on a move from the US to London later.

Our flat isn’t quite large enough to hold all the art work I sent from New York. That’s something you’ll want to think about when making your decisions on what household goods to ship. There simply isn’t the same amount of space in Europe as exists in the US, especially if you’re moving from an American suburb. Further, you might want to save wall space for items you purchase on your travels once you live in London.

I feel my art work not only has sentimental value but also represents my life prior to moving. When you live as an expat, feeling parts of your home makes days in a foreign environment easier. There are many other pictures that I sent aside from the ones shown here. I don’t regret sending any of them.

Household Goods to Ship: Christmas Decorations

My suggestion for Christmas decorations is a bit two-sided. Again, since space is a huge issue in London, you probably won’t have any additional storage area like a basement or even large closet. For this reason, I opted to get rid of nearly all my Christmas tree ornaments such as several sets of matching bulbs and my artifical tree. I did keep special ornaments from family and friends, and I am very happy about that. These are some shots of the last Christmas tree I had in New York (pre-blogging days so I wasn’t really concerned about photography skills).

These are some of Christmas household goods that made the trans-Atlantic voyage…

Hey, a girl with a blog called ‘Sunny in London’ has gotta have a gold heel ornament at the top of her tree, right? I wasn’t about to play Cinderella and leave behind that little shoe. 😉

It’s important to bring your favourite Christmas items for your move to London because it makes surviving the holidays as an expat easier.

Household Goods to Ship: Special Products

Some of the best posts in American expat groups on social media include the times when people ask what products aren’t available in London. Immediately, the topic of Mexican food surfaces. It’s incredibly tough to find authentic Mexican food in London. Food items like Kraft Mac and Cheese, Butterfinger, and good peanut butter are a constant battle to find as well.

Then there’s this issue…

For whatever reason, you’ll find the quality of plastic bags and Q-tips just isn’t the same in the UK. Throw as many boxes of them in your household goods to ship as possible. Oh, and ladies, chuck some Secret deodorant in your stuff too if that’s the brand you prefer. Hardly anyone can find it here, and the equivalent just doesn’t exist.

My all-time biggest miss is scented candles and soap from Yankee Candle.

Yes, I know they have a few ‘satellite’ Yankee Candle shops in the UK. But, they don’t have near the variety that you will find in a US location. Let’s face it, you aren’t going to find this one below in a London store…

And at Christmas, this range isn’t available either…

You can’t even find regular bacon as you know it in London, much less a bacon scented candle.

At least I know that Molton Brown has a candle selection that is amazing, if my Yankee Candle collection runs out before my next visit to my home state of Florida.

Household Goods to Ship: Final Thoughts

As I indicated earlier, I have future blogs planned to help anyone with decisions of what to ship if they are moving to London from the US. Specifically, I will write about kitchen, electrical and clothing items. If you’re an American expat living in London, it would be great if you could include household items you wish you had or had not shipped so readers making the move can benefit from all of our advice.

The international shipping company I used is also offering a discount on shipments to people who use my promo code, so if that’s of interest to you, be sure to read this blog review and email me. These are my suggestions on what not to bring and advice for applying for a UK visa.

April 1, 2014 by: Sunny London

Quirky Advice for American Expats in London

More and more people are moving abroad and becoming expats. Many are moving to America and looking for the best credit cards for people with no credit to kick start their life in the land of the free. However, it’s obviously not just people moving to the US, people from the US are also becoming expats. More families are moving and taking advantage of places like the Ascot School (https://ascot.ac.th/) as a way to provide a new culture for their children. While there are lots of reasons for becoming an expat, I only have experience on going to London – understandably, as I live here!- so that’s what I’ll be focusing on today. There’s tons of advice for American Expats in London available on the Internet from sites like Destinationscanner.com, so I’m jumping straight to the quirky stuff, Sunny friends. You’re about to hear the scoop like you’ve never heard it before…

ADVICE #1- Get Ready to See Ta-Ta’s and Who-ha’s

Have any of you been to a gym yet? Holy nakedness, Batman! If you haven’t been to a fitness center in London, brace yourselves for the X-rated Locker Room SHOW! I damn near bump in to the walls and trip over the benches every time I walk in to my local LA Fitness Ladies’ Locker Room because my eyes are nearly cinched close. The amount of bare naked ladies parading around the room is a bit jolting to this American girl, and I grew up in Daytona Beach where we practically wore our bathing suits to school! Check out this photo I snapped in the locker room…

Yeah, right! Aside from all the pub crawls and champagne I write about, I’m keeping Sunny in London fairly G-rated. No nudey shots here!

But, big props to the body confidence European ladies have. However, I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the amount of flesh skipping around that room.

ADVICE #2- The MAILMAN is not breaking in to your flat.

I have a mild heart attack every time my mail is delivered when I’m at home. In Florida, if someone comes up to your door step and starts messing about, you go in to lockdown mode and call 911. Therefore, when I hear the Royal Post Person shoving mail through that slot in my door, I always think I’m about to experience a home invasion. Thank goodness I have good home insurance in case i’m ever right!

ADVICE #3- Look both ways before you cross the street. TWICE.

It’s going to take a LONG, LONG time to figure out the roads. I’ve lived in London a few times, but I still can’t figure out where in tarnation cars are coming from. So, yeah, don’t even think about getting a driver’s license. It’ll be a year before you can cross a street and not be in sheer terror, much less operate a manual vehicle from the “other side.” Until then, stick with the good ol’ zebra crossings. Here’s me crossing Abbey Road, circa 199….

ADVICE #4- Order a drink and food right, or do the barmaid’s job.

“Can I get a Pinot Noir?” Every time I say that, Mr. Sunny cringes. Notice that when Londoners are ordering, they say, “May I have a London Pride, please?” There’s no “get”, and the request ends with “please”. As easy as it sounds, it’s an unnerving habit that us American foreigners need to break. When we say “get”, Londoners think “Sure you can. Get up and go GET it yourself, Yankee.” Sheesh.

ADVICE #5- The Rear of the Year sits at the bottom of the list.

Photo credit to the Sun, because where else would “Sunny” get a picture? 😉

Most of us Americans discovered Pippa the day of the Royal Marriage. If you’re a celeb siting stalker like me, from that day forward you forgot Kim Kardashian and fixated on a new arse crush to motivate your workouts.

Heck, I even rushed out and bought her book, “Celebrate.”

<br />

The truth is, British people don’t favour her too much. So, my advice is to keep your American infatuation with her to yourself. Better yet, ring me up, and we can spend 8-10 hours at a place she frequents in the odd chance she’ll show up and want to friend us.

ADVICE FOR AMERICAN EXPATS IN LONDON FINAL THOUGHTS:

Dickens wrote in Tale of Two Cities, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

Living in London can be both super fun and super challenging for expats. We miss the culture from our other city, but we love British culture too.

That’s my two pence worth of quirky advice for American Expats in London. I hope it helps you have the best of times. Please put your advice in the comment section below, Sunny friends. I’d love it if you shared this post somewhere.

You can read more about the expat experience on the blog. Be sure to see the review of an international shipping company, which includes a 10% discount for you.