- British mother Caroline moved to Boston and spoke about cultural differences.
- He claims he didn’t realize how sensitive Americans were.
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A British mother living in the United States has revealed the customs that seem strangest to her after crossing the pond.
Boston-based Caroline has lived in the United States since moving there with her family and shares her experiences on TikTok.
Known as @mummysflippinhouseposted a recent video listing uniquely American quirks, from neighbor relations to fast food chains.
She started the three minutes. shorten admitting that “some of them are very generalized, so take it with a pinch of salt.”
She told her 707,000 followers: ‘I didn’t realize how sensitive Americans are, it’s all very, very literal. I might say, “The sky is blue,” and someone would argue with me and say, “Sometimes it’s red!”
Caroline made the big move from England to Boston and these are some of the things she noticed
However, despite this, he found them “very welcoming and very friendly”. Caroline remembered a sweet anecdote from her time in Virginia.
‘Our neighbor came over with a bag of popcorn and said, “I’m just showing up to welcome you!” before letting out a light laugh and joking: ‘Ha, that would never happen in my country.’
He has since moved to the East Coast and finds people more on his wavelength.
“People (in Boston) are a little more assertive, which is a lot more like the British, and I think I land better with Bostonians than with people from the south.”
And like many Brits, Caroline wasn’t very aware of the extent of American accents, but confessed: “I think it probably goes both ways.”
‘I thought it was like California, the East Coast and Texas. I didn’t know there was a Minnesota accent; I love it.
“My husband says Minnesota accents sound more Canadian than Canadian ones.”
She had mixed reviews, noting that Americans are very sensitive but also welcoming, and she is not convinced how easy it is to get fast food.
The United States is also known for its extensive collection of fast food and Caroline has certainly been captivated by it.
“I think Chick Fil A is some of the best food,” he said of the popular chain.
But he did find it disconcerting to order food in American restaurants, especially when “the waiter walks away with his credit card.”
‘In the UK they have to make payment at the table. You would follow them and say “Give me back my card” because there is a lot of fraud in that.
‘It’s strange how in America most things are still signed, and even the chip and pin, but contactless, doesn’t really exist here.
“I know some newer places have it but it’s not as common because in the UK you just can’t go out with your bag, it’s all on your phone.”
Caroline confessed that she “didn’t know how different each state was.”
She said: “As Brits we just watch TV and don’t see how different each state is and I didn’t know that there are not government laws, but state laws.”
‘So individual states can make a law, but then there’s one that covers everyone, like the federal law. I thought it was just the White House!
“And Americans are also passionate about saying what state they are from because many states have different mentalities and points of view.”
Caroline’s last observation was a complaint: the accessibility of fast food. She said, “I love and hate how easy it is to get fast food like we literally have a Dunkin Donuts in the car.”
“There’s actually no self-service in the UK, well there are some but it doesn’t really exist.”