‘I’m an American in UK and there are four downsides to leaving US’

An American woman who’s lived in the UK for three years has revealed four aspects she would change about Britain.

Moving to a new country can prove challenging, particularly when confronted with culture shocks you hadn’t expected. This might involve changing everyday habits as basic as your meals or how you interact with others.

One American woman named called Brianna moved to the UK with her family three years ago. Since her arrival, she has used social media to document her experience as she adjusts to British life. While she loves it here, she’s recently opened up about the certain things about the USA that she misses the most.

Posting on TikTok, where she boasts over 59,400 followers, Brianna has revealed four things she would change about the UK, as she proceeded to argue that these features are better in America.

“Things I would change about the UK as an American living in the UK,” she declared at the beginning of her clip.

1. Size of fridges and freezers

“I would definitely be have a bigger refrigerator,” Brianna stated. “I do miss the American refrigerators at times, because it’s so much bigger, especially when you have a bigger family like we do.

“And also when it comes to meal prepping, cause meal prepping takes up so much room. And then the freezer, it is so itty bitty here, so that’d be one thing I would change.”

2. Shop opening times

“I’m used to it now, and so we plan ahead, and so like we’ve adjusted, Brianna said, adding that despite having adatpted, she misses the convenience of 24-hour supermarkets.

“And I feel bad for everyone who has to work an off shift, not a normal nine to five type of job, and like so I’m kind of wondering how are they adapt, especially if you have a busy life on their day off,” she asked.

3. More sockets in homes.

“Sockets. I’m actually really shocked still about how few sockets [there] are in each room,” was her third point. “America’s like literally double that amount.”

She lamented the lack of sockets in the hallways of her house, which makes life hard when she needs to vacuum those rooms. She claimed that instead of having a convenient socket to plug the vacuum into in the hallway, she has to manoeuvre around large pieces of furniture.

“So climbing over that, trying to plug in that vacuum in the hallway, which you can only do halfway because most of the extensions is in the bedroom. So it’s hysterical, honestly,” she commented. “But yeah, that’s something I’d change, to have more sockets.”

4. Bigger parking spaces.

Finally, Brianna said she wants “bigger parking spaces.” “Or I’d have more of those – I love how you guys have like the family parking spaces. Those are so helpful.”

She said she found these large parking spaces beneficial when getting her children in and out of the car.

“I don’t mind if you put them in the back row, I’ll park as far away, I’d just like a bit more [space] trying to get my toddler in and out, especially when she was an infant,” she explained, noting that her baby’s car seat used to occupy a significant amount of space. “So yeah, I’d change that too.

“But you know, overall, I’ve adapted so much since I’ve been here, and I love it and I’ve been here for over three years, so it’s not a big deal. But yeah, I mean, there’s some things that are more convenient in America that would be nicer here, and vice versa, obviously.”

The video’s comment section quickly filled with responses, with many Brits pointing out that several items on her list are already available in the UK.

“In 59 years in 12 different houses there has been sockets in the hallways. Big fridges are available if you have the room. We have 24 hour supermarkets,” one individual highlighted.

Another person commented: “No sockets in a hallway? That’s a your house problem, not a UK problem.”