What has been the hardest thing to get used to?

Hard thing to get used to:

(At least in a crowded city with crowded public transportation)

Smells. Every person seems to smell strongly of something applied to heavily, and unlike when we are all in cars on US freeways or in larger stores instead of tiny ones, one is closely subjected to all of these aromas. Perfume, aftershave, and worst of all cigarette smoke from all the pedestrians who walk along breathing this out into me as I pass.

It's something I can't stop noticing, being that in the US I lived in a city where, apart from being in a store, I wasn't around masses of strangers in close contact, or maybe even the strangers I was around just didn't go in for lots of perfumes or aftershaves or didn't smoke cigarettes. Austin was very health conscious therefore smoking was low-incidence, certainly out in public. And being a very casual city, men didn't splash on the cologne, and perfume was only for a special night out. You just didn't really get to smell these smells over there.

It's a bit overwhelming now. In the US I never noticed men swimming in aftershave or women sending perfume smoke signals to the next county, but here I do and I'm finding it very irritating.

They have Fluff at my Sainburys and it is a small one. 

Whoopie pies are known as Gobs in Johnstown PA.  A local bakery makes them in all kinds of flavours.  My favourite, pumpkin!

The worst for me are the short days in winter. I got depressed from it this year. But I think the fact that stores shut early also added to the winter blues. I was a real night owl in the US, and it feels like everything has been sort of turned upside down.

 
 

Yeah, the drinking hours have been a bit strange to me. I hate drinking during the day and feeling the hangover before I even go to bed. YUCK! In Dallas, we would go out around 9 or 10pm and stay out until 2am, but here on the weekends everyone goes out in the afternoon and is at home eating a Chinese takeaway by 8pm. So weird for me.

They have Fluff at my Sainburys and it is a small one. 

Whoopie pies are known as Gobs in Johnstown PA.  A local bakery makes them in all kinds of flavours.  My favourite, pumpkin!

Mmm pumpkin whoopie pies yum!

My options for shopping are a big tesco, a medium sized tesco and small tesco...and a smallish? morrisons that isn't so great... so my shopping for american food is pretty limited!

Yeah, the drinking hours have been a bit strange to me. I hate drinking during the day and feeling the hangover before I even go to bed. YUCK! In Dallas, we would go out around 9 or 10pm and stay out until 2am, but here on the weekends everyone goes out in the afternoon and is at home eating a Chinese takeaway by 8pm. So weird for me.

Eh?! Well go out at 9 or 10 until 2am then!

Eh?! Well go out at 9 or 10 until 2am then!

I think her point is that there are other people involved - yes sounds simple just to go out at a different time, but there is the matter of going along with what other people are doing or having to persuade them to change their habits. 

Expats have to assimilate into their new culture and this is what Jewlz is doing, rather than trying to change everyone in her adopted country to her way of doing things.

Maybe they are just strange in Northumberland!!!  - not heard of this phenomenon down here about only going out in the day and not in the evening.

Maybe they are just strange in Northumberland!!!  - not heard of this phenomenon down here about only going out in the day and not in the evening.

Hey Tykeman, here in the small village where I live, the (14!!) pubs close down at 11pm, so I could go out for one or two at 9 or 10pm, but by then, most everyone else has gone home, and all that are left are two or three completely wasted guys! Also, my DH and his friends (and all the girls, as well) always want to go out in the afternoon or early evening, so I kind of have to adapt to their schedule, as I don't want to go out alone. It's just a different thing here, I guess. In Dallas, most of the bars and clubs were fairly empty until after 10pm, then they were packed. It's the opposite here!

Hey Tykeman, here in the small village where I live, the (14!!) pubs close down at 11pm, so I could go out for one or two at 9 or 10pm, but by then, most everyone else has gone home, and all that are left are two or three completely wasted guys! Also, my DH and his friends (and all the girls, as well) always want to go out in the afternoon or early evening, so I kind of have to adapt to their schedule, as I don't want to go out alone. It's just a different thing here, I guess. In Dallas, most of the bars and clubs were fairly empty until after 10pm, then they were packed. It's the opposite here!

That makes sense in a small village .

Down here in Bristol there are hundreds of pubs, lots of bars and several nightclubs within the city limits so a lot of people will go out around 9 or 10pm ont he weekend and not get home until 3 or 4 am. Some pubs have 24 hour licensing and others close at 11pm,  but the nightclubs and bars tend to serve alcohol until at least 1am.

It's not that long ago that most pubs closed at 10:30 p.m.

It's not that long ago that most pubs closed at 10:30 p.m.

I can remember drinking in Clifton, Bristol in the 1970s and at 10.30, everyone would pile into cars and belt across the Clifton Suspension Bridge to pubs in Leigh Woods or Pill which were in Somerset where they stayed open until 11.00.

Could it also partly be an age thing? A lot of smaller villages have a slightly older population, I'd think. I know I personally would prefer a few early-ish drinks and a takeaway at home, LOL. But the other option is to go out until the pubs close and then go out for a curry and carry on drinking there - that's what we tend to do when we're in the mood for a late, boozy night! 

Could it also partly be an age thing? A lot of smaller villages have a slightly older population, I'd think. I know I personally would prefer a few early-ish drinks and a takeaway at home, LOL. But the other option is to go out until the pubs close and then go out for a curry and carry on drinking there - that's what we tend to do when we're in the mood for a late, boozy night! 

There are no restaurants here, only a couple of lunch cafes and a few takeaways that close around 9 or 10, but we sometimes grab a takeaway and come home for a last round. That's fine for evening drinks, it's just the drinking during the day (as the locals often do on weekends - go out at noon for a few hours), then taking a nap that really makes me feel FUBAR!!!!    I hate having a hangover before I go to bed, that seems so unnatural. I suppose I could try to develop the drinking power for the all-day session like some people do, but seeing as how I am 5 feet tall and 125 lbs, I'm not sure I see that happening in the near future.    I think maybe I should learn to stick with soda for the first few hours and just accept the pi$$taking that goes along with it... 

I can't drink during the day at all unless it's ale, for some weird reason. If it's wine, spirits, etc. I absolutely have to have a nap otherwise I just feel horrid.