No refrigeration in the UK?? What is different??

Mister and I are pretty good, we only do a big shop about once every two weeks with small top ups in between for things like produce, milk, and bread.  We both enjoy cooking and like to plan out our meals.  I was a bit weirded out about not keeping eggs, condiments, etc in the refridgerator.  Eggs don't bother me anymore, but I insist on keeping mayo in the fridge.  I know it probably has enough preservatives in it to keep it safe, but it still just weirds me out.  7

As for leftovers, I think I may be guilty of occasionally leaving pizza out and eating it the next day, but not any other kind of leftover food.

What are some of the online shops you look at??

Check out mysupermarket.co.uk - you can compare prices between a bunch of supermarkets.

When I first came to Leeds (nearly 40 years ago --  ) there were lots of little shops  in our shopping area: bakers, greengrocers and butchers as well as a smallish Safeways.  I was delighted and had the time for the daily shop. Now there's not so many of those little shops, except for bakers, so you pretty much have to head for the supermarket. I could walk a bit further and find one or two but it is quicker to go to the super-duper.

I made my husband read all the labels when I arrived, and the condiments all said to be stored in the fridge, so he was an easy convert. I still probably would have put them in anyway, but it was easier with him on my side

I think we actually had an entire thread a couple of years ago dedicated to supermarket meltdowns. It's always the place a new expat least expects it to happen in, you've held it together for a couple of months, you figured out the bus, you've gotten accustomed to the non-mixer tap, and yet there you are in the baking aisle... all you want is to bake chocolate chip cookies and all you can see before you is weird flours and strange baking powder and suddenly the waterworks start!

Unless your friend, or whoever, was meaning air conditioning, because almost no houses have it, then again we generally don't need it.

There is no logic to the layout of Lidl, but that's what makes shopping there so much fun! A visit to Lidl is always an adventure!

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But Lidl's are generally small and it's all about what special offers they have that week. I always walk up every aisle (there's only 8!)

I think we actually had an entire thread a couple of years ago dedicated to supermarket meltdowns. It's always the place a new expat least expects it to happen in, you've held it together for a couple of months, you figured out the bus, you've gotten accustomed to the non-mixer tap, and yet there you are in the baking aisle... all you want is to bake chocolate chip cookies and all you can see before you is weird flours and strange baking powder and suddenly the waterworks start!

You mean to tell me there are no mixer taps to turn the water on?? That is weird!! Every house has non-mixer taps?? Wow!

Unless you wind up in a new-build house, yes, the taps are separate. Even "mixer" taps in older houses aren't really mixers as much as a single tap -- an actual mixer tap mixes the water much further along in the pipes to get an even temperature; a single tap mixes the two temperatures right before it comes out of the faucet -- which is fine if you're filling a bath, not so much if you're doing dishes.

I have seen a single tap in my grandmother's house when I was very little before she had them replaced with the mixer tap.  Interesting.

Most people I know, even those who live in old houses, have mixer taps in the kitchen but not always the bathroom.

You mean to tell me there are no mixer taps to turn the water on?? That is weird!! Every house has non-mixer taps?? Wow!

We had our kitchen refitted, have a mixer tap that works fine.

No, not all houses have non-mixer taps.

Here's a tip, don't take one house as to what everything is like in the UK. Don't take one experience as to what everything is like. just as things vary around the US, then so do things in the UK!

Of course I know that.  I don't generalise all houses to be the same. 

Check out mysupermarket.co.uk - you can compare prices between a bunch of supermarkets.

That's what we use too, usually ends up cheapest at Tesco for us. We do a shop every 14-17 days plus get milk and eggs delivered and a weekly fruit & veg shop. We do a butcher's shop every six weeks or so and freeze most of it.

Becca, can I ask you a question, and please know, I'm not trying to mock or be mean at all? Forgive me for hijacking a thread, but I'm getting concerned for you.  You've had vast amounts of posts since you've come here to UKY that have clearly evidenced that you know very little to nothing about the culture in the UK: is there refrideration? what's the NHS? etc. These are beyond basic bits of daily life. Have you considered at least coming out for an extended visit before you drop everything and move to a country that you know nothing about?

I only bring this up because those of us with some experience here have seen countless times where people have come here unprepared (or even well-prepared) and been overwhelmed by the differences and had truly miserable experiences.  Now a visit here will never be the same as moving here, but it at least gives you a feel, and your posts seem to imply you've never experienced anything here.  I'm assuming your fiance has gone to the US to see you (although I could be wrong). If he hasn't, there will be questions about the genuineness of your relationship for visa purposes, but that's a whole separate issue. I'm just a bit concerned about what a rough transition you are going to have if you're able to believe things like a modern, first world country on par with the USA doesn't have the means of preserving food via refrigeration.