Why I love the Brits!

This article completely describes how I feel about British people! I’m French and have always been passionate about anglo-saxon cultures, I lived in the UK for about 2 years on and off and I just keep trying to tell everyone how great and amazing the country, the people, the culture and even the food (sometimes) are! I am so so happy someone else is using the exact same words and examples as I do to try and explain how nice and welcoming British people can be! As for the walking-in-the-rain fact, it is completely true but, what’s more, they even walk around in t-shirts and shorts/skirts no matter what the weather or the temperature is. That is definitely crazy but that’s what I love about them. And what’s even crazier is that they drag you along in that craziness without even you realizing it . That’s how I found myself walking around in winter with no coat at night just because it was more convenient to go clubbing! So I’ll just say this: Go Brits!!

Really interesting post. As a brit i too am discouraged, as someone who drives heavily, i am fed up with the awful manners and behaviour i encounter on a daily basis. As a pedestrian, i am fed up with people barging past me, holding doors open for people for them to walk through and not say thank you! However, i also find that when you begin to communicate with people and speak to them, you find a decent person underneath who is willing to help you and happy to chat, i suppose we are just used to having barriers up these days.

i do love living in Britain as it is my home, as for walking in rain, yes that is completely normal, as my auntie used to say to me as a child, rain won’t melt you like it will sugar! If we didn’t walk in rain we wouldn’t be able to walk anywhere:-) Nice to know you liked it here though.

Apart from 8 mths in the winter of ’97/’98 I haven’t lived in UK for over 25 years, so going back is rather strange. Things are familiar and yet strange, as you might imagine. I totally agree with everything you say. I met nothing but helpfulness and kindness in London at that same time (the DLR staff were all fantastic – and I know the guy you mean!). I’m from the north of England, and it’s a myth that folk are friendlier there, though I met pretty much the same warmth in York that I did in London. It also seems to me a myth that folk don’t speak on the Tube or elsewhere. If you approach them in an open and friendly way the response is almost always positive, and it was obvious to me in the few minutes we met that that is exactly how you approach life! We hear all these stories about people being rude or threatening and so that’s what we look for, if our expectations are different than the response we get is different, IMHO.

That said, most of the Brits I come across are expats or tourists in the Canary Islands these days, and so many of them do, actually, live up to my worst expectations. I have no idea why this is. I am often thrilled to find when I go to the UK that not everyone is like this!

You’re right. My intention is not to suggest one or the other. In this post I wanted to say that, from the outside, I see the Britain that was in the Britain that is. Yes, there may be all sorts of problems but the essence remains. I met people who were discouraged and I wanted to counter that a bit.

I left the UK in 2001 and spent eight years in California and Canada
before returning. I now appreciate the UK much more, even the weather
which although depressing at times rarely reaches the potentially lethal
extremes found elsewhere. I also enjoy the warmth of most people, who
generally are helpful and quick to share a laugh with a stranger. I am
glad to be back, but I am not finished with travelling just yet!

Agree on how Brits seem so much warmer than Americans. I spoke to one living in the US and he said the US is “more cutthroat” compared to Britain.

Thank you! Though it does occur to me, looking at your avatar, those two helpful young men possibly had an ulterior motive… )