• Flying Squid@lemmy.world
    1342·
    12 hours ago

    Congratulations! Made it to the UK from the US yesterday myself. Let’s hope our new lives will be great!

    • ThePyroPython@lemmy.world
      24·
      10 hours ago

      Welcome! Weather’s a bit shite at the moment and monsoon season (February to May) is just around the corner, but it’ll brighten up for 2 weeks in June and for the last 2 weeks of August.

      Drop me a DM if you’re heading up Manchester way and I’d happily give you a tour and you’re more than welcome to come over to my family’s place for a Sunday Roast.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        2·
        20 minutes ago

        You should have seen what it was like when we left the U.S. in terms of weather. This is far better. Thanks!

      • dellish@lemmy.world
        2·
        57 minutes ago

        Or learn the old “eat the TV before the inspector arrives”.

        I guess I’m showing my age, but hopefully enough old folks get it.

      • Freefall@lemmy.world
        18·
        9 hours ago

        Hopefully OP can live with trading “needing a TV license for a TV no one uses anymore” and “actual healthcare” for a “failing democracy turned Christian nationalist oligarchy”!

          • casmael@lemm.ee
            8·
            9 hours ago

            Oi sonny Jim this isn’t a loisense request this is a loisense request request it’s a different department Oi hope you’ve got all yer paperwerk in order jimbo

      • AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space
        9·
        9 hours ago

        Only if you have a TV. Theoretically, you need one to stream the BBC/ITV and such on a computer/phone, but the onus is not on you to prove that you didn’t. You’ll get letters asking to confirm that you don’t need a licence, and then threats of an inspection to make sure you don’t have a TV that’s on and being used to watch TV, though I’m not sure if they follow through with the latter. (In the analogue days, they had detector vans that either could detect TV tuners tuned to channels or were a bluff to get people to pay up, though they seem to have given up on that.)

        • Agent641@lemmy.world
          8·
          6 hours ago

          The detector vans were real, and they weren’t a bluff, but the tech they used wasn’t some high tech signal detector. The secret is that they just pointed a parabolic microphone (possibly a laser microphone at a later time) at your window and listened for the audio. The operator would flip through TV channels in his van and try to match the audio from your house to the audio from a currently broadcasting TV station. That was sufficient to determine if someone was watching broadcast tv or not.

        • MY_ANUS_IS_BLEEDING@lemm.ee
          6·
          9 hours ago

          They don’t follow up on the threats - or at least not regularly. (9 years and counting here - even if I somehow get caught and fined the max amount I’ve still saved money)

        • Freefall@lemmy.world
          71·
          9 hours ago

          Stabbing? American here, never heard of it…, it’s like shooting but no range, lower body count, and not something a physically inferior person can do to anyone equally effectively, right?

    • casmael@lemm.ee
      38·
      12 hours ago

      Welcome to the uk did you pick up your complementary kettle on the way in? Sorry the rail network is such a mess but what can you do. Glad to have you bud o7

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
        261·
        12 hours ago

        Honestly, other than the fact that we were really confused about where to go due to poor signage (and missed our train twice and got lost when we were supposed to change trains), we enjoyed the train ride. We did pay for first class on for the Avanti West portion, but it was worth every penny. (Or am I supposed to say worth every p now?) And since we came from the land of very few trains that all suck, the actual train rides were great. And people were super helpful with our heavy luggage.

        • A_A@lemmy.world
          221·
          11 hours ago

          Glad to hear you arrived safe and well. Also, for your information :
          Galleons: The primary unit of currency, typically made of gold. One Galleon is worth 17 Sickles.
          Sickles: The second unit of currency, made of silver. One Sickle is worth 29 Knuts.
          Knuts: The smallest unit of currency, made of bronze.
          P.S. : Next time for the train you should get to Platform 9 and 3/4

            • A_A@lemmy.world
              3·
              9 hours ago

              😋 Today i learned about :

              Cowrie shells

              (from GPT) … were widely used as a form of money in many parts of the world, particularly in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Their durability and portability made them a practical medium of exchange.


              Such culture ! I’m convinced you will find a great job and i hope the best for your kid as well. Take care 😌

        • MY_ANUS_IS_BLEEDING@lemm.ee
          5·
          9 hours ago

          It’s still known as pennies here. It makes more sense for a pence to be called a penny than it does for a cent to be called a penny.

    • Kraiden@kbin.earth
      125·
      14 hours ago

      If you’re serious then here you go

      Take a look at the skills shortages list as well, because if you can get a job in something on that list, you’ll have a much easier time. We desperately need Healthcare workers

      You will be welcome here for the most part, but I have started noticing some things that are starting to annoy me, and I know I’m not alone, so fair warning:

      Please remember why you’re coming here. Nothing annoys me more than Americans who move here and then never shut up about how things were better back home. We have no 2a, our stores are small, and we don’t tip. I consider those to be GOOD things. Also, even our right wing party (National) would be considered center left over there. (Sadly that seems to be changing)

      If you’re just looking for what America was 15 years ago, Australia is what you’re looking for. That’s not a joke either, I mean that very seriously, Australia is a better fit. It’s the USA of the southern hemisphere (sorry Aussies, but tell me I’m wrong)

      It’s a process, but it can be done! Good luck!

      • dellish@lemmy.world
        2·
        50 minutes ago

        I wish I could tell you you’re wrong, but… :(

        And if Dutton gets elected this year it will get soooo much worse. Hey, New Zealand is a beautiful place! Maybe I’ll move there too!

      • peoplebeproblems@midwest.socialEnglish
        37·
        10 hours ago

        No 2a, our stores are small and we don’t tip.

        Next you’ll tell me that the government expects me to take time off from work to care for my health and family. And that having a personal car is expensive and unnecessary.

      • Delphia@lemmy.world
        7·
        5 hours ago

        Although you may not recieve as warm a welcome in Aus at the moment.

        A LOT of Australians are mad at Americans for their political culture right now. We have transphobes and bigots here too and theres a lot of Australian bigots who are feeling very bold. Also theres a feeling from the more left leaning people that if we dont have enough resources and room for people fleeing ethnic cleansing, wars and famine we dont have the room for people who didnt like how their democratic election went. Also our cost of living isnt going down either…

        Not saying you will get a hostile reaction, or even a negative one… just temper your expectations.

      • Halo@lemmynsfw.com
        9·
        9 hours ago

        Wife and I looked into moving to Australia after we visited Sydney. I work in IT so not a problem for me to find a new job and my wife is in healthcare. She is a respiratory therapist which is in high demand but looks like your end of the world does nursing with a speciality in respiratory therapy.

        Couldn’t figure out how that would translate but damn are we ready to jump over the bigger pond.

            • DreamButt@lemmy.worldEnglish
              11·
              13 hours ago

              A lot of America is empty so this highly depends on what you mean

              In the city the internet is great

              • 𝕾𝖕𝖎𝖈𝖞 𝕿𝖚𝖓𝖆@lemmy.worldEnglish
                7·
                12 hours ago

                I grew up in the armpit of SW Oklahoma. My parents’ Internet was 256 kbps in 2009. Today, they get a blazing 20 Mbps and it goes down all the time. My brother signed up for a satellite internet company that’s a bit more reliable and gives him something like 50 Mbps, but iirc, his data cap is something like 250 GB and then it’s overage charges. And I think he pays $120 a month for that plan.

                My wife and I live in the Oklahona City area and get 250 Mbps, and only because that’s all we need. We were running 500 for a while, but we almost never needed that much. We have a 1 TB data cap and pay $50 a month.

                We’re going to upgrade to fiber in the next few years. A local company is in our area and offers symmetrical 1 Gbps internet for like $80 a month. But there are upfront costs associated with getting it set up in the house that I don’t want to swing yet. But I’m thinking more about it lately because I’d love to self host something like Nextcloud and get off of Google Drive.

                Anyway, yeah, internet in cities is mostly pretty good. Once you’re out in the sticks, well, good luck.

                • Jo Miran@lemmy.ml
                  5·
                  12 hours ago

                  It really depends. I know of little towns in rural Idaho that have gigabit fibre to the house simply because the local phone company submitted the request for a federal grant. The money has been there since Obama, but utils need to ask for it, and certain local populations would rather starve than take any sort of handout from the federal government.

                • Fredselfish@lemmy.world
                  3·
                  12 hours ago

                  Like in the burbs of Tulsa and we get 1gig but its super expensive and I hate it. Cox is the only choice. I would love to get out of this state at least if I can’t get out of the country.

            • IsThisAnAI@lemmy.world
              1·
              9 hours ago

              I haven’t had issues getting 200mb + in like 10 years. It’s pretty common to find decent priced gigabit as well. I’m sure it’s kinda shitty in rural areas but it’s not nearly as bad as it used to be.

      • saltesc@lemmy.world
        71·
        10 hours ago

        You’re right. Have always considered Australia the US and NZ Canada.

        Americans fit in well in Australia so long as they’re friendly and check their ego at the door. Australian culture is a big moosh of many cultures but tends to cringe at American culture. You kind of have to be more about yourself rather than be all about being an American, then you will fit in.

          • gnuplusmatt@reddthat.com
            6·
            8 hours ago

            I mean, you asked us to tell you that you’re wrong

            I generally don’t agree that we’re culturally much like the US, but between AUKUS and Pine Gap, we’re definitely beholden to them

      • Otkaz@lemmy.world
        8·
        13 hours ago

        Possibly stupid question but what do you mean by “we have no 2a”?

        Edit: 2nd amendment, thanks!

      • Supervisor194@lemmy.world
        1410·
        13 hours ago

        We have no 2a, our stores are small, and we don’t tip.

        These are the only examples you can come up with as to why Americans might “never shut up” about it being “better back home?” I’m having a hard time taking that seriously.

        I consider those to be GOOD things.

        Well yeah, so would roughly 90% of all Americans. Well maybe the small stores thing from a convenience standpoint I guess?

        What I’m saying is I’d like you to elaborate, this can’t be the whole story (signed, someone who has seriously given thought to moving to NZ). :)

        • Kraiden@kbin.earth
          23·
          13 hours ago

          Ha ha ha, I chose those specific examples because of a specific person. I had to work with that person for 6 months and it it felt like all they wanted to talk about was how you can’t get good pizza (you can) or how the shelves are always empty (they’re not) or how the water here tastes weird. (I mean, maybe. That’s subjective) By the end I just wanted to scream at them. We had a very heated debate about tipping culture one day at lunch. They didn’t understand that “I used to work in hospitality, and I wouldn’t have survived without tips” is not an argument in favour of tipping culture.

          I realise I’ve generalized here, and it’s not fair to judge everyone by one irritating example. Sorry about that

          • MrBobDobalina@lemmy.nz
            6·
            7 hours ago

            Also anecdotal: I met an American in France one time. We were both travelling, so there were plenty of other things to talk about, but somehow he got onto the subject of how much he loves the 2nd amendment within 5 minutes of meeting him, max. I have no idea how he steered the convo there, it was like a magic trick. Blew my mind.

        • Zorque@lemmy.worldEnglish
          71·
          13 hours ago

          I think you’re equating Lemmy with America. You vastly overestimate how many people share that viewpoint.