Moving To London: Your Culture Shock In GIFs

Moving to England from Australia? Sure, both countries speak English and there are many other similarities. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t experience culture shock.

What culture shock can you expect once you move to England from Australia?

The weather

Australia has pretty amazing weather. Australian’s experience hot summers with cool winters, and depending where you live, you’ll even get snow. As a result of this weather, Australian’s enjoy spending time outdoors. So the weather in England may take some adjustments. While the temperatures can range between 0°C and 32°C, you will get rain throughout the year. However, it’s not all bad news! While England is known for its damp weather, it actually received less rain in a year than Sydney.

Escalators

Unlike Australia, in England, you stand on the right and walk on the left on escalators.

Animals

Instead of spiders, snakes and frogs, you get squirrels and foxes.

Transport

The transport system in London is WAY better than in Australia. But it’s also crowded, particularly in peak hour.

Banking

You’ll need a few passwords and codes to log in to your online banking account, which can get confusing compared to Australia’s easy access to online banking.

Greetings

Sure, Australians and the British both speak English. But some of the phrases used in England can be confusing. “Alright” is simply “G’day” and not “are you alright? how are you going?”.

Telling time

Time is also said like “half three” instead of “three thirty” or “half past three.”

Shoes

In England, thongs are underwear, flip flops are the shoes. Pumps are also sneakers, not women’s heels.

Pants

When Australian’s say pants, they mean trousers. When British people say pants, they mean underwear. Make sure to compliment someone on their trousers, not their pants.

Bathroom Lighting

There are safety regulations which means lights in bathrooms in England are turned on from a cord hanging from the ceiling, rather than from a switch on the wall.

Coffee

This may be debatable, but many argue the coffee in Australia is better. So enjoy the Australian coffee while you can.

Laundry

Washing machines are located in the kitchen, because laundry’s aren’t really commonplace. Get used to drying your clothes on a clothes rack instead of in the dryer.

Football

Football is what Australian’s often refer to as soccer.

Food

You’ll find there are different names for certain food. For example, there are chicken goujons and chicken escalopes, which are essentially chicken nuggets and crumbed chicken strips.

Postcodes

Instead of having to remember four numbers in Australia, you’ll have to remember a combination of seven letters and numbers. This includes the postcode area, postcode district, sector and inward code.

Supermarkets

Australia has two major supermarket chains, and people tend to cook meals at home. However, in England, it is often cheaper to eat out, so you may find yourself cooking a lot less and dining out more often.

Rushing

When moving from Australia to England, you’ll notice everyone is always in a rush, particularly when catching public transport. You’ll feel like an athlete in no time.

Security

If you’re going into a museum or historical building in England, expect there to be some form of security. It’s commonplace for your bag to be checked or put through a scanner.

Geopolitics

The UK is the United Kingdom, which refers to not only England, but Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Not everyone in the UK is “English” – you can say they are British, but it’s best to say Scottish, Welsh or Irish.

Architecture

London is full of old, historic buildings with impressive architecture that you really don’t get to see when you’re in Australia.

Wanting to move to England from Australia and boost your teaching career? Point to Point Education can help. We are a team of recruitment specialists who are dedicated to placing teachers from Australia and New Zealand in teaching positions in the UK. Apply today to see if you’re eligible for a job in the UK.

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