The Siberian American: Why Living in the UK is Awesome

Monday, March 30, 2015

Why Living in the UK is Awesome

Hey everyone! I am still exploring the California Coast, so today I am excited to have a great travel blogger sharing about life in the United Kingdom. I love reading about Jamie's adventures in the UK and all over Europe. If y'all haven't read her blog before, you're in for a treat!


 
 Hello Siberian American readers! I’m Jamie from Gunters Abroad! Over at Gunters Abroad I chronicle mine and my husband’s adventures while living in the UK. We have become obsessed with travelling Europe and checking out incredible places. While I could gush about some of our specific travels, (which include places literally all over Europe) I want to bring the focus to our host country, the United Kingdom, and tell you just a few reasons why living here is AWESOME.

Why Living in the UK is Awesome (in no particular order)

Golf

The birthplace of Golf. The Holy Grail. I cannot describe to you how amazing it is to step onto a Scottish golf course and play. Never mind that there are 14th century castle ruins off in the distance. Surreal experience no matter how bad you play that day! And of course, the best places aren’t just in Scotland. Whether you are playing in England around a castle, or even hopping a plane to the mainland with your clubs, you will not be disappointed at the options offered to you!



 Castles
You may have dreamt of living the princess life as a little girl and falling in love with Prince Charming. And here in the UK, you can relive those dreams! Castles are literally everywhere and we go and seek them out whenever possible. My favourite castles are the ones that are ruins to be honest. It gives them an eerie feel and you can just imagine the ghost of a knight popping out at any moment! And learning the history behind each castle is just incredibly intriguing.


My favourite castles include: Alnwick Castle, Tantallon Castle (pictured above) and Arundel Castle (below) just to name a few. And those are just the ones in England. Super. Awesome.


Slang/Accents/Wit
One of my favourite bits of living in the UK…..the language. While there are some obvious differences in our words (I have a whole list here), I still am amazed on a regular basis by some of the phrases that I hear! And while it is funny to hear silly phrases, I am finding that I am adopting a lot of the slang which should make for an interesting challenge when we return to the States one day. A few of my adopted terms include: ‘Brill’, “cheeky’, ‘cheers’, ‘chuffed’, ‘knackered’, ‘dodgy’….wow, as I’m typing, I realize I could on and on!! Anyway, point being is that it is seriously fun to figure out what someone is trying to say sometimes! And my British friends and I will swap accents for the night which is the perfect game for our pub nights!


 FOOD/BEER
Food glorious food’ (hello Oliver) While you might have heard that British food is bland, I’m here to rebuke this statement. British food is amazing. Whether its pub grub or Sunday roast, the freshness in British food is amazing. They really strive to locally source their ingredients and it makes a world of difference. While I do miss my favorites, like a good round of chips and salsa, a good steak and ale pie will suffice for now.


And the BEER. Goodness, how will I ever drink a run of the mill beer again in the States?! I’ve actually learned a lot about drinking while living in the UK. And it is totally normal to go for a pint on your lunch break. America’s got it all wrong my friends.


European Travel obviously
Now this is what my blog mostly revolves around….our travels. We love to visit new places, eat their food, drink their drinks and learn a little bit about the history and culture along the way. We have been to so many places that I would have never dreamed of being able to visit while living in the States. We just returned from our second trip to Prague which is our favourite European city. It is simply a fairytale city! And while Prague is our favourite, places like the Greek islands and Amsterdam run in a close second. Or skiing the Alps….that’s another good one.



See? Living in the UK is pretty sweet I tell you! So come along and see what else we are getting up to over at Gunters Abroad! Take a look over on my travels page and get lost in some wanderlust for the day instead of working, you know you want to! Thanks for having me on Olya! 
Cheerio!

Come find Gunters Abroad at: 


4 comments:

  1. ahhh nice to meet you Jamie - I think I might have found a new blog to obsess over ;) i love the words you've picked up from living there, as an aussie i say knackered and dodgy as well, though i'm sure i've picked up some american words along the way. i wish i had lived in the UK when i was younger so i could travel everywhere i wanted! wonder if i could convince my husband to pick up and leave... haha.

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    1. Sometimes I shock myself with the UK jargon that comes out of my mouth haha!! The UK is amazing...I'm sure you could sweet talk the hubby ;)

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  2. I've been to London, Sheffield and York and I loved it. I could totally see myself living there.

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  3. Hope you're enjoying California! London is definitely on my list of must see places. Hoping to make it across the pond for summer 2016.

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