American receives culture shock after moving to the UK

By Katie Storrie via SWNS

An American woman living in the UK has revealed what baffles her about British culture - including the word "cheers" and "bicycles."

Helene Sula, 37, had always wanted to live in the UK ever since she visited as a child and moved to Oxford in October 2023 with her husband, Michael, 36.

She was shocked at some of the culture differences since moving here - such as slang words like "cheers" and "cycle."

Helene says British people are "genuine" compared to Southern Americans, who she claims are "a little bit fake".

Helene, who is originally from Dallas, Texas, US, also finds our hard beds and "lumpy pillows" weird.

Helene, a content creator and travel blogger, said: "I had never heard of the word cheers before, now I say it everyday.

“Culturally, British people are some of my favorite people.

“The word I would use to describe them is joyful.

“There are genuine kindness here.

“Southerners are a little bit fake.

"The houses are so different to me. They are so different from the US, they are much smaller.

"The architecture can be frustrating here, just in the sense that it is older."

Helene moved to Germany in 2016 and have been travelling for the last five years before deciding to settle in Oxford late last year.

Helene said: "I wanted to live here and I knew it had its challenges.

"Europeans like to go to the US and Americans like to come to the UK. It feels like the grass is always greener, you want to see what you don't have."

Helene used to spend her summer's in the UK as child as her parents taught a study abroad program.

But since settling in Oxford she has noticed vast culture differences.

Helene says loves the "hearty" food it very different to what is offer in the US.

She is also astonished by the amount of different flavored crisps and meal deal available in our supermarket - which don't exist in the UK.

She said: "The pies are my favorite dishes. The savory pies, the steak and the kidney and leek.

"The number of different flavors of crisps is so fascinating - I had never heard of roast chicken flavored crisps before or champagne and vinegar."

Helene has also been baffled by condensation and had to buy a humidifier- something she never had to deal with in Texas.

She said: "The windows are so beautiful but we get condensation."

Helene was also shocked when hearing new words and phrases.

She said: "We say 'bike' or 'I am going to go biking' and you all say 'cycle'.

"I never used to say the word cheers before, now I say it everyday.

"You say candyfloss, we say cotton candy.

"We never say rubbish, we say garbage."

Helene has also had to get used to the "small" houses and arrangement of the properties.

She said: "Old houses can come with their quirks.

"When you open the windows you have to open it in a certain way.

"You have to flush the toilet really fast, if you don't give it a bit of extra flare it won't flush properly.

"Most of the washing machines are in the kitchen, it is very different.

"If you want to wash your clothes, you won't necessarily host a dinner party.

"Our heater makes a noise, it is like a basilisk in the walls.

"The beds are as hard as rocks this is maybe something Fred Flintstone would prefer."

Helene has also had to get used to smaller roads and the amount of people around.

She said: "In Oxford it feels so dense, yet there are still people everywhere."

"If you drive outside an hour in Dallas, you will see no one for miles."

Helene loves the castles and architecture in the UK - and was a big reason she wanted to move.

Helene has a blog and she has written a book called 'Two O'clock on a Tuesday At Trevi Fountain' about her experiences of moving abroad.

Helene said: "There is so much natural beauty.

"The castles, the history and the beautiful architecture, England really embodies it."