What I wish I knew before moving to England

Living abroad has been an incredible life-changing experience, but there's always difficult challenges to face that we often don't talk about. Here are some of the things I wish I knew before moving to England.

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Hey! I'm Alanna - a twenty-something documenting my life as a Canadian living in England.

I share the ups and downs of an expat living abroad and what it's really like living in the UK. It's not always easy, but there's been so many wonderful experiences, too. I post a Youtube video every Tuesday and an additional video every Saturday on my Patreon account. I also livestream every Wednesday and Sunday at 6:30pm GMT on Twitch.

Alanna x

#movingabroad #expat #movingtoengland

[aleksandra]

“nobody wanted to be my friend” I felt that. 😂

[simonweston]

You seem like a genuinely good person. I’m glad you chose the Uk.

[amandamuttonen]

i’m just a 15 years old girl from Finland, but i’ve been thinking about movin to England for the longest time... i’ve always just felt like that’s where i belong lol. maybe someday 🤷🏼‍♀️

[mandykayla]

1:45 Home sickness
4:09 Understand when moving to a new country you are not there to change it
6:13 Everything will seem difficult at first
9:49 Making friends as a foreigner sucks
11:15 the longer you live away family/friends makes less effort to reach out
13:30 you will find yourself changing

[megu]

I moved to the US from Japan. The most challenging thing is English for me. I would be only a listener if I’m with 3-4 native speakers because they talk so fast and many jokes that I don’t know. Also cultures are so different.
I feel like I’m a baby because so many things I don’t know. But still living outside of my country is an amazing experience!✨

[markcity]

Love this channel. So much respect for you, not only for moving to a new country, but also for helping others to be aware of the challenges.

[melissalayton]

I'm moving to England in 2 weeks and I'm starting to get scared. Thanks for tips.

[mjp]

As an English man who has now been in Australia for three years I agree with everything you say.

The supermarkets here are terrible compared to the UK. I miss English food and trying to find Australian equivalents is tiresome.

The weather is better here but I miss the changing seasons. Setting up a new life and dealing with all of the administration was really boring.

I definitely agree with becoming a hybrid of both countries. I'm English and will never be Australian but I have changed and grown as a person.

[deetybaby]

Who wouldn’t want to be your friend? Belated Happy Birthday 🎂my favourite Canenglish youtuber!

[colinmorand]

I moved to the USA 2 years ago from England. I agree with most of what you say, I tell you what though I think Britain is a fantastic place, the diversity and history is amazing. The way my experience has made me feel moving abroad is that I definitely do want to return one day and I have had a new found appreciation of family and friends and the feeling of being home since I moved.

[Zadster]

That thing about not being able to make friends, and rather set yourself on fire? That's pretty much a requirement for being English!

[Brando]

Good video. You talk so much sense. Ignore the haters. I always enjoy listening to your experiences as a "foreigner" in England.

[Codemarla]

Ah the week of summer we had this year. I remember it well.

With regards to to people "correcting" how you say 'math' I think (and hope) that most people were only joking. Generally the English way is to not really care, but still rib people for it anyway.

Food shopping abroad is so hard. Especially when in a non-English speaking country. You end up just buying items based on the pictures on them.
I went to Belgium shortly after becoming vegetarian and almost died of hunger as I couldn't tell what products contained meat.

Making friends as an adult is difficult regardless of what country you are in as it often can appear like you are hitting on them. I always find it easier to make new friends when Im with my girlfriend as it removes that element.

[cianok]

I like how usually on a Tuesday or Wednesday evening I think 'Oh, there's a new Adventures and Naps' and look forward to watching. And my favourite part is your "And without further ado, let's go" (Swings the arm and points over to the left). This is such a nice channel Alanna. Well done.

[halteal]

Adorable, glistening from the heat or not. These videos are quite helpful. Thank you so much!

[csatlantic]

I still live a few miles from where I was born, so I can only applaud what you have experienced . I love your vids, so informative with added humour. You have a wonderful personality. Belated Happy Birthday too.

[РазговорчикисСофией]

"I think I've just triggered an existential crisis." I started hyperventilating for you, so... 😂

[glynwelshkarelian]

The fact you started filming yourself as a way of telling a few family and friends in Canada that you were still alive, and managing to avoid starvation; and you now have a worldwide audience, but you still talk like you're letting your mum know you're eating, just works: because you are honest, nice, and funny. I suspect that your early vlogs (everything you've done thus far) will always appeal, because there will always be many people with mum's and a sense of humour.

[MrJC]

Im trying to make new friends as an english adult in england and i feel your pain. Don't ever let it get you down. Haha.

[shoanning]

I'm also an expat in the UK and I can relate to everything you say: homesickness, identity crisis, making friends. Stay strong