7 CULTURE SHOCKS OF MOVING TO SCOTLAND!

When Joe and I first moved to Scotland there were a few culture shocks we experienced right away. Mainly the language, the friendliness/customer service, the queues, the lack of religion, the legally drinking in public, the censorship on TV, and their holiday time.

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[giuliaromana]

You arrived on January 1st. People were in bed with hangovers after Hogmanay.

[oORussellOo]

You should discuss the hidden queue at a bar. There is no formal line of people, but everyone knows who is next to be served, to the point where people will actually tell the barman that they should serve that person before them. Its pretty cool and not respecting the queue at the bar has the same social consequences as if you were lining up for anything else.

[greyjackal]

Good lord...an American who can pronounce Edinburgh!

[oldlongfellow]

In Scotland we only care about things that annoy/directly contrast with England.

[tweetiepie]

Going to work( asda *Wal-Mart)), standing at the bus stop I'd been waiting a while and no bus came. I knew I was screwed and would be disciplined for absence, at that moment a car stopped and a customer I'd served 2 weeks before told me the bus service was cancelled and she gave me a lift to work. I expected her to go in to shop but she said no, it was just on her route. She wouldn't take any cash for the ride, wished me a good day and drove away.
That is my Scotland.

[accidentalanarchist]

It's awesome that you've found living in Scotland a positive experience, we're a friendly bunch most of the time, even if we're a tad hard to understand at times.

[andobs]

Glasgow is way friendlier than Edinburgh and I'll batter yer heed in if you say otherwise.

[ryanallen]

Sorry just a correction on what you said it's actually illegal to drink in a public place in most places in Scotland with the exception of Edinburgh

[Markyboimw]

Edinburgh is one of the only places in Scotland that does allow drinking on the streets tbh

[DrBrunoRecipes]

Greetings from Scotland. Scottish people are the friendliest people on earth. Have a lovely day 😊

[TheAnon]

Customer service is usualy pretty good in the UK.
When it's not is when people get angry (looking at you O2)

[timclarke]

I'm from England but spend a lot of time in Scotland, especially Glasgow. My culture shock was just how friendly the people are up there. I had a girlfriend a while back who was victim to a hit and run incident and her left leg was broken just 2 weeks before she moved there (due to circumstances at home in England). People were so kind to her! She had a huge suitcase to drag around while on crutches, she had a duffle bag with clothes in, and could barely manage more than a few steps without needing to stop. At the time I couldn't get the time off work to help her move up there (I tried my hardest, and she understood completely that i couldn't). I was amazed to hear that so many people had helped her on her journey, she went on a 12.5 hour coach journey to get there (it's gruelling, I've done it myself many times because it's much cheaper than the train), other passengers were helping her on and off when it stopped for a little while so people could get food and drinks, get something to read etc. Then when she got to Glasgow, people were offering to pull the suitcase for her, or hold the duffel bag, call a taxi for her, and one gentleman even paid for her taxi on the final mile of her journey because the buses were cancelled (due to heavy snow). I've experienced similar hospitality up there on many occasions, I've got several complicated health issues, and often end up in hospital. On one occasion I'd quite literally passed out in the middle of Glasgow city centre (in Buchanan Galleries, a shopping centre). When i came to, there were several people sheltering me from the public so I didn't feel like i was being stared at, they made sure that the ambulance crew arrived quickly, and didn't leave my side until the ambulance crew said I was going to be okay. One lady even travelled to hospital with me in the ambulance to make sure I wasn't alone, as my family were 400 miles away in Norfolk, England. We actually became really good friends, and I'm travelling to Glasgow in September to surprise her with a little weekend getaway to say thank you! This was a culture shock to me because where I'm from, people aren't so kind. If I'd passed out on the street in Norwich for example, maybe 1 in every 50 people might stop to help, if you're lucky. My partner wouldn't have received the help she did on her travels if the coach driver and his co driver weren't also Scottish. I'm always made to feel so welcomed up there, so much so that I'm only applying to Scottish universities when the time comes, because I want to live there!

[smp]

I had no idea they don’t say “half ten” in the US?!? 😱

[hpp]

It's quite refreshing to see an American not constantly insisting that their country is the best and being actually willing to see how others do things and be open to the idea that those things might be an improvement on the American way.

[FranVerzeletti]

I am Brazilian and recently moved to Scotland. Totally agree with everything that you said especially about being able to be myself and not just when it comes to religion but everything else. I find that people here don’t really care about what you are wearing, how much you weight, what color your hair is.. they just simply let you be and I think that is awesome! And I am also constantly amazed at the customer service provided in Scotland!

[DMTDEZIGNZ]

Scotland! The biggest wee country in the world ❤🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[AlanWattResistance]

Yep, we don't really care if you're atheist, just don't go on and on and on about it, afterall there's nothing to more to say.

[clemencetoutcourt]

Religion is a private matter in the UK and France. We even don't speak easily about it.

[matt.]

I finally found someone who isn't Scottish that can say Edinburgh right 😂

[paulinegreenwood]

My first solo travel to Scotland will remain a beautiful memory 🥰🥰