And this is why we Americans enjoy your channel. We know you are here with us, embracing the experience. Not standing in a corner silently judging our pronunciation of centrifugal.
Even though you're an American now Lawrence, and may sometimes get homesick,... Never forget, you always have your English accent, with you at all time's, to remember your roots, and Mother land, when you get homesick! And that my friend, is pretty cool!😎 👍 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
@@brianbenson1973 I enjoy Lawrence very much, and I liked Louis Miller's comment... I'm chuckling at the humor of her last sentence. No disrespect intended towards anyone... I find this site a lot of good clean fun- and occasionally, if I'm not careful, I learn something new. :-)
It’s been great for me. I’ve lived in Oklahoma for 40 years and I’ve found Okies to be very friendly.Most questions have been about my accent. Still have my Brit accent! One lady thought I had a speech impediment. Had a good laugh about that.
On accents & translation: A buddy of mine is from Sussex and even now, after 15 years, there are times he has to translate what he says for people. He told me over lunch last summer that he had no idea how advantaged he was with his RP accent and how it got him in the door more often than not. He also said he was happy to be married to an American before he came here because women were literally fawning over him at first and it would have been a severe distraction if he was single.
@@keithmasumoto9698 Yes. Considering the small landmass of the U.K., it has a surprisingly large number of local dialects/accents and even a handful of distinct languages, certainly many more than we claim in the U.S.
Thanks my British friend. Been watching your channel off and on a year now. Always good way to get away from the harsh politics and division and enjoy your wholesome none political take on America
As a colonial antipodean, one thing I love about living in the South is how many "Southern Belles" want to tell me how much they love my accent, and how they don't believe me when I try and tell them how beautiful their accent sounds to me. The only thing I will miss forever is middle rasher bacon.
@@ms.jennifer2095 This is supposedly applicable to the Marseilles accent in France. It reportedly has a charming quality, like US Texas drawl or a high class Southerner.
Note: I don't know how this comment showed up on this video, as I wrote it on a totally different video. I'm seeing lots of comments twice on several videos, so I suspect something is wonky with YT today.
I'm from the south Jersey shore and was touring Australia 20 years ago. Many times I'd be asked where I was from in the States. However, one time one mate thought I was from Canada and burst out laughing. I've been accused of many things but that was the only time for being Canadian. Truly loved my travels there and all the welcoming Aussies!
When I was in France, I tried to speak the small amount of French I know, and they appreciated it, but when they heard my pretty thick southern twang, they all wanted to hear me just speak English. It was like they couldn’t believe people really talked like that, like southern accents are just used in movies to show how dumb someone is, lol. The fact I had that accent and WASN’T a drooling moron fascinated them. Had great interactions with all the French people I met, it was a lot of fun. I love to travel and see cool stuff, but the human contact is usually the best part.
@@redstateforever Same in Montreal. I'm from Chicago and never really thought I had an accent, but when I tried to speak French to them to ask for a table at a restaurant, they'd just chuckle and speak to me in English. But they appreciated that I tried. But at one point, on New Years Eve, the chef at one of the restaurants in their Old Town area invited us back to the restaurant after it closed so he could have a drink with us, just because he loved our accent and wanted to talk to us. I'll never forget that -- I also love traveling for that reason. Probably one of the most memorable new years I've ever had.
@@ChrisVuletich I experienced that in Montréal. My French was decent....25 years ago, hehe. Servers couldn't be bothered to wait while I got through it, so they switched to English. Except for the owner's son at a Nepalese restaurant, who apoke French with me one night (they were slow), and the couple at the next table. I feel like in Québec they'd be more appreciative and patient
Welcome to our world. We Canucks get mistaken for.being American all the time, all over the world. Just curious, why would he have burst into laughter because he thought you were Canadian?
I so appreciate your perspectives in this video. As you've probably discovered, moving from one State to another can be a culture shock on a much smaller scale. While we're all Americans, each State is large enough to have cultures that make them each a bit unique. From what I understand, Britain's Counties are kind of similar--they're all British, but each County is subtly different, often in the most interesting ways. What makes such a move so rewarding IMHO is discovering all those differences, embracing them and learning to get used to the strange but lovely place you've ended up. Whether you've managed to not get lost in the Pond, or merely crossed the Mason-Dixon line as I did 20 years ago, being present and embracing where we are now is a wonderful thing. Thanks so much for your channel. I had a very rough day and your video made me laugh just when I needed it most. :)
I agree. I grew up in Southern California, and have lived for extended periods in Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, and now Georgia. All moves came with some culture shock.
@@cheriekalel9578 , I grew up in, and still live in, SoCal but, will be moving to Texas, in the next year, or so, with my partner. I'm really kinda freakin' out...if it weren't for my partners' family being there, I don't think I'd be going... 😬 P.S. My partner is, originally, from Britain, but, spent a large portion of her youth, in TX so, not as, "unknown," for her.
@@LisaKate2010 it's perfectly fine to freak out on this monumental move!!! Don't worry about fitting in, YOU BE YOU! Use your sense of humor to get you past the shock, and enjoy what comes your way. There is much wisdom in this video.
Some things that amaze me about the UK vs US differences: construction terms (spanner vs wrench), cooking terms (which you've mentioned), music terms (valves vs tubes?), and medical pronunciations (respiratory, aluminum vs aluminium, etc).
I had a class with a fellow with a British accent, and he told me that his biggest issue was meeting decent girls. He's all like "I have no trouble getting dates but most of the time they're kinda shallow." I'm all like "Yeah your accent is that foot in the door here, you will probably have to wade through a lot more fluff." XD
I wouldn't mind seeing you do a collaboration with Feli from Germany(Formerly German Girl in America). I know you are both from different countries, but I still think having a similar themes, would allow you both to do an interesting collaboration.
Oh yes, I'd love to see that. Feli is lovely and Lawrence is brighter than he thinks, so it will be a seriously fun Collaboration. Maybe a look at Germans in Indiana? The fishing ports of the UK versus the fishing ports of Germany?
there’s an American gal living with her British hubby in England who’s essentially doing Laurence’s show from the other side of the pond. IMNSHO, she’s not nearly as entertaining, but I’m a curmudgeon by nature and you can probably safely ignore that opinion..
I'd think a neat clip to make would be an interview with other British folks that are new to America.. folks that do not nessasarily want to become citizens... Are here for jobs or relationship? It would be more serious.. but I think it would be interesting.
I coach the university judo club at Central Michigan University. Several years ago, we had a couple of fine young Englishmen from Exeter join us. They spent two years with us. They supplied me with an English delicacy called HobNObs on a regular basis. At the end of their study abroad program, one of them went directly home while the other went to Mexico. Tragically, he died when the car he was riding in was hit by a truck in Monterrey, Mexico. He was just 22 at the time of his death. He was a kind and gentle young man and his name was David. Thinking of his death still saddens me to this day, but I am glad that I was able to get to know him.
I really like your accent. It sounds so crisp and yet it's intermingled with the dropping of r's and emphasis on different word syllables. I listen to it and the differences catch my attention and hold me to it. I always enjoy hearing it.
I have a Cockney friend who has lived in Iowa for years. When he immigrated, people couldn't understand him. He worked very hard to get rid of his accent. Now, people in Iowa can understand him, but when he goes home to London, people think he's an Aussie! He gets asked how long he's been in the UK. When he answers that he was born in London, they don't believe him.
Only found out about your channel recently. Love it! I'm a fellow Brit and lived here for 16 years. You're spot on about embracing life in the States. It's a great country! Do I miss the UK? Absolutely, however being able to source certain foods, watch British films/shows and have FaceTime with family and friends makes it so much easier to adapt. Thanks for the channel and observations that I'm learning every day.
Likely someone said this already. But as an American, I am putty to a seemingly intelligent and sexy British accent. Yes, Tara, we are jealous and hope you enjoy and beware! 😊
Being an American is a journey, a state of mind. Born a Brit, you are an American now, realizing your American Dream. You have become my friend from Britain that lives not down the street, but just a few clicks away. I have learned just as much about America as I have learned about Britain from watching your channel.
Laurence - another superb analysis on a subject you have for fairly obvious reasons thought very long and hard about. As you say when we work together our two great nations can create something incredible and long may it continue.
I was an American Air Force brat who eventually became a sailor in the US Navy. My childhood took me to England for a very short time (one year) and my time in the Navy took me to many different countries, including the UK, England (Portsmouth back in 2005). I’m not sure if it was solely my travels that gave me an interest in the differences between our two countries but I was lucky enough to experience the differences, nonetheless. I’m a pool player and I’ve realized billiards between the nations is markedly different. That being said, you’ve gone through many big and noticeable (and not so noticeable) things between our countries but - correct me if I’m wrong - I don’t think you’ve really touched on the smaller differences and nuances of social interactions between the two countries. What sort of things are acceptable and unacceptable between a group of friends? …a close group of friends? You have a great channel and I’ve watched some of your videos multiple times because they’re so interesting. I really want to know the very little but interesting things that make a difference in our social and work lives between people. Keep it up! You’re awesome.
I tried explaining to a German person how complex and diverse the USA is. It seems hard for Europeans to grasp it. I think they hear so much...that they believe they know us, when we don't really know each other. Thanks for trying! Keep it up!
Funny, because what we it find infuriating is when Americans think Europe is one country. I guess we see one language, culture, money as kind of pretty similar.
That brings to mind a video from a couple years ago by Dana and Stefan of YT channel Wanted Adventure, she's from Florida and he's from Germany. They were visiting in the US and it was while driving across Texas that how BIG the US is compared to European countries really hit Stefan. Also saw someone say on a RUclips webcam at a station which Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops at tell a chat participant from Europe that the train's LA to Chicago route length is in the neighborhood of going from Lisbon, Portugal, to Warsaw, Poland.
@@simonpowell2559 I'm surprised. I never met anyone who hought of Europe as one country. Peeps here are often from Europe and they know the different countries.
@@kimlersue Thanks for your reply. I have travelled in the USA. Coast to coast, had a wonderful time met some lovely people, and yes the place is massive. I remember leaving Los Angeles and getting into the desert, for 3 days!!! In southern California and Texas there was very much a Mexican feel even Spanish speaking and the great food. In the woods in kentuky again for days virtually no people!! And that accent was testing to understand. But all across the States you know that you are still in one country. Everyone is very proud to be America and show the flag etc. I have spoken to many Americans who visited Europe and probably because of the (small) size and possibly being on an organised whistle stop tour, maybe the guide looking after, passports, money, accommodation etc. They will say "I visited Europe." Oh, which country? "Er, well you know Europe." (Including England, which many people here would not consider as being Europe. Tricky topic.) So when your German friend struggled to understand that you consider America as diverse as dozens of countries, each with a different language, culture, long, long history, money, food, architecture and am sorry to say I am on his side.
@@simonpowell2559 Thank's for your input. Maybe there are peeps who are that dim. I have traveled in some countries in western Europe and I can tell you which was which. Never traveled with a tor..wouldn't want to have to. I changed monies at every now Country..before the Euro..so that may redefine the experience for people traveling today. The E.U. does blend the National borders some.
My son-in-law is British. The first time he visited the US, one of my co-workers, an Anglophile, about swooned when he spoke. He found it delightful to charm someone just by speaking.
The intelligence thing. My postdoctoral training was in Chicago. “Anything said with a British accent is Brilliant Until Proven Otherwise.” No matter what rubbish, people will think you learned it from an Oxford don. Your accent would be useful in an academic conference, may I borrow it sometime?
Inversely, an American southern accent makes people doubt your intelligence. You could be explaining quantum mechanics to a layman and they'll think you're some "dumb hick." It is infuriating as a Texan let me tell you. Only real counter is to talk smooth & do your best to be well spoken.
@@lastwymsi I would imagine that's quite true. Maybe that's to your advantage if you are up against an opponent who underestimates you based on the accent. I remember a seasoned politician once saying "never underestimate a cornpone accent". May well have come from that politician doing just that, underestimating the opponent with a Southern accent.
I love having my breakfast to a vid from Laurence. It's so soothing with that nice bit of humor I love. I recall living in western pa for two years after growing up in eastern Pa. It felt like I'd moved to a foreign country. I think I felt more at home when we visited Canada than I did there. Love how you embrace it all here.
I’m from Oxford, England and have lived in the US, mostly Indiana, for 23 years. I usher at a major concert hall here in Carmel and, apart from the comment “I love your accent”, the most frequently asked question I get is “Are you Australian”! Go figure! But I love all the interactions because of my accent! Continue what you’re doing! Love your videos!
I just saw that Carmel was voted best city to live in Indiana. My other brilliant comment was, hey! We get all our eye surgeries done there! I think Carmel is very swish, but I loathe the traffic circles. Google maps cannot handle them. It tells me to go east on blah blah or continue north on bleh. I don't know where that is, google!! Just tell me to take the second exit from the circle, you stupid machine!! It's a whole thing. I understand traffic circles, it's just the way Google talks about them that gets me. Also, hello from Bloomington. :)
That's because to the untrained North American ear, British and Australian accents sound similar, just as Canadian and American accents are often confused in the UK and Australia.
I learn new slang and vocabulary everyday! Especially nowadays, I feel the younger generation is introducing a lot more vocabulary that have otherwise been unheard of. I’m glad you’re enjoying your time here
Idea: Inspired by Gardener's World, how about comparison on flowers (names, popularity, naming people with flower names, usage of flowers in different life events, etc.)?
I introduced my wife to "Gardener's World" a few weeks ago. She loves it,very relaxing she said and they had a woman from North America showing off her garden (yard).
I saw your question and a memory popped into my mind from the movie "I'll Be There." Several pub goers are whining about what will happen to a mansion because it's owner has been "sectioned." One says, "It'll probably be bought by a pop star, or worse, an American!!" then, they all gasp.
I remember that our Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1957-63) once observed that when in the USA he would tell them ‘My mother was a Hoosier’ - which she was. Must have helped Anglo-American relations. Macmillan was married to a daughter of the Duke of Devonshire into which family JFK’s sister Kathleen (aka ‘Kick’) also married. Her husband was killed in WW2 shortly after their wedding. Had he lived she would eventually have become the Duchess of Devonshire.
As an European living in the States, no one asks where you are from and where your accent is from and if they do is in a pejorative, demeaning way. I miss that about Europe. When I was in another country in Europe people were genuinely fascinated, they wanted to know things. Granted before RUclips. Now you don’t need to leave the house. You can learn everything on RUclips, I suppose.
Dont sell yourself short. You may not be a super genius but you are courageous for uprooting and deciding to live here. Winston Churchill said courage is the quality which guarantees all others. So there IS something special about you. God bless🇺🇲🇬🇧
I didn't think I would like these kind of introspective videos but I actually really do. Getting a more serious look into what it's like to be here is really cool and I like hearing about your journey. Often, I've hoped to one day cross your path (being that we're both north side chicagoans) just to tell you in person how cool and down to earth and educational you are and how you really got me through the pandemic and through work and just a bunch of thanks and praising.
I think this channel is better than the other one's I have watched, it is just more intelligent and not silly. The people on the other channels seem more interested in performing than they are at informing, just silly giddiness. In the small town I live in North Carolina, there was a guy here whose family had fought in The War Of The Roses. He would give his wife a dozen white roses on their anniversary every year.
SAME! I'm an American living in the UK, NE of England in a pretty small city. Also an introvert, so I absolutely love the built-in conversation starter! FYI, Ridley Scott (Alien's director) was born near where I live in a place called South Shields. It's a town between here, Sunderland, and Newcastle. People from Sunderland are called Mackems, people from Newcastle are called Geordies, and people from South Shields are referred to as Sand Dancers. I understand this is to some a derogatory term, so don't go calling Mr. Scott a sand dancer please.
Your nor near alone here, moved from Florida to the Northwest of England. Most folks here think I must be crazy! LOL 😆 Love does make Us a bit crazy at times.
@@WGarbarczyk LOL, that it does. What I find hugely amusing is that, when inevitably asked why I moved here and i reply it was to marry my husband, people almost always get a quizzical look on their faces and comment, "He must be pretty special then." The hardest question i find to answer is, "Do you miss the States?" Wow, have you got an hour? That's a huge question with a variety of contradictory answers. I usually just respond that I miss my family.
I often ponder how difficult it would be to live in another country because there are so many weird little customs or traditions that are unspoken that locals just know. Not to mention pop culture references! It is a amazing how much a person absorbs about their culture growing up that you just can't learn by moving there as an adult. For example, does Baby Jessica mean anything to you? Or the Snorks? Even the models of cars are called different things. I applaud anyone who makes a life in a new country, it is a very daunting prospect, for sure.
It can be rough, but it's nicwe if you have someone to speak your language with once a week, someone who gets those cultural references you mentioned. Otherwise you can get weary
Unless that other country is Canada. Most of our terminology and cultural references are the same as the US. Probably the only thing you'd have to adjust to was learning the metric system. Other than that, not much different.
@@terryomalley1974 I could definitely see moving to Canada as being less stressful. Dunno if I could get used to the metric system and the milk in a bag. Plus, I can't make it rain dolla dolla bills! Try that with a stack of loonies and you could be in for a world of hurt. Just sayin! :)
@@staceyn2541 Funny. It's easy to convert to metric, as I had to when they introduced the system here in the 1970's. For speed and distance, just delete the last 0, as in 100 km/h and multiply 10 by 6 and there you have it, 100 km/hr = 60 mph. For temperature, just double the Celsius version, say 20 C (20 x 2 = 40) and add 32 and poof! 72 Fahrenheit. Also, Canada isn't really fully metric anyways. Most people use feet and inches for height and pounds for weight. Same in grocery stores and property sizes, still use imperial measurements. As for the dollar bill vs looney thing, can't help you there, but having coins for $1 instead of paper, does save a lot of space in a wallet. As for the milk in bags thing, that's exaggerated. You can easily find milk in cartons or plastic jugs in every grocery store. The bags are only when it's sold in a gallon size.
I'm old so I have no idea who Baby Jessica is or what a Snork is. I've lived in Rhode Island, South Carolina, New Jersey (north) and back to Rhode Island. Yup. I'm just old lol
Yes! “If you’re going to live here, try to enjoy it.” I have the same attitude about marriage.... quit looking around and comparing, you might as well enjoy the one you have! (:
When I moved to a tiny town in Missouri (which is too small to have a traffic light) I got an account at the local bank. Surprisingly a lady there was from England. She met her husband when he was stationed there. When he came back, she came with him. A friend from back in Britain sent a few of his friends here. They were on a motorcycle tour of America. It was a sort of town event, & many people gathered at our BBQ restaurant to talk to them. I never expected my German to become useful again till I moved here. There's a lot of old order Mennonite (aka just like Amish). It's been useful to buy produce etc. You never know who you might meet! 👍
@@jillhobson6128 It has nothing to do with us thinking we are correct. It's interesting to see how English has evolved. For the UK to our melting pot. In America we can pronounce the word pecan 7 different ways because of the different accents. Sometimes even different parts of a single state it is pronounced different.
I think the time and distance has given you a new perspective on Britain now. Maybe a new appreciation for England that Americans have? Your intelligence and insight are what makes this a great channel. Thank you
Really glad I found this channel. I'm from York and have been living in Nebraska since 2007. Sometimes I feel like I've become quite a curiosity for the locals around here, but you're right, if you're going to live here, you might as well try to enjoy it. And, to be honest, I wouldn't change it for the world.
Thank you, Laurence, for a short and sweet video. Reinforces why I am such a fan. And truth be told, when I am walking around Andersonville I am always on the lookout for you, hoping to get to meet you to say hello. Not in a stalker way, just in a RUclips fan kind of way. 🙂
Your accent is really easy to understand. I’m listening to another Brit (in England) and he was very difficult at first, but I pretty much understand him now.
I grew up in Chicago in the '50s and '60s and I was surrounded by accents of all kinds, especially from older people in my family and friends' older relatives which led me to believe that everyone developed an accent when they got old...kind of like gray hair and arthritis. 😁 I confess to being one of those Americans who thinks a British accent makes you sound more intelligent..LOL.. and I wonder how Brits feel about OUR accents and what we've done to the language. Love your videos! 😘
Many years ago, my spouse and I ended up in Spain for almost 5 years. I agree with your philosophy to embrace the culture. Actually, we tried to find another job to extend our stay but it just wasn't to be. And when we came back, we experienced culture shock in reverse. Love your discussions.
As an American, I highly recommend that you try out bass fishing as a hobby. It's relatively cheap to do and you also have really good opportunity to do it successfully here in America,even in urban waterways,you'd be surprised what you'll catch in the middle of a city. Plus it would make some killer video content
I am from Bangladesh but I speake with British accent (Cockney/ Londoner accent) though I have been living here in the United States! I love British Accent. 🇧🇩🇺🇸
If "manners maketh man" as someone said He's the hero of the day It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile Be yourself no matter what they say When you brought up the movie Alien I immediately thought of Sting and his song about being an alien. Love your channel and your British take on things American. 💜
Laurence, thanks for pointing out that, when you pronounce 'centrifugal', you put the em-PHA-sis on a different syl-LA-ble than we do. Since you live in the world's 2nd. largest Polish city (Warsaw is #1), do you often stumble across people who you recognize as having a Polish accent?
Thanks Lawrence. Enjoyed the video, especially as I was a Brit and have lived in the US for almost 30 years. However I would take issue that Richard III was indeed not a person to invite to tea but he was no worse than the rest of the Plantagenets. Yes Princes in the Tower and all that but the rest of the Plantagenets did some very nasty things as well ( I wont elaborate). Richard was slain at the Battle of Bosworth Field , making him the last English king to die in battle. He was a short man but very brave, fighting without his horse until his demise. There is a conspiracy theory that Shakespeare colluded with the Tudors (Elizabeth) to cast him as the most evil of men to enforce the Tudor dynasty as beyond righteousness and reproach, casting the Plantagenets as the villains. Who knows!! 😃
Laurence, I would enjoy a segment from you on the structure differences between Parliament and Congress. Read a book by Winston Churchill a while back which left me curious of how the British system differs.
I get it... I have dual citizenship American and Canadian. I was raised in the states but lived in Newfoundland Canada for 24 years. Then moved back to the states. I still use phrases and words that are Canadian which are more like British. All I can say is just because we all speak English sometimes they have a whole new meaning.
As an Ontarian, I can say that that's not true for most of Canada. But, in Newfoundland and the Atlantic provinces in general, you're right in that there's a stronger Irish/British influence on their accents and vocabulary.
Laurence, I am an American who really enjoys your videos. I like your comment at the end of this video about how when Brits and Americans work together, greatness can often be the result. The rock group "Foreigner" is a good example of this, among many. Keep up the good work!
I've been on many a roadtrip in the states and been interrogated by friendly Americans wanting to know my life story after hearing my accent. Got to the point that I tried not to say much, I didn't like the attention 😂
YOU MEAN you didn't want a total stranger asking you to have supper with them so you can taste their aunt Martha's cornbread????? Come on man have a heart,
I'm from the states but grew up in an area that is considered the beginning of the south. a small city called Paducah gets loads of northerners headed south. I got to HATE hearing "aww that accent is so cute".
I moved to The States 20+ years ago. I tried to affect the local (Arizonan) accent but people at that time told me not to lose the English accent so I stopped trying but I had to change certain words. Due to several years in Spain, some Spanish words, "tomato", "potato" and similar items were simple for me to Americanise (notice, no "z". Up yours, Spellchecker!) Things like "bonnet" (hood), "shopping trolley" (cart) and a great many other words took time. Sometimes, I cannot remember the English word for some things. I do, however, stick to my guns regarding "acclimatize" rather than the US "acclimate", and a few similar words where in the UK we change the verbal stress of a word according to its usage. (“Advertise” changes to “advertisement” - “advertissment” not “advertisement”) Some words I deliberately had to change in order to be understood, for example, "water". I pronounce it with almost a soft "o" sound but had to change it to a simple harsh sound; something like "wadder" (Yes, Americans like to sound their double "t" like a "d" - "budder" for "butter", etc). If I didn't do this I used to have to defer to my wife for translation. Many a time a waiter and I have had to speak loudly at each other just to get a glass of “wadder”. Initially in America, I was asked if I was from; Ireland (frequently), Australia (often), Scotland, England (strangely, not that often), Canada, New York, even France and Germany a few times! But, all in all, I love it here, and the people. Just wish the politicians were less corrupt and selfish. Sorry for the length of this 'comment', but thanks for the video.
My wife sublet a room from a lovely older British couple before she met me. Actually about a year after we married and my wife moved out they moved back to the UK to be closer to their grandchildren. Actually before they went we found out they were old mates with a rather famous musician from where they were originally from near Newcastle. (They didn’t go back to Newcastle, the moved to the seaside near Blackpool. (I like to think being in close proximity to Coney Island for a good number of years rubbed off on them, 😂).)
Funny guy! As the son of a Greek woman who came to America with my American GI father when she was 24 and a husband to a Canadian who has been living in the US since we married. Your channel has been quite entertaining. You bring up items that as a family we have already experienced. Let me encourage you to continue with a 1960s American colloquial idiom, "Keep on keeping on!"
You’d fit in here so well, do visit (June is best for a first trip to Alaska). We have Russians, Canadians, Oregonians….even saw a New Jersey license plate once! Would love to have you and your wife up to visit. Just remember that where Texas is huge….Alaska is 2.5x bigger so planning your sightseeing time is key!
I love Lawrence's viewpoints and observations. I lived in England for six years in the 80s-early-90s and loved it. That was all before social media and RUclips, even before I'd ever used email. I always wanted to communicate back to my friends and family in the states and the only means I had were phone calls and writing letters/postcards. That was woefully inadequate, though I tried very hard at it. There is so much to this cross-culture, life-exchange that I love about Lawrence's videos, and I would not have found it, probably, if it weren't for the spot on the Rick Steves radio program I heard by chance a few months ago. Keep up the good videos, Lawrence!
I enjoy your channel and hearing your views very much. I am from the American west (NOT California) and I feel like I completely don't understand the eastern part of the country at all, so even your experiences with the Midwest are completely foreign to me. I have only visited back east a handful of times. It's a completely different world.
How so? Just curious. I live in the south and both the east and west seem basically the same as where I live in the south. Although, yes, I think the midwest would maybe feel a lot different culturally, but I've never been there. Maybe this has been my experience because I live in a large city rather than a small southern town. But even so, where I've been in the east and west it seems pretty much the same other than some weather stuff. And obviously cities that are very unique (NYC, LA etc.) are going to be their own thing).
I can see that. I am a midwesterner, but I have lived in NH and Texas and they are very very different cultures. NH is more about the mountains and the ocean life. Lots of people had boats or summer places near the water, for example. I met so many people there I would call eccentric. In Houston, Latin or Mexican? Culture is everywhere. It is so much louder. The radio and tv stations will be in Spanish. Seems obvious, I suppose. In the Southwest US, there is a big native influence, too. Big cities do tend to be very similar but when you get into the countryside, the differences are glaring.
That's often the same with anyone who moved anywhere. There's people who can't manage separating from the old place and instead engaging the new. Luckily I learned that second hand and easily as we moved a lot when I was a child.
I think if you lived in one of the original 13 colonies you'd feel more at home, bucks county in Pennsylvania for example the area near Washington's crossing looks like some of the English countryside I've seen in British tv shows, the scenic ride along the Delaware is really nice.
This small town in Indiana also has Brits here, a mother and son. I've also run into a number of traveling Brits, Aussies, and South Africans. Most of the people I know here can't tell those accents apart. Being from Florida I usually feel like an alien here!
Don't worry, I was born in the small town (the one from Mellencamps song) in Indiana, I have 200 verified years of family history here, and I still feel like a foreign visitor.
@@staceyn2541 I'm a 6th gen Floridian and never felt at home anywhere since leaving home, and Tallahassee has changed so much I need GPS to get around now when I visit. I just go to work, grab groceries, and hole up in my room. But it is nice to know it's not just me. A lot of people here have long family histories here and we don't, and we're... a little different in a lot of ways... but everyone in this town is so alike we really stand out, but not in a good way. And I know which town you mean, we're a couple hours north if memory serves (geography was never my best subject).
I grew up in a small town in England called Portchester (near Portsmouth) and we had a castle built by the Normans in the 1100's...when you tell Americans things like this their heads explode. To most,anything over 100 years old is ancient, lol.
Star Wars, also a joint British and American production! Filmed in England. A lot of British cast and crew. Dearth Vader was a British actor with an Americans voice!
There are many "British" accents, just as there are many "American" accents. After three visits to the UK, I started to distinguish amongst them. But my wife and I still have to use closed captions to follow along when watching a TV show like Vera, which takes place in Newcastle and the area bordering Scotland. Enjoying your channel, Laurence!
So I'm British and living in US with my US born partner. She loves the great british bake off, and is now actually telling me what some of the contestants with strong accents are saying as I can't understand them !
And this is why we Americans enjoy your channel. We know you are here with us, embracing the experience. Not standing in a corner silently judging our pronunciation of centrifugal.
Even though you're an American now Lawrence, and may sometimes get homesick,... Never forget, you always have your English accent, with you at all time's, to remember your roots, and Mother land, when you get homesick! And that my friend, is pretty cool!😎 👍 🇬🇧 🇺🇸
LOL...
@@theblackbear211 Lol??.... 🐻 ?
@@brianbenson1973 I enjoy Lawrence very much, and I liked Louis Miller's comment... I'm chuckling at the humor of her last sentence. No disrespect intended towards anyone... I find this site a lot of good clean fun- and occasionally, if I'm not careful, I learn something new. :-)
@@theblackbear211 OH, ok brother! 👍 didn't understand your comment at first, but now, I totally understand. 🇺🇸 😎
you should have a shirt that says "will say things in british for money"
Teenage girls: “OMG DO YOU SPEAK BRITISH???”
Come on mate, give us yr best Grimsby accent.
I know how Aussies pronounce the word can't.
bo’o’o’wa’a
You're not fooling anyone Laurence, you are very intelligent with or without the accent.
... unless the Americans around him are super intelligent and he feels comparatively useless.
I suspect he's being politely humble.
@@heywoodjablome5630 or British sarcasm
His British wit would love your name!
You Hurleys' sure get around....
Still lingering in the Wild West, Michael?
I love a British accent! Do Brit's discriminate against an American accent?
Even as an American I still learn about new things in my country every day.
Me too, most of what I learn is deeply disheartening though.
@@CherieButler same here 😒
It is a wide brown land.
No,... that's Australia.
I once had to explain how parts of the U.S constitution worked... to an American. And I'm not talking about the obscure parts either.
@@heywoodjablome5630 lol
It’s been great for me. I’ve lived in Oklahoma for 40 years and I’ve found Okies to be very friendly.Most questions have been about my accent. Still have my Brit accent! One lady thought I had a speech impediment. Had a good laugh about that.
Did you marry a Yank?
@@rustyrelicsfarm2406 yes! Married and buried two Yanks!!!!
@@kathrynrobertson2353 that's sad burrying two men you loved.
Feel the same to you (i.e., an Asian being married to an Okie. They are just kind-hearted accepting folks here.)!
On accents & translation: A buddy of mine is from Sussex and even now, after 15 years, there are times he has to translate what he says for people. He told me over lunch last summer that he had no idea how advantaged he was with his RP accent and how it got him in the door more often than not. He also said he was happy to be married to an American before he came here because women were literally fawning over him at first and it would have been a severe distraction if he was single.
wait, what's RP? is it a royal accent?
@@keithmasumoto9698 It's short for Received Pronunciation. It's the standard British English accent.
Wow, this is like finding Alice's rabbit hole. There's tons of stuff on accents in the UK. Never knew this, thank you!
@@keithmasumoto9698 Yes. Considering the small landmass of the U.K., it has a surprisingly large number of local dialects/accents and even a handful of distinct languages, certainly many more than we claim in the U.S.
@@keithmasumoto9698 RP is regarded as a posh accent. There are literally hundreds of accents in the UK
Thanks my British friend. Been watching your channel off and on a year now. Always good way to get away from the harsh politics and division and enjoy your wholesome none political take on America
As a colonial antipodean, one thing I love about living in the South is how many "Southern Belles" want to tell me how much they love my accent, and how they don't believe me when I try and tell them how beautiful their accent sounds to me. The only thing I will miss forever is middle rasher bacon.
🙋🏼♀️ from South. You are totally right about the accent thing. Both ways.
@@ms.jennifer2095 This is supposedly applicable to the Marseilles accent in France. It reportedly has a charming quality, like US Texas drawl or a high class Southerner.
Fozzy bear thanks for the great childhood memories… after miss piggy you were my fav 🌸😊
As a native southern "belle" I agree that we generally love English/Scottish/Irish accents a lot. Tons of our ancestors were from the British Isles.
Note: I don't know how this comment showed up on this video, as I wrote it on a totally different video. I'm seeing lots of comments twice on several videos, so I suspect something is wonky with YT today.
I'm from the south Jersey shore and was touring Australia 20 years ago. Many times I'd be asked where I was from in the States. However, one time one mate thought I was from Canada and burst out laughing. I've been accused of many things but that was the only time for being Canadian. Truly loved my travels there and all the welcoming Aussies!
When I was in France, I tried to speak the small amount of French I know, and they appreciated it, but when they heard my pretty thick southern twang, they all wanted to hear me just speak English. It was like they couldn’t believe people really talked like that, like southern accents are just used in movies to show how dumb someone is, lol. The fact I had that accent and WASN’T a drooling moron fascinated them. Had great interactions with all the French people I met, it was a lot of fun. I love to travel and see cool stuff, but the human contact is usually the best part.
@@redstateforever Same in Montreal. I'm from Chicago and never really thought I had an accent, but when I tried to speak French to them to ask for a table at a restaurant, they'd just chuckle and speak to me in English. But they appreciated that I tried. But at one point, on New Years Eve, the chef at one of the restaurants in their Old Town area invited us back to the restaurant after it closed so he could have a drink with us, just because he loved our accent and wanted to talk to us. I'll never forget that -- I also love traveling for that reason. Probably one of the most memorable new years I've ever had.
@@ChrisVuletich I experienced that in Montréal. My French was decent....25 years ago, hehe. Servers couldn't be bothered to wait while I got through it, so they switched to English. Except for the owner's son at a Nepalese restaurant, who apoke French with me one night (they were slow), and the couple at the next table. I feel like in Québec they'd be more appreciative and patient
Welcome to our world. We Canucks get mistaken for.being American all the time, all over the world. Just curious, why would he have burst into laughter because he thought you were Canadian?
I'm from south jersey too!
I so appreciate your perspectives in this video. As you've probably discovered, moving from one State to another can be a culture shock on a much smaller scale. While we're all Americans, each State is large enough to have cultures that make them each a bit unique. From what I understand, Britain's Counties are kind of similar--they're all British, but each County is subtly different, often in the most interesting ways.
What makes such a move so rewarding IMHO is discovering all those differences, embracing them and learning to get used to the strange but lovely place you've ended up. Whether you've managed to not get lost in the Pond, or merely crossed the Mason-Dixon line as I did 20 years ago, being present and embracing where we are now is a wonderful thing.
Thanks so much for your channel. I had a very rough day and your video made me laugh just when I needed it most. :)
I hope tomorrow is better for you! 💙
I agree. I grew up in Southern California, and have lived for extended periods in Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, and now Georgia. All moves came with some culture shock.
@@cheriekalel9578 , I grew up in, and still live in, SoCal but, will be moving to Texas, in the next year, or so, with my partner. I'm really kinda freakin' out...if it weren't for my partners' family being there, I don't think I'd be going... 😬 P.S. My partner is, originally, from Britain, but, spent a large portion of her youth, in TX so, not as, "unknown," for her.
@@LisaKate2010 it's perfectly fine to freak out on this monumental move!!! Don't worry about fitting in, YOU BE YOU! Use your sense of humor to get you past the shock, and enjoy what comes your way. There is much wisdom in this video.
Florida native here - even moving towns can be culture shock. Then to MS, now to rural IN, which is still culture shock to me after 15 years here.
Some things that amaze me about the UK vs US differences: construction terms (spanner vs wrench), cooking terms (which you've mentioned), music terms (valves vs tubes?), and medical pronunciations (respiratory, aluminum vs aluminium, etc).
I had a class with a fellow with a British accent, and he told me that his biggest issue was meeting decent girls. He's all like "I have no trouble getting dates but most of the time they're kinda shallow." I'm all like "Yeah your accent is that foot in the door here, you will probably have to wade through a lot more fluff." XD
Lol. My thing is, accents are hott when things are good, but I can imagine getting so pissed at the accent when we are fighting. Lol.
I'm kinda surprised because most girls I know, and we're all decent girls, flock to the guys with an accent.
That’s so interesting! And a bit sad.
Accents are superficial. It's like trying to base a relationship on the size of a girls boobs, it'll only get you so far.
Don't forget to us lot, we don't have an accent. It's you who have the accent.
I wouldn't mind seeing you do a collaboration with Feli from Germany(Formerly German Girl in America). I know you are both from different countries, but I still think having a similar themes, would allow you both to do an interesting collaboration.
Oh yes, I'd love to see that. Feli is lovely and Lawrence is brighter than he thinks, so it will be a seriously fun Collaboration. Maybe a look at Germans in Indiana? The fishing ports of the UK versus the fishing ports of Germany?
there’s an American gal living with her British hubby in England who’s essentially doing Laurence’s show from the other side of the pond. IMNSHO, she’s not nearly as entertaining, but I’m a curmudgeon by nature and you can probably safely ignore that opinion..
@@howlinhobbit Hiya there!
If you mean Amanda Rae, then I'm a fan, but yes, Lawrence is the original and still the best!
Your self-deprecating humor is funny as ever! And we love having you over here!
I'd think a neat clip to make would be an interview with other British folks that are new to America.. folks that do not nessasarily want to become citizens... Are here for jobs or relationship? It would be more serious.. but I think it would be interesting.
I coach the university judo club at Central Michigan University. Several years ago, we had a couple of fine young Englishmen from Exeter join us. They spent two years with us. They supplied me with an English delicacy called HobNObs on a regular basis. At the end of their study abroad program, one of them went directly home while the other went to Mexico. Tragically, he died when the car he was riding in was hit by a truck in Monterrey, Mexico. He was just 22 at the time of his death. He was a kind and gentle young man and his name was David. Thinking of his death still saddens me to this day, but I am glad that I was able to get to know him.
😔❤
As I am reading this I am finishing off a packet of Hobnobs Cheers
I really like your accent. It sounds so crisp and yet it's intermingled with the dropping of r's and emphasis on different word syllables. I listen to it and the differences catch my attention and hold me to it. I always enjoy hearing it.
Except for when he rolls his Rs on "three". Since I can't roll mine, I always notice that
I have a Cockney friend who has lived in Iowa for years. When he immigrated, people couldn't understand him. He worked very hard to get rid of his accent. Now, people in Iowa can understand him, but when he goes home to London, people think he's an Aussie! He gets asked how long he's been in the UK. When he answers that he was born in London, they don't believe him.
"It still astounds me that they found a dictator under a Ford Capri" is a hilarious take on that discovery. I always enjoy your videos.
Only found out about your channel recently. Love it! I'm a fellow Brit and lived here for 16 years. You're spot on about embracing life in the States. It's a great country! Do I miss the UK? Absolutely, however being able to source certain foods, watch British films/shows and have FaceTime with family and friends makes it so much easier to adapt. Thanks for the channel and observations that I'm learning every day.
Likely someone said this already. But as an American, I am putty to a seemingly intelligent and sexy British accent. Yes, Tara, we are jealous and hope you enjoy and beware! 😊
Being an American is a journey, a state of mind. Born a Brit, you are an American now, realizing your American Dream. You have become my friend from Britain that lives not down the street, but just a few clicks away. I have learned just as much about America as I have learned about Britain from watching your channel.
You seem like a “down to earth, kinda guy” which is ALWAYS a good thing !! I have to admit , that I enjoyed listening to you !!
Laurence - another superb analysis on a subject you have for fairly obvious reasons thought very long and hard about. As you say when we work together our two great nations can create something incredible and long may it continue.
I was an American Air Force brat who eventually became a sailor in the US Navy. My childhood took me to England for a very short time (one year) and my time in the Navy took me to many different countries, including the UK, England (Portsmouth back in 2005).
I’m not sure if it was solely my travels that gave me an interest in the differences between our two countries but I was lucky enough to experience the differences, nonetheless.
I’m a pool player and I’ve realized billiards between the nations is markedly different. That being said, you’ve gone through many big and noticeable (and not so noticeable) things between our countries but - correct me if I’m wrong - I don’t think you’ve really touched on the smaller differences and nuances of social interactions between the two countries. What sort of things are acceptable and unacceptable between a group of friends? …a close group of friends?
You have a great channel and I’ve watched some of your videos multiple times because they’re so interesting. I really want to know the very little but interesting things that make a difference in our social and work lives between people.
Keep it up! You’re awesome.
I grew up in Portsmouth...I bet you noticed how many pubs we have and that our pints are bigger than US pints (and the beer is stronger too)?
I tried explaining to a German person how complex and diverse the USA is. It seems hard for Europeans to grasp it. I think they hear so much...that they believe they know us, when we don't really know each other.
Thanks for trying! Keep it up!
Funny, because what we it find infuriating is when Americans think Europe is one country.
I guess we see one language, culture, money as kind of pretty similar.
That brings to mind a video from a couple years ago by Dana and Stefan of YT channel Wanted Adventure, she's from Florida and he's from Germany. They were visiting in the US and it was while driving across Texas that how BIG the US is compared to European countries really hit Stefan. Also saw someone say on a RUclips webcam at a station which Amtrak's Southwest Chief stops at tell a chat participant from Europe that the train's LA to Chicago route length is in the neighborhood of going from Lisbon, Portugal, to Warsaw, Poland.
@@simonpowell2559 I'm surprised. I never met anyone who hought of Europe as one country. Peeps here are often from Europe and they know the different countries.
@@kimlersue Thanks for your reply. I have travelled in the USA. Coast to coast, had a wonderful time met some lovely people, and yes the place is massive. I remember leaving Los Angeles and getting into the desert, for 3 days!!! In southern California and Texas there was very much a Mexican feel even Spanish speaking and the great food. In the woods in kentuky again for days virtually no people!! And that accent was testing to understand. But all across the States you know that you are still in one country. Everyone is very proud to be America and show the flag etc.
I have spoken to many Americans who visited Europe and probably because of the (small) size and possibly being on an organised whistle stop tour, maybe the guide looking after, passports, money, accommodation etc. They will say
"I visited Europe."
Oh, which country?
"Er, well you know Europe." (Including England, which many people here would not consider as being Europe. Tricky topic.) So when your German friend struggled to understand that you consider America as diverse as dozens of countries, each with a different language, culture, long, long history, money, food, architecture and am sorry to say I am on his side.
@@simonpowell2559 Thank's for your input. Maybe there are peeps who are that dim. I have traveled in some countries in western Europe and I can tell you which was which. Never traveled with a tor..wouldn't want to have to. I changed monies at every now Country..before the Euro..so that may redefine the experience for people traveling today.
The E.U. does blend the National borders some.
My son-in-law is British. The first time he visited the US, one of my co-workers, an Anglophile, about swooned when he spoke. He found it delightful to charm someone just by speaking.
Well their accents are so...."proper"??? !!!
The intelligence thing. My postdoctoral training was in Chicago.
“Anything said with a British accent is Brilliant Until Proven Otherwise.”
No matter what rubbish, people will think you learned it from an Oxford don.
Your accent would be useful in an academic conference, may I borrow it sometime?
In post dic work. the saying about knowledge vs B.S. was my favorite. But lets add E.A. English accent.
Inversely, an American southern accent makes people doubt your intelligence. You could be explaining quantum mechanics to a layman and they'll think you're some "dumb hick."
It is infuriating as a Texan let me tell you. Only real counter is to talk smooth & do your best to be well spoken.
@@lastwymsi I would imagine that's quite true. Maybe that's to your advantage if you are up against an opponent who underestimates you based on the accent. I remember a seasoned politician once saying "never underestimate a cornpone accent". May well have come from that politician doing just that, underestimating the opponent with a Southern accent.
I love having my breakfast to a vid from Laurence. It's so soothing with that nice bit of humor I love. I recall living in western pa for two years after growing up in eastern Pa. It felt like I'd moved to a foreign country. I think I felt more at home when we visited Canada than I did there. Love how you embrace it all here.
Yes! Love your accent! I'm sure glad you're here.
As a Scottish person I say "would you like to tickle my sporran" as an icebreaker. It usually works, reactions are a bit mixed.
I’m from Oxford, England and have lived in the US, mostly Indiana, for 23 years. I usher at a major concert hall here in Carmel and, apart from the comment “I love your accent”, the most frequently asked question I get is “Are you Australian”! Go figure! But I love all the interactions because of my accent! Continue what you’re doing! Love your videos!
Hi from Anderson IN. 💙
I just saw that Carmel was voted best city to live in Indiana. My other brilliant comment was, hey! We get all our eye surgeries done there! I think Carmel is very swish, but I loathe the traffic circles. Google maps cannot handle them. It tells me to go east on blah blah or continue north on bleh. I don't know where that is, google!! Just tell me to take the second exit from the circle, you stupid machine!! It's a whole thing. I understand traffic circles, it's just the way Google talks about them that gets me. Also, hello from Bloomington. :)
That's because to the untrained North American ear, British and Australian accents sound similar, just as Canadian and American accents are often confused in the UK and Australia.
I learn new slang and vocabulary everyday! Especially nowadays, I feel the younger generation is introducing a lot more vocabulary that have otherwise been unheard of. I’m glad you’re enjoying your time here
Idea: Inspired by Gardener's World, how about comparison on flowers (names, popularity, naming people with flower names, usage of flowers in different life events, etc.)?
I introduced my wife to "Gardener's World" a few weeks ago. She loves it,very relaxing she said and they had a woman from North America showing off her garden (yard).
I saw your question and a memory popped into my mind from the movie "I'll Be There." Several pub goers are whining about what will happen to a mansion because it's owner has been "sectioned." One says, "It'll probably be bought by a pop star, or worse, an American!!" then, they all gasp.
Instead of whining they would be winging..... wouldn’t they? 😉
We Hoosiers are enamored with all British accents...it's like you're all Dr. Who, or something. Thanks for sharing yours with us.
What's a Hoosier?? Sincere questioner
Dr Who and all the period dramas too! ☺️❤️
I remember that our Prime Minister Harold Macmillan (1957-63) once observed that when in the USA he would tell them ‘My mother was a Hoosier’ - which she was. Must have helped Anglo-American relations. Macmillan was married to a daughter of the Duke of Devonshire into which family JFK’s sister Kathleen (aka ‘Kick’) also married. Her husband was killed in WW2 shortly after their wedding. Had he lived she would eventually have become the Duchess of Devonshire.
As an European living in the States, no one asks where you are from and where your accent is from and if they do is in a pejorative, demeaning way. I miss that about Europe. When I was in another country in Europe people were genuinely fascinated, they wanted to know things. Granted before RUclips. Now you don’t need to leave the house. You can learn everything on RUclips, I suppose.
'Ello, mate! I've been here for 30 years, Laurence. I like your answers. They are very similar to what mine might be.
Dont sell yourself short. You may not be a super genius but you are courageous for uprooting and deciding to live here. Winston Churchill said courage is the quality which guarantees all others. So there IS something special about you. God bless🇺🇲🇬🇧
Beautiful channel. Wonderful host.
I love how the british are more open to being self deprecating with their humor.. it feels much more relatable to me.
I didn't think I would like these kind of introspective videos but I actually really do. Getting a more serious look into what it's like to be here is really cool and I like hearing about your journey. Often, I've hoped to one day cross your path (being that we're both north side chicagoans) just to tell you in person how cool and down to earth and educational you are and how you really got me through the pandemic and through work and just a bunch of thanks and praising.
100% agree. Scot living in Chicago for 4 years. Not been back to blighty for 2 years because of Covid. Going to be interesting to visit in 2022.
Laurence you're a very special person and a very open person. Your videos are always sincere and top notch. Learning is curiosity at its best.
I think this channel is better than the other one's I have watched, it is just more intelligent and not silly. The people on the other channels seem more interested in performing than they are at informing, just silly giddiness. In the small town I live in North Carolina, there was a guy here whose family had fought in The War Of The Roses. He would give his wife a dozen white roses on their anniversary every year.
Love you and your channel. Isn’t it difficult coming up with new things?
And yes I'm proud that our two countries make movies together so we would continue our connection to each as brothers from across the sea. .🇺🇸🇬🇧😎👍
Cringe.
@@aljo3650 bot.
SAME! I'm an American living in the UK, NE of England in a pretty small city. Also an introvert, so I absolutely love the built-in conversation starter!
FYI, Ridley Scott (Alien's director) was born near where I live in a place called South Shields. It's a town between here, Sunderland, and Newcastle. People from Sunderland are called Mackems, people from Newcastle are called Geordies, and people from South Shields are referred to as Sand Dancers. I understand this is to some a derogatory term, so don't go calling Mr. Scott a sand dancer please.
Your nor near alone here, moved from Florida to the Northwest of England. Most folks here think I must be crazy! LOL 😆 Love does make Us a bit crazy at times.
@@WGarbarczyk LOL, that it does. What I find hugely amusing is that, when inevitably asked why I moved here and i reply it was to marry my husband, people almost always get a quizzical look on their faces and comment, "He must be pretty special then."
The hardest question i find to answer is, "Do you miss the States?" Wow, have you got an hour? That's a huge question with a variety of contradictory answers. I usually just respond that I miss my family.
I often ponder how difficult it would be to live in another country because there are so many weird little customs or traditions that are unspoken that locals just know. Not to mention pop culture references! It is a amazing how much a person absorbs about their culture growing up that you just can't learn by moving there as an adult. For example, does Baby Jessica mean anything to you? Or the Snorks? Even the models of cars are called different things. I applaud anyone who makes a life in a new country, it is a very daunting prospect, for sure.
It can be rough, but it's nicwe if you have someone to speak your language with once a week, someone who gets those cultural references you mentioned. Otherwise you can get weary
Unless that other country is Canada. Most of our terminology and cultural references are the same as the US. Probably the only thing you'd have to adjust to was learning the metric system. Other than that, not much different.
@@terryomalley1974 I could definitely see moving to Canada as being less stressful. Dunno if I could get used to the metric system and the milk in a bag. Plus, I can't make it rain dolla dolla bills! Try that with a stack of loonies and you could be in for a world of hurt. Just sayin! :)
@@staceyn2541 Funny. It's easy to convert to metric, as I had to when they introduced the system here in the 1970's. For speed and distance, just delete the last 0, as in 100 km/h and multiply 10 by 6 and there you have it, 100 km/hr = 60 mph. For temperature, just double the Celsius version, say 20 C (20 x 2 = 40) and add 32 and poof! 72 Fahrenheit. Also, Canada isn't really fully metric anyways. Most people use feet and inches for height and pounds for weight. Same in grocery stores and property sizes, still use imperial measurements. As for the dollar bill vs looney thing, can't help you there, but having coins for $1 instead of paper, does save a lot of space in a wallet. As for the milk in bags thing, that's exaggerated. You can easily find milk in cartons or plastic jugs in every grocery store. The bags are only when it's sold in a gallon size.
I'm old so I have no idea who Baby Jessica is or what a Snork is. I've lived in Rhode Island, South Carolina, New Jersey (north) and back to Rhode Island. Yup. I'm just old lol
Yes! “If you’re going to live here, try to enjoy it.” I have the same attitude about marriage.... quit looking around and comparing, you might as well enjoy the one you have! (:
When I moved to a tiny town in Missouri (which is too small to have a traffic light) I got an account at the local bank. Surprisingly a lady there was from England. She met her husband when he was stationed there. When he came back, she came with him. A friend from back in Britain sent a few of his friends here. They were on a motorcycle tour of America. It was a sort of town event, & many people gathered at our BBQ restaurant to talk to them. I never expected my German to become useful again till I moved here. There's a lot of old order Mennonite (aka just like Amish). It's been useful to buy produce etc. You never know who you might meet! 👍
I love following UK RUclipsrs! Especially when they say 'oregano'!!!!
@Laurence please say the above word. 😂
That's a good one. I said it to my brother once & he thought Id had a stroke 😂
Why do Americans think that their pronunciation is correct and laugh at everyone else's?
@@jillhobson6128 It has nothing to do with us thinking we are correct. It's interesting to see how English has evolved. For the UK to our melting pot. In America we can pronounce the word pecan 7 different ways because of the different accents. Sometimes even different parts of a single state it is pronounced different.
@@minnie2185 Sometimes in the same city!!!
I think the time and distance has given you a new perspective on Britain now. Maybe a new appreciation for England that Americans have? Your intelligence and insight are what makes this a great channel. Thank you
What a charming video, Laurence!!
This video has a great style. A kind of different secret sauce than a lot of your others. Nice shots. Nice mix. Nice flow. Nice sentiments.
Really glad I found this channel. I'm from York and have been living in Nebraska since 2007. Sometimes I feel like I've become quite a curiosity for the locals around here, but you're right, if you're going to live here, you might as well try to enjoy it. And, to be honest, I wouldn't change it for the world.
Thank you, Laurence, for a short and sweet video. Reinforces why I am such a fan. And truth be told, when I am walking around Andersonville I am always on the lookout for you, hoping to get to meet you to say hello. Not in a stalker way, just in a RUclips fan kind of way. 🙂
I am used to my boyfriend speaking Scottish so hearing you with a British accent is no problem for me.
As an American I lived in Southeast England for 20 years and I’m now back in Southern California and get asked here why I moved back here
To keep learning is to keep growing.
I would love to see a video of yours that talks about things you would miss if you moved back to the U.K.
Your accent is really easy to understand. I’m listening to another Brit (in England) and he was very difficult at first, but I pretty much understand him now.
We are always amazed that Americans claim to speak English, but can't understand...English.
Your videos are awesome
I grew up in Chicago in the '50s and '60s and I was surrounded by accents of all kinds, especially from older people in my family and friends' older relatives which led me to believe that everyone developed an accent when they got old...kind of like gray hair and arthritis. 😁
I confess to being one of those Americans who thinks a British accent makes you sound more intelligent..LOL.. and I wonder how Brits feel about OUR accents and what we've done to the language. Love your videos! 😘
@patkern185 love the American accents the ladies sound so sexy. Love and peace from Wolverhampton England
And tea time nearly derailed the whole Alien movie shoot LOL
Garage, one of the first words I changed in my vocabulary. Since living in the US for around 13 years.
Many years ago, my spouse and I ended up in Spain for almost 5 years. I agree with your philosophy to embrace the culture. Actually, we tried to find another job to extend our stay but it just wasn't to be. And when we came back, we experienced culture shock in reverse. Love your discussions.
As an American, I highly recommend that you try out bass fishing as a hobby. It's relatively cheap to do and you also have really good opportunity to do it successfully here in America,even in urban waterways,you'd be surprised what you'll catch in the middle of a city. Plus it would make some killer video content
I am from Bangladesh but I speake with British accent (Cockney/ Londoner accent) though I have been living here in the United States! I love British Accent. 🇧🇩🇺🇸
If "manners maketh man" as someone said
He's the hero of the day
It takes a man to suffer ignorance and smile
Be yourself no matter what they say
When you brought up the movie Alien I immediately thought of Sting and his song about being an alien.
Love your channel and your British take on things American. 💜
Laurence, thanks for pointing out that, when you pronounce 'centrifugal', you put the em-PHA-sis on a different syl-LA-ble than we do. Since you live in the world's 2nd. largest Polish city (Warsaw is #1), do you often stumble across people who you recognize as having a Polish accent?
It’s funny bc I actually pronounce centrifugal the same way as Laurence. Maybe it’s a southern thing?
@@southerncharm5359, well that could be, but on the other hand, maybe you were adopted from England as an infant, and your parents never told you. LOL
Omg I’ve felt like the only one since I moved here just over a year ago! So good to hear a Brit accent again! 😅
I miss my sister, living in GB because I no longer get Care Packages with Flake and Crunch Bars
Thanks Lawrence. Enjoyed the video, especially as I was a Brit and have lived in the US for almost 30 years.
However I would take issue that Richard III was indeed not a person to invite to tea but he was no worse than the rest of the Plantagenets. Yes Princes in the Tower and all that but the rest of the Plantagenets did some very nasty things as well ( I wont elaborate). Richard was slain at the Battle of Bosworth Field , making him the last English king to die in battle. He was a short man but very brave, fighting without his horse until his demise.
There is a conspiracy theory that Shakespeare colluded with the Tudors (Elizabeth) to cast him as the most evil of men to enforce the Tudor dynasty as beyond righteousness and reproach, casting the Plantagenets as the villains. Who knows!! 😃
I really enjoyed this video. Thank you.
Lawrence you are a hoot! You crack me up! Love your show. Love to hear you say squirrel too 😀
Laurence,
I would enjoy a segment from you on the structure differences between Parliament and Congress. Read a book by Winston Churchill a while back which left me curious of how the British system differs.
I get it... I have dual citizenship American and Canadian. I was raised in the states but lived in Newfoundland Canada for 24 years. Then moved back to the states. I still use phrases and words that are Canadian which are more like British. All I can say is just because we all speak English sometimes they have a whole new meaning.
I sww this recently with the word quite. It doesn't mean what we think it means! :)
As an Ontarian, I can say that that's not true for most of Canada. But, in Newfoundland and the Atlantic provinces in general, you're right in that there's a stronger Irish/British influence on their accents and vocabulary.
Laurence, I am an American who really enjoys your videos. I like your comment at the end of this video about how when Brits and Americans work together, greatness can often be the result. The rock group "Foreigner" is a good example of this, among many. Keep up the good work!
A very thoughtful post...nice. I so enjoy your channel and I like learning new things every day too!
I've been on many a roadtrip in the states and been interrogated by friendly Americans wanting to know my life story after hearing my accent. Got to the point that I tried not to say much, I didn't like the attention 😂
YOU MEAN you didn't want a total stranger asking you to have supper with them so you can taste their aunt Martha's
cornbread????? Come on man have a heart,
I'm from the states but grew up in an area that is considered the beginning of the south.
a small city called Paducah gets loads of northerners headed south. I got to HATE hearing "aww that accent is so cute".
We get tons of yanks moving to NC especially in the big city areas. It’s annoying really.
@@southerncharm5359 a 'yank' to me is a slang term for an American, so I'm not sure what you mean!
@@hd2000 In the Southern US, the term “Yank” is considered an insult. Northerners are “Yanks”; Southerners are not.
Hope that helped. 😀
I moved to The States 20+ years ago.
I tried to affect the local (Arizonan) accent but people at that time told me not to lose the English accent so I stopped trying but I had to change certain words. Due to several years in Spain, some Spanish words, "tomato", "potato" and similar items were simple for me to Americanise (notice, no "z". Up yours, Spellchecker!) Things like "bonnet" (hood), "shopping trolley" (cart) and a great many other words took time. Sometimes, I cannot remember the English word for some things.
I do, however, stick to my guns regarding "acclimatize" rather than the US "acclimate", and a few similar words where in the UK we change the verbal stress of a word according to its usage. (“Advertise” changes to “advertisement” - “advertissment” not “advertisement”)
Some words I deliberately had to change in order to be understood, for example, "water". I pronounce it with almost a soft "o" sound but had to change it to a simple harsh sound; something like "wadder" (Yes, Americans like to sound their double "t" like a "d" - "budder" for "butter", etc). If I didn't do this I used to have to defer to my wife for translation. Many a time a waiter and I have had to speak loudly at each other just to get a glass of “wadder”.
Initially in America, I was asked if I was from; Ireland (frequently), Australia (often), Scotland, England (strangely, not that often), Canada, New York, even France and Germany a few times!
But, all in all, I love it here, and the people. Just wish the politicians were less corrupt and selfish.
Sorry for the length of this 'comment', but thanks for the video.
My wife sublet a room from a lovely older British couple before she met me. Actually about a year after we married and my wife moved out they moved back to the UK to be closer to their grandchildren. Actually before they went we found out they were old mates with a rather famous musician from where they were originally from near Newcastle. (They didn’t go back to Newcastle, the moved to the seaside near Blackpool. (I like to think being in close proximity to Coney Island for a good number of years rubbed off on them, 😂).)
A British-American collaboration also produced Foreigner, but that was yesterday, and yesterday’s gone.
I served alongside some British chaps in Iraq. Very funny and light hearted guys to hang out with
Funny guy! As the son of a Greek woman who came to America with my American GI father when she was 24 and a husband to a Canadian who has been living in the US since we married. Your channel has been quite entertaining. You bring up items that as a family we have already experienced. Let me encourage you to continue with a 1960s American colloquial idiom, "Keep on keeping on!"
You’d fit in here so well, do visit (June is best for a first trip to Alaska). We have Russians, Canadians, Oregonians….even saw a New Jersey license plate once! Would love to have you and your wife up to visit. Just remember that where Texas is huge….Alaska is 2.5x bigger so planning your sightseeing time is key!
I love Lawrence's viewpoints and observations. I lived in England for six years in the 80s-early-90s and loved it. That was all before social media and RUclips, even before I'd ever used email. I always wanted to communicate back to my friends and family in the states and the only means I had were phone calls and writing letters/postcards. That was woefully inadequate, though I tried very hard at it. There is so much to this cross-culture, life-exchange that I love about Lawrence's videos, and I would not have found it, probably, if it weren't for the spot on the Rick Steves radio program I heard by chance a few months ago. Keep up the good videos, Lawrence!
What blew my mind was learning a good portion of the cast of The Walking Dead on AMC are British. Its strange to hear them talk when not on set.
Same with Hugh Laurie from House and Charlie Hunnan from Sons of Anarchy.
Band of Brothers too.
Andrew Lincoln is from my home town hull
I enjoy your channel and hearing your views very much. I am from the American west (NOT California) and I feel like I completely don't understand the eastern part of the country at all, so even your experiences with the Midwest are completely foreign to me. I have only visited back east a handful of times. It's a completely different world.
What do you think is different about the east compared to the west? Genuine question not trying to be rude.
How so? Just curious. I live in the south and both the east and west seem basically the same as where I live in the south. Although, yes, I think the midwest would maybe feel a lot different culturally, but I've never been there. Maybe this has been my experience because I live in a large city rather than a small southern town. But even so, where I've been in the east and west it seems pretty much the same other than some weather stuff. And obviously cities that are very unique (NYC, LA etc.) are going to be their own thing).
I can see that. I am a midwesterner, but I have lived in NH and Texas and they are very very different cultures. NH is more about the mountains and the ocean life. Lots of people had boats or summer places near the water, for example. I met so many people there I would call eccentric. In Houston, Latin or Mexican? Culture is everywhere. It is so much louder. The radio and tv stations will be in Spanish. Seems obvious, I suppose. In the Southwest US, there is a big native influence, too. Big cities do tend to be very similar but when you get into the countryside, the differences are glaring.
You are a treasure! Thanks for the video.🦧
The accent thing was a huge help when I lived in England lol. All of sudden your interesting
Love your channel....all the best to you sir!
That's often the same with anyone who moved anywhere. There's people who can't manage separating from the old place and instead engaging the new. Luckily I learned that second hand and easily as we moved a lot when I was a child.
I think if you lived in one of the original 13 colonies you'd feel more at home, bucks county in Pennsylvania for example the area near Washington's crossing looks like some of the English countryside I've seen in British tv shows, the scenic ride along the Delaware is really nice.
This small town in Indiana also has Brits here, a mother and son. I've also run into a number of traveling Brits, Aussies, and South Africans. Most of the people I know here can't tell those accents apart.
Being from Florida I usually feel like an alien here!
Don't worry, I was born in the small town (the one from Mellencamps song) in Indiana, I have 200 verified years of family history here, and I still feel like a foreign visitor.
@@staceyn2541 I'm a 6th gen Floridian and never felt at home anywhere since leaving home, and Tallahassee has changed so much I need GPS to get around now when I visit. I just go to work, grab groceries, and hole up in my room. But it is nice to know it's not just me. A lot of people here have long family histories here and we don't, and we're... a little different in a lot of ways... but everyone in this town is so alike we really stand out, but not in a good way.
And I know which town you mean, we're a couple hours north if memory serves (geography was never my best subject).
I grew up in a small town in England called Portchester (near Portsmouth) and we had a castle built by the Normans in the 1100's...when you tell Americans things like this their heads explode. To most,anything over 100 years old is ancient, lol.
I like your British accent, Lost in the Pond.
English accent
@@manchestertart5614 Thank you.
Star Wars, also a joint British and American production! Filmed in England. A lot of British cast and crew. Dearth Vader was a British actor with an Americans voice!
There are many "British" accents, just as there are many "American" accents. After three visits to the UK, I started to distinguish amongst them. But my wife and I still have to use closed captions to follow along when watching a TV show like Vera, which takes place in Newcastle and the area bordering Scotland. Enjoying your channel, Laurence!
So I'm British and living in US with my US born partner. She loves the great british bake off, and is now actually telling me what some of the contestants with strong accents are saying as I can't understand them !
@@youweechube Funny!
Love your channel. Wish you would do a video discussing whether Bill Bryson is a Brit or Yankee.