I'm an American living in the UK

Release time：2024-05-21 11:46:57 Source：Cultural Crossings news portal

An American woman living in the UK has revealed all of the things she thinks Brits do wrong.

Haley Horton, 26, is originally from Boston but moved to Wales when she was 15, before going to university in York and completing her master's degree in Bristol.

The TikToker, who posts under the handle @haley.horton, often makes videos documenting her life as a US native who's lived in different places throughout the UK.

One tongue-in-cheek video has been seen by more than 837,000 people and has amassed almost 4,000 comments.

She firstly introduced herself by jokingly telling viewers: 'I'm ready to fight some people. Here are some things that I think the UK just does wrong.

Haley Horton, 26, is originally from Boston but moved to Wales when she was 15, before then going to university in York and completing her master's degree in Bristol

@haley.horton

all in good fun #usvsuk #ukvsusa #americanintheuk #americanabroad #cultureshocks

♬ original sound - HALEY

'If you don't already know me, my name is Haley and I'm an American that's lived in the UK for the past seven years.

'Sometimes I make content about that and usually it's pretty upbeat towards the UK, but today I've decided I'm gonna start some fights.

'I'm gonna tell you about things I actually think you guys don't do very well.'

Taking the cake home at children's birthday parties 

The first thing that Brits do that Haley isn't a fan of is specific to those with children. 

She explained: 'The fact that when you go to a kid's birthday party, you don't eat the cake at the birthday party.

'You take it home as, like, a goodie bag. No - cakes and party favours are two separate things.'

The American insisted: 'Don't combine them. I wanna eat cake at the party'.

One tongue-in-cheek video where she delves into the things she thinks the UK 'does wrong' has been seen by more than 837,000 people and has amassed almost 4,000 comments

However, one confused Briton asked: 'Who doesn't eat the cake at the birthday party? We take the leftovers home in a goody bag but we eat the cake or we have other cakes'.

A second added: 'Cupcakes to be eaten at party. Slice of birthday cake to be put in the party bag for later, two cakes in one day! We are clearly geniuses!'

Meanwhile, a third chimed in with: 'People eat cake at parties sometimes but they usually take it home'.

There are no good salads 

Secondly, Haley revealed that she's less than impressed with the salads the UK has to offer, claiming that America has more 'variety'

Speaking to her British followers, she laughed: 'You guys, you know, you're getting better but you can't find such a good salad in so many parts of this country.

'And I know what you're gonna say. You're gonna go for the joke about the obese Americans. 

'Totally valid. But, we still just have better salads and more variety.'

In the comments, one Brit suggested: 'Hint: make your own salad with the amazing fresh produce we have on offer rather than ready packed and labelled gunk'. 

Another chimed in with: 'Yeah, but when it comes to salad, UK coleslaw is way better than American coleslaw!'

Both Brits and US natives took to the comments to debate the quirky list

Using the wrong names for things 

The American's third point, is that she claims Brits don't use the right word for a 'daddy long legs' - the colloquial name for a flying insect from the pholcidae family.

She admitted: 'This is so random, but a hill I'm willing to die on is the fact that the daddy long legs insect is not what you guys call daddy long legs.

'Those are crane flies. I don't know why I'm like, for some reason mad about that. 

'Daddy long legs are the ones that look like spiders, but they're skinny. They don't fly.'

Her point seemed to cause confusion in the comments, with one viewer writing: 'I’m a Londoner. Daddy long legs are spiders, crane flies are crane flies'.

'Daddy long legs are the spiders with long legs and don't fly?' questioned another.

Meanwhile, a Scottish viewer made the debate even more confusing by writing: 'I’m from Scotland and most people I know call them Jenny long legs'. 

The lack of plug sockets in bathrooms 

Finally, Haley complains about the fact Brits don't have plug sockets in bathrooms, which is common practice in America. 

She said: 'And finally, just the lack of plugs in the bathrooms. I understand why, you don't want that getting wet, but still.

'What if I wanna do my hair in the bathroom one day? I can't.'

The 26-year-old finished off the video by reminding viewers it's 'all in good fun'.

One puzzled viewer penned: 'The bathroom one makes sense though. Why would you need to do your hair in the bathroom?'

An American social media user replied: 'That is where we get ready. brush. your teeth, blow dry hair, makeup, deodorant, etc. all in the bathroom. Where do y'all [sic] do that stuff?'

'Plugs in the bathrooms are a huge safety hazard though,' claimed someone else.

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