The United Kingdom is one of the most popular places in the world to visit thanks to its rich history, unique traditions and beautiful landscapes once you venture out of the cities. Whether it’s taking part in the London Marathon, exploring the Lake District or enjoying some afternoon tea with your friends and family members, there are some experiences that can’t be described until you get to feel them for yourself.
As such, British culture is something that is difficult to learn about, but rather easy to embrace. This can be a strange concept for some, but living in the UK for some time is arguably the best way to integrate into the culture if you plan to move or study here for some time. However, a lot of people still find it hard to mingle with the locals. Perhaps their cultures are fundamentally different which makes it hard to get along, or maybe it’s just a case of embracing British culture and its quirks.
So let’s take a look at a couple of reasons why some people can find it hard to integrate into the UK and some advice on how to get around those challenges.
London isn’t really British
It sounds strange to say that the capital city of England isn’t British, but if you’ve ever spent an extended amount of time here then you’ll know exactly what this means. London is one of the hardest places for someone to integrate into British culture because there are so many mixed cultures that it’s hard to identify what’s traditionally British and what’s been imported over from other countries. While there are pockets of traditional British culture and architecture all over London, the reality is that unless you’re staying in a rather wealthy part of the city, you’re probably going to be exposed to a variety of different mixed cultures.
British culture is almost separating itself from London’s own mixed culture, and this can be an interesting contrast to make once you move outside of the big city and start exploring the surrounding rural areas where you’ll find more common British traditions. Diversity is also common in most major cities, but London is arguably one of the biggest examples of a multicultural society that is just about clinging on to its traditional British roots.
The Language is Evolving
Something unique about the UK is that the language constantly evolves thanks to the multicultural nature of London and the vastly different constituent countries; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. While people of these individual countries can communicate with no issue, slang words and everyday vocabulary might change drastically depending on where someone has been brought up or where they live.
This is why it’s a good idea to undergo English speaking classes from services such as www.warm-welcome.co.uk so you can start picking up the unique vocabulary of the region that you’re living in. Once you climb over this hurdle, it’s actually fairly easy to integrate into your local community, but you might need to adjust a little if you ever move away to another city or part of the country.
British Humour Isn’t for Everyone
One of the most challenging things about modern British culture is understanding and embracing the unique sense of humour that British people have. If you’ve ever watched a British comedy show or followed a British comedian, then you might have found their jokes strange, self-deprecating or even just plain weird. It’s important not to take everything that a British person says seriously and it’s a good idea to consider every strange thing they say as a joke.
There are plenty of guides on getting used to British humour (some of which are actually very helpful) but the main takeaway points are to stop taking yourself so seriously and to laugh at yourself. Self-deprecation is everywhere in British humour, but you should also be able to take a joke and stop taking everything someone says at face value. You’ll know if someone means you harm with the words they say, but if they’re drinking, smiling and laughing with you while they insult you, then it’s all just banter and sarcasm.
Between the diversity, strange vocabulary and unique sense of humour, it’s understandable that someone might find it challenging to integrate into British culture. However, by simply embracing it and understanding that everything you read about British culture might be outdated, it’s actually enjoyable and interesting to experience it firsthand.