Hi! Welcome to my UK life first blog about British society and cultural norms
British society is made of many cultures due to flexible UK visa and immigration services.. British society has a wealthy and rich cultural history. United Kingdom (‘UK’) is comprised of the four countries naming England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. All these four countries have created the cultural norms with their own distinctive customs and traditions.
British culture is arguably unique with many norms. People planning to visit, study, work, business or settle in the UK as immigrant may have learned some facts about UK from family members, social media, tv shows or internet. As being a British national, I will try to elaborate about British culture and some social norms based on my personal experiences. Following are my most observed cultural norms in the UK:
Meet and Greet
I genuinely believe the Brits are most polite and decent people. Once acknowledgement as a decent friend or loved one in UK, you will not only be shaking their hands but several times, particularly if one among the those that are greeting or being greeted is female, you may often give and/or receive a little kiss on the cheek. If you're not an in-depth friend or close family member, then the physical bit is perceived as odd or uncomfortable, however, friend or not, family or not, often you will see a smile on Brit’s face when you meet them.
Punctuality
There are several social rules that you will come across in the UK. Being punctual is one at the top as the British people hate being late. Being late is very rare and perceived to be rude and unethical. If a Brit realise that he/she will be late, they will contact to inform relevant person or authorities about being late.
Queue Rules
In some part of the world jumping the queue may be acceptable, however in UK, people will not tolerate jumping the queue and they will make you feel terrible without any hesitation. Standing with patience within the queue has been observed many times by myself as a traditional a part of British culture.
Talking Distance
It has been observed that within the UK, people like to stay at one arm’s length while speaking to another. Standing nearer or very close while talking is assumed to be rude and aggressive and may be uncomfortable for some of them.
Emergency Services
Brits are absolutely help their emergencies services such as police and ambulances and always make a space for these services on the road no matter how much hurry they are in. Brits will let police know if something fishy going on in their neighbourhood without any fear. Similarly, if required, they will contact emergency services (fire brigade or ambulance) in minutes.
Respect For Others
UK have a high quantity of respect for others especially older adults and disabled persons. If you are on public transportation, you are expected to offer up your seat if somebody who is disabled or older comes onto the bus.
Most Loved Food
Brits love fish and chips with mashed peas, tartare sauce on crumpled paper. The British food could be a mixing of 4 completely different wealthy cultures of states that comprise the United Kingdom.
In conclusion, if you are planning to visit, work, set up a business, marriage, study, or settlement in the UK, try to understand UK cultural norms and try to adopt them as soon as possible to get a success within the UK.
Comments