Expat Guide

UK Culture

Nothing defines a country more than its culture and traditions. The British culture is as diverse as can be, rich in history, and they make up for the often dreary weather by enjoying the international cuisine and inventing the best of sports and games. There is a summary of the smaller culture related topics here, but please see the related topics as well, a lot comes under the term “culture”.

History

There is no chance one could generalize the rich history of Britain, however the links below should help.

www.bbc.co.uk/history The BBC website is a terrific resource for history, and the Simon Schama History of Britain Series is brilliant.

www.thehistorychannel.co.uk The History Channel is also a great resource.

www.ireland.org General Old Irish History,

Electric Scotland clans, history, food, music, etc.

Brittania.com : History & Culture of Wales Wales, it’s history, language, wonders, traditions.

Historic UK. com A melding of UK history and historical sites, with accomodation and living history dates.

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Calendar and Holidays

In the UK, and most of the world, dates are formatted as day-month-year, 23 January 2010. It can be tricky remembering to change this.

Holidays

The following is a table of holidays and notable dates for both the UK and the US. (When you’re not in the US, sometimes it’s handy to be able to quickly access American dates, some are easy to forget.) The British Holidays and Notable Dates are linked to information pages about that specific day.

Language and Accents

There are as many, if not more regional accents in the UK than there are in the US. The history of the English language is quite interesting once you start to dig.

Sports in the UK

This can only be a feeble attempt to guide one to sports in the UK, as the British are the kings of game creation and the range of sports here is astounding.

Transportation

Of all the issues in moving to the UK, Transportation must be one of the most painful.

UK Government

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, and includes the countries of Wales, England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The full official name is: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The constitution is unwritten, and the laws consist of partly statutes, partly common law and practice. For more detailed information and statistics, check the CIA World Fact Book.

UK Media

British entertainment is very diverse, with TV the technical aspect is a bit confusing.

‹ Utilities - Gas, Electricity, Water, Phone, TV, Internet up Calendar and Holidays ›

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UK Yankee is a resource and community for expatriate Americans living in or planning to move to the UK, established in 1999. Please join the discussions in our friendly expat community.

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