Part of travelling abroad is getting to experience all the different things that you simply can’t find back in Britain. However, more than a few British tourists have been caught out when the things they are used to having back home either aren’t the same as back home or are just completely missing. Here are just a few of the few parts of British culture that aren’t found abroad.
Entertainment
The BBC is one of the most famous British institutions in the world, but despite being British, some tourists are surprised when local TVs in other countries don’t have BBC One as standard. In some countries, you may find a few British shows like Downton Abbey on streaming platforms, but don’t expect Netflix to have the same lineup either.
This applies to other kinds of international entertainment too. For instance, if you play at online casinos, the lineup of games you find on sites in Britain will likely change if you’re elsewhere. It isn’t just the games either; things like the casino promotions offered by Betfair will be tailored to British audiences at home but may look completely different if you log in from abroad.
Food And Drink
Around 2011, there was a short-lived outrage amongst the British population living in Denmark. It was all because of misunderstood reports that the iconic Marmite was going to be banned from being imported. While that proved to be false soon afterwards, Marmite is in fact on the list of classic British items, like pork pies or haggis, that rarely make it out of the country.
There are a few items which are even more surprising though. For instance, if you go over to the United States, you would likely have trouble finding any tea bags at all, let alone brands like Tetley or Twinings. The nearest you’ll find in some areas are iced tea bags – although as a top tip, you can put these in boiling water for decent results!
Shops
There are certainly a lot of British retailers who have a presence abroad. Household names like Marks & Spencer and Clarks pop up in relatively small numbers in many countries, and even high street names like Topshop and Matalan can be sometimes be found. However, these are not going to be the shops you expect in most cases. Clarks, for example, is treated as something of a luxury brand abroad, so the cheaper end of the range you’d find here may not show up.
In fact, every one of the ‘budget’ UK retailers has a very different profile abroad, with most of them being noticeably more pricey than at home. Even Tesco tends to be more high-tier when it appears in regions like Eastern Europe. For budget buys, there’s a completely separate range to look for, such as the Kiabi chain across Europe for clothes, or the famous Walmart in the US for just about anything you can imagine.
So the next time you travel, don’t get surprised when things are not British abroad. Plan ahead if you think you’ll really need something, and always check if you can bring it with you just in case!
