There was still one question from Jeri – who graciously saved me from an embarrassment of having an “ask me a question” day without hearing a single question – that I neglected to address thus far. What were the hardest cultural adjustments for you and your family when you moved…
Two years ago I landed in Heathrow to start my life in England. I used to subscribe to the notion that an émigré should spend 3 years establishing himself in his new life before making any pronouncements on his overall successes or failures. This period of our life is not…
Continuing our Q&A exercise, in which I successfully engaged one single person to ask me questions, let’s address another one of Jeri’s queries. (Part 1 is here.) I’m assuming your children are in British schools – what are the advantages and disadvantages of American vs. British school systems? I did,…
Jeri was the only person to accept my solicitation for questions thus far, and because customer service is what we take great pride in here at Burlaki.com, I am addressing it right away. See what the rest of you all are missing? Of course, Jeri posed three questions at once…
It’s been close to a year since I posted a brief sampler of the linguistic differences between British and American English language variants. I had a clear intent to parlay that article into a potentially fun series. But in the intervening time, I suppose, I lost my ear when it…
I have not mentioned the concept of the call limit in the past, and yesterday we unwittingly ran afoul of it. In a nutshell, when a landline phone service is being established in the UK, the phone company determines the monetary limit that the customer should stay under during any…
Sometimes, a small and fairly inconsequential thing happens, which makes me think: “Hey, I can’t imagine this being handled so efficiently and positively for me in America”. Natasha received a parking violation ticket a couple of weeks ago. That was before our recent discovery of mobile-phone-enabled payments, but it occurred…
I have just finished reading Merde Happens, which is the third installment in Stephen Clarke’s series about a young Englishman’s experiences with foreign cultures. Unlike the first two installments, A Year in the Merde and Merde Actually (I skipped over the latter by pure coincidence of it not being sold…
Contrary to my recent rant about cell phones, they do come in handy in more than obvious ways. For instance, more and more parking lots around England allow you to pay your parking fee by calling an automated processing service, so you no longer find yourself in a pickle when…
Say, you browse a store, any store, and come across an attractive item that is on sale. You’d be lukewarm to the idea of obtaining said item at its original listed price, but an ability to buy it at a discount closes the deal for you. Now, suppose, as you…
In America, SATs are used as one of – and, occasionally, determining – criteria for gaining admission to a higher education institution. In England, the functional equivalent is called A-levels, and they carry enough social recognition, so that college graduates habitually list which of these examinations they passed on their…
Basic medical help is free in the UK, we have already talked about that. You don’t need any identification to walk into a hospital emergency room or an NHS Walk-in Centre to get assistance. You may even be able to arrange an appointment with a local doctor when you need…
Going through a short backlog of topics that I consider worth commenting on as far as observations of British life go, I am going to address a fairly obscure one today: The seemingly universal recoil towards wearing real fur. Natasha and Becky have both faced this on a few occasions…
I could only be stealthy for so long. A speed camera finally caught me in the act. As far as I can tell, I ran afoul of one of the weirdest of the speed limits. In a “built-up urban” area, the national limit is 30 mph, unless posted otherwise. And…
In one of my very first posts, I noted that adjusting to driving on the left side of the road is not that hard. I am sure anyone who ever rented a car in England would agree. You need some initial buffer time to get used to it, but paying…
If your income consists of solely salary and wages, then filing a tax return in England is a very simple self-assessment process. Online or on paper, you literally need to provide just a handful of numbers from your W-2 equivalent (called P60), tick off a bunch of boxes, sign, and…
Continuing with the threads of road tax, environment and a fight for lower emissions, the newly produced UK government Budget calls for an increase of that tax for the most-polluting vehicles to £425 a year. (among the sources, try this one) The increase will be put in place in April…
Natasha went to the parent/teacher conference at Becky’s school last night. In a manner deserving of the expensive private institution, the conference was smoothly organized as a series of face-to-face meetings with every teacher that Becky has classes with. There are seventeen of them for Becky’s form, so the process…
I stayed home today, so that Natasha could attend a PTA meeting at Becky’s school in the early afternoon. Whenever I stay home, I normally take Kimmy to school and pick her up, a happy responsibility that evades me on a regular day. This morning, at 8:45am, as we were…
I have written in the past about things that I wish were in England like in the States and about things that are seemingly better here. The truth of the matter is, none of those evoke strong emotions from me one way or the other. There is one that does,…