5 unexpected culture shocks moving from London to Vancouver
When I moved from London to Vancouver, I wasn’t expecting a massive culture shock between the two major cities.
But over the year I’ve spent away from the UK, there have been many times where I’ve been caught off guard.
From weird traffic rules to the city’s preparedness for winter, Vancouver you are full of surprises.
A red light doesn’t always mean stop
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In England, traffic lights are straightforward. Red means stop.
Imagine my surprise when the car I was in stopped and turned right when the lights were red. My heart dropped. I closed my eyes, expecting a big crash and waited to hear the sound of sirens as we got chased down by police for traffic violations.
But apparently, that’s just a rule of the road here for right-hand turns. How that’s allowed, I still don’t know.
I thought transitioning to driving on the right side of the road would be my biggest challenge. No, it’s being honked at when I hesitate to turn at a red light. Well, that and hitting the curb a few too many times.
People openly smoke joints
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While weed isn’t legal in England, you still find it fairly regularly among groups in their 20s. But, I’m used to my friends hiding away and smoking up in the privacy of their own homes or under cover of the night in a dodgy park.
I knew that weed was legal when I moved here, but to walk down the street and see people with joints out in the open is still mind-boggling.
What’s even stranger to me is that you can openly smoke joints, but you can’t have a drink. Drinking is my recreational activity of choice, so I can’t help but feel a bit annoyed when I see people getting high in public while I can’t even crack open a can.
Vancouver isn’t built for the snow
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Canada is known for being the cold-weather connoisseurs. I hadn’t realized that Canada’s preparedness for snow isn’t national but dependent on the city you’re in.
Buses were completely scrambled last November when Vancouver had some relatively big snowfall. In a mad dash to get home, my bus broke down in the middle of the road, leaving me to trudge an hour through the snow.
I couldn’t believe that a country known for its chilly weather couldn’t handle a little snow. It felt like the whole city shut down. My Toronto-born friends even laughed at me when I called what Vancouver was experiencing “snowy weather.”
Vancouverites tip everywhere
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I’m not saying that tipping isn’t something people in London do. But, we’re more selective in where we tip.
Here, it seems that everywhere you go, you’re expected to tip. In London, tipping only tends to happen when you’re dining out. Even then, a standard amount is 12.5%, and anything over is incredibly generous.
I’m not against tipping, but I can’t help but feel reluctant to tip when it comes up in places like coffee shops. It’s not that the people working don’t deserve a tip; it’s just weird to tip before receiving the service.
Conversations with strangers
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Back home, I don’t leave my house without my earphones. I plug in and ignore the world because that’s how it goes in London. Everyone keeps to themselves.
It was honestly super refreshing coming to Canada and suddenly interacting with strangers much more. Even with earphones in, I’d have people tap on my shoulder to ask a question or compliment my very stylish Golden Girls tote.
Speaking to random people has been one of the highlights of being in Canada. The Canadian stereotype of everyone being friendly has been true so far, and it makes every day more exciting not knowing who you’ll speak to.
That being said, I can’t get too used to the friendliness of Canadians. On a trip back to the UK, I was in Canada mode and got quite a few strange looks when I started chatting with people on the streets—my bad, Brits.
Those were my top five culture shocks when I moved here. Nothing too major, but boy, did some of them throw me for a curveball.
What culture shocks did you have when you came to Vancouver? Let us know in the comments below.