It’s been just over six months of living in our new home of Scotland, and while life in a new culture will always present moments of anxiety, confusion, and homesickness, we can honestly say that we have been greatly blessed in this season of adjustment and exploration of our new culture.  This post will be the first of two in which we explore the blessings and challenges of life in our new culture. First, we will take a look at five things we have enjoyed about life in the U.K.

Keep in mind, we will focus more on the day to day practicalities and less on the obvious charm. (These have less to do with castles, double-decker buses, and lovely accents and more to do with the elements that affect us on a daily basis.)

Without further ado, here are some blessings….

The National Health Service….I want to make it clear from the get go that this is in no way intended to be a political post. I am speaking strictly in terms of what our family has experienced. In America we were accustomed to long waits in the E.R., mounds of paperwork, constant confusion of whether or not we were “in network”, and dreaded bills that would arrive months later. While we understand it would be unjust to make blanket statements about the two systems without taking into account the complex dynamics that are present, our family has dealt with a number of medical urgencies in the past six months and in each circumstance we have experienced exceptional, hassle-free care. We are thankful.

Foodie Fever….The saying goes that most British cuisine was invented on a dare. While we find ourselves time and again missing favorite chains like Chipotle or Shake Shack, we live in a foodie’s paradise. There is no shortage of great restaurants, cafes, and delis just steps from our front door. The food here lacks the preservatives we have grown accustomed to in the States and there is a greater purity in flavor to just about everything. In addition to the local fare, the proximity to the european continent and large population of immigrants, ensures that you don’t have to travel far to get authentic global dishes. While we occasionally have a hankering for good Ole’ American Beef, we simply have not been in want of great, tasty food.

Technology and Data plans….The cost of living in Britain is high, even for us New Englanders sticker shock is real.  However there are a few elements that are surprisingly more affordable and of better quality than what we are accustomed to. For one, our mobile plan is a third of what it cost in the States and the coverage is great. Not to mention thirty gigs of data is equivalent to the price of one back home. Additionally, cable service here is half of what we pay back home. Provider competition ensures that quality stays high, rates stay fair, and technology (like fibre optic cables and 4K channels) are standard offerings.

Public Space….A five minute walk in any direction from our front door will land us in an exceptional public park complete with fields for the dog to roam, playgrounds for the kid to scrape her knees, and public gardens and ponds where we can feed the swans, Instagram the flowers, or score an ice lolly (popsicle) from the Ice-cream truck; not to mention the government commissioned street art.  Graffiti never looked so splendid! The Brits know how to do their green spaces, and Glasgow is home to some beauties! Thirteen percent of the land in Great Britain is virtually untouched. It’s amazing to think that a country forty times smaller than the U.S., with thousands of years of history, has been conserved that much!

Pace of Life….There is a saying that Americans live to work, and Europeans work to live.  While there is certainly merit to being industrious, we have found that the pace of life here is much more conducive to family, having margin in your schedule, and allowing time to enjoy the every day stuff of life. While it can be inconvenient to show up at a shop and realize that they either A. closed at 4pm, or B. decided not to open that day because they had a really profitable few days prior, it still causes you to wonder if maybe we as Americans are missing something.

Thats all for now, stay tuned for next week when we look at some of the challenges of our new culture.