Buying ice cream bars left her in tears and deeply homesick
A woman who moved from sunny California to northern England has described the “biggest culture shock” – grocery shopping.
While the US state gets around 280 days of sun a year and the UK gets a couple of weeks for TikToker, Ashlee, the big changes she noticed after moving to drizzly Greater Manchester to be with her boyfriend was in the supermarket.
The US is known for its super-size portions, and many a Brit has been overwhelmed by the sheer amount of food and drink that gets delivered to their table, so the shock travels both ways.
Ashlee, who goes by the username @ashlee4ever, posted a video to TikTok explaining what she noticed since making the move about a “month and a half ago.”
She now lives in northern England, “outside of Manchester”, Ashlee explains, with her viewers quickly guessing correctly in the comments that she is living in Bolton.
First impressions: “No one hates England more than the English. Every time that I meet someone and they find out that I’m from California, their first response is ‘Why are you here?,” she said.
Ashlee then went on to describe that the “biggest culture shock” she’d experienced since her move across the Atlantic was in the aisles of the supermarket.
While there are some similar brands, Ashlee said, “they have different flavours for things.”
She then described her shock at trying to buy ice cream bars with her BF and learning “they only come in packs of like three or four”.
“I’m used to packs of 12 or something, you know, like three or four what is that supposed to do for me? Are you kidding me, that’s going to last me a day and a half between the two of us,” Ashlee joked.
After the ice cream shock, Ashlee said she got “so homesick and started crying”.
Ashlee also said that the fresh produce like fruit and vegetables was very different from what she was used to.
Firstly, “literally everything is wrapped in plastic.”
The quality was also much different:”Being from California we have such good quality produce. I’ve just really noticed the difference out here.”
She also admitted that she had found the rainy weather “tricky to get used to” but that she was learning to “always be prepared for rain and the UK’s quickly changeable weather.”
Despite the dramas over ice creams and fruit, Ashlee said she and her boyfriend are “having a really great time” and she was “adjusting pretty well”.
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