An American woman who moved from Florida to London in search of a slower life says she can’t get over British banter – or how green everything is.
Melissa Mendez was excited to pack up her suitcase and leave the Sunshine State for pastures new.
But she says no one told her quite how refreshingly “blunt” Brits are – or how stoic they are in a time of crisis.
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And the biggest thing that shocked her was the lush environment.
“As soon as I was out of the airport on that first day and started driving from Heathrow to London I couldn’t beleive how green everything was,” the content creator, who has 17,000 followers, told What’s The Jam.
“It really looked as if someone just increased the saturation – everything was so green and lush.
“I now have a garden which I love to do.
“In Florida, you can’t really grow an English garden because the weather is just so hot.”
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Melissa also found some striking differences between American and English people, especially the “banter”.
She said: “Us Americans tend to take things very personally.“So I found it really refreshing to see how families interact, how they are so open but also super blunt.
“It is very endearing and just takes the pressure out of things.
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“Something that is huge and in the news in America people have big reactions.
“I have found that in the UK people have very stoic behaviour towards any type of big event.
“The only time you’ll ever see a big reaction from a British person is if their football team looses or if there is no tea in the house.
”And so far, Melissa is loving her new home.
She said: “I have found it absolutely amazing.
“It is the first time that I have lived in a place with seasons so I have been able to enjoy what people do depending on what season it is.
“I find that people have a hard time when they move to another country when they don’t emerse themselves in the culture.
“I think that is the main way to get accustom to the new place, new culture, so I try to do that every day.
“I get involved in my community, make new friends and it has been great.
“I hope for many more years of growing my garden, enjoying the weather and making new friends.
”Melissa shared a video of her thoughts to TikTok which has since gathered over 30,000 views.
Terry commented: “England’s green and pleasant land.”
Rory added: “When the Romans first came they called it “the garden.
”To which Melissa replied: “It’s like a fairytale.
”Someone else said: “Fun fact: London is classed as a forest city.”
Sum added: “England has some of the best countryside in the world.”
Sar said: “It rains a lot but there is an upside to that.”
Someone else added: “I feel like I take this for granted. It is very green here especially on spring side of summer.”
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