I'm an American living in the UK - here are the little differences that drive me crazy

An American influencer who moved to the UK from America has revealed the everyday differences that drive her 'crazy' - including the baffling way British people hang up the phone.  

Mary Skinner moved from Virginia to Edinburgh three months ago as her husband is Scottish. 

Despite loving many aspects of British life - including meal deals and trains - Mary was quick to pick up on a couple of changes that were less than ideal. 

The 26-year-old, who has 1.4 million followers on TikTok, quickly racked up 450,000 views for her video exploring the everyday differences between British and American life. 

'Here are the things I was surprised to learn about the day to day life in Scotland,' she told fans in a TikTok video, adding: 'I'm starting off with a couple of things that drive me crazy.'

Mary Skinner has shared the daily things that have driven her 'crazy' since moving from the US to the UK

First on Mary's list was her frustration that her bathroom light switch was outside the room.  

She explained: 'The number of times that I have gotten into a bathroom, closed the door and stood there in complete darkness, pawing my way around the wall, trying to find a light switch that isn't there is embarrassing.

'That feels like something that doesn't need to differ from country to country. That feels like we could standardise it.'

She also disliked that UK bathrooms lack proper plug sockets, only occasionally having an outlet for shavers. 

Mary continued: 'There's no real ones so you can't plug in any bathroom appliances! You have to go outside of the bathroom! 

'I know it's a safety thing, but it's actually p***ing me off thinking about it. Like I'm starting to get angry.'

Her next gripe was with the very British way that people hang up the phone, which 'most people don't even realise they're doing'. 

'If you get off the phone with someone and they hang up in Scotland, they say bye bye! Bye bye bye bye,' Mary explained. 

Despite loving many aspects of British life - including meal deals and trains - Mary was quick to pick up on a couple of changes that were less than ideal

'They "bye bye" and then they say "bye" four or five times, really quickly.'

Fans rushed to the comments to express their fascination at the nuances of British life.  

They wrote: 'As an American in the UK, I understand WHY electrical outlets in the bathroom is dangerous but I’m like HOW did I survive in the US for so long without being shocked';

'girl the bathroom light thing is so real. like ok guess I'll sit here in the darkness';

'ngl the lights one varies from building to building in the UK';

'The no bathroom outlets actually makes me genuinely furious. Getting hair all over my bedroom when I blow dry it sends me in to a rage';

'American here who used to live in Ireland and I miss the “byebuhbyebyebuhbye” so much';

'The “bye bye bye bye” thing is a Scottish thing?! I worked with a woman from Scotland and always just thought she was eager to end the phone call.'

Fans rushed to the comments to express their fascination at the nuances of British life

She also disliked that UK bathrooms lack proper plug sockets, only occasionally having an outlet for shavers

Despite some frustrations, many aspects of the UK have impressed Mary, as she went on to praise the 'amazing' train systems, and the 'privacy' of UK public toilets.  

She also professed a love for Scottish tap water, explaining: 'Scottish tap water tastes better than most bottled waters I've tried. It's weirdly good. It tastes so crisp and so clean.'

Mary also admitted she loves a meal deal, saying the concept is 'class'. 

She said: 'It's a big thing. There's different entrée options but usually you'll get like a sandwich, another entrée and a drink. I love meal deals - I think they're class, they're like a good price, you can get them anywhere.'

She did however take issue with some British sandwich fillings, including tuna and sweetcorn, which she described as 'culturally, a surprise'. 

Of prawn cocktail she added: 'I feel like when you move to a new country, you have to take a "try everything once" kind of mindset. I can't get behind this one.'