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Ashley Jackson, from Texas, moved to Greater Manchester four years ago (Image: Jam Press/Ashley Jackson)
An American woman now living in the UK has revealed three aspects of British life which initially confused her when she first moved here four years ago, but which she has come to adore. However, one of these left people rather bewildered.
Ashley Jackson relocated from Austin, Texas, to Stretford in Greater Manchester in April 2022 alongside husband Andi, who hails from Preston, Lancashire, and their children Levon and Matilda. Now, four years later, she highlighted three elements of UK life which she’d “learned to love”. Yet there was one, which Ashley described as leaving her “equally excited [and] appalled by”, that left her British followers utterly perplexed.
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Beginning her TikTok video, she stated: “Three things I’ve learned to love living in England. I’m an American living in England, so let’s talk about it. And the last one I am equally excited but appalled by.”
First, she expressed her appreciation for how Britons use ‘pet names’. “Absolutely love it,” she remarked. “You guys have great use of it, whether that’s ‘love’, or ‘mate’, or ‘darling’, or ‘pet’, these [are] just used just like everyday to everyone, often strangers. Yeah, it’s great.”
In the video description she elaborated: “Used to throw me off and felt a little intrusive coming from strangers, but really love it now. In the States sometimes it feels like pet names (‘honey’, ‘sweetheart’) are used in a sort of demeaning way from older people to younger people.
The second item on Ashley’s list was the easy availability of everyday essentials. While convenience stores do exist in America, they tend to be far more spread out than those found here in the UK – particularly in a state as vast as Texas – and are frequently not situated close to people’s homes, reports the Manchester Evening News.
“Two is being able to pop to the shops if I forget anything for dinner or we need some veg or fruit,” she said. “Like, corner fruit and veg shops. Those are really convenient. In Texas you would have to, like, get in the car [and] drive to the grocery store. You wouldn’t be able to just walk around the corner and get something.”
But it was her third point which sparked debate. Ashley said: “Number three I’d never even heard of before I moved here, and that’s butter on your sandwiches.
“When I saw my husband do this I was like ‘butter?’ I love it though because I’m like ‘ohh, exciting to eat butter’, because it’s not that great for you. I’m always secretly stoked whenever it’s on my sandwich, but I’m equally appalled by it because I’m like, it’s kind of a weird thing to put on your sandwich, to me.”
In the caption, she wrote: “I want to love it full stop, but the healthy side of me can’t deal with it. I don’t know why I’m like this. It’s definitely not a thing in the States, or at least Texas.
“I’m sure mayonnaise is equally bad for you. But I’m always excited [when] my husband puts butter on it because it’s like a treat!”
Commenters were left utterly bewildered by this revelation. One person declared: “I wouldn’t ordinarily presume to speak on behalf of (almost) all my fellow Britons – BUT WE ALL BUTTER OUR SANDWICHES!”
Another chimed in: “If it’s not buttered then it’s just not a sandwich, sorry.” While a further commenter exclaimed: “I would NEVER, EVER, EVER eat ANY sandwich that hadn’t been buttered. Why wouldn’t you?” One user added: “Not having butter on a sandwich is almost as unthinkable as putting jam on a scone before the cream.”
A final contributor weighed in: “If I’m eating bread it gets buttered, regardless of what I’m having with the bread. It could be a sandwich or soldiers for a boiled egg, or even bread/rolls for dipping in soup. Buttered.”
