Lifestyle - what it's all about...
Theatre, Hiking, Sports, Fine Dining, Adult Education, World Cinema, children's activities and family leisure - there's a lot to be getting to know about your local environment and we are here to help you
Climate - what to expect
So we British are famous for talking about the weather, and that's probably because, compared to the Hong Kong climate, it's certainly a lot less predictable.
We can have "Summer" any month from March onwards through to what we know as an Indian summer in September, but this by no means leads to the conclusion that we have summer for half of the year. April is historically full of April Showers (rain), but can just as easily have a smattering of snow or weather which we might call summer - defined by reaching for the suncream and eating al fresco as much as possible.
The UK very rarely is troubled by mosquito's so that's a blessing, and we do not have spiders which bite or snakes which sting.
Most houses do not have air conditioning because they don't need it ( except for perhaps 3 days a year which could come anytime in May, June, July or August). All houses have heating and this is necessary, though we have a national game each year to see if we can turn the heating off on April 1st and leave it off until October first which is sometimes possible but certainly not worth being cold to win it! Consequently heating bills are much higher in the winter, and ver low in the summer. Most modern houses have gas rental heating, some older buildings without gas use storage heaters which are not seen as very efficient.
Winter is wetter and darker, and colder, but not as cold as Beijing for example. Rivers and ponds rarely freeze, and we have very little snow since global warming took it's toll.
The biggest difference you will find will be the swing in the daylight hours which is big. The longest day is June 21st, meaning the sun comes up earliest and goes down latest, and the shortest day is December 20th meaning the sun goes down soonest and comes up latest, the Hong Kong annual swing is only an hour or so, so you will definitely notice that difference.
Rain is not as dramatic in England as it is in Honk Kong, a hood will usually suffice but some people prefer to carry umbrellas (which no one uses to protect against sunshine in UK - that's an Asian thing).
We can have "Summer" any month from March onwards through to what we know as an Indian summer in September, but this by no means leads to the conclusion that we have summer for half of the year. April is historically full of April Showers (rain), but can just as easily have a smattering of snow or weather which we might call summer - defined by reaching for the suncream and eating al fresco as much as possible.
The UK very rarely is troubled by mosquito's so that's a blessing, and we do not have spiders which bite or snakes which sting.
Most houses do not have air conditioning because they don't need it ( except for perhaps 3 days a year which could come anytime in May, June, July or August). All houses have heating and this is necessary, though we have a national game each year to see if we can turn the heating off on April 1st and leave it off until October first which is sometimes possible but certainly not worth being cold to win it! Consequently heating bills are much higher in the winter, and ver low in the summer. Most modern houses have gas rental heating, some older buildings without gas use storage heaters which are not seen as very efficient.
Winter is wetter and darker, and colder, but not as cold as Beijing for example. Rivers and ponds rarely freeze, and we have very little snow since global warming took it's toll.
The biggest difference you will find will be the swing in the daylight hours which is big. The longest day is June 21st, meaning the sun comes up earliest and goes down latest, and the shortest day is December 20th meaning the sun goes down soonest and comes up latest, the Hong Kong annual swing is only an hour or so, so you will definitely notice that difference.
Rain is not as dramatic in England as it is in Honk Kong, a hood will usually suffice but some people prefer to carry umbrellas (which no one uses to protect against sunshine in UK - that's an Asian thing).
Restaurants and Eating out
Though Covid has changed this a bit the UK habit would normally be to eat home cooked food, at home, except for on special occasions.
Since Covid hit, takeaways/deliveries have been more prevalent but still nowhere near as popular as in Hong Kong. Many restaurants have only started a delivery service (usually using Deliveroo or JustEat app drivers) since Covid came knocking.
Deliveries have become more prevalent recently then, but there is still an option to order ahead & collect, or to eat in the restaurant of course, once lockdown restrictions have come into effect.
Tipping in restaurants is not totally expected but if you have had good service it would be normal to leave about 10-15% for the staff.
Since Covid hit, takeaways/deliveries have been more prevalent but still nowhere near as popular as in Hong Kong. Many restaurants have only started a delivery service (usually using Deliveroo or JustEat app drivers) since Covid came knocking.
Deliveries have become more prevalent recently then, but there is still an option to order ahead & collect, or to eat in the restaurant of course, once lockdown restrictions have come into effect.
Tipping in restaurants is not totally expected but if you have had good service it would be normal to leave about 10-15% for the staff.
Theatre and Cinema
We are blessed in Nottingham, with a truly wonderful rich and diverse cultural landscape.
We have 2 large Theatres and many smaller ones.
We have an international film cinema which is sometimes known as an art house cinema which has so much more than just film even.
We have many standard cinemas too which show the usual blockbusters and make a change from Netflix every now and then!
Check out my blog for much more about the cultural life of Nottingham and whatever you do - don't miss Nottingham Playhouse Panto each Christmas which will teach you fully how to meld into the crazy world of being a British Family at Christmas !
We have 2 large Theatres and many smaller ones.
We have an international film cinema which is sometimes known as an art house cinema which has so much more than just film even.
We have many standard cinemas too which show the usual blockbusters and make a change from Netflix every now and then!
Check out my blog for much more about the cultural life of Nottingham and whatever you do - don't miss Nottingham Playhouse Panto each Christmas which will teach you fully how to meld into the crazy world of being a British Family at Christmas !