You Don't Have What in the UK?!

Being an expat isn't easy. You miss your friends and your family, your pets, your city & the things you're used to. You do your best to pack & bring things to make your new life abroad easier, things you don't think you can live without. Thankfully Steve & I didn't move to a 3rd world country, heck they speak the same language here! But in spite of research & careful packing there are still things that we miss & then there are things we simply can't believe they don't have in the UK.

Redbox - Blockbusters are gone, I saw 2 movie rental stores in Belgium (I used to visit them when I lived there 14 years ago) yet the UK hasn't gotten Redboxs yet! It's crazy! All of these people who commute and walk to work, as busy as the city center is & the grocery stores are Redbox would make a fortune here! I now feel like we have to go see all the movies we want to see in the theatre. Since we don't have cable, just regular TV we're at a bit of a loss on how to watch new movies. Any ideas?

Baking section at the grocery store - There are plenty of food items I knew we'd be hard pressed to find once we moved across the pond, things like Crisco, pancake mix & coffee creamer to name a few. One thing I didn't think I'd have an issue finding is things like a good brownie mix, or even break & bake style cookies. They have them, but there's only one or 2 brands and they're not very good. I guess people bake from scratch here






Capers - they have bagels, onions, tomatoes and amazing smoked salmon. They serve them all together for a yummy breakfast sandwich yet they are missing that salty pickled taste of capers. Not sure why they don't have them, I'm hoping I can go to a higher end grocery store and fine them.










Dryer sheets - dryers seem to be a bit of a rarity here. Houses are small & most washing machines are located in kitchens, thankfully ours isn't. But without dryers being the norm, dryer sheets are hard to find. I think big super markets might carry them but the small local sainsburrys I go to, they don't have them.

Coupons - back at home I was a couponer & I had the stockpile to prove it. I really loved it, it was a major stress reliever for me. Obviously the money saving was awesome - I bought in bulk when stuff was on sale & therefore we simply "shopped" in our garage. A lot of people laughed at my hobby, including Steve, until he ran out of body wash one day and didnt have to use mine or go to the store, he just grabbed a bottle from the garage.

Part of my stock pile





I'm sure the longer we are here the more things we won't be able to find. Are you an expat who can't find everyday things where you live?