We’re Americans who lived in London for four years. Here are 13 things that you might not know about London, or Britain in general.

Just lived in London for 4 years. Here are 13 lesser-known things that you might not know about London or the UK:<br><br>1. **Tips? What tips?**<br><br>I can’t stress this enough. Tips don’t exist in the UK like they do in the US. People tip less, and you should too. If you tip too much everyone will know that you’re an American, and they won’t even appreciate it. Just round up the bill to the nearest pound, or maybe 5-10% at a nice restaurant.<br><br>2. **Even if you speak English, you won’t necessarily know what someone just said to you**<br><br>I speak English fluently. I couldn’t understand my postman, the guy who sells me tube stops, or anyone on the bus. It’s just how it is. You will learn to pretend that you know what someone’s telling you, and then just smile and nod. You will also learn to ask people to repeat themselves 3-4 times.<br><br>3. **Everything good in life happens outside of London**<br><br>We had a great time in London, but outside the city is where the real magic is. If you have time to travel, go to:<br>- **Bath**: An ancient Roman city with natural springs and the nicest people you’ll ever meet.<br>- **Cotswolds**: The most picturesque small town in the world you’ve never heard of.<br>- **Cornwall**: A piece of Wales within England, with the most beautiful beaches.<br>- **The Lake District**: Imagine America’s national parks, but 100 years older and with more rain.<br><br>4. **You will get lost in Heathrow airport. Every time. Without fail.**<br><br>Heathrow is an airport so massive that it has its own trains, busses, and post offices. Give yourself an extra 30 minutes to find your gate. Also, be prepared to walk a half mile to the gate itself. Don’t worry, everyone else is just as lost as you. But that won’t stop you from asking me to help you find your arrival gate, and then asking if I work here.<br><br>5. **Sainsbury’s**: If you go grocery shopping while in the UK, you’ll inevitably end up at Sainsbury’s. If you tell anyone that you went to Sainsbury’s, they’ll laugh at you for being an idiot tourist because you clearly have no idea that Tesco is way better.<br><br>6. **You can drink on the tube**<br><br>Just don’t be obnoxious. If you are, someone will certainly tell you that you’re an obnoxious lummock.<br><br>7. **Ditch Starbucks and try Pret instead**<br><br>Pret is a London-owned company. Their food is healthy, they pay their workers minimum wage, and their coffee is pretty good too.<br><br>8. **It’s pronounced “Water-loo”, not “Water-Loo”.**<br><br>9. **Just call it a “chips shop” already**<br><br>If you go to a shop offering fish and chips and you don’t call it a “chips shop”, you’re an idiot. Also, this is the only situation where you can abbreviate “french fries” to “chips” and not sound like an idiot.<br><br>10. **Even if it’s raining, do not bring an umbrella**<br><br>Wind will blow your umbrella inside out. If your umbrella turns inside out in the middle of a busy street, you will block the entire sidewalk, everyone will hate you, you’ll hate yourself, and you’ll still be wet. <br><br>When it’s raining, just bring a raincoat.<br><br>11. **The Underground is not as cool as you make it out to be**<br><br>Yeah, the London Underground is the oldest subway system in the world, but it’s also incredibly out of date. It’s always delayed, there’s no air conditioning in the summer, and there’s no mobile service at several stations. If you get on the tube from Heathrow, you’ll think that it’s cool, but that’s just because you haven’t been in the city long enough to realize that the tube is an awful mode of transportation. <br><br>12. **It's actually not that expensive**<br><br>People say that London is incredibly expensive. It's not too different from New York City or San Francisco. It's only expensive if you're dumb as shit. If you don't want to pay a lot for tips, go to a cafe instead of a restaurant. If you don't want to pay a lot for train tickets, book them a few days in advance. If you don't want to pay a lot for anything, then shop at Tesco.<br><br>13. **The best way to see the city is by walking along the Thames**<br><br>London is surrounded by the Thames river. The best way to see the city is to walk along the Thames and cross bridges as you go. This is the best way to see the city by a long shot.