I’m an American living in the UK… here is the TRUTH about who has the better food

An American who moved to Britain has given her verdict on who has the best food.

Olivia Carney is originally from North Carolina, but moved to Manchester last year with her husband Dane.

Posting under her TikTok handle @oliviacarneyxwhere she has more than 13,000 followers, the American regularly makes videos in which she documents the cultural differences she has noticed since her switch.

In a recent clip, she responded to a viewer who asked, “Can you make a video about why you prefer Britain?”

The influencer listed all the reasons why she prefers life here over her home country in the US – but added that there are things she misses and they mainly ‘revolve around food’.

British food is better but she misses American takeaways

She explained: ‘British food quality is much better. There is simply no discussion about that. The US essentially has zero standards for food.

“They can just do whatever they want and it’s disgusting. ccome here and taste real ingredients, like ketchup just crazy.

‘Here it’s literally tomatoes, and in the US it’s full of sugar. In America there are about twenty ingredients in ketchup, while here I think there are three.

‘Food quality is ordinary, you just can’t match that.’

However, she admits that she does miss the “food options” you get in America, such as the variety of fast food and takeaways.

She gushed, “I miss Mexican food, I definitely miss Chick-fil-A, I miss Chipotle. I know there’s Chipotle in London, but I’m in Manchester so it’s not feasible for me to get there.

“I miss my Trader Joe’s, like snacks and stuff like that. I miss Doel.’

But despite missing her favorite American eateries, she still wouldn’t trade it for the quality and price of food here in Britain.

She said: ‘The overall food quality is much better here. It is also much cheaper.

‘In the US I would start a food store very similar to what I do here. i wlike paying $200 a month a week on food for the same store. Here it’s $150 to $200 depending on what we needed that week.

‘So yes, food quality, food price, much better here.’

And food isn’t the only thing Olivia likes about Britain; in the same video she also commented on the disparities in health care, gun violence, public transportation and of course the weather.

Healthcare is cheaper in Britain

The TikToker told viewers, “Everyone should know by now that American healthcare is insane.

“I had a very good job in the US and had health insurance through my job, but it cost me $600 a month for my health care.

‘That didn’t cover everything I went to the doctor for either. So I was still getting medical bills even though I was paying $600 a month for them.”

She added: ‘I will say that I paid a healthcare surcharge here, through the NHS, to get in, and I pay taxes.

‘I understand. I haven’t paid for it all my life, like all other English people or British citizens, but I don’t use it for free. I paid for it. But I still don’t get a bill every time.’

Britain is safer

She continued on the topic of gun violence, claiming that in America you “can just be in the wrong place at the wrong time at any time.”

She added: ‘I absolutely understand and appreciate that there is violence here in Britain too – a lot of knife crime and things like that, but it’s not nearly as bad as it is in the US with guns.

“The fact that someone can just decide to buy a gun and use it on a crowd of people is just different.”

Britain has better public transport, but driving is difficult

When it comes to public transport, Olivia believes Britain is more convenient when it comes to ‘getting around’.

However, she says driving is a different matter.

The TikToker admitted, “Driving here is so incredibly hard. In the US, the roads just make more sense to me personally.

“I know it’s because I grew up there so it’s what I’m used to and what I learned, but for example highways or freeway systems here, if you miss the exit it can add another 30 minutes to your trip.

‘Because they don’t have an exit at every kilometer like we do in America. So if you miss the turn, you’re out of luck.’

The American added: “But I will say this country is much older, so they just had to put the roads wherever they could.

“They didn’t plan the cities and residential areas around the roads, which is how most of America is built.”

The American weather is better

Finally, it couldn’t be a British and American comparison video without mentioning the weather.

Although the influencer misses the sunny North Carolina skies, she admires the determination Brits have to get things done, rain or shine.

Olivia said: “I definitely miss the American weather. This is the longest I have ever gone without being in the sunand I feel like a ghost.

‘I mis the sun. I will say that this winter has been very difficult for me. I lived in the south, so I was in the sun all the time.

‘We didn’t see the sun for a month and it was just dark. Like, no, the weather in the The US is clearly better.’

She added: “The last thing I will compare is how many people are still out here doing things despite the weather.

‘In the US, when it rains, when it snows, when it’s cold, when it’s wet, whatever, you just don’t leave.

“If it rains or something on Saturday, we just don’t do anything. If it rains, we don’t go outside. We just stay in all day and watch TV.

‘Here it obviously rains all the time, so you can’t let the weather affect what you do, otherwise you would never do anything.

“So everyone here is still out there, still doing stuff, still having a great time and I love that. I think it’s such a difference from what I’m used to.’

Americans and Brits alike flocked to the comments to express their own opinions on the cultural oddities.

A US resident wrote: ‘I’m an American expat living in England! I feel the same as you; I’ve been here for nine years!’

Meanwhile, a Brit joked: ‘I’ve never been to America and I miss the American weather too.’

Another joked, “I’m from Great Britain and have lived in Washington State for over a decade.

“For all your reasons, I desperately want to move back to Britain.”

A third Brit added: ‘I don’t think I’ve ever met an American here who moved above London to Manchester – you picked the best city. Glad you’re enjoying it’.

An American chimed in: “Moved to Scotland from the US last year and I agree with every word you said.

‘We are so happy to be here. Our quality of life has improved enormously. I really miss Trader Joe’s though!’

One grateful Brit said: ‘You know, as someone who was born here in Britain, I think we often take for granted what we have here, but I love hearing good stories about people who are happy that they moved here ‘.