American woman living in UK left baffled by 'confusing' street signs

18 October 2023 , 11:28

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The woman was left baffled (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

Moving to a new country can be a challenging experience for many as it sometimes requires overcoming a language barrier or adapting to a complete lifestyle change.

While there are plenty of reasons why people choose to pack their bags and finally move abroad, including for a job opportunity or to start a new life with a partner, living in a new country may not always live up to our expectations.

On social media, American tourists voice their confusion after finding out how different life in the UK is compared to living overseas, including one woman, who revealed she was left baffled by 'confusing' British street signs. She claims it's all so much clearer in the US and it's divided opinion online. Content creator and management consultant Aurora Lofton, known on TikTok as @aurora._victoria, claims it's much easier to spot the signs in her native country.

She said: "Something that I found to be so confusing about the UK when I moved here from the US were the street signs. In the US, when you get to the end of an intersection, the street signs are quite high up so you can see this street is ending and this street is beginning."

Pointing to a street in Kensington, London, she explained: "But here there's no street sign. You have to turn and look low to see the street sign. So if you're an American who's coming to the UK or even here on vacation, make sure that you look low for the street sign. Sometimes they might be high as well, but it's not as clear - at least it wasn't for me when I moved."

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Social media users flocked to the comments section to share their opinions on the subject, while some agreed with the TikTok star, others argued that the signs are not confusing at all.

One person said: "Roads/junctions/signage is something the US does wayyyy [sic] better than we do for drivers. Less so for pedestrians tbh, but always clearly marked." Another person added: "Literally said the same thing to my boyfriend the other day."

One commenter disagreed and said British street signs are much clearer. He said: "Better than a load of stupid numbers too. At least they are actual words!" One person revealing the reason behind the sign placement, said: "They took a lot of them down during WW2 and didn't bother to put them back up properly/put them back up at all sometimes."

Ayaan Ali