Lisa Coulson’s recent blog post on Anglotopia caught my eye.

With Britain tightening immigration regulations and the dreams of being an expat in Britain seeming to become far less of a reality for many, you are probably open to suggestions of how you can recreate the expat experience in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

Recreating the British expat experience isn’t something I’d ever really thought about. But, if I ever did go back to my New Zealand birthplace then there would certainly be a few things I’d miss – and go to great lengths to recreate. Here’s my top four:

  • Newspapers – I’d really miss the all the great newspapers out here. So, I totally agree with Lisa on this one. It’s just not the same reading it online. Devouring the Sunday newspapers over breakfast is a ritual.
  • Beer – Nothing better than a pint of flat, room temperature bitter.
  • Cheese – In particular, Stilton, the king of cheeses. For me, Stilton just doesn’t taste right unless you’re eating it in Britain.
  • Humour – There’s something about the British sense of humour that runs through everything. Recreating that abroad (and getting your new your non-Brit comrades to get in on the jokes) might be the biggest challenge of them all.

What would you miss if you left Blighty? Have you ever felt the urge to recreate the British experience abroad?