First of all I really like both England and Scotland, and I mostly see a lot of similarities between them, but having traveled a lot in both of them I couldn’t help but to write down 7 differences I’ve noticed.

1. The Accent

English accent

The London accent is a bit posh, but don’t get me wrong, I’ve realized England as a country has a ton of different accents like the Scouse accent, the Geordie accent and the Yorkshire accent etc! The list goes on..

This is what texting in England could probably look like!

Scottish accent

The Scottish accent is more harsh and is an accent you probably won’t find any other places in the World than Scotland or from Scottish people living abroad!

My friend said: “I can’t understand much Scottish, but it sounds great.” Keep in mind that in Scotland there are the Lowlands accents (Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Dundee) and the Highlands (Aberdeen, Inverness,) all very different from each other!

I really enjoy the ‘O’-sound in Scottish, which is pronounced like ‘Or’. Goat becomes gort, know becomes knor and so becomes sor. An example:

“I don’t know, Owen only opens donuts.” becomes: “I dorn’t knor, Orwen ornly orpens dornuts.”

Too good! This is what texting could be like in Scotland..

Pretty filthy, but you get what I mean!

2. The Flags

English flag

The English flag is a white field with a centred red cross

Scottish flag

The Scottish flag is a white X-shaped cross, which represents the cross of the patron saint of Scotland, Saint Andrew on a blue sky.

3. The Landscapes

The landscapes are quite different from each other. Most of England is flat or low-lying especially in southern England and Scotland is in general more mountanious and more dark green.

English landscapes

Scottish landscapes

Both countries have beautiful landscapes with great scenery. Scotland is landscape-wise a bit more impressive for me than England is – although Cornwall, Yorkshire Dales and the Lakes are nice enough. Still, nothing compares to the Highlands and the Isles. Scenery is won by Scotland – hands down!

4. The Weather

In general, both regions have warm summers, mild winters and lots of clouds. The fact that the west of the UK is so close to the Atlantic Ocean means that it has milder winters. Because of the huge mass of water that holds heat better than land and therefore ‘heats’ Wales and Western England during the winter.

But be prepared for clouds, clouds and a short glimpse of the sun, before clouds again..

English Weather

July is the hottest month in London with an average temperature of 19°C (66 °F.)
Coldest month is January at around 5°C (41°F.)

Scottish Weather

July is the warmest month in Scotland, with average maximum temperatures ranging from 15°C (59°F) to 17°C (63 °F.)
Coldest month is January at 3°C (37°F)

England feels more mild and warmer in my opinion.
Both countries can have beautiful sunny days too! You just have to wait long enough for them..

5. The Football

English football

Scottish Football

The Premier League in England is a lot better than the Scottish League. More money, more followers, more attention and much more entertaining football!

English football in general is miles ahead of Scotland, whether the Scottish lads agree to it or not! In Scotland you’ll indeed find passionate fans, but in England you’ll find a lot of football fans, who live for their local team. Furthermore Celtic basically win the League every year in Scotland and is the only team who would stand a chance in the Premier League in England.

6. Prices

English property

If you check out cities on the Cost of Living Index from the UK, London is the most expensive with a price index of 225 and the Top 10 most expensive cities are all English.

Scottish property

Edinburgh has 155 and Glasgow 148 on the Cost of Living Index, which is a lot cheaper than London.
Maybe it’s better to buy a castle or some land in Scotland, and become a Lord, than renting a 1 bedroom flat in London? I still like London though!

7. Similarities

“English and Scots are the same people, with different accents. Why pretend otherwise? Why are unionists so scared to talk about what unites us?” – Chris Deerin

For me it’s been really hard to point out differences, but these I’ve listed above are what I could think of! And they weren’t even that different at all, right?!

The stereotypes are all too often that Scottish people are more pro-EU, pro-welfare and left-wing than the English, but you’ll find these types in England too and the statistics show they’re pretty much the same.

Others would say the English people in general are a more competitive folk, more self-centered. At the end of the day, buy either a pint, and you’ll be alright in both countries!

But still, the whisky selection tends to be better north of the English border naturally 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Any differences or similarities between England and Scotland? Feel free to join in!
These are only my thoughts.. But if you’re from England or Scotland and you hate your neighbor country, remember you remind a lot more of them than what you think.

– Gustav

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