I grew up in the US, and my husband grew up in the UK. Here are 15 differences that surprise us most.

I was born and raised on the East Coast of the United States. After moving to Scotland in the fall of 2017, I met my husband and settled into life in the United Kingdom as an expat for several years. 

Growing up in separate cultures means we've had to navigate a slew of differences in our everyday habits, expectations, and worldviews. 

Here are a few of the most surprising differences between life in the US and the UK, as experienced by my partner and me:

My partner thinks it's strange that servers take your credit card away in some US restaurants.

The first time my husband and I ate together at an American restaurant, he was alarmed when the server took his credit card away to swipe it after the meal. 

He was also totally perplexed by the need to sign a receipt, which apparently isn't the norm in the UK. 

In UK restaurants, the server typically brings the entire card machine to your table. While they supervise, you insert your card and follow any on-screen prompts before grabbing your receipt and leaving. 

Though my husband thinks that taking a customer's card away after a meal is a security hazard — someone could copy your card details out of view — I prefer the convenience of simply handing my card to a server and letting them take care of the rest. 

Fall activities, like hayrides and "leaf-peeping," are completely alien to my Scottish husband.

Growing up in New England, where October is essentially a monthlong celebration of pumpkin spice and apple-picking, I was startled to find that the rest of the world doesn't worship autumn in quite the same way. 

My husband is completely baffled by the idea of actively making plans to admire fall foliage. He could not stop laughing when I first explained that some people in the US go for walks or drives just to look at the changing leaves.

When I mentioned that this is often called "leaf-peeping," he nearly collapsed.