We seem to have had a difficult decade in the UK. There was even an advert recently with a tongue-in-cheek explanation of why “Britain hasn’t been so great of late”.
Perhaps the feeling was amplified by negative social media posts. So it’s refreshing to come across something positive online. An American who has moved to live here, being generally optimistic, and reminding us that the UK actually has a lot going for it.
Darrell Fishbeck is a Texan who moved last year to Felixstowe, Suffolk, and posts video clips on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook about his new life. I was lucky to talk to Darrell about his story.
How did he get here?
Darrell didn’t visit England in his youth. Growing up in Texas some 50 miles from Austin and nearly 200 miles from the Gulf of Mexico coast, his early holidays were in the States. But he has visited closer countries like Mexico and Canada.
For many years, he led a fairly traditional Texan life, but at some point, felt like his values were expanding beyond the typical “American Dream”; he was open to change and even a new life.
He told me, “Something serendipitous happened. I met a young British woman in the online community of a health app. We really got on. In 2018 the stars aligned, and I travelled to England.”
On his second trip here, he started the TikTok account grande_americano (aka: Some Bald Guy) and the series Brits Do It Better.
He says, “I wanted an outlet to express that I’d found the world was bigger than the US, and things are different elsewhere. My thinking was challenged.”
It took off and he started getting followers, mainly from the UK he thinks.
Decision made
I asked if it was a hard decision to live here. He says no. “I felt life in the US had boundaries which didn’t fit me. The British culture was appealing – I loved London when I visited. We married in 2021, and my wife was not drawn to Texas, so there was no argument.”
He started the process of applying for a spouse’s visa in 2024, taking six months to get his paperwork ducks in a row. He submitted the application in February 2025, and it only took five weeks for the Home Office to grant his visa. “You have to move within 90 days, so I came in July.”
Impressions of Felixstowe
It’s interesting to hear a perspective on your country from ‘fresh eyes’.
Darrell says, “Felixstowe is my wife’s home. In some ways it reminds me of Texas – the community feel of towns. How neighbours support each other. But other things are very different. Cultural things like driving. There’s less space – parking places, houses seem smaller and closer together. At first it felt claustrophobic, but when you go inside them, they seem bigger.”
He finds being next to the sea ‘a haven’.
He loves walking and says people walk more here – towns are set up for it. Nobody walks around in Texas. Public transport is a revelation too.
What has been a surprise?
There are so many differences, he says, but he’s getting used to them. UK sockets have higher voltage electricity, traffic lights have a red plus amber phase before green, shopping trolleys have four wheels that swivel, using the 24-hour clock, measuring temperature in celsius not fahrenheit. Contactless payments were surprising; in the States the retailer still takes your card.
Obviously, the NHS is important. “You literally have no anxiety about healthcare expenses like in the US.” He points out that even famous actor James Van Der Beek, who recently died, left his family with a health bill so huge that they started a GoFundMe to raise funds to pay for it. Unthinkable in Britain.
Everyone talks about the weather, but Darrell thinks it isn’t that bad. I say I think it’s a safe topic to jointly commiserate about. I am told that Texas weather is more dramatic and can be extreme. In January there was a terrible ice storm, then two weeks later it was 27 degrees.
Viewing your own country from afar
Darrell is seeing the UK more clearly, but says, “The weird thing is that unless my kids send me something or I see it on social media, I don’t always know what’s going on in the US.”
He says he was unusual in Texas, seeing things from a more progressive mindset. “People have guns there,” he reminds me.
Family members have asked him, “What’s going on there in the UK? Do you feel safe?” He thinks Americans are hearing and believing bad things about Britain.
But he sees pockets of things happening here that he saw ten years ago in US. He can see the power of media over people – you can live in an echo chamber in the States, and maybe you can here too. UK media is not necessarily that different.
What does Darrell post about?
Darrell wants to be authentic and honest. He posts regular reels on things that he finds curious… British greetings and slang, our impaired vision-friendly coins, food, Pancake Day, the British character. He finds people keep their guard up – a tough exterior – but once he gets to know them has found them helpful and kind.
He also makes videos on aspects of Felixstowe’s history: postboxes, Wallis Simpson, Walton Castle. Followers comment, “There’s more to Felixstowe than I realised’.
He even made one about Ipswich Town Hall after a guided tour from the Mayor. “I like telling the world about things,” he confides, “I’m a teacher at heart.”
Future plans
He says he’s happy with the way things are. “This move gave me the opportunity to ask who I am, what my values are. I’m slowly letting life lead me. The social media posting has helped me make connections locally. But I do need a job to pay the bills.”
The social media has brought opportunities, like his radio show The Bald Texan on Suffolk Sound. Someone connected to the station saw his posts. He says, “It just happened, but I’m really enjoying it.”
He wants to travel more; perhaps York and Wales. He’s been to Edinburgh and is going to Cornwall soon. And he adds, “I really want to go on Eurostar!”
It’s heartening to hear such a relaxed yet upbeat view of your own country. If you’re curious, he posts regularly under the name of grande_americano.
Find him on Facebook or Instagram, with over 40,000 followers each, or TikTok where he has nearly 65,000.
More from East Anglia Bylines
Friends of Bylines Network
There has never been a greater need for grassroots journalism that investigates the stories that really matter, holds power to account and champions the voices of everyday citizens. We are proudly powered by volunteers but what we do isn’t free.
STAND WITH US for independent, citizen-led journalism that makes democracy stronger, and you will even get some exclusive benefits.
