But, in general, accents are easier if you grow up with a wide array of them to learn from. You then get used to processing them and it stays as an ability, up to a point.
The comment got me thinking that I have no problem understanding the more common British accents and wondering why, then realizing that living in Germany for 10 years watching Sky Channel probably has something to do with it.
I looked it up and realized that calling it Sky Channel really dates me, since it stopped being called that after 1989.