7 Differences between America and Britain ...

By Neecey

7 Differences between America and Britain ...

When you live in a country as large as the United States it must be hard to imagine what it’s like living on a tiny island smaller than Wyoming. It would be easy to just say, "well everything is bigger in America," and that probably is true but here’s a few comparisons. Here are 7 notable differences between America and Britain.

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1

Water Water Everywhere

Water Water Everywhere Photo Credit: D_L_Alberto

You have the Great Lakes, we have erm, puddles in comparison. You have Lake Superior at 32,000 square miles, whereas the UK’s largest inland body of water is Lough Neagh at 148 square miles in Northern Ireland.

2

You Take the High Road, I’ll Take the Low

You Take the High Road, I’ll Take the Low Photo Credit: Jordan Burniston

US Route 20 is 3,365 miles long and stretches from Newport, Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts. The longest UK road, the A1, connects London and Edinburgh and runs for 410 miles.

3

I Can See for Miles and Miles and Miles

America’s tallest building is Chicago’s Willis Tower (previously Sears) with a height of 1,451 feet. The UK record is currently held by number 1 Canada Square, more commonly known as Canary Wharf, although this is actually the name of the area rather than the building. Willis Tower will be eclipsed by One World Trade Center and 1 Canada Square will be overtaken by Shard London Bridge when they are both finished in 2013 and 2011 respectively.

4

Because They Are There

The highest mountain climbers can reach in Britain is 4,409 feet, the peak of Ben Nevis in Scotland. US mountaineers can scale 20,320 feet of Alaska’s Mount McKinley.

5

Up, up and Away

London Heathrow (40.2M) is the world’s busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic whereas the highest US ranker on this classification is New York’s JFK (15.6M) at number 16. JFK is also beaten by London Gatwick (19M).

Famous Quotes

Happiness depends upon ourselves.

Aristotle
6

The Ruling Classes

The Ruling Classes Image source: jpxf.com

Britain has the Queen as Head of State and a Prime Minister heads the government. Parliament is bicameral with the lower House of Commons and the upper House of Lords. The commons is 650 elected members who have to sit for re-election every five years. The Lords are a mix of hereditary peers, life peers, bishops and judges. America has the President who heads the Executive, The Legislature (Congress and The Senate) and The Judiciary. We don’t have anything really to compare with state governors but each county has a Lord Lieutenant who is a personal representative of the Queen.

7

Baby Boomers

Baby Boomers Image source: latimesblogs.latimes.com

The UK has a population of roughly 62 million compared the US of over 300 million. Now, that’s a BIG difference... but remember, we all live on an island the size of Wyoming, which has a population of 568,000...

I hope this has given you a little insight into our little patch of the world. If I have dispelled any misconceptions like there are Americans who know someone who lives in London and think we will know them even if we live in Glasgow, then my work is complete. Were there any surprises here? If you've ever lived in both the US and the UK, what differences stood out in your mind?

Top Photo Credit: susantee.tumblr.com

Feedback Junction

Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

The roads might be longer here, but it takes a lot more time to get from one place to another in the UK. I was born and raised in a US city with around 4-5 million people in the metropolitan area. It has awful traffic. But it was nothing compared to when I lived in Reading, Berkshire which only had around 150,000 people. It would take 30 minutes just to cross a bridge you could have walked over in 2 minutes. It took nearly 5 hours to get from London to Liverpool whereas it would take about 3 hours to go the same distance where I'm from.

Now let me tell you something about Canada... :P

I from Britain:)

Not forgetting cars. 99% of cars in the uk are not automatic (ie they are manual gear change - stick shift in American). Everyone learns to drive a manual car. Cars are also required to pass an MOT each year, I remember watching the American show 'pimp my ride' and bring shocked at some of the cars people were legally driving. One girls car was held together by duct tape! Lol. Oh yeah and food is quite different. American spicy food tends to be mostly Mexican type dishes but UK is more Indian type food. UK chocolate tastes better than US chocolate but you guys do have better verity of snacks than us (root beer / chocolate covered pretzels/ fluff / corn dogs - all food I love but can't get in the UK)

I mean am from Britain:)

Food portions are smaller in the UK

Drive on the opposite side of the road, legal drinking age in uk is 18.... Police don't carry guns

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