In no particular order:
Supermarkets
In the UK people immediately infer a lot about you from where you do your weekly food shop. There is a supermarket hierarchy over here that doesn’t exist in the US.
Banks
Whilst the US is rife with drive-thru restaurants, it’s the drive-thru banks that tickle me. That’s right. A drive-thru bank.
Houses
Not only can you pick up a large house for (comparatively) next to nothing in the USA, they are also, on average, 150% bigger than UK ones. Also, in the UK thanks to the ridiculous rise in house prices, very few people can afford to buy anything larger than a shoebox and definitely not where they want to live.
Cars
Not only are the cars bigger in the USA, but so are the roads. Parking is nearly always free in the US, whereas in the UK you pretty much always have to pay for the privilege of parking nowhere near where you want to go. Plus you don’t need an MOT certificate in the USA.
Food
A barbeque in the UK means a burnt sausage and a warm beer in the rain. In the US it’s a whole different ball game. From roadside shacks to eateries selling the sauciest of smoked ribs, beef brisket and pulled pork, America has BBQ food down to a fine art.
Road trips
Not only is the weather more conducive to road trips in the US, but the convertible cars, the open roads and not to mention the plethora of movies about how awesome road trips are, make the whole idea a wonderful reality. In the UK if you want to go anywhere you have to endure the M25 car park and feast in a Little Chef, treat yourself.
Big sporting occasions
OK, so England won the World Cup in ‘66; the Americans celebrate every big sporting event as if it is the World Cup final. The marching bands, the cheerleaders, the halftime celebrity entertainment, the confetti cannons: we are really missing a trick over here, but probably saving some cash.
Work
The vast majority of people in the US strive to achieve the American Dream. They therefore work hard and taking a vacation can be deemed as not showing willing to dig deep. But all that hard work does tend to pay off, think big house, big car, big paycheck.
Patriotism
We Brits are patriotic when we have something to be patriotic about: football, a Royal wedding, the Queen’s birthday (we love our monarch and hold her in the highest of regard. Americans on the other hand take patriotism to a whole new level. Every time there is a flag involved, there is over the top pomp and ceremony.
Shopping malls
We have the Trafford Centre in Manchester. America has a larger mall in the littlest of towns. They take shopping seriously. Hanging out at the mall is a right of passage for an American teenager. Shopping in the UK involves a lacklustre trip to the high street and a splurge in Primark.
Friendliness
In the UK if you make eye contact with someone on the tube you’re instantly classed as a loony. We dare to talk about the weather and only the weather with total strangers, Americans are happy to strike up a conversation about anything, anytime.
Seriously, why are we still here?
