Hi GGL, as someone who once lived in on and off in Florida for a net 7+ years, and England for 23+, I think your perspective about driving in the US has been influenced somewhat by having, as you mentioned, grown up in Florida. I agree with your comments about lots of restaurants, and a variety of chains to choose from. No arguments about the gun culture and road safety. American flags are indeed all over the place. And there’s no doubt that driving on America’s limited access ‘interstate’ (highway/motorway) system that eliminates traffic lights and crossroads, makes driving uninterrupted for hours with very little steering wheel moving very easy. But Florida is geographically unique on America’s east coast for having land that is essentially flat as a table from the north central part of the state, say from Orlando, to all points south, i.e., more than half the state. And that allows for fairly straight highways for great distances, yes indeed. Easy going straight because there are essentially no hills or valleys of note. Is that true for all the other states across America’s southern rim (California to Georgia)? Uh no. Big hunks yes, straight through? No way, not even within any one of those states. You’ll find yourself making lots of turns going round hills and mountains, veering into valleys and out of canyons. And it’s true if you start somewhere on the Great Plains in Montana, Wyoming or Colorado to points east from Oklahoma to the Dakotas in the north and even across most of the Midwest from Iowa to Indiana, excluding Michigan, there are apt to be many highways you can drive along for hours with very little steering needed left or right. But really for all of the remainder of the lower 48, meaning all of the South aside from Florida + Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York and New England there are no long stretches of almost straight highways. Instead there are many many winding motorways around hills, and mountains, and big lakes and valleys, which are often beautiful and break up the tedium of driving straight distances without end Amen 😉
In the U.K. we deliberately put curves into roads when necessary because it’s been proven that drivers are more likely to fall asleep or simply lose concentration if a road is totally straight for too long.
I think the origin of turns in British roads originates from when common land was enclosed from 1760 to around 1830. The common folk not only lost grazing rights but had to follow roads that skirted the enclosed land. Also prior to the building of dual carriage ways and motorways tracks had to follow the contours of the landscape to accommodate horses. Roads in Florida and much of America were constructed specifically for the automobile.
I would personally hate having mile after mile of straight road. I think I would just fall asleep, as it would bore me to death. The cornering is the best bit :) and at least helps keep you alert.
I did hate it. It was utterly brain-numbing. When I wasn't driving I fell asleep and when I was driving, I kept wishing there would be a bend in the road somewhere or that the scenery would change or that there would even just be another car on the road.
That is exactly why some roads in the UK, especially motorways, bend and curve even in places where they could go straight. It is a deliberate policy to do exactly that, keep you awake and alert. Or at least, to try to.
@@_starfiend the M56 between Runcorn and Stanlow is one of the longest stretches of straight motorway in the UK. When I used to work in traffic radio, my more experienced colleagues said that was a stretch where accidents consistently happen, because drivers lose concentration and their sense of distance given there are so many miles of straight road ahead of them.
@@_starfiend union jack up-side-down? there are so many things wrong with this sentence you literally cant fly it up-side-down and also its only a union jack if its flying on a navy’s ship, its the union flag otherwise
@@alfiefenton8179 You really don't know what you're talking about, do you? First it's a myth that it's only called the union jack when it's flown from a navy ship. I used to believe this until I was told otherwise by a Royal Navy Commodore. (My cousin.) : google 'Union Flag or Union Jack' and find the link to the flag institute. Second the flag is not symmetrical either vertically or horizontally. It absolutely can be flown upside down. Historically flying it upside down was a call for help.
I think there’s more of a pub culture in UK than restaurants. Lots of people go to the pub multiple times a week and may have a Sunday roast at a pub regularly.
@@notch7139 That's moderate compared to what my eldest brother would drink over the weekend, during which he would regularly consume between 50 and 60 pints.
Someone who worked for Highways England once told me that New roads/motorways are built with curves in to keep drivers attention span up, as long straight road s make people less attentive.
I was going to say, till I found your comment. Straight roads are more boring as your attention wanes. Adding curves keeps your attention span up. Give me a swooping fast NSL B-road any day. So much more fun to "drive".
This is true! I also know a highways planner who also said that. However we have a much smaller ilder country where we follow natural geographical contours, roman routes, we have to detour around villages etc. Usa being a youger country never had ti do that...they built from scratch a vast country so could places new city like Las Vegas where roads into the city and in the suburbs where purpose built not organically developed.
Yep, long straight freeways in the US are mind numbing and absolutely contribute to people falling asleep at the wheel, especially when the speed limit was 55/65 mph. It helps when some have a 75/85 mph limit, but still. I know that europeans would also tend to go really quickly at night on in the sticks freeways - with no references/curves other than the lights' bubble it is easy to get up over 100/110 mph unless you keep checking your speedo.
i rented a car with cruise control thought cool due to things. i was driving home at 4am tired hit an unlit straight section of the M6 on CC dozed off, hit the rumble strip saw heading towards bridge, soiled self, left at next service station had a 90 min nap
As a brit that worked in tampa I noticed my US colleagues would eat out all the time and I was bored of it and wanted to cook something after a week. Also the food is generally cheap and tastes it.
Quite right - my American missus drove when we visited Florida as I couldn't face that go-200-miles-in-a-straight-line nonsense! Mind you at one urban four way intersection where there were what seemed like two-dozen lanes I was *very* glad I wasn't driving. Even watching her I couldn't see how she knew which line to follow to exit correctly!
Thats why all US cars have so many cup holders. People consume their way along the interstates as there is nothing else to do but watch the white line. I drove across Washington State and spent an hour just driving through an Orchard . Epic boredom
I have to say, I love our winding countryside roads in the U.K. 🥰 The roads in the US, even in small towns, feel so large and impersonal. I prefer older US towns where the roads are narrower and simpler! 😁
When our friends from the US came to visit us in the UK one of them tried to give the girl behind the bar at the pub a tip after she poured our drinks. She looked at him like he'd gone mad and refused the tip. It did make me laugh as the whole exchange was slightly awkward. 😂
It isn’t the same as having 100 different cereals or 50 brands of sliced white loaves, US supermarkets carry roughly 47,000 lines, UK supermarkets carry 20/30,000 but Aldi and Lidl only carry about 3,000 lines.
I can never understand why Americans put up with paying good money for a meal at a restaurant, then help the owner get richer by subsidising their staff's wages. It's the best long con ever.
That may be about to change, because a lot of restaurants are desperate for staff and they’ve had to up the salary in order to get people to work for them. It is a big con and since 2020 restaurant owners have increased the amount on the bottom of the bill of tip suggestions starting at 18% which I think is down right cheeky!!
I used to be in Royal Navy and visited Florida quite often. Generally had great time, don’t think you can really compare the bars to a pub. The atmosphere in pubs seem much better. Food is plentiful and easy to get, I did spend a lot of money in Hooters.😂😂😂😂. Enjoyed your thoughts.👍
Of course the light is better in Florida its on the same Lat as the southern end of the Sahara Desert. The UK is farther North than all the US States bar Alaska. Great vid by the way.
You can't possibly live in London without noticing how many different types of restaurants there are. Indian Spanish French Swedish Belgian Italian Thai Moroccan German to name but a few.
Brit living in Orlando here. You are right about eating out being more common. I think maybe two reasons for this - firstly, I feel like on average the restaurants in the UK tend to be more upmarket (or upscale as you guys would say) whereas restaurants here tend to be more accessible/family friendly/fast food. In the UK, particularly at certain restaurants, eating out is more of an occasion and the whole experience is designed that way. Secondly, in the UK most restaurants are in town centers and so more effort to get to. You have to drive and park and walk to the restaurant. In the US there are restaurants everywhere and you can park right outside and so it is much easier and therefore less of an ‘event’.
You must be from London- in the Midlands and North, restaurants and just normal, average place where normal average people eat. They aren't upmarket....they're just restaurants.
I wouldn't call them upmarket either - perhaps in major cities, but not generically. Though, I do reckon if the UK adopted a more 'eating out' default culture, we would probably favour pubs/pub-restaurants over restaurants 🤔😁
@@luckytri9716 You hit the nail on the head with "Pub's", a lot of Pub's also serve meals. In the US they have Bar's which generally only serve drinks ( and small bowls with peanuts on the bar) :-)
We have pub restaurants that belong to one of several national, or regional companies. Each pub owned by that company, will have the same priced main menu in that region, with maybe a few of it's own meal variations. We do have more specialised and upmarket restaurants, but families also use fast food ones such as KFC, Pizza Hut and others. We tend to use family pubs and fast food ones more for convenience and value.
That sales tax "thing" is amazing. The US claims to be so advanced but they seem unable to print price labels that match the real price!? Someone prints the tickets and places them on the shelf, so why not print the actual price then too? Even if they are a chain store, where the central office issues the tickets, they know the location of the store they are issuing the tickets to, and they have the tax rate in their database, so it's too easy to get the price right! There's no excuse for local stores where they have complete control over what tickets they put on there.
You are amazing. I love watching your videos. When I like something I just go over board and your videos are no less. It’s very enjoyable to watch your journey by the way am from the Uk 🇬🇧
'Fall's here y'all' Loved your double take as you realised you started it in July - Priceless! as a Brit who spends a hell of a lot of time in the US - Ohio mainly but Florida too (Tampa side) Yup flags, eating out and a severe lack of pavements!
'The rolling English Drunkard built the Rolling English Road" G K Chesterton. But seriously, if I were designing a road I would tend to put in gentle curves, and to vary the appearance of the verge, simply as a deterrent to falling asleep at the wheel. (That said, I am not a traffic engineer, although I am a professional travel demand forecaster). Also I prefer slightly random grids to regular ones, because they reduce the chance of gridlock. Although, even in the US, roundabouts are more efficient than four-way stops, they are less efficient than in the UK because US drivers are not used to them. I don't object to tipping but I am very opposed to not paying employees a living wage regardless of tipping culture. If an employer cannot afford to pay there employees properly, I would prefer that that employer went bankrupt.
:chuckles: My missus is Californian so all of this has been endlessly discussed in our house :lol:. She *still* can't drive in England after more than a decade! I tease her that it's because she's not used to using the steering to change direction rather than it just something to hold on to :D
The only part of the US that I have ever driven in is California north of San Fransisco, and I have to say the roads were neither straight nor empty. The freeway going through the Bay area felt like an English urban motorway with heavy traffic frequently bringing to speeds down to a crawl. Then once I turned off the freeway into the hills the roads twisted and turned all over the place including hairpin bends.
I've never understood the "state/county variable sales tax" explanation. Doesn't the store charge the sales tax of the state/county in which it's physically located? And that rate might change maybe once a year at most? So why can't it "bake in" that tax into the price shown on the edge of the shelf? What am I missing?
Going to preface this with I'm a born and bred Brit, but I know the answer to this! It's because when companies advertise or print packaging it's for a much larger area covering many counties/states/the whole country, so this way when they say on the advert/packet that it costs $5 they don't get people complaining that the store has marked it as $5.46 or whatever. Also if you pick something up that says $5, even if you know there's some amount of tax on top, it still feels cheaper subconsciously than an item for $5.46 with no tax. Basically it's to make it easier for the companies and more work/more obfuscated for the consumer.
@@smifull I think OP was saying that they should be able to still nationally sell/advertise the price as $5, but then pay the required taxes in different areas and just make less profit in the areas that have higher taxes. EDIT; that's not what OP was saying but I still think it's the right way forwards.
@@marydavis5234 in th UK there are different tax amounts depending on the item although the standard amount is 20%. Shoos know which tax bracket they fall into and mark items appropriately. Small stores use a pricing gun to place their own price tags on items. Still don't see why stores in the US are unable to do the same especially since every item within the individual store would have the same tax mark up. Or even had the price Inc tax on the shelf or rack.
@@marydavis5234having worked in clothing retail, this isn't a valid reason why the final price can't be displayed. You receive the clothes from the depot in plastic wrappers and you have to unwrap and tag them. All incoming clothing is processed in-store, at which point any price labels can be attached or amended
In the UK, flags on something would probably suggest patriotism but sometimes even jingoism and blatant racism. The fact that guns are common household/personal items in the US makes me scared for my life. At least in the UK, 9/10 no one will ever possess a gun to just whip out at any time nor would they want to. Of course there is the odd lunatic criminal who shoots someone but the general population is gun-averse. Also as a Brit, I would love the space that is available in the US.
Most people don't have a gun, so it's not a common item. I do think they should ban them, not because they will disappear 100% but it'd be hard for regular people to hurt others. Still violence occurs like the UK is known for stabbings.
we had a mass school shooting here in the UK once about 30years ago, in a place called Dunblane, after that it came a lot harder to legally own a gun. as i said we had a school mass shooting ONCE how many have the US had this week?
Although we don't have 4-way stops in the UK, we do have mini-roundabouts, which can often amount to pretty much the same thing in terms of the drivers watching each other trying to work out who is actually going to go first!
@@-DC- The US government spends about as much per capita on healthcare as the U.K. government. For that same money, Britons get comprehensive healthcare and most Americans get… nothing. For the money the US government is already spending, Americans could get so much more.
Wait until you encounter broken traffic lights where you have to treat them as if they are 4 way stop signs and now instead of 3 other cars you have like 20 to watch out for.
@@stevebird7265 . Pride of what ? Having more people in prison than any country , ever ? Having more co2 pumped into the atmosphere than any other country , ever? Having a larger national debt than any other country , ever ? Having more civilians killed by other civilians than any other country, ever ? I can do a list , oh a very long list, but these will do to start with. so go on , pride in what ?
@@richard6440 Then maybe you should be looking inwardly at your own country! It is turning into a shithole under your very nose. So maybe it is understandable that we are ashamed to display our flag.
In Britain if you say the word “restaurant” people hear “fancy restaurant” and imagine silver service, linen tablecloths, fresh flowers and high prices. For this reason the idea of visiting a restaurant is associated with occasion and theatre as opposed to just getting something to eat as in the US or indeed most other countries. McDonalds often comes under fire (metaphorically) for calling themselves a “restaurant” while serving fast food since they aren’t considered “fancy” enough to be deserving of that title. In other countries, even continental Europe, a restaurant could be a place where you can get a simple homecooked meal for a similar price to what you could cook it for yourself at home - ideal not just for convenience or in cultures where it is considered unacceptable for men to be seen to do “women’s work” but for practical reasons such as when you don’t have the time or means to cook. I believe there is a gap in the market for this kind of restaurant/diner/bistro in Britain such as in poorer areas where children would otherwise be fed junk food.
I certainly don't see any reason to be offended by any of these comparisons, It's just cultural differences for the most part. I must say I envy the space in America, but then it's a far bigger country with more land mass to play with.
In Britain there is always one road that has priority except at roundabouts. The original tip was at a Lloyd’s coffee shop in London, it was given in advance of service and was an acronym “To Insure Promptitude”
The reason the Romans built straight roads was to help the army get from A to B more quickly, so they could indulge in their hobby of beating seven bells out of the fractious natives…
There are still stretches of straight Roman roads still in use, such as the A15 in Lincolnshire which runs dead straight for miles and miles as it follows the line of the old Roman road that linked the Humber estuary to Lincoln.
Americans in cities tend to go out to eat more because of the convenience. In more rural areas, where I live, it's more convenient to stay in than drive 20+ miles. Great video.
The thought of traveling 100s of miles on a straight deserted road does sound appealing.i suppose if you fall asleep you are not likely to hit anyone else or trees, just drift off the road maybe.
I’m from NY and currently living outside Manchester UK and like you said can attest to the roads being more windy in the North East compared to places such as Florida. I really miss cruising around in my car in America without having to be on high alert 24/7 while driving. I definitely miss the space and parking back home. I also miss the sheer amount of option for everything in America. Places to eat, food options while shopping and clothing options. I do prefer knowing food and drink is regulated in the UK so I don’t feel the need to read labels as much. I also much prefer that you don’t have to tip in the UK and that sales tax is built into the price of items. Another thing to point out is the UK has loads of pubs to go to for drink and food but in my opinion the food options are quite similar and also heavy at times. I love a good Sunday roast but I feel the UK is lacking in quick sit in or take away lunch and dinner options. Mostly there are pubs, restaurants where you dress a bit nicer, and fast food. Lastly, I will say I even experience culture shock going to certain states where there are gun signs everywhere. I have never seen that where I’m from in NY as the majority of people with guns are in the inner city and have them illegally, or live in upstate NY and hunt. Enjoyed your video as always! Can’t wait to see the one on the culture shock when back in the UK
Hey GG, I am new to your channel but have watched a number of your vids now over the last few day and really enjoyed them. I also watched the "Mean Comments" one and just wanted to apologise for all the sad TH-cam watchers that have nothing better in their life than to make mean comments to someone that is basically just trying to entertain. I like your spirit and love the way you kick back. With regards to America being bigger, the woman in my life have always told me "it's not the size that counts it's what you do with it!" No idea what they were trying to say 🤔❤ P.S. if you have a problem with your own sink at home having separate taps/Farrah Fawcett's you can replace them quite easily and cheaply for a "Deck Mixer Tap" available at all Plumbing based/DIY retail stores or of course on line.
I have to agree with you about the restaurant thing, unless you live in an area that has a large population of people from another country or a city centre, the options are normally pub, italian, indian, or chinese all you can eat.
British/US debates on twitter are hilarious. For example: Subject: "British tea is better than American tea in my opinion" -Well we beat you in 1776 -Yeah well we kicked your ass in 1813 -We saved your ass in WW2 -You were late in WW2 etc, etc etc......
Great video! I would also add, when I go back to Tampa is how much interaction I get from neighbors, whether they know me or not. They will always stop me on the driveway to have a chat, ask how my mom is etc... Always catches me of guard 😂
As noted below, Britain is on a latitude that is a few thousand miles north of Florida with Scotland being on the same latitude as Norway. Even within Britain the quality of light differs from north to south. During the summer, the northern sky has a deeper blue than that in the southern sky. The reason why most of the roads in Britain are not straight is because the roads follow ancient routes that are hundreds if not thousands of years old.
Good & fair video. My only counter point to excess choice, though... is what about spoilage & waste? From a pizza restaurant, to 100 cereal shelves... if only 40% or less are regularly bought, & the most popular are known? Then surely having & maintaining all those extra options, leads to a lot of stock thrown out.
A very fair assessment. On our lack of sunshine.... Tallahase is only 2,100 miles north of the equator. Washington is 2,600 miles north of the equator, while poor old London is 3,500 miles north of the equator. Space..The whole of UK is only 800 miles long, so sharing it between 65 million people doesn't give each us a very big slice. But in spite of all that, we do love our little country, (even without a flag in every yard.)
Often wondered why the shelf tags can't show the price with the sales tax included, even if different county by county or state. The percentage is known by the store so just add it on to the tag.
I was thinking the same thing. If the tax % is known then why not add it to the price sheld. I live in Germany and here it's the same as England. It's a lot simpler when you know that the $20 in your pocket will cover what you take off the shelf
if you have a chain of stores across state county lines you can print one tag and let the till add the sales tax on. Is just a price transparency, easier for store.
@@Westpark16 Before the early 70's we had Purchase tax in the UK, different goods and products had a different tax rate which may or may not have been displayed. It was extortionate on some goods, up to 30% or more. All down to the crippling war debt and the need to export to balance the books. Although VAT was at first resented it (it is payable each time goods are sold but can be reclaimed on the purchase price when sold on by wholesalers in their quarterly tax return or used in the production of other products) was at a low rate and both raw and cooked/processed food (some considered not staples are subject to), also newspapers and books are exempt as considered educational along with children's clothing. A lower rate for utilities and cooked food eaten in and more recently take out. The initial top rate rate was 15%, later 17% now 20%. cheaper than most EU countries.
Hi Just for info I live in Macclesfield it's not enormous and our large Tesco isn't that large it's nowhere near the size of Longton in Stoke or Lichfield for example yet I have been there shopping today just after watching this so I counted and they had 54 different cerials available and that's not counting the empty spaces caused by the current (hopefully temporary shortages, due to brexit and covid) it's not 100 true but I can't help wondering where the various americans who make this comment about lack of choice actually go shopping in the UK because it isn't 10 either. I haven't counted but I'd expect about 10 in my local corner shop, the one I walk to.
Nothing like the joy of driving in the English countryside with a manual gearbox. Getting the perfect gear for each corner and accelerating out, while enjoying the greenery. True driving experience. Check out the Isle of Man TT race.
Although I agree with the general point I don't think bread is the best example. I once had to go to three stores to find an unsliced loaf in America. If you are talking about a sandwich shop absolutely loads of possible breads.
The four way stop and moving off in arrival order works well in America with the wide grid pattern roads and different driving culture, in Britain with small sized congested roads, roundabouts where we give way to the right and don’t stop if it’s clear, work to keep traffic flowing, America does have more traffic lights at junctions where Britain might use a roundabout.
I just want to comment about the natural light - that's why so many artists went to the south of France. Light is different in different places and the quality of light makes a difference to the visual arts.
But the humidity is atrocious, come to Australia, what do you do for a living? If you’re under 30 you can get a 2 year visa with work permit, 3 years if you work in rural places.
I was lucky that my Canadian relative was with me when I came across a four way stop. Without him being there I would have waited until the traffic to the left and right of me had gone and not when the locals would have expected me to go!
Restaurant chains in my understanding are places like McDonalds. Restaurants in the UK are usually privately owned establishments that vary in style and quality - most are very good for example popular inns, pubs, hotels, owner operated high street restaurants. I get the impression US restaurants operate on a 'quick in, serve and out' policy, something that we don't find in the UK and Europe where there is no pressure to eat-up and go. This reflects the fact that US service staff need to keep people moving a: to please the management, and b: to get the tips they need to build up their pay, as situation that does not exist here.
You are correct that diffuse light source is better for colour saturation for video pictures. Rest assured that here in the UK our superior lighting conditions are returning to normal, and that soon, all that harsh sunlight will just be a bad memory.
Regarding the US flag - you're right. My sister, niece and younger daughter live in America, so I'm very familiar with the place. The flag is everywhere, and there's nothing wrong with that. What I do find a bit strange is the incorporation of the flag into so many things - for instance, white stars on a blue background, which you will see as a border on billboards, or the packaging on snack food, the menu and place mats in a Texas steakhouse, the labels inside clothes etc. Your flag has almost become a commercial logo. Go to London, and count the number of times you see the Union Jack flying - probably on one hand, and that's in the capital! Another thing which I find different in the US is the number of people who walk round wearing clothes that tell me that the wearer is a military veteran. Things like 'Desert Storm Vet', 'Vietnam Air Cav - I was there', 'Once a Marine, Always a Marine - Semper Fi !' Usually a sweatshirt or baseball cap, but stickers in the car's rear window or bumper too. In the UK, you'll probably see this on Remembrance Sunday services, but only in the form of a regimental tie, or an enamel lapel badge with the heraldic crest - you'll rarely see it at any other time of year. Both nations are proud of their flags, and both nations revere their armed forces, so why the difference ? I think it's simply down to the fact that British people are, despite themselves, still reserved and conservative, while Americans are more open and demonstrative. Maybe it's down to the small spaces here in the UK - it makes us more insular...maybe...dunno. ;) Love you Yanks - wouldn't want a better friend or ally. :)
Being a nation of immigrants, the US has what I would term a civic religion of Americanism to bind such diverse peoples (E Pluribus Unum), hence the proliferation of flags and veneration of national myths, symbols and the military. I've spent quite a lot of time in the States over the years (wife is from NY) and the quality of light is very different/sharper than here, even in the northern states (NY City is on about the same latitude as Madrid). My wife and I usually play a game of 'Guess When The First Flag Will Appear' when watching US movies (normally within minutes). When actor David Niven moved to Hollywood he remarked on how welcoming and open people were compared with the UK. He put this down to the amount of space people had, whereas Brits have to compete for limited space and value privacy and personal space more. As for your pallor, just tell them it's your London tan ...
The movies that feature the 'Stars and Stripes' fluttering defiantly in 'slo-mo' should be avoided - especially if you're not from the US because they're usually garbage.
Tipping is a growing phenomenon in the Uk as a service charge you can still tip if you wish. This gives the workers taxesd tips. Like £200 a month then -£100 the next month then £186 the following month. Making cashless payments which can be tracked
The Car Culture in America is very Strong in fact most of American infrastructure is Built around the Car in fact if you don't have a car in America getting anywhere is very difficult
America's big... but that has nothing to do with automobiles. It was big in the 1600s. It was big in the 1700s. It was big in the 1800 and THEN there were cars.
@@mr.balloffur I was more talking about infrastructure in cities Rather Infrastructure as a Whole I live in the UK and once took a Trip Venice via Train it took a While longer than by Airplane but the the Experience was much more enjoyable that sitting on a Plane
yea a local football club (everton)is spending £750million on a new stadium for 60,000 total parking spaces in the scheme? less the 200 can you imagine that in the US?
Florida’s weather really is something else. Like Disney gets to decide what it should be. Manchester to Orlando was a shock. Took me a while for my eyes to adjust. 🤩
If you want a really beautiful, natural light, head to the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire on an afternoon in the summer and, if the sun's out, there's this lovely yellow light bathing the city centre thanks to the buildings made of Yorkshire Stone, a type of sandstone. I visited some years ago and, as soon as I arrived, I thought how amazing it would be for painting (as it happened, some time later, an artist on a TV programme mentioned just that).
How do restaurant prices compare? When we have been to Florida we found restaurants like Ponderosa and Arbies were much more affordable than similar UK restaurants.
@@firebird77clonefirebird89 Fun facts... Taiwan's society is very polite. As is Singapore's, Japan's and South Korea's. And they all have some of the lowest gun ownership rates in the world.
I was married to an American for 15 years and her parents lived in Florida, a place called Santa Rosa beach, which is about a 45 minute drive from Eglin airforce base. I agree with everything you said, especially the roads. We would do a fly-drive. So. Depending on where we landed. Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, most of the time we would have an 8 - 10 hour drive ahead of us, after an 8 hour flight with 3 kids. It was pretty relaxing to get on the interstate or freeway and put the cruise control on in the Lincoln continental or cadallac and just drive down the straight road. However I have to find ways of keeping myself awake. Apart from the incredible downpours of the heaviest rain I'd ever witnessed the weather was amazing and everywhere smelled of pine. Loved it there. Here's one of these 🇬🇧 just incase you missed it. 😂✌️♥️
there is a sales tax in the UK just its included in the price but if you look at your receipts you should see break downs of VAT and tax the VAT is the UK'S sale tax. its inconvenient to not have it included in the price
4 way stop intersection with 3 cars waiting on each lane...how do you guys solve it? do you go all per the first lane that moves or 1 per each one stopped at the intersection going round about? also if an accident happens then how can you prove to the police you were in front of the other?
Yeah, we had a huge tea party in Boston.... or something. lol Also, you must of been in one of the few remaining corner shops if you only get a choice of ten cereal types.
I've been to Florida in the summer, amazing place but way too HOT! It's like looking at a delicious apple pie cooking in an oven, but the only way you get to eat it is by climbing into the oven.
Hello. Tipping is a very mixed bag in the UK. It only pays (waiting tables) if working in an affluent area. I waited tables in a area of South Hertfordshire (Potters Bar) where I was payed an hourly rate with added tips. However, Potters Bar is not an area most would class "affluent" so tips were in heavy tender & amounted to little. Two miles south into High Barnet, Hadley Wood where I also waited tables was very, very classy. Because of this advantage we'd all be payed £20 per 6 hour shift as tips would actually make up our wage. In PB my average monthly take home would be roughly £800 including tips. In HW it was more like £2000-£3500 depending on season. You see, the thing is is that many "well to do" eaters in high end areas have fingers in places they really ought not to & discuss "business ventures" on the quiet but clearly knowing us waiters could easily sus out the origins of said venture. This causes a "hush hush" unspoken deal between said crook, pardon I mean business partner & waiter hence nice big, fat, sweaty wads of cash shoved in our hands come closing. Sad but true! 🏳️🌈🇬🇧🏴❤️
If your story is true and at all recent, then your employer was breaking the law. Tips do not count as pay for the purpose of meeting the national minimum wage. Your employer still has to pay you at least that minimum for each hour worked, regardless of any tips you receive.
In the UK, we have the smallest houses in the developed world on average. A big thing to consider about the amount of space in the UK is that almost all the land here was historically owned by the aristocracy for over a thousand years. Peasants were only allowed to be on the land in order to work. It's only really in the last 200 years that peasants have been able to buy their own land as the wealth gap narrowed during the industrial revolution. Then things reversed again when we had things like the Greenbelt Act which makes building on open land much harder to do. So yeah, basically for a millennium there was no land to buy, then some of us managed to get some, but now you can't build anyway.... So we're all still crammed into tiny spaces.
Some primary schools might have a Welsh flag on it. Most don’t but my first primary school didn’t but my second primary school I went in 2005 did but village where second primary school is there are lot of Welsh flags on business. No Union Jack though.
Americans need to look at an atlas and realise how high up we are in the world compared to America .New York is on level with Portugal and we are higher than them.that’s why the weather,the light etc etc
I'm Australian, and I always had it in my head that NY was way further north than London. Don't know why. Might be because they have much colder winters.
@@shaunmckenzie5509 The UK is as for North as where Polar bears live. The only USA state as far North as us is Alaska. We are kept warmer than we should be by a combination of. The Jet stream which keeps a lot of the very cold Arctic air North of us, and the Golf Stream that brings warm sea water up to us from the gulf of Mexico.
The Union Jack is only flown other than on army or state buildings at things like death of a monarch or a coronation or something. It’s not a thing here. You’ll see a lot of England flags during the World Cup !
I love the constant need to apologise in case some sensitive soul is thrown into a swoon as you comment about the size of roads and shops in the US compared to England. We should have a competition. How many times people write to you to complain that you are attacking the UKs very existence by comparing our tiny roads or shops. The nearest guess wins a Twinkie. That will soon put a stop to it.
When I lived in northern VA, the 4-way stops were terribly infuriating when I was trying to follow someone to their house. Each time, my guide would need to pull over after the junction to allow me to catch up after I had waited for three other drivers (and perhaps an impatient fourth) to traverse the junction. I rarely felt secure that everyone would respect my turn to go, so was often hesitent and got honked at.
it must be a task making these videos as i’ve noticed people from both sides can become hostile if u even say something that slightly offends them. you’re doing a very good job haha, great video.
andrew deighton Government and the tax system at all levels are quite different in the UK from what you find in the US. I can’t speak for everywhere, America is a very big place. So some densely populated areas with big cities like Philadelphia to Rhode Island may have local government councils/boroughs, townships similar to Britain (New York, for example has five boroughs), I don’t know. But generally taxes that you pay in increments of time, like property, state and Federal (national) income taxes happen at the the state and Federal level. Many states (and larger cities) will levy sales taxes (VAT). They will be transparent because they’re added onto your receipt when you pay for your goods at the till. If you own property there will be a tax on it. How this is configured and levied will vary depending on the state. For the most part, there is no tax on individuals based on their living situations. You are taxed on your income, other revenue streams (investments, rental income, etc.) by the Feds and many States and in some cases cities. You may be allowed to claim exemptions on these based on your status, single, student, married, caregiver, business owner, etc., And then the previously mentioned sales taxes. Very roughly that’s pretty much how it works.
Things in America have definitely gotten worse over the past five years. The gun problem, attitudes to minorities and most notably, politics and the divide between right and left. The flag thing is a bit over the top but everyone has the right to be proud of their heritage. The hypocrisy of it though was shown clearly when Trump was seen cuddling it! Too bad he never wanted to serve under it in Vietnam! Another entertaining video!
Of course the natural light is better in florida, its sunny majority of the time, it can go from sunny to cloudy in the space of 10 minutes here in the UK 😂
I think the reason for taxes not being included in prices and for tipping in the US are because the policy makers are for sale there (as in, this is part of the set-up, not even illegal) thanks to 'lobbying' - and these things are better for business. When consumers are used to seeing the full price first they automatically do mental budgeting. By making the final bill always be a 'surprise' you remove this. Without this mental budgeting (or at least with it softened) people will be likely to spend more. The public are told this is because local taxes make this difficult to produce national advertising campaigns (but they could and would if they had to) - but this does not address why the shelf labels do not at least have both prices on (before and including tax) as those are printed in store by computer and this would take) extra effort to do. The public are also told this is better for them as they can then 'keep an eye on how much they are being taxed' but in countries that do include tax the receipt will still give you a tax breakdown - so this is something you'd still get anyway. Why pay your staff when you can convince the general public that it's normal for their staff to come begging from the customers? Don't be fooled, the tipping culture is nothing more than culturally sanctioned begging ('Please give me money, my boss does not pay me enough to live on and without you giving me money I can't live'). In any other circumstance where you were expected to give money to someone you do not employ so that they can live - this is just begging and is not OK. Thanks to the public going along with this and paying extra on top of the actual charge (assisted no doubt by the extra tax system making this seem normal anyway) nothing 'needs' to change. It is kind of impressive when you think of the work it must have taken to get millions of people to accept the calculation that; a) Person takes a job for a wage they've agreed upon with their boss. + b) Boss is paying sweat shop wages that nobody can live on. = If you do not step in to pay that bosses staff enough to make up their wage to a liveable amount YOU are the asshole in this transaction.
Is it generally more affordable to eat out in the US? There's a Daily Mirror (the British national, daily newspaper) article published in 2017 about how much more expensive Domino's pizza is here (UK), for example, a large margherita priced at £14.99 but only £2.87 in New Zealand, and £3.04 in Australia; in New York, £11.93.
Re sales tax… do restaurant menu prices in the US include sales tax? If so, that just proves that you can include tax on the ticket price in shops, right?
UK roads serpentine as the fields on either side needed enough room for an ox plough to turn. I like British roads, there's always something of interest, even if it's just a redpost or a tree marking a field boundary, and you always know when the road becomes Roman. You are right though that driving is more difficult in the UK, but that doesn't make it more dangerous, it just means you can't afford to be complacent driver. I enjoyed driving in both countries.
We absolutely do tip in restaurants in the UK. 10% would be a normal and 15-20% for great service. I have never not tipped in a restaurant, and I don't think I can remember anyone not tipping here.
The sales tax is a US & Canadian thing. I know of no country this side of the Atlantic where the price on the product is NOT the one you pay at check out.....
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Hi GGL, as someone who once lived in on and off in Florida for a net 7+ years, and England for 23+, I think your perspective about driving in the US has been influenced somewhat by having, as you mentioned, grown up in Florida. I agree with your comments about lots of restaurants, and a variety of chains to choose from. No arguments about the gun culture and road safety. American flags are indeed all over the place.
And there’s no doubt that driving on America’s limited access ‘interstate’ (highway/motorway) system that eliminates traffic lights and crossroads, makes driving uninterrupted for hours with very little steering wheel moving very easy. But Florida is geographically unique on America’s east coast for having land that is essentially flat as a table from the north central part of the state, say from Orlando, to all points south, i.e., more than half the state. And that allows for fairly straight highways for great distances, yes indeed. Easy going straight because there are essentially no hills or valleys of note. Is that true for all the other states across America’s southern rim (California to Georgia)? Uh no. Big hunks yes, straight through? No way, not even within any one of those states. You’ll find yourself making lots of turns going round hills and mountains, veering into valleys and out of canyons. And it’s true if you start somewhere on the Great Plains in Montana, Wyoming or Colorado to points east from Oklahoma to the Dakotas in the north and even across most of the Midwest from Iowa to Indiana, excluding Michigan, there are apt to be many highways you can drive along for hours with very little steering needed left or right.
But really for all of the remainder of the lower 48, meaning all of the South aside from Florida + Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York and New England there are no long stretches of almost straight highways. Instead there are many many winding motorways around hills, and mountains, and big lakes and valleys, which are often beautiful and break up the tedium of driving straight distances without end Amen 😉
In the U.K. we deliberately put curves into roads when necessary because it’s been proven that drivers are more likely to fall asleep or simply lose concentration if a road is totally straight for too long.
I think the origin of turns in British roads originates from when common land was enclosed from 1760 to around 1830. The common folk not only lost grazing rights but had to follow roads that skirted the enclosed land. Also prior to the building of dual carriage ways and motorways tracks had to follow the contours of the landscape to accommodate horses.
Roads in Florida and much of America were constructed specifically for the automobile.
Wrong wrong
I would personally hate having mile after mile of straight road. I think I would just fall asleep, as it would bore me to death. The cornering is the best bit :) and at least helps keep you alert.
I did hate it. It was utterly brain-numbing. When I wasn't driving I fell asleep and when I was driving, I kept wishing there would be a bend in the road somewhere or that the scenery would change or that there would even just be another car on the road.
That is exactly why some roads in the UK, especially motorways, bend and curve even in places where they could go straight. It is a deliberate policy to do exactly that, keep you awake and alert. Or at least, to try to.
@@_starfiend the M56 between Runcorn and Stanlow is one of the longest stretches of straight motorway in the UK. When I used to work in traffic radio, my more experienced colleagues said that was a stretch where accidents consistently happen, because drivers lose concentration and their sense of distance given there are so many miles of straight road ahead of them.
@@_starfiend that's not the reason for bends...lol
What a load of crock.
@@brucefale6132 Straight is Great , but Bendy is Trendy :)
We don't fly our flag because we know where we are lol
It's surprising however just how often you see a Union Jack flag flying upside down! There was one in Newport only last week.
dayum,
i just made the same comment a few minutes ago.. lol
you can have a thumb from me.
@@_starfiend union jack up-side-down? there are so many things wrong with this sentence you literally cant fly it up-side-down and also its only a union jack if its flying on a navy’s ship, its the union flag otherwise
@@alfiefenton8179 You really don't know what you're talking about, do you? First it's a myth that it's only called the union jack when it's flown from a navy ship. I used to believe this until I was told otherwise by a Royal Navy Commodore. (My cousin.) : google 'Union Flag or Union Jack' and find the link to the flag institute. Second the flag is not symmetrical either vertically or horizontally. It absolutely can be flown upside down. Historically flying it upside down was a call for help.
@@_starfiend It is surprising how many times our flag is called the Union Jack. It is the Union Flag. The other is a naval flag.
I think there’s more of a pub culture in UK than restaurants.
Lots of people go to the pub multiple times a week and may have a Sunday roast at a pub regularly.
I don't anyone who has the time / money to the pub multiple times a week. Maybe wealthy retired people or builders on the take.
@@jamesbendle4235 I worked with a guy who went to the pub after every work day, he had 4 pints every time. Mind you I’m not sure now prices are crazy.
@@notch7139
That's moderate compared to what my eldest brother would drink over the weekend, during which he would regularly consume between 50 and 60 pints.
Someone who worked for Highways England once told me that New roads/motorways are built with curves in to keep drivers attention span up, as long straight road s make people less attentive.
I was going to say, till I found your comment. Straight roads are more boring as your attention wanes. Adding curves keeps your attention span up. Give me a swooping fast NSL B-road any day. So much more fun to "drive".
This is true! I also know a highways planner who also said that. However we have a much smaller ilder country where we follow natural geographical contours, roman routes, we have to detour around villages etc. Usa being a youger country never had ti do that...they built from scratch a vast country so could places new city like Las Vegas where roads into the city and in the suburbs where purpose built not organically developed.
Yep, long straight freeways in the US are mind numbing and absolutely contribute to people falling asleep at the wheel, especially when the speed limit was 55/65 mph. It helps when some have a 75/85 mph limit, but still.
I know that europeans would also tend to go really quickly at night on in the sticks freeways - with no references/curves other than the lights' bubble it is easy to get up over 100/110 mph unless you keep checking your speedo.
i rented a car with cruise control thought cool
due to things. i was driving home at 4am tired hit an unlit straight section of the M6 on CC dozed off, hit the rumble strip saw heading towards bridge, soiled self, left at next service station had a 90 min nap
As a brit that worked in tampa I noticed my US colleagues would eat out all the time and I was bored of it and wanted to cook something after a week.
Also the food is generally cheap and tastes it.
As a tourist you could go for weeks without finding a boiled potato! Fries all the way unless you find an ethnic restaurant.
Travelled on Route 66 - the most boring road ever! Give me a narrow winding British road every time (!) Love and kisses. Alice. xx
Quite right - my American missus drove when we visited Florida as I couldn't face that go-200-miles-in-a-straight-line nonsense! Mind you at one urban four way intersection where there were what seemed like two-dozen lanes I was *very* glad I wasn't driving. Even watching her I couldn't see how she knew which line to follow to exit correctly!
Thats why all US cars have so many cup holders.
People consume their way along the interstates as there is nothing else to do but watch the white line.
I drove across Washington State and spent an hour just driving through an Orchard .
Epic boredom
I have to say, I love our winding countryside roads in the U.K. 🥰 The roads in the US, even in small towns, feel so large and impersonal. I prefer older US towns where the roads are narrower and simpler! 😁
When our friends from the US came to visit us in the UK one of them tried to give the girl behind the bar at the pub a tip after she poured our drinks. She looked at him like he'd gone mad and refused the tip. It did make me laugh as the whole exchange was slightly awkward. 😂
The way to tip a bar person in the UK is to say "and one for yourself' when paying. They can then take the price of a pint or glass of wine.
We have lots of choices in UK supermarkets, check out the tea, biscuit and crisp aisles.
AND CHEAPER TOO, MORE CHOICE AND CHEAPER TOO
Damn , i need a cuppa and a hobnob now :))
It isn’t the same as having 100 different cereals or 50 brands of sliced white loaves, US supermarkets carry roughly 47,000 lines, UK supermarkets carry 20/30,000 but Aldi and Lidl only carry about 3,000 lines.
I can never understand why Americans put up with paying good money for a meal at a restaurant, then help the owner get richer by subsidising their staff's wages. It's the best long con ever.
That may be about to change, because a lot of restaurants are desperate for staff and they’ve had to up the salary in order to get people to work for them. It is a big con and since 2020 restaurant owners have increased the amount on the bottom of the bill of tip suggestions starting at 18% which I think is down right cheeky!!
I used to be in Royal Navy and visited Florida quite often. Generally had great time, don’t think you can really compare the bars to a pub. The atmosphere in pubs seem much better. Food is plentiful and easy to get, I did spend a lot of money in Hooters.😂😂😂😂. Enjoyed your thoughts.👍
Yes we have less choice in our supermarkets. But we have a lot less sugar in our breakfast cereals, and our bread, and our drinks and everything else
and fat and salt
The real killer in drinks isn't the sugar, it is the high fructose corn syrup.
Of course the light is better in Florida its on the same Lat as the southern end of the Sahara Desert. The UK is farther North than all the US States bar Alaska. Great vid by the way.
Was just gonna post...'Brits offended by brighter light in desert'... shock.
People forget how far north the UK is. For some reason I always thought New York was much further north than London.
@@shaunmckenzie5509 NYC is on the same latitude as Rome.
@@shaunmckenzie5509 same latitude as Canada.
Scotland is as North as Alaska..Hence the cold ...
You can't possibly live in London without noticing how many different types of restaurants there are. Indian Spanish French Swedish Belgian Italian Thai Moroccan German to name but a few.
Yeah she doesn't actually live in London
Brit living in Orlando here. You are right about eating out being more common. I think maybe two reasons for this - firstly, I feel like on average the restaurants in the UK tend to be more upmarket (or upscale as you guys would say) whereas restaurants here tend to be more accessible/family friendly/fast food. In the UK, particularly at certain restaurants, eating out is more of an occasion and the whole experience is designed that way. Secondly, in the UK most restaurants are in town centers and so more effort to get to. You have to drive and park and walk to the restaurant. In the US there are restaurants everywhere and you can park right outside and so it is much easier and therefore less of an ‘event’.
You must be from London- in the Midlands and North, restaurants and just normal, average place where normal average people eat. They aren't upmarket....they're just restaurants.
I wouldn't call them upmarket either - perhaps in major cities, but not generically. Though, I do reckon if the UK adopted a more 'eating out' default culture, we would probably favour pubs/pub-restaurants over restaurants 🤔😁
@@luckytri9716 You hit the nail on the head with "Pub's", a lot of Pub's also serve meals. In the US they have Bar's which generally only serve drinks ( and small bowls with peanuts on the bar) :-)
Americans are wealthier so can afford to go to restaurants more often.
We have pub restaurants that belong to one of several national, or regional companies. Each pub owned by that company, will have the same priced main menu in that region, with maybe a few of it's own meal variations. We do have more specialised and upmarket restaurants, but families also use fast food ones such as KFC, Pizza Hut and others. We tend to use family pubs and fast food ones more for convenience and value.
That sales tax "thing" is amazing. The US claims to be so advanced but they seem unable to print price labels that match the real price!? Someone prints the tickets and places them on the shelf, so why not print the actual price then too? Even if they are a chain store, where the central office issues the tickets, they know the location of the store they are issuing the tickets to, and they have the tax rate in their database, so it's too easy to get the price right! There's no excuse for local stores where they have complete control over what tickets they put on there.
It's very rare for a head office to mail out SELs (shelf edge labels). Almost every store prints their own and the computer knows the final price!
You are amazing. I love watching your videos. When I like something I just go over board and your videos are no less. It’s very enjoyable to watch your journey by the way am from the Uk 🇬🇧
The tipping culture in the US and the Sales Tax malarkey would drive me mad.
'Fall's here y'all' Loved your double take as you realised you started it in July - Priceless!
as a Brit who spends a hell of a lot of time in the US - Ohio mainly but Florida too (Tampa side) Yup flags, eating out and a severe lack of pavements!
You like long, straight roads? Did you never hear the expression 'it's a long road that has no turnings'?
'The rolling English Drunkard built the Rolling English Road" G K Chesterton. But seriously, if I were designing a road I would tend to put in gentle curves, and to vary the appearance of the verge, simply as a deterrent to falling asleep at the wheel. (That said, I am not a traffic engineer, although I am a professional travel demand forecaster). Also I prefer slightly random grids to regular ones, because they reduce the chance of gridlock.
Although, even in the US, roundabouts are more efficient than four-way stops, they are less efficient than in the UK because US drivers are not used to them.
I don't object to tipping but I am very opposed to not paying employees a living wage regardless of tipping culture. If an employer cannot afford to pay there employees properly, I would prefer that that employer went bankrupt.
:chuckles: My missus is Californian so all of this has been endlessly discussed in our house :lol:. She *still* can't drive in England after more than a decade! I tease her that it's because she's not used to using the steering to change direction rather than it just something to hold on to :D
The only part of the US that I have ever driven in is California north of San Fransisco, and I have to say the roads were neither straight nor empty. The freeway going through the Bay area felt like an English urban motorway with heavy traffic frequently bringing to speeds down to a crawl. Then once I turned off the freeway into the hills the roads twisted and turned all over the place including hairpin bends.
I've never understood the "state/county variable sales tax" explanation. Doesn't the store charge the sales tax of the state/county in which it's physically located? And that rate might change maybe once a year at most? So why can't it "bake in" that tax into the price shown on the edge of the shelf? What am I missing?
Going to preface this with I'm a born and bred Brit, but I know the answer to this!
It's because when companies advertise or print packaging it's for a much larger area covering many counties/states/the whole country, so this way when they say on the advert/packet that it costs $5 they don't get people complaining that the store has marked it as $5.46 or whatever.
Also if you pick something up that says $5, even if you know there's some amount of tax on top, it still feels cheaper subconsciously than an item for $5.46 with no tax.
Basically it's to make it easier for the companies and more work/more obfuscated for the consumer.
@@smifull .
What companies print prices on packaging?
@@smifull I think OP was saying that they should be able to still nationally sell/advertise the price as $5, but then pay the required taxes in different areas and just make less profit in the areas that have higher taxes.
EDIT; that's not what OP was saying but I still think it's the right way forwards.
@@DylanSargesson Apologies, but that's not even remotely close to what I was saying.
@@grahvis Exactly! But maybe that's what I'm missing? Maybe in the US, manufacturers print the price right on the packaging. Rarely happens in the UK.
Love your video, I'm English and I am loving your comparisons
Surely if the store/shop can add the tax at the checkout then they could just as easily add it to the price tag and state that tax is included 🤔
@@marydavis5234 in th UK there are different tax amounts depending on the item although the standard amount is 20%.
Shoos know which tax bracket they fall into and mark items appropriately. Small stores use a pricing gun to place their own price tags on items. Still don't see why stores in the US are unable to do the same especially since every item within the individual store would have the same tax mark up. Or even had the price Inc tax on the shelf or rack.
@@marydavis5234having worked in clothing retail, this isn't a valid reason why the final price can't be displayed.
You receive the clothes from the depot in plastic wrappers and you have to unwrap and tag them. All incoming clothing is processed in-store, at which point any price labels can be attached or amended
In the UK, flags on something would probably suggest patriotism but sometimes even jingoism and blatant racism. The fact that guns are common household/personal items in the US makes me scared for my life. At least in the UK, 9/10 no one will ever possess a gun to just whip out at any time nor would they want to. Of course there is the odd lunatic criminal who shoots someone but the general population is gun-averse. Also as a Brit, I would love the space that is available in the US.
Here in the UK you can even question the police for bearing a gun, it's just uncommon
Most people don't have a gun, so it's not a common item. I do think they should ban them, not because they will disappear 100% but it'd be hard for regular people to hurt others. Still violence occurs like the UK is known for stabbings.
we had a mass school shooting here in the UK once about 30years ago, in a place called Dunblane, after that it came a lot harder to legally own a gun.
as i said we had a school mass shooting ONCE
how many have the US had this week?
@@ElizRued the uk has the 4th lowest amount of stabbings of all 200 countries lol
Although we don't have 4-way stops in the UK, we do have mini-roundabouts, which can often amount to pretty much the same thing in terms of the drivers watching each other trying to work out who is actually going to go first!
Yeah, only when the drivers have brains the size of peas and sit there like deer's frozen in the headlights.
I very rarely find that happens at mini roundabouts and the longest I've had a standoff is for maybe 5 seconds
USA gets free parking, UK gets free health care.
Who's got the best deal? 😂
Free at point of use doesn't equal free.
@@-DC- what's the average cost of total coverage health insurance without excluded pre- conditions?
@@-DC- Of course, there is always one, isn’t”t there?
@@-DC- The US government spends about as much per capita on healthcare as the U.K. government. For that same money, Britons get comprehensive healthcare and most Americans get… nothing. For the money the US government is already spending, Americans could get so much more.
@@-DC- Those Parking spaces aren't free either, but are free at point of use.
when I'm holidaying in America, 4 way intersections raise my stress levels to 110%, especially when there are about 3 cars coming from each direction.
Wait until you encounter broken traffic lights where you have to treat them as if they are 4 way stop signs and now instead of 3 other cars you have like 20 to watch out for.
A cheesy cliche in so many films.The intersection crash.
I think the endless flag displays are a sign of national insecurity
Or Pride?
@@stevebird7265 . Pride of what ? Having more people in prison than any country , ever ? Having more co2 pumped into the atmosphere than any other country , ever? Having a larger national debt than any other country , ever ? Having more civilians killed by other civilians than any other country, ever ? I can do a list , oh a very long list, but these will do to start with. so go on , pride in what ?
@@richard6440 Maybe you should try living in some of the countries that you prefer!
@@stevebird7265 I l,ive in the uk , perfect :)
@@richard6440 Then maybe you should be looking inwardly at your own country! It is turning into a shithole under your very nose. So maybe it is understandable that we are ashamed to display our flag.
In Britain if you say the word “restaurant” people hear “fancy restaurant” and imagine silver service, linen tablecloths, fresh flowers and high prices. For this reason the idea of visiting a restaurant is associated with occasion and theatre as opposed to just getting something to eat as in the US or indeed most other countries. McDonalds often comes under fire (metaphorically) for calling themselves a “restaurant” while serving fast food since they aren’t considered “fancy” enough to be deserving of that title.
In other countries, even continental Europe, a restaurant could be a place where you can get a simple homecooked meal for a similar price to what you could cook it for yourself at home - ideal not just for convenience or in cultures where it is considered unacceptable for men to be seen to do “women’s work” but for practical reasons such as when you don’t have the time or means to cook.
I believe there is a gap in the market for this kind of restaurant/diner/bistro in Britain such as in poorer areas where children would otherwise be fed junk food.
Lovely girl! our natural light suits our grim existence here in the UK, It's also more suited to writing poetry and melancholic novels.
I certainly don't see any reason to be offended by any of these comparisons, It's just cultural differences for the most part. I must say I envy the space in America, but then it's a far bigger country with more land mass to play with.
In Britain there is always one road that has priority except at roundabouts. The original tip was at a Lloyd’s coffee shop in London, it was given in advance of service and was an acronym “To Insure Promptitude”
Very perceptive and well presented!
The Romans built straight roads when they arrived in Britain in 43AD. We've moved on since then🤣🤣
I like this😆
The reason the Romans built straight roads was to help the army get from A to B more quickly, so they could indulge in their hobby of beating seven bells out of the fractious natives…
@@martinpay3812 And also because corners and bends were where ambushes happened.
There are still stretches of straight Roman roads still in use, such as the A15 in Lincolnshire which runs dead straight for miles and miles as it follows the line of the old Roman road that linked the Humber estuary to Lincoln.
Straight is Great , but Bendy is Trendy :)
Americans in cities tend to go out to eat more because of the convenience. In more rural areas, where I live, it's more convenient to stay in than drive 20+ miles. Great video.
The thought of traveling 100s of miles on a straight deserted road does sound appealing.i suppose if you fall asleep you are not likely to hit anyone else or trees, just drift off the road maybe.
I’m from NY and currently living outside Manchester UK and like you said can attest to the roads being more windy in the North East compared to places such as Florida. I really miss cruising around in my car in America without having to be on high alert 24/7 while driving. I definitely miss the space and parking back home.
I also miss the sheer amount of option for everything in America. Places to eat, food options while shopping and clothing options. I do prefer knowing food and drink is regulated in the UK so I don’t feel the need to read labels as much. I also much prefer that you don’t have to tip in the UK and that sales tax is built into the price of items.
Another thing to point out is the UK has loads of pubs to go to for drink and food but in my opinion the food options are quite similar and also heavy at times. I love a good Sunday roast but I feel the UK is lacking in quick sit in or take away lunch and dinner options. Mostly there are pubs, restaurants where you dress a bit nicer, and fast food.
Lastly, I will say I even experience culture shock going to certain states where there are gun signs everywhere. I have never seen that where I’m from in NY as the majority of people with guns are in the inner city and have them illegally, or live in upstate NY and hunt.
Enjoyed your video as always! Can’t wait to see the one on the culture shock when back in the UK
Hey GG, I am new to your channel but have watched a number of your vids now over the last few day and really enjoyed them. I also watched the "Mean Comments" one and just wanted to apologise for all the sad TH-cam watchers that have nothing better in their life than to make mean comments to someone that is basically just trying to entertain. I like your spirit and love the way you kick back. With regards to America being bigger, the woman in my life have always told me "it's not the size that counts it's what you do with it!" No idea what they were trying to say 🤔❤ P.S. if you have a problem with your own sink at home having separate taps/Farrah Fawcett's you can replace them quite easily and cheaply for a "Deck Mixer Tap" available at all Plumbing based/DIY retail stores or of course on line.
I have to agree with you about the restaurant thing, unless you live in an area that has a large population of people from another country or a city centre, the options are normally pub, italian, indian, or chinese all you can eat.
British/US debates on twitter are hilarious. For example:
Subject: "British tea is better than American tea in my opinion"
-Well we beat you in 1776
-Yeah well we kicked your ass in 1813
-We saved your ass in WW2
-You were late in WW2
etc, etc etc......
Roundabouts are so much easier.
They spoilt that on some by putting traffic lights on them.....makes no point.
Great video! I would also add, when I go back to Tampa is how much interaction I get from neighbors, whether they know me or not. They will always stop me on the driveway to have a chat, ask how my mom is etc... Always catches me of guard 😂
Calling 99% of the places for eating out in the US ‘restaurants’ is generous in the extreme 😂
The right word should be "eatery"
As noted below, Britain is on a latitude that is a few thousand miles north of Florida with Scotland being on the same latitude as Norway. Even within Britain the quality of light differs from north to south. During the summer, the northern sky has a deeper blue than that in the southern sky.
The reason why most of the roads in Britain are not straight is because the roads follow ancient routes that are hundreds if not thousands of years old.
Good & fair video. My only counter point to excess choice, though... is what about spoilage & waste? From a pizza restaurant, to 100 cereal shelves... if only 40% or less are regularly bought, & the most popular are known? Then surely having & maintaining all those extra options, leads to a lot of stock thrown out.
heard a woman say i love sainseburys they have a choice of 1000's of items, i said to here so why do you buy the same 50 items every week?
A very fair assessment. On our lack of sunshine.... Tallahase is only 2,100 miles north of the equator. Washington is 2,600 miles north of the equator, while poor old London is 3,500 miles north of the equator. Space..The whole of UK is only 800 miles long, so sharing it between 65 million people doesn't give each us a very big slice. But in spite of all that, we do love our little country, (even without a flag in every yard.)
Often wondered why the shelf tags can't show the price with the sales tax included, even if different county by county or state. The percentage is known by the store so just add it on to the tag.
yeah it makes no sense.
I was thinking the same thing. If the tax % is known then why not add it to the price sheld. I live in Germany and here it's the same as England. It's a lot simpler when you know that the $20 in your pocket will cover what you take off the shelf
if you have a chain of stores across state county lines you can print one tag and let the till add the sales tax on. Is just a price transparency, easier for store.
@@christophernicolson5086 we print our own SEL's in store, generally.
@@Westpark16 Before the early 70's we had Purchase tax in the UK, different goods and products had a different tax rate which may or may not have been displayed. It was extortionate on some goods, up to 30% or more. All down to the crippling war debt and the need to export to balance the books. Although VAT was at first resented it (it is payable each time goods are sold but can be reclaimed on the purchase price when sold on by wholesalers in their quarterly tax return or used in the production of other products) was at a low rate and both raw and cooked/processed food (some considered not staples are subject to), also newspapers and books are exempt as considered educational along with children's clothing. A lower rate for utilities and cooked food eaten in and more recently take out. The initial top rate rate was 15%, later 17% now 20%. cheaper than most EU countries.
Hi Just for info I live in Macclesfield it's not enormous and our large Tesco isn't that large it's nowhere near the size of Longton in Stoke or Lichfield for example yet I have been there shopping today just after watching this so I counted and they had 54 different cerials available and that's not counting the empty spaces caused by the current (hopefully temporary shortages, due to brexit and covid) it's not 100 true but I can't help wondering where the various americans who make this comment about lack of choice actually go shopping in the UK because it isn't 10 either. I haven't counted but I'd expect about 10 in my local corner shop, the one I walk to.
Nothing like the joy of driving in the English countryside with a manual gearbox. Getting the perfect gear for each corner and accelerating out, while enjoying the greenery. True driving experience. Check out the Isle of Man TT race.
Although I agree with the general point I don't think bread is the best example. I once had to go to three stores to find an unsliced loaf in America.
If you are talking about a sandwich shop absolutely loads of possible breads.
The four way stop and moving off in arrival order works well in America with the wide grid pattern roads and different driving culture, in Britain with small sized congested roads, roundabouts where we give way to the right and don’t stop if it’s clear, work to keep traffic flowing, America does have more traffic lights at junctions where Britain might use a roundabout.
I just want to comment about the natural light - that's why so many artists went to the south of France. Light is different in different places and the quality of light makes a difference to the visual arts.
But the humidity is atrocious, come to Australia, what do you do for a living? If you’re under 30 you can get a 2 year visa with work permit, 3 years if you work in rural places.
I was lucky that my Canadian relative was with me when I came across a four way stop.
Without him being there I would have waited until the traffic to the left and right of me had gone and not when the locals would have expected me to go!
Restaurant chains in my understanding are places like McDonalds.
Restaurants in the UK are usually privately owned establishments that vary in style and quality - most are very good for example popular inns, pubs, hotels, owner operated high street restaurants.
I get the impression US restaurants operate on a 'quick in, serve and out' policy, something that we don't find in the UK and Europe where there is no pressure to eat-up and go. This reflects the fact that US service staff need to keep people moving a: to please the management, and b: to get the tips they need to build up their pay, as situation that does not exist here.
There are two ways to build roads: with the nature or against the nature!
You are correct that diffuse light source is better for colour saturation for video pictures. Rest assured that here in the UK our superior lighting conditions are returning to normal, and that soon, all that harsh sunlight will just be a bad memory.
Regarding the US flag - you're right. My sister, niece and younger daughter live in America, so I'm very familiar with the place. The flag is everywhere, and there's nothing wrong with that. What I do find a bit strange is the incorporation of the flag into so many things - for instance, white stars on a blue background, which you will see as a border on billboards, or the packaging on snack food, the menu and place mats in a Texas steakhouse, the labels inside clothes etc. Your flag has almost become a commercial logo. Go to London, and count the number of times you see the Union Jack flying - probably on one hand, and that's in the capital!
Another thing which I find different in the US is the number of people who walk round wearing clothes that tell me that the wearer is a military veteran. Things like 'Desert Storm Vet', 'Vietnam Air Cav - I was there', 'Once a Marine, Always a Marine - Semper Fi !' Usually a sweatshirt or baseball cap, but stickers in the car's rear window or bumper too. In the UK, you'll probably see this on Remembrance Sunday services, but only in the form of a regimental tie, or an enamel lapel badge with the heraldic crest - you'll rarely see it at any other time of year.
Both nations are proud of their flags, and both nations revere their armed forces, so why the difference ? I think it's simply down to the fact that British people are, despite themselves, still reserved and conservative, while Americans are more open and demonstrative. Maybe it's down to the small spaces here in the UK - it makes us more insular...maybe...dunno. ;) Love you Yanks - wouldn't want a better friend or ally. :)
Being a nation of immigrants, the US has what I would term a civic religion of Americanism to bind such diverse peoples (E Pluribus Unum), hence the proliferation of flags and veneration of national myths, symbols and the military. I've spent quite a lot of time in the States over the years (wife is from NY) and the quality of light is very different/sharper than here, even in the northern states (NY City is on about the same latitude as Madrid). My wife and I usually play a game of 'Guess When The First Flag Will Appear' when watching US movies (normally within minutes). When actor David Niven moved to Hollywood he remarked on how welcoming and open people were compared with the UK. He put this down to the amount of space people had, whereas Brits have to compete for limited space and value privacy and personal space more. As for your pallor, just tell them it's your London tan ...
The movies that feature the 'Stars and Stripes' fluttering defiantly in 'slo-mo' should be avoided - especially if you're not from the US because they're usually garbage.
Tipping is a growing phenomenon in the Uk as a service charge you can still tip if you wish. This gives the workers taxesd tips. Like £200 a month then -£100 the next month then £186 the following month. Making cashless payments which can be tracked
The Car Culture in America is very Strong in fact most of American infrastructure is Built around the Car in fact if you don't have a car in America getting anywhere is very difficult
America's big... but that has nothing to do with automobiles. It was big in the 1600s. It was big in the 1700s. It was big in the 1800 and THEN there were cars.
@@mr.balloffur I was more talking about infrastructure in cities Rather Infrastructure as a Whole I live in the UK and once took a Trip Venice via Train it took a While longer than by Airplane but the the Experience was much more enjoyable that sitting on a Plane
yea a local football club (everton)is spending £750million on a new stadium for 60,000 total parking spaces in the scheme? less the 200 can you imagine that in the US?
I hate the strict tipping policies in the US. You dare Not leave without tipping. I was chased when I left 10%.
Florida’s weather really is something else. Like Disney gets to decide what it should be.
Manchester to Orlando was a shock. Took me a while for my eyes to adjust. 🤩
If you want a really beautiful, natural light, head to the city of Bradford in West Yorkshire on an afternoon in the summer and, if the sun's out, there's this lovely yellow light bathing the city centre thanks to the buildings made of Yorkshire Stone, a type of sandstone. I visited some years ago and, as soon as I arrived, I thought how amazing it would be for painting (as it happened, some time later, an artist on a TV programme mentioned just that).
I thought you were joking at first and then realised you are being serious!!!
How do restaurant prices compare? When we have been to Florida we found restaurants like Ponderosa and Arbies were much more affordable than similar UK restaurants.
Did you add cost of the tip to the stated prices.
@@grahvis yes, it was still a lot cheaper.
@@kendee4421 .
I wondered because one thing with the tipping system is that advertised prices are not really the prices you pay.
That’s one reason why I couldn’t go to the USA. To many damn guns over there.
an armed society is a polite society.
I've been several times and never saw a gun, except for the police but then that's the case in most countries.
@@firebird77clonefirebird89 Fun facts... Taiwan's society is very polite. As is Singapore's, Japan's and South Korea's. And they all have some of the lowest gun ownership rates in the world.
@@firebird77clonefirebird89 then why did she make the comment about "don`t honk the care in front cos the driver might have a gun"
@@firebird77clonefirebird89 an armed society is an uncivilised society.
I was married to an American for 15 years and her parents lived in Florida, a place called Santa Rosa beach, which is about a 45 minute drive from Eglin airforce base. I agree with everything you said, especially the roads. We would do a fly-drive. So. Depending on where we landed. Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, most of the time we would have an 8 - 10 hour drive ahead of us, after an 8 hour flight with 3 kids. It was pretty relaxing to get on the interstate or freeway and put the cruise control on in the Lincoln continental or cadallac and just drive down the straight road. However I have to find ways of keeping myself awake. Apart from the incredible downpours of the heaviest rain I'd ever witnessed the weather was amazing and everywhere smelled of pine. Loved it there. Here's one of these 🇬🇧 just incase you missed it. 😂✌️♥️
there is a sales tax in the UK just its included in the price but if you look at your receipts you should see break downs of VAT and tax the VAT is the UK'S sale tax. its inconvenient to not have it included in the price
Im in Australia and have lived in the USA and yes the number of flags around where I lived was to my Australian eye pretty weird.
4 way stop intersection with 3 cars waiting on each lane...how do you guys solve it? do you go all per the first lane that moves or 1 per each one stopped at the intersection going round about? also if an accident happens then how can you prove to the police you were in front of the other?
Yeah, we had a huge tea party in Boston.... or something. lol
Also, you must of been in one of the few remaining corner shops if you only get a choice of ten cereal types.
I've been to Florida in the summer, amazing place but way too HOT! It's like looking at a delicious apple pie cooking in an oven, but the only way you get to eat it is by climbing into the oven.
And steamy.
I lived there and in the summer I felt like Beau Geste just going down the (glaring white concrete) road to the mailbox!
Hello. Tipping is a very mixed bag in the UK. It only pays (waiting tables) if working in an affluent area. I waited tables in a area of South Hertfordshire (Potters Bar) where I was payed an hourly rate with added tips. However, Potters Bar is not an area most would class "affluent" so tips were in heavy tender & amounted to little. Two miles south into High Barnet, Hadley Wood where I also waited tables was very, very classy. Because of this advantage we'd all be payed £20 per 6 hour shift as tips would actually make up our wage. In PB my average monthly take home would be roughly £800 including tips. In HW it was more like £2000-£3500 depending on season.
You see, the thing is is that many "well to do" eaters in high end areas have fingers in places they really ought not to & discuss "business ventures" on the quiet but clearly knowing us waiters could easily sus out the origins of said venture. This causes a "hush hush" unspoken deal between said crook, pardon I mean business partner & waiter hence nice big, fat, sweaty wads of cash shoved in our hands come closing. Sad but true! 🏳️🌈🇬🇧🏴❤️
If your story is true and at all recent, then your employer was breaking the law. Tips do not count as pay for the purpose of meeting the national minimum wage. Your employer still has to pay you at least that minimum for each hour worked, regardless of any tips you receive.
In the UK, we have the smallest houses in the developed world on average.
A big thing to consider about the amount of space in the UK is that almost all the land here was historically owned by the aristocracy for over a thousand years. Peasants were only allowed to be on the land in order to work. It's only really in the last 200 years that peasants have been able to buy their own land as the wealth gap narrowed during the industrial revolution. Then things reversed again when we had things like the Greenbelt Act which makes building on open land much harder to do.
So yeah, basically for a millennium there was no land to buy, then some of us managed to get some, but now you can't build anyway.... So we're all still crammed into tiny spaces.
You don't have to apologise for stating facts about the UK (like parking). It's just different for practical reasons.
Love your channel 😊
As a brit whose visited Australia, I know what you mean by space.
As an Australian who has visited Britain, I know what you mean by space too!
Some primary schools might have a Welsh flag on it. Most don’t but my first primary school didn’t but my second primary school I went in 2005 did but village where second primary school is there are lot of Welsh flags on business. No Union Jack though.
Americans need to look at an atlas and realise how high up we are in the world compared to America .New York is on level with Portugal and we are higher than them.that’s why the weather,the light etc etc
I'm Australian, and I always had it in my head that NY was way further north than London. Don't know why. Might be because they have much colder winters.
@@shaunmckenzie5509 The UK is as for North as where Polar bears live. The only USA state as far North as us is Alaska. We are kept warmer than we should be by a combination of. The Jet stream which keeps a lot of the very cold Arctic air North of us, and the Golf Stream that brings warm sea water up to us from the gulf of Mexico.
The Union Jack is only flown other than on army or state buildings at things like death of a monarch or a coronation or something.
It’s not a thing here.
You’ll see a lot of England flags during the World Cup !
I love the constant need to apologise in case some sensitive soul is thrown into a swoon as you comment about the size of roads and shops in the US compared to England. We should have a competition. How many times people write to you to complain that you are attacking the UKs very existence by comparing our tiny roads or shops. The nearest guess wins a Twinkie. That will soon put a stop to it.
When I lived in northern VA, the 4-way stops were terribly infuriating when I was trying to follow someone to their house. Each time, my guide would need to pull over after the junction to allow me to catch up after I had waited for three other drivers (and perhaps an impatient fourth) to traverse the junction. I rarely felt secure that everyone would respect my turn to go, so was often hesitent and got honked at.
it must be a task making these videos as i’ve noticed people from both sides can become hostile if u even say something that slightly offends them. you’re doing a very good job haha, great video.
Soooo true! You can never win. So I'll just keep being myself. Thanks for watching!
What is American council tax called? Are there bands like here in England? I’ve always wondered that’s all.
andrew deighton Government and the tax system at all levels are quite different in the UK from what you find in the US. I can’t speak for everywhere, America is a very big place. So some densely populated areas with big cities like Philadelphia to Rhode Island may have local government councils/boroughs, townships similar to Britain (New York, for example has five boroughs), I don’t know. But generally taxes that you pay in increments of time, like property, state and Federal (national) income taxes happen at the the state and Federal level. Many states (and larger cities) will levy sales taxes (VAT). They will be transparent because they’re added onto your receipt when you pay for your goods at the till. If you own property there will be a tax on it. How this is configured and levied will vary depending on the state. For the most part, there is no tax on individuals based on their living situations. You are taxed on your income, other revenue streams (investments, rental income, etc.) by the Feds and many States and in some cases cities. You may be allowed to claim exemptions on these based on your status, single, student, married, caregiver, business owner, etc., And then the previously mentioned sales taxes. Very roughly that’s pretty much how it works.
The roads are certainly straighter in the US but the guy that painted the line down the middle struggled to paint it straight
Things in America have definitely gotten worse over the past five years. The gun problem, attitudes to minorities and most notably, politics and the divide between right and left. The flag thing is a bit over the top but everyone has the right to be proud of their heritage. The hypocrisy of it though was shown clearly when Trump was seen cuddling it! Too bad he never wanted to serve under it in Vietnam!
Another entertaining video!
The USA, people still think it’s the Wild West!
Of course the natural light is better in florida, its sunny majority of the time, it can go from sunny to cloudy in the space of 10 minutes here in the UK 😂
Carful of the merkan light,it may just shoot you 😀🤣🤣
I think the reason for taxes not being included in prices and for tipping in the US are because the policy makers are for sale there (as in, this is part of the set-up, not even illegal) thanks to 'lobbying' - and these things are better for business.
When consumers are used to seeing the full price first they automatically do mental budgeting. By making the final bill always be a 'surprise' you remove this. Without this mental budgeting (or at least with it softened) people will be likely to spend more. The public are told this is because local taxes make this difficult to produce national advertising campaigns (but they could and would if they had to) - but this does not address why the shelf labels do not at least have both prices on (before and including tax) as those are printed in store by computer and this would take) extra effort to do. The public are also told this is better for them as they can then 'keep an eye on how much they are being taxed' but in countries that do include tax the receipt will still give you a tax breakdown - so this is something you'd still get anyway.
Why pay your staff when you can convince the general public that it's normal for their staff to come begging from the customers? Don't be fooled, the tipping culture is nothing more than culturally sanctioned begging ('Please give me money, my boss does not pay me enough to live on and without you giving me money I can't live'). In any other circumstance where you were expected to give money to someone you do not employ so that they can live - this is just begging and is not OK. Thanks to the public going along with this and paying extra on top of the actual charge (assisted no doubt by the extra tax system making this seem normal anyway) nothing 'needs' to change. It is kind of impressive when you think of the work it must have taken to get millions of people to accept the calculation that;
a) Person takes a job for a wage they've agreed upon with their boss.
+
b) Boss is paying sweat shop wages that nobody can live on.
=
If you do not step in to pay that bosses staff enough to make up their wage to a liveable amount YOU are the asshole in this transaction.
Is it generally more affordable to eat out in the US? There's a Daily Mirror (the British national, daily newspaper) article published in 2017 about how much more expensive Domino's pizza is here (UK), for example, a large margherita priced at £14.99 but only £2.87 in New Zealand, and £3.04 in Australia; in New York, £11.93.
Most restaurants in the Uk (well,certainly in the major cities) will add 12.5% service charge on the bill.
Re sales tax… do restaurant menu prices in the US include sales tax? If so, that just proves that you can include tax on the ticket price in shops, right?
I think I've seen a couple of Y Ddraig Goch, but Union Jacks outside of places that have multiple flags are extremely rare.
Remembering my very rusty Welsh - Cillgarren Primary 1970's - Red Dragon methinks?
@@izzyroberts5518 Yeah. Name of the flag. Or, more specifically, the heraldic emblem on the flag.
UK roads serpentine as the fields on either side needed enough room for an ox plough to turn. I like British roads, there's always something of interest, even if it's just a redpost or a tree marking a field boundary, and you always know when the road becomes Roman. You are right though that driving is more difficult in the UK, but that doesn't make it more dangerous, it just means you can't afford to be complacent driver. I enjoyed driving in both countries.
We absolutely do tip in restaurants in the UK. 10% would be a normal and 15-20% for great service. I have never not tipped in a restaurant, and I don't think I can remember anyone not tipping here.
The sales tax is a US & Canadian thing. I know of no country this side of the Atlantic where the price on the product is NOT the one you pay at check out.....
I’m from the UK and not offended at all. I’m very jealous of your real estate and climate.