Pulaski

The French, German, Italy, and other countries' "right wing" parties vote in a bloc, and contrary to the policies/ preferences of the Conservatives. ..... And generally/ broadly EU politicians vote in accordance with their own national counterparts. ..... And yes, even Labour is out of step with a lot of the Euro-parties.

username.exe

In the UK we grow up surrounded by American media.
Television shows, movies, music, comedians, literature... even our news output allows you the opportunity to gain a pretty thorough understanding of the political landscape in the US.

Kids nowadays are growing up in the age if the internet, possibly making the US seem even more accessible.

Yes, there are small differences (they don't have taxes included on the price tag here), but are things really so deeply 'foreign'? I had a pretty good idea of what to expect before I arrived.

We are all still putting our trousers - excuse me - pants on, the same way.

Guindalf

Talking of media, the average American has little or no knowledge of events happening outside of its territorial boundaries.

Most news programs focus on, first, local news (for the nearest big city working outwards) and then national news stories. Only if an American is affected does it go beyond that - or it's a big wnough story that it warrants international attention.

"An American citizen broke a nail while vacationing in France today - here's a 10 minute report from our correspondent. After that, we report on the earthquake that killed 10,000 foreigners"!!!!!

Canveydave

Public toilets with an 18 inch gap at the bottom and that any person over 6 foot tall can see over the top of.

Oh and invariably a half inch gap where the door shuts.

Biggest difference.

That and the amazing amount of drive-thru's. Food, Dry Cleaning, there is even a drive-thru Margarita place 2 miles from me

Hiro11

This always amazes me when I hear Europeans say this: we know all about America because we watch American TV. Sorry, that's absurd. Do you think I could actually learn what it's like to live in the UK by watching BBCAmerica and the Harry Potter movies?

SultanOfSwing

Depends what show. The Inbetweeners is a pretty close representation to what it was like in my last few years of school ...

In all seriousness, I don't think when people say that, the implication is that just by watching American TV it means you will automatically know what it's like and be 100% prepared to live in the US with no adjustment. It does make it a bit (just a bit, mind) easier to transition over into living here.

HumphreyC

It depends. I get a lot of foreign news first (some of it quite obscure) from my right wing US friends on Facebook. There's a whole bunch that share stuff from the Fox News website. True some of it is outright wingnut - 'ISIS is in Mexico!' - but I can't honestly say that they have little or no interest or knowledge about what is going on outside America (even if the picture they have is very skewed).

English88

This. Plus most of the time, the gap between the toilet seat and the water is tiny so have to stand up to wipe. Being 6'5" I have to crouch forward so I'm not saying "hello" to everyone that walks past.

HumphreyC

He should read some of the comments on the Torygraph site every time there is an article that touches on Muslims or immigration. Or go to certain parts of Scotland with a brown skinned friend in tow and see how many ash-trays you get thrown at you.

The US and UK are a lot different because they have very different historical experiences since they diverged in the eighteenth century. A lot of the things that we now find very alien are actually rooted in English traditions which have been de-emphasized in the mother country.

Probably the key factor is the average US citizen's distrust of government because that's fundamental to a lot of the differences. It's seen as a necessary evil rather than a positive force for change as it was in Britain following the Beveridge Report and the introduction of the welfare state. That's why the type of things that government alone can act on (universal healthcare, maternity / paternity leave, mandatory vacation time) have been slow to arrive or have proved very hard to implement. If the US had been even more affected by the First and Second World wars than it was then perhaps things would have been different.

WEBlue

I feel this is becoming less and less true these days. Friends in France & Scandinavia confirm that the right is ascendant, surging into power in many EU nations. Sentiments all over Europe are swinging against old EU-led brand of socialism. Rebellion against austerity policies and immigration problems are the fuel. Marine LePen could win the next election...

Europe's Deep Right-Wing Logic - Forbes

Amie06

This is so true from my experience here in Alabama, the Americans are very insular it seems compared to English.
Watched coverage of 2012 London Olympics here in US and it was difficult to believe there were countries other than the US involved.
If the US came sixth in an event they would get more coverage than the winner.

I can use American terms in England and be understood trunk/hood/parking lot/pants, use English terms here and get met with a blank look

manekeniko

I think some of you are channeling the differences and missing the love. Many Americans follow the royal family, love British culture, cross the pond to visit London. I have two American novelist friends who are raging Anglophiles. One has published a series of novels set in the Tudor era (beginning with "The Crown"). The other's fondest wish is to move from Texas and live in Cornwall where her novels are set.

I guess you already know Americans along the east and west coasts tend to be less insular and more worldly.

This American understands about 85% of the slang used by members here, but I'm picking up the rest of it. As a direct response copywriter, I've written some ads targeted to the UK and a few for Australia, so reading here is actually helpful. Thanks!

HumphreyC

The last conference I exhibited at, it was hard to get much business done because the American prospects insisted on telling me about their last trip to England, their favorite Monty Python episode, how much they love the accent etc etc. There was even one who was telling me how superior Rugby Union is to American football.

There's definitely a special relationship all right! (although it's really a cultural relationship - in foreign relations it's a bit more suspect)

username.exe

Well, I wasn't talking about condensing twenty years' worth of media into a movie or two. But yeah, that's just me and my experience. *sips tea*

RoadWarriorFromLP

I wouldn't confuse knowledge with disinformation. They're not uninformed, they're misinformed (which is even worse.)