{"id":827,"date":"2015-10-11T20:00:07","date_gmt":"2015-10-11T20:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/?p=827"},"modified":"2019-06-11T22:20:25","modified_gmt":"2019-06-11T22:20:25","slug":"us-uk-100-differences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/2015\/10\/11\/us-uk-100-differences\/","title":{"rendered":"That list, from the other perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

Following what sounded like a very pleasant holiday to the UK, an American gentleman by the name of Scott Waters put a list together of 100 differences he noticed in rural England. To everyone’s surprise the list<\/a> went viral and has been shared over\u00a050,000 times, sparking an international conversation about the differences between two countries.<\/p>\n

I sincerely doubt my list will go viral or have stories written about it in Metro<\/em> or Mashable<\/em>, but I’ve endeavoured to do the same and have compiled an equivalent list of the differences in New York City, as I originally come from the same quaint countryside Mr Waters was talking about.<\/p>\n

His list is pasted here…<\/p>\n

\"England-List\"<\/p>\n

…and mine is here…<\/p>\n

\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0People are mostly polite
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The quality of food varies drastically depending on where you go
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Guns are on the belt of every single police officer, traffic cop and security guard you’ll see
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The ground floor is counted as the first floor
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Tower blocks don’t have a 13th floor, it usually just skips from 12 to 14
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Sitting at the bar, drinking on your own is not considered odd
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0No one has any clue what box junctions are, even though they’re painted on the roads
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Everything is more expensive than the price tag says, because the figure doesn’t include tax
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0You’d better like cheese, they put it on almost everything
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The paper money is straightforward, but the coins have names that don’t refer to their value
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It’s extremely rare for apartments to have their own washing machines
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Rented apartments\u00a0have\u00a0wall switches for certain plug points, not ceiling lights
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Fag is an offensive word for gays
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It’s not deliberate rudeness, but no one even thinks<\/em> to hold a door open for anyone behind them
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Everything is bigger, taller and generally more impressive
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0In New York, supermarkets only sell beer; for wine and spirits you need to go to a separate shop
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0They call tomato ketchup “catsup”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0They fry everything
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It\u2019s really hard to find normal-tasting butter as everything is made with “sweet cream”
\n\u2022\u00a0<\/strong>Americans pronounce the name of the English supermarket “Sains-berries”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The favourite food is pizza and they’ll use virtually anything as a topping
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Coriander is “cilantro” and spring onions are “green onions”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0A\u00a0red pepper is a “capsicum” and a courgette\u00a0is a “zucchini”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Every New York police officer looks at you like you’re a potential terrorist
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0You rarely see a female police officer
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0NYPD officers aren’t\u00a0exactly rude, but they’re abrupt,\u00a0discourteous and often unhelpful
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Spanish is spoken almost as much as English
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0“Light” beer is drunk just as much as normal beer
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Beer is “lager” and no one knows what bitter is
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0You’re expected to tip for everything
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Corner shops are called “bodegas” [pro:<\/em>\u00a0bo-day<\/strong>-ga]
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0$1 coins and $2 bills actually exist, but\u00a0you’ll never, ever see one in\u00a0circulation
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0American football is “football” and football is “soccer”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Despite having a team in the 2015 Rugby World Cup, the game only turned professional in 2016
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0They have three\u00a0national<\/em>\u00a0sports, not just seasonal ones
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0In America, a hooker is someone\u00a0with a very different profession to that of a rugby player
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0They have counties and<\/em> states and the laws can vary significantly from state to state
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Thanksgiving is bigger than Christmas
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0People say “how are you” as a greeting and don’t expect an answer
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0There are too many channels on TV to even count
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The\u00a0New York\u00a0Times<\/em>\u00a0is the closest thing to a national broadsheet
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The sky here seems so much bigger somehow
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Anyone over 6ft tall will find a New York yellow taxi cab extremely uncomfortable
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Making sure beer is cold is as important as breathing air
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Every shop door opens outwards, into the sidewalk and the pedestrians who happen to be walking along it
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0There are fire stations everywhere in Manhattan
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Every American thinks we love Harry Potter and Dr Who as much as they do
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It’s difficult to get a\u00a0cup of builder’s tea; it has to be either earl grey, English breakfast or green tea
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0A grill inside an oven is a “broiler”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Their curries are more like the ones you get in India, not the English versions, so no one knows what a balti is
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0They write the day and the month the wrong way around
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Regardless of your age (I’m in my 40s) you get asked for ID upon entering bars
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Any period longer than about a week when no one gets shot in New York makes national news
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Cars with manual transmission are just something other countries have
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Their banknotes are all the same size and colour, regardless of denomination
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Americans can’t tell the difference between English and Australian accents
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The New York Subway is quite different to the London Underground and takes a little getting used to<\/a>
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It’s still cheaper to buy stuff here from a shop than it is at the duty free in Heathrow Airport
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0After watching the adverts on TV for an hour, you’ll be convinced you’re dying of a disease you’d never heard of
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0New York has more interesting history that most of the inhabitants know about
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0America tends to\u00a0gloss over<\/em>\u00a0one or two less-than-perfect chapters of its history
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0New Yorkers dress however they want; Londoners especially, are far more concerned with fashion
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Going to see a doctor or a dentist can be really expensive
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0No one knows what the overtaking lane is for on the freeways
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0A highway is a busy, wide road \u2013 a freeway is a motorway
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Cars are under no\u00a0obligation to stop for pedestrians at ‘zebra’ crossings
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Their tabloids aren’t as merciless as ours
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0A large percentage of Americans have never left America
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0You’d be forgiven if you thought the hot dog was the national dish
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Everyone seems to have an over-inflated job title<\/a>
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Take the number of bars and restaurants that you think are in New York and multiply it by 100
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Most bars stay open to at least 2am, even if there’s only one person in it
\n\u2022<\/strong> Not every UK electronic device will work out in the US
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0You can have\u00a0anything<\/em>\u00a0delivered to your door,\u00a0for a price
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0A tap is called a “faucet”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It’s not uncommon to see passengers sitting with their pets on domestic flights
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Americans can fly within the USA with any photo ID; a passport is not required
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Virtually every hotel in the US offers free Wi-Fi as standard
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Cellphone numbers in the US have the same configuration\u00a0as landline numbers and they have area codes
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Pizza is often called “pie”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Americans pronounce it arse-some<\/em>, the English pronounced it oar-some<\/em>
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0In most bars, the barman will make sure you have a topped-up glass of water the whole time you’re there
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Americans don’t know what a Buck’s Fizz is, they call it a “mimosa” and put less champagne in it
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Your last name is never referred to as your surname
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0An American pint is about 20% smaller than an English pint
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0You can buy cigarettes in a chemists, which they call a “pharmacy”
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Americans haven’t embraced rail travel and their cross country network is seriously\u00a0in need of an update
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Most railway crossings in the US don’t have barriers and people often get killed by oncoming trains
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0It’s not unheard of to take your pet to work with you
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0In the UK, “We must meet up” usually results in a meeting. In the US, “We must meet up” means nothing at all
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The Tube is the “Subway” and a subway is an “underpass” but in both countries it can also be a sandwich shop
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0The word “herbs” is pronounced with a silent “h” but\u00a0it’s emphasized in “vehicle” [pro:<\/em>\u00a0vee-h<\/strong>ickle]
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0In American, “junk” is slang for the same thing that “tackle” and “crown jewels” are slang for in England
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0A car boot is the “trunk” and the bonnet is the “hood”
\n\u2022 <\/strong>Man hole covers sometimes catch fire and explode<\/a> when the snow melts in New York
\n\u2022 <\/strong>Halloween\u00a0is a really big deal
\n\u2022<\/strong> A degree is known as a college degree even though you get it from university
\n\u2022<\/strong> Almost anyone can legally buy a gun
\n\u2022<\/strong>\u00a0Everything is indeed just a little bit different<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following what sounded like a very pleasant holiday to the UK, an American gentleman by the name of Scott Waters put a list together of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=827"}],"version-history":[{"count":48,"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1788,"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/827\/revisions\/1788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsnowden.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}