Cultural Differences between USA and England

[Synful*Luv]

Just curious. For those of you who have spent a large amount of time in both locations or have lived in both locations.. what are some of the main cultural differences you've noticed?

With small things like food, tv, etc

And larger things like humor, class systems, etc

*waits on Casey*

Would it be more difficult for someone to live in England and move to America and adjust or vice-versa?

 

[The.Menace]

differences somethow suggest that it's basically the same, just a lil different. That's not the case. Another continent is pretty much another world.

 

[Casey]

Truthfully, outside of London.....the UK mostly sucks ass. The other major cities (Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool) are OK, but London is the only city that is really progressive, forward thinking, and multi-cultural on a big scale.

USA has many cities like that so it's better because one has more choices and can easily find a place that suits them - climate wise, in terms of the ethnic mix, any kind of variable to fit any part of the make-up of one's identity and what you enjoy in life whether that's music, art, nightlife, diet, etc.

The UK is essentially like a single small American state - and not a particularly good one at that.

As far as food, in both countries you're gonna find that the food largely reflects the multi-culturalism of the country. For example, there's some great Indian food in most places in the UK because we have such a large Indian population. However, there's no Mexican population here (I don't think I've ever met a single Mexican person here) so you'll struggle to get Mexican food here. Large Jamaican community so they are very well represented culturally here.

TV here is kinda uninteresting. I very rarely watch TV. There are a handful of really good British-made shows, and then we get all the really popular American shows over here on cable channels, but they are usually a few seasons behind. If the show is really popular, there'll be less of a gap.

For example, "Glee" just started here a few days ago.

I don't like to wait for the shows that I like, so I just download them all. As soon as they air in the US, people upload them to torrent sites, so I usually get to see the shows I like within 24 hours of them airing in the US.

Humor - British humor is great, but way too dry and sarcastic for many Americans. A lot of shows that we hold in high regard here would never take off in the US because they just don't get the humor of it, it's hard to explain. I find that a lot of British humor gets tiresome very quickly....generally speaking I prefer American humor because it's largely more accessible.

Class systems - basically, if you're not white, forget it. There's a very low glass ceiling here for the vast majority of people from an ethnic background and again outside of London there is no true multi-culturalism. The problem is that the different cultures generally build their own little ethnic bubbles and stay inside them. In this country, if you're Indian, Pakistani, Jamaican, or any ethnicity with significant representation, it's entirely and easily possible to live and work in a community entirely comprised of people of your ethnicity, read ethnic-targeted magazines and newspapers and go out to events targeted at your race.

These kind of cultural bubbles halt real progress and just foster hatred and resentment between communities (there are regular riots here in Birmingham and other cities between Indian and Black communities).

Also, the vast majority of land, wealth and political influence here is still within the same white families that have held onto it for hundreds and hundreds of years. Longer than America has even existed as a modern nation. The man who is all but guaranteed to be the next Prime Minister is a direct descendant to 17th century royalty. It's all very incestuous and then you've got the Royal Family (useless dickheads, thieves and murderers) sitting on top of everything as always. There's no chance in hell of a black man having anywhere near an opportunity to run this country, as you guys have done. They killed Diana just because she dated and was apparently pregnant by a wealthy Muslim (they'll never prove this but this is the likeliest scenario)

There's a tendency amongst English people and amongst people from other countries to sort of romanticize England, with grandiose imagery from the cruel, racist, enslaving days of the British Empire. But they shouldn't. We're a backwards, irrelevant intolerant nation that won't be a superpower for much longer.

I've never met an American that has spent any significant amount of time here that has been impressed by anything outside of London. On the contrary, I know many Britains in America who love it there and would never come back to this shithole.

On top of that - the British are very dismissive of Americans, and having an accent over here is not going to get you very far. The flipside of that (luckily for me) is that you guys just love it when we come and live in the USA.

My British accent alone in the US gives me an air of mystery and intelligence that Americans just go nuts for.

I feel like I'm being too negative, but really I'm just being honest. This country has completely gone down the shitter and it's not coming back any time soon. I for one can't wait to get the fuck out of here.

Prize Gotti has spent a lot of time in the US as well and I'm sure he'll tell you many of the same things.

This country is restricted, brick-walled, with a lack of opportunities. The complete opposite to many freedoms you take for granted in the US.

 

[stefanwzyga]

The UK sucks.


Maybe cuz im from here, but i have no idea why anyone would want to come to the UK. There is waaaay to many nicer places to visit.

This country is restricted, brick-walled, with a lack of opportunities. The complete opposite to many freedoms you take for granted in the US.

Example?

 

[Bobby Sands]

Liverpool is more than ok

great city. i love it over there. people are very friendly and witty.

Ive been in Manchester as well. nice city too.

never been to London though. must visit soon.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

Liverpool is more than ok

great city. i love it over there. people are very friendly and witty.

Ive been in Manchester as well. nice city too.

never been to London though. must visit soon.

Liverpool is a great city. I've had a few great weekends down there.

 

[Casey]

Example?

I was speaking from a minority perspective. England is probably a great place to live if you are Caucasian....I wouldn't know.

But I know that, even at the BBC, possibly the most liberal employer in the country....there's almost no black people that work there. 95% of the Asian people that work there are at the Asian Network, and most of the Black people that are there are at 1Xtra....the BBC is obliged by law to represent the most significant minority populations in the country.

But even that's an example of the closed community mindset of the UK. The BBC are like "well, since we legally have to represent for these people, let's just give them their own little section and put them all there and they won't get in our way". That's what it feels like. The creation of 1xtra and the Asian network means you'll very rarely hear a black or asian artist on Radio 1, even if those artists are great and popular. Closed community mindset.

That lack of diversity and discrimination is present everywhere. Where are the minorities in the government? Why is it that every Asian kid I know plays football but there's only 1 or 2 Asian players in professional football? This government just cut the funding of all arts and creativity in the UK because of the Olympics. Total shambles.

As a minority in the UK, i don't feel like I could become a professional sports player, a member of parliament, the CEO of a major organisation, the list goes on.....if I actually wanted to do any of these things. When I'm in the US I feel a sense of freedom of being able to do and be whatever I want. They don't stifle entrepreneurs there like they do here. There's funding across the board for all kinds of different activities. You can get loans to start any kind of business there that you would never get here in a million years. All kinds of things.

I feel like capitalism, as a system, has to be extreme if it is to be successful, and in the US, it is. They sell, they market, they do things properly. I was a consultant for the launch of a major phone here that sold millions in the US a couple years ago, and the parent corporation just refused to market it or do any advertising, yet expected everything for free and for the phone to be successful regardless, without even letting people know that it was out unless they walked into the fucking shop and saw it.

Pretty much every industry I've seen in action in the UK is prejudiced, half-hearted, and lazy in comparison to the US. My wife said the same thing....things are just done half-arsed over here. A good friend of mine who has worked at Radio 1 and other BBC areas for ages is leaving soon because there's about 5 fucking layers of middle management she has to go through before any kind of interesting project gets greenlit, and by the time it does, it's not interesting anymore.

Also the education system here is a complete fucking joke and there's no way in HELL I'd ever send any future kids of mine to school here. Not for shit.

I have many grievances about this country which is why I'll be moving to the US at some point in the near future. But mostly, this place is just dull, uninteresting, the weather is shit, the people are unfriendly, and the country is backwards and racist.

 

[2Pax]

I can't really comment on any similarities or differences between the two countries, but I can say that what Casey Rain wrote is one of the most pessimistically flawed reviews I've ever had the misfortune to read. My eyes bleed at the personal vendetta that grows by each line.

 

[Jokerman]

Also, we have feelings here in the US, whereas the English have "emotions."

 

[Bobby Sands]

I was speaking from a minority perspective. England is probably a great place to live if you are Caucasian....I wouldn't know.

But I know that, even at the BBC, possibly the most liberal employer in the country....there's almost no black people that work there. 95% of the Asian people that work there are at the Asian Network, and most of the Black people that are there are at 1Xtra....the BBC is obliged by law to represent the most significant minority populations in the country.

But even that's an example of the closed community mindset of the UK. The BBC are like "well, since we legally have to represent for these people, let's just give them their own little section and put them all there and they won't get in our way". That's what it feels like. The creation of 1xtra and the Asian network means you'll very rarely hear a black or asian artist on Radio 1, even if those artists are great and popular. Closed community mindset.

That lack of diversity and discrimination is present everywhere. Where are the minorities in the government? Why is it that every Asian kid I know plays football but there's only 1 or 2 Asian players in professional football? This government just cut the funding of all arts and creativity in the UK because of the Olympics. Total shambles.

As a minority in the UK, i don't feel like I could become a professional sports player, a member of parliament, the CEO of a major organisation, the list goes on.....if I actually wanted to do any of these things. When I'm in the US I feel a sense of freedom of being able to do and be whatever I want. They don't stifle entrepreneurs there like they do here. There's funding across the board for all kinds of different activities. You can get loans to start any kind of business there that you would never get here in a million years. All kinds of things.

I feel like capitalism, as a system, has to be extreme if it is to be successful, and in the US, it is. They sell, they market, they do things properly. I was a consultant for the launch of a major phone here that sold millions in the US a couple years ago, and the parent corporation just refused to market it or do any advertising, yet expected everything for free and for the phone to be successful regardless, without even letting people know that it was out unless they walked into the fucking shop and saw it.

Pretty much every industry I've seen in action in the UK is prejudiced, half-hearted, and lazy in comparison to the US. My wife said the same thing....things are just done half-arsed over here. A good friend of mine who has worked at Radio 1 and other BBC areas for ages is leaving soon because there's about 5 fucking layers of middle management she has to go through before any kind of interesting project gets greenlit, and by the time it does, it's not interesting anymore.

Also the education system here is a complete fucking joke and there's no way in HELL I'd ever send any future kids of mine to school here. Not for shit.

I have many grievances about this country which is why I'll be moving to the US at some point in the near future. But mostly, this place is just dull, uninteresting, the weather is shit, the people are unfriendly, and the country is backwards and racist.

because they arent good enough?

I can guarantee you this. If a kid has the talent he will have a good chance of making it. There is a serious lack of young talent coming through at the top level of English football at the moment.

besides there have been a few asian players to play in the premiership and what about all the black english players that have made it? there have been loads.

 

[Bobby Sands]

India are rubbish. have they even got a football team? the only Asian countries that are any good at football are South Korea, North Korea, Japan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia. A few other like Iraq and Bahrain are ok at that level but the rest of asia is more or less shite.

There arent that many quality Asian footballers in the World let alone in the UK.

 

[masta247]

Can't really tell about the US but when I first was in London in the late late 90s it was so strange - seemed mostly just like a different, big city but what made the biggest difference to me was how people used to act.
Most of all everyone seemed so fake. Smiling at me and pretending to care while in the end I felt like they could stab me in the back as soon as I looked back - seriously. My cousins' friends didn't want to hang out with me because they thought I come from some 3rd world country but when I was around they used to pretend that they're interested and asked all kinds of stupid questions (like about the welfare help and such lol). They'd pretend that they want to take me out somewhere and then when they went home their parents called my aunt to say that they don't want to go and it was all solved with that fake "okay, no problem haha okay gtfo *smile*" manner. It turned out that there was some retarded teacher at their school talking about how poor Poland is and how kids should send us gifts like chocolate or clothes.
Anyway I didn't really like English people and it was an opinion that seemed to be hard to change. With every opportunity I had to meet someone from London it turned out that he was a total dick. At some point I refused to learn English because of that.

Right now the situation is totally different as people everywhere seem to change, the ongoing globalization takes place and differences between various cultures are not as obvious anymore. I've met nice English people who are really great but I still dislike that hm I don't know how to call it - "traditional English personality trait?" which is being fake and hypocritical and it's something that affects really many English people and I find it really way too obvious and annoying.

 

[stefanwzyga]

I was speaking from a minority perspective. England is probably a great place to live if you are Caucasian....I wouldn't know.

But I know that, even at the BBC, possibly the most liberal employer in the country....there's almost no black people that work there. 95% of the Asian people that work there are at the Asian Network, and most of the Black people that are there are at 1Xtra....the BBC is obliged by law to represent the most significant minority populations in the country.

But even that's an example of the closed community mindset of the UK. The BBC are like "well, since we legally have to represent for these people, let's just give them their own little section and put them all there and they won't get in our way". That's what it feels like. The creation of 1xtra and the Asian network means you'll very rarely hear a black or asian artist on Radio 1, even if those artists are great and popular. Closed community mindset.

That lack of diversity and discrimination is present everywhere. Where are the minorities in the government? Why is it that every Asian kid I know plays football but there's only 1 or 2 Asian players in professional football? This government just cut the funding of all arts and creativity in the UK because of the Olympics. Total shambles.

As a minority in the UK, i don't feel like I could become a professional sports player, a member of parliament, the CEO of a major organisation, the list goes on.....if I actually wanted to do any of these things. When I'm in the US I feel a sense of freedom of being able to do and be whatever I want. They don't stifle entrepreneurs there like they do here. There's funding across the board for all kinds of different activities. You can get loans to start any kind of business there that you would never get here in a million years. All kinds of things.

I feel like capitalism, as a system, has to be extreme if it is to be successful, and in the US, it is. They sell, they market, they do things properly. I was a consultant for the launch of a major phone here that sold millions in the US a couple years ago, and the parent corporation just refused to market it or do any advertising, yet expected everything for free and for the phone to be successful regardless, without even letting people know that it was out unless they walked into the fucking shop and saw it.

Pretty much every industry I've seen in action in the UK is prejudiced, half-hearted, and lazy in comparison to the US. My wife said the same thing....things are just done half-arsed over here. A good friend of mine who has worked at Radio 1 and other BBC areas for ages is leaving soon because there's about 5 fucking layers of middle management she has to go through before any kind of interesting project gets greenlit, and by the time it does, it's not interesting anymore.

Also the education system here is a complete fucking joke and there's no way in HELL I'd ever send any future kids of mine to school here. Not for shit.

I have many grievances about this country which is why I'll be moving to the US at some point in the near future. But mostly, this place is just dull, uninteresting, the weather is shit, the people are unfriendly, and the country is backwards and racist.

Thanks for filling me in. I wouldnt really know as im white.




I agree with Bobby sands on the football matter though, if they were good enough players, they would make it.

 

[Prize Gotti]

Food, its kinda hard to say. Basically everything tastes different, even the same stuff (brands we share). Milk, eggs, sugar, flour etc tastes nothing like each other.

For example;
Chocolate: UK > USA
Other Candy: USA > UK
Meat: USA > UK
Veg: UK > USA
Fruit: USA > UK
Beverages: UK > USA

I guess these differences are caused by how it is processed/farmed.

TV:
Again, its hard to choose, ALOT of UK TV sucks, however, stuff like comedy here is brilliant, our sense of humour is great and diverse. However, again like Casey said, its hard for Americans to understand it, i dunno how to explain why this is so, but it is. I do like American comedy, but it does lack the diversity British comedy has. I do feel also we Brit make the best documentarys, they are so good that they are not boring like you would expect a documentary to be.

Music: I have to say UK on this one. America is a heavily commercialised country, and this has a horrible impact on your music. Our music is rarely affected in this way, most people here listen to non-chart music, ie no pop stuff.

I could go on but I got stuff to do, but i will say this, despite the good points I raised about what is good in the UK, none of that matters, because to actually live in this country is a fucking nightmare. There is nothing here to be proud of, nothing to make "Great Britain" great. And this is why i get annoyed when I hear Americans complain about America.

What you guys fail to realise, out of EVERY single country in the world, America is Paradise, you live in the CHEAPEST country in the world, you live in a country with the LOWEST rate of unemployment, and you guys are the HIGHEST paid people in the world.

So next time you want to complain about America, just remember, if you lived in any other country, THINGS WOULD BE WORSE!

 

[Casey]

because they arent good enough?

I can guarantee you this. If a kid has the talent he will have a good chance of making it. There is a serious lack of young talent coming through at the top level of English football at the moment.

besides there have been a few asian players to play in the premiership and what about all the black english players that have made it? there have been loads.

To be fair...it might be a cultural thing, like it isn't seen to be a "proper" career by the elders....you get a lot of that.

but i've seen indian teenagers playing football on the streets here in Birmingham that are as good as any professional player their age.

none of that matters, because to actually live in this country is a fucking nightmare. There is nothing here to be proud of, nothing to make "Great Britain" great. And this is why i get annoyed when I hear Americans complain about America.

Truth spoken.

I can't really comment on any similarities or differences between the two countries, but I can say that what Casey Rain wrote is one of the most pessimistically flawed reviews I've ever had the misfortune to read. My eyes bleed at the personal vendetta that grows by each line.

Are you white? Cos this country is a much better place to live if you are, as far as I can see.

The UK is fundamentally and institutionally racist, majority controlled by upper class white people who don't give a shit about anything outside of their world of country manors and tea parties. Fact.

What I wrote was not based on personal vendetta. I have no reason to have a vendetta. I'm not poor, or been fucked over by the system.

I'm a self made success in the music industry, but I don't see any future continuing to do what I do in this country.

 

[DPG iz all I C]

But I know that, even at the BBC, possibly the most liberal employer in the country....there's almost no black people that work there. 95% of the Asian people that work there are at the Asian Network, and most of the Black people that are there are at 1Xtra....the BBC is obliged by law to represent the most significant minority populations in the country.

But even that's an example of the closed community mindset of the UK. The BBC are like "well, since we legally have to represent for these people, let's just give them their own little section and put them all there and they won't get in our way". That's what it feels like. The creation of 1xtra and the Asian network means you'll very rarely hear a black or asian artist on Radio 1, even if those artists are great and popular. Closed community mindset.

You never hear a black artist on Radio 1 ? You must be fucking deaf.

 

[Casey]

You never hear a black artist on Radio 1 ? You must be fucking deaf.

The Radio 1 playlist is biased towards middle class white indie rock. They push all the emerging black talent etc over to 1xtra, and even many of their own DJ's.

the Black artists they play are mostly American.

I'm not talking about niche evening specialist music shows here, I'm talking about the playlist. Here's their current A-list:

3Oh!3 feat. Katy Perry Starstrukk
Biffy Clyro Many of Horror (When We Collide)
Alexandra Burke Broken Heels
Example Won't Go Quietly
Girls Can't Catch Echo
Hot Chip One Life Stand
Iyaz Replay
Jay-Z featuring Mr Hudson Young Forever
Ke$ha Tik Tok
Lady Gaga Bad Romance
Lostprophets Where We Belong
Marina & The Diamonds Hollywood
N-Dubz featuring Mr Hudson Playing With Fire
Paolo Nutini 10/10
OneRepublic All The Right Moves
Owl City Fireflies
Plan B Stay Too Long
Sidney Samson featuring Wizard Sleeve Riverside (Let’s Go!)
Vampire Weekend Cousins

Let's take out all the popular American stuff that has huge million-dollar major label budgets behind it, and all the Simon Cowell reality show shite.

Biffy Clyro Many of Horror (When We Collide)
Example Won't Go Quietly
Hot Chip One Life Stand
Lostprophets Where We Belong
Marina & The Diamonds Hollywood
Paolo Nutini 10/10
Plan B Stay Too Long
Sidney Samson featuring Wizard Sleeve Riverside (Let’s Go!)
Vampire Weekend Cousins

All middle class whiteboy university student house music, indie bands, and the only rapper on the list is white.

 

[S O F I]

What you guys fail to realise, out of EVERY single country in the world, America is Paradise, you live in the CHEAPEST country in the world, you live in a country with the LOWEST rate of unemployment, and you guys are the HIGHEST paid people in the world.

lawl.

We have a 10% unemployment rate, hardly the lowest. We hover around 10th on GDP per capita, we're 13th on the HDI, our gini coefficient is 45 and has been steadily rising over the last several decades. This is NOT paradise.

 

[Jokerman]

This is NOT paradise.

Speak for yourself. I've got 72 virgins here.

 

[SiGh]

India are rubbish.

WTF?

have they even got a football team? the only Asian countries that are any good at football are South Korea, North Korea, Japan, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Both Saudi Arabia and Iran aren't Asian countries..lol

A few other like Iraq and Bahrain are ok at that level but the rest of asia is more or less shite.

lol