Oh, I feel for you drivers in the UK what with MOT's (don't have them here) Road Tax and Insurance..I don't think we have road tax here if we do its integrated into the insurance so you don't feel it as bad you just insure your car get your plates (fill 'er up ) and off you go but I do disagree about the cheap gas..yeh..its cheaper because we're sat on the stuff but its not cheap I assume you are basing your theory that gas is cheap by the exchange rate but did you know that the job I do will pay TWICE as much if not more in the UK? did you know that some people earn only $5 or $6 an hour? so to them gas is expensive..to me its expensive I've been over this "argument" with my MIL countless times she can't understand why we don't agree that gas is cheap she say's "its half the price of ours" then we say "yeh but you earn twice as much as we do" It sucks on both sides of the ocean I'm not surprised you have a bike Frus I would'nt even want to own a car again in the UK..to much trouble and I would'nt unless it was absolutely neccessary..i'm just as happy hopping on a bus or WALKING I do plenty of that when I come home I get the blisters to prove it but like someone said you need a car over here and in the states..I have to drive 5 miles just to go for a pint of milk at the "corner" store and there is no side walk until you get to the nearest town so you're dodging traffic and blackberry bushes no thanks I'll sit in my caddy

Google tells me that 5 U.S. dollars = 2.79 pounds and 6 is 3.35 pounds The UK minimum wage is going up to £5.05 in a month which is still rubbish but at least it is law now.

And canadian are even less Veggie a lot of the employers here expect you to work for "free" too if you have'nt got all your work done in the shift allowed I gave up one job because I was working one to two hours extra (on a four hour shift)every shift and not getting paid for it its slave labour at some of these places..no wonder I want to come home

I think it hit me how big America was when I was over there - I was living in North Carolina, and my uncle lives in Oregon. I was considering going to visit him (I've not been over to his house since 1995 ), and was looking for flights. It was actually cheaper and quicker to fly back to Manchester for the weekend than to go to see him (OK, the actual time in the air might have been slightly shorter because both routes had stopovers of various lengths, I can't remember now). That shocked me as I'd never have dreamed of flying home for a couple of days but was assuming that being in the same country it wouldn't be too bad to pop over and see him.

When he moved house he drove from Florida to Oregon. I dread to think how long it took!

I didn't have a car over there, and although I cope because I was in a uni town with half decent public transport and footpaths, it was a pain in the arse to put it bluntly, when the supermarket is stuck in the middle of nowhere, and most of the decent shops are out in malls that you drive to.

hear most people only earn 5-6 pound an hour the area of the uk i live in is very poor loads of old peole no jobs poor transport links. for example for me to get the bus from my house to the city centre about 4 miles costs over £2. when everything else in america seems number for number the same as here petrol does seem cheap. i.e itunes costs 7.99 per album (on average) in the states and hear as well as being 7.99 euros. you pay about 70 for a pair of nike trainers we pay about 70. and the minimum wage is about the same.

with the exchange rate yes it is a huge difference but its still big without it.

we had a californian guy over at my judo club for a few weeks last year and he said the way he saw it was that the cheaper fuel over there was a tax break. i.e you pay less tax on fuel but you spend it elsewhere cos you have more spare and i'd have to agree if fuel was cut here by loads we would just spend the money we save on something else. after all you can't take it with you.

p.s i saw a forecourt today at 90.9p a litre in the city boundary. i dread to think what motorway services are at mind yo the nearest to us is over 60 miles away.

the thing that gripes me is that london has great transport as does manchester and leeds plymouth has nothing. we have very expensive unreliable busses a shed in a field that is called an airport and a trainline to london that shuts when the waves wash over the dawlish section we are 50 miles from exeter and 120 from bristol. to get anything we have to drive. i went to leeds in may and paid 120 return for my flight to leeds bradford. the same trip on the train the cheapest route was 12hours and the same price. so is saved myself 10 hours stupid i can't wait to leave this infested dump of an island

90.9? I might come down and get some of that! I was trying to find some on Saturday and the cheapest I saw was 92.9

YP..I drove from Florida to Vancouver Island once and its not as bad as you think in fact its a pleasure to drive there's just miles and miles of open highway..not a traffic light in sight its a bit worrying going through the desert though you're just willing your car to keep on going it took me 10 days but I stayed every night in a motel and had a 10 day lay over in Vegas tell me about the flights..they are crazy I can go from Vancouver to Manchester for less than a short flight to Prince George or somewhere a couple of "hours" away..in fact my last flight to UK in June cost a piddly $407 thats is the cheapest flight I have ever been on in 11 years of living here roughly 1200mls per $100 how's that for gas mileage

While I was driving home from school, I remembered a funny thing from my childhood. I lived about 1/4 mile from my elementary/primary school. And I took the bus because there were no sidewalks between my house and the school. One day I missed the bus home, so I walked. The next day, I was called to the principal's office because he'd seen me walking home and wanted to gently remind me that it was "against the rules" for me to walk home. Bizarre.

And, now that I think about it...how come he didn't give me a ride??? Strange man.

Also, I had to try 3 different gas stations today before I found one that even HAD gas. Frightening. Feels like th '70s again when my Dad and I got up at 5am on Saturdays to get in line at the Sunoco. I know the UK had that lorry driver strike a few years back and petrol stations ran out of fuel...felt a bit like that.

I'm just glad I have an ELECTRIC lawn mower . My neighbors think I'm bananas because it's practically treason over here to exist without a gas-guzzling riding-mower . But it's good exercise (I have nearly 1/2 an acre to mow) and all I hafta do is plug the sucker in.

hmmm, just re-read both mesmerize and Phat Phoenix post....yep, PhatPhonix is pretty opinionated in a negative way....but comes to this site devised by 3 american sisters who kindly set up an area for brits to converse. tsk, tsk, do you think they learned to do this on that primative computer equipment in their schools? that is kind of insulting.

Just for the record, when I park my car and walk around the city where I work, I've NEVER been mistaken for a hooker.....even in heels.....

and the computer software in my area's public schools are updated on a yearly basis.

Ok this thread is just individual opinions lets not get upset. I can't believe this thread has turned into 'who won the war' for some posters so I'm closing it (sorry 2frus hope you understand).

I had no intention of offending - just pointing out to my fellow Brits that *the grass isn't always greener on the other side*. I did suggest that I was talking about the Mid West in particular - and just pointing out my own observations, without any intention of them being taken to heart by anyone. I think that's another cultural difference - that we're a lot more confrontational and tougher talking at times, although we don't realise we're doing it.

But rest assured, I was just pointing out to my fellow Brits some reasons why I think the petrol prices are so much lower, than our's, and why we should not be too envious as you have a lot of problems we don't have to contend with. As for feeling threatened by blokes wandering loose and alone - I have to say I'm not. I live in a place where we leave our houses and cars unlocked day and night, but I know it's unusual even in the UK, sadly, these days.

I've seen the sad news from New Orleans on the news tonight and my thoughts are with those people who've lost everything and are now without food or water, let alone homes. I'm sure that's more important than gas prices, right now.


All societies have their good and bad points - I've found that my American friends who have visited the UK for long periods of time, or lived here, usually are of the same opinion as me. You have to have experienced both cultures to really have an opinion, I guess. But in the words of the great Billy Bragg *What do they know of England that only England know*. It's the same for the US too. Sometimes travel brings perspective? I was merely poiinting out to my fellow Brits that we have a great way of life here, but we take it for granted, sometimes.