Comparing United Kingdom and United States: Views of a Foreigner - Essay Example

Comparing United Kingdom and United States: Views of a Foreigner There are many powerful countries in the world but two of those that are known to be most powerful are United Kingdom (U.K.) and United States (U.S.). These two countries have a lot in common because as history recounts, the United States was colonized and inhabited by people from the United Kingdom. However, a number of differences can also be determined between the two countries from the changes that occurred throughout time. The two countries share a lot of commonalities. First, both of them have four seasons, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Second, both use English as their national language. Third, both are inhabited by multicultural people, and fourth, both have successful economies and a number of colonies. Among main differences include the form of government and composition or number of states or countries. Both U.K. and U.S. have four seasons called spring, summer, autumn and winter. Both countries experience the same seasons at the same time. For instance, spring starts in March and ends in May. Summer starts in June until August. Autumn is from September till November. Finally, winter starts in December and ends sometime in February. During spring, flowers start to bloom and there is fresh, cool air around. In summer, the weather is hot and people go to the beach to get tanned. In autumn, leaves fall and scatter on the ground while in winter, people need to wear stockings and coats because of the cold snow. Despite the similarities in seasons, the temperature in the two countries varies. Normally, summer is hotter and winter is wetter in U.S. than in U.K. and the states in U.S. vary greatly in terms of temperature. It is said that the temperature in Seattle is more or less the same as that in U.K. and the southern part of U.K. usually shares the U.S. climate more than other parts of England. Both countries use English as their national language. Most of the terms are the same; thus an American would understand an email written by a British and vice versa. However, there are terms that are different. For instance, a candy for an American is sweets for a British, diaper is to a nappy and a flashlight is to a torch. Pronunciation also varies especially with the pronunciation of “either” /ee/ in the U.S. and /ai/ in U.K. Spellings of some words are also different like “while” in America is “whilst” in British, “among” is “amongst,” and so center is centre and liter is litre, and so on. These differences show the changes that occurred from the time that the Europeans settled in America in the late 16th Century. The people living in the two countries look almost the same. This is because many of the white people in America came from Europe, although English ancestry was concentrated in the South, especially in Texas, Louisiana, etc. History recounts that the Europeans from Spain, France, Netherlands, Sweden and Russia later composed the white population in America. No wonder, the Americans would look almost the same with the English. It is difficult to tell the difference but the English would dress up more plainly than Americans. They usually wear plainly colored shirts and trousers, usually blue and grey, white and dark blue, yellow and beige. Americans, on the other hand, wear contrasting colors such as brown and red, maroon and beige, blue and green, etc. Other cultures living in the two countries also vary. Importantly, U.S. retains more diversity than U.K. This may be due to the fact that U.S. opened its doors to immigrants in the past century. Many people from all over the world went to America to become U.S. citizens. Now, the U.S. population is composed of the natives, whites, blacks, Asians, Latinos, etc. Different cultures converge to form the population while U.K. remains strict with their immigration and residency policies. Nowadays, it is difficult to identify the ancestral origin of an American because of interracial marriage. Transportation in both countries is also the same. There are trains built for fast public transportation and highways to ease traffic. However, the two countries differ in terms of ownership of train companies. In the U.S., the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), a government-owned transit company operates the main railway systems such as the  Washington Metro and Metrobus while in U.K., most train companies are privately owned. Cars are everywhere in both countries but they would differ in makers. European cars can be found mostly in the U.K. while American roads and streets are filled with cars from different makers all over the world including Asian manufacturers. Moreover, the British landscape does not differ much from America, with tall skyscrapers and highways decorating the cities but the buses in England are usually red, especially in London. Previously, buses in London were double-deckers called Routemaster but most of them have been phased out. In America, buses are usually coaches or shuttles in different colors. Despite the many similarities, there are many differences between the two countries. Mainly, the two countries differ in geographical composition. The U.S. is obviously larger than U.K. Additionally, the U.S. is composed of 50 states and a federal district while U.K. is made up of only Great Britain and some parts of Ireland. The U.S. land measures 9,826,675  sq.km. while U.K measures only 243,610 sq.km. However, there are more British colonies than U.S. ones. The government in the two countries also differ. United Kingdom maintains monarchy, with Queen as the ruler while U.S. is a federal republic ruled by a president. Elections are held every four years. With the kinds of government in the two countries, many would find living in U.S. more free or liberating than living in U.K. Furthermore, the architecture in U.S. suggests a more democratic way of life. For instance, colleges in U.K. have a more conservative architectural structure than those in U.S. School buildings in U.K. are still reminiscent of Medieval architecture. Many school buildings and churches are still in Gothic forms. These architectural structures emphasize more on the verticality of structures. United Kingdom shares many similarities with United States especially in terms of modernization. Basically, the commercial districts of the two countries look almost the same, with privately owned cars dominating the streets, long highways and train stations where people flock during rush hours to get home quickly. All these elements of the cities indicate progress in the two most-admired countries. The two have many similarities yet they also differ in many ways. Mainly, the geographical make up of U.S. allows for more opportunities and diversity than in U.K. For example, the multicultural population of U.S. is more varied than that in U.K. as U.S. can accommodate more people to live, work and study in America. The geographical area also suggests more opportunities for jobseekers in U.S. than in U.K. and definitely more schools for all kinds of people. When choosing between the two countries, one will be inclined to live in U.K. for a more laid back lifestyle while another will choose U.S. for a more challenging and colorful professional career and social life. Read More