Top 7 Differences Between British And American Cultures

When we were to talk about the difference between the Brits and the Americans, one obvious thing will be their accent when speaking English with one another. Despite the country's main language being English, of course, there are still some dissimilarities when it comes to the choice of words.

There are also several other cultures from these two countries that are quite far apart from one another. Here we would like to share with you the top 7 most obvious differences between their cultures.

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1. Tea and Coffee

The Brits are well known to enjoy their cup of tea early in the morning as their choice of drink for breakfast. Whereas Americans prefer their cup of coffee to start the day off.

If we were to look at other countries around the world. you will also see some differences and similarities between their favorite morning drink and the opening of coffee shops like Starbucks and other coffee shops around, it has definitely changed their lifestyle, especially among the young ones.

2. Work Lifestyle

Generally, American workers will work much longer in a day compared to the Brits. In the US, the workers will only have 1 break time which is during lunchtime. On the other hand, the Brits will usually have 1 to 2 break times to rest which is during lunch time as well as short tea breaks.

Not just that, the Americans also have less annual leave than the Brits with only around 10 days being offered each year. While in the UK, most of them on average will have as much as 20 to 28 days of annual leave. It is definitely a huge difference.

3. Giving Tips To Waiters At Restaurants

Tips are commonly given to waiters at restaurants as a token of appreciation for their excellent service. Americans are believed to be more generous when it comes to giving tips to restaurant servers.

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For the Brits, the tips are more commonly given in posh restaurants and they only happen sometimes. In this case, tips are more common in the US compared to the UK while some countries out there might not practice this at all.

4. Rules On The Roadway/Highway

Another distinct difference will be regarding the laws on the road especially when both countries drive on different sides of the road. While the Americans are more towards the right side, the Brits will drive on the left side.

In the US, road junctions are usually managed with the use of traffic lights whereas in the UK you will see a lot of roundabouts.

5. Access to Healthcare

For many years, Brits have had the privilege to free access to hospitals and doctors thanks to the National Health Services(NHS). On top of that, most of the medications that they take are given for free while some of them are subsidized. But those who can afford it will probably go the private hospitals instead.

In the US, everything requires money and by that, I mean a lot. The healthcare system in the US is based on insurance payments that give access to quick and efficient healthcare. As long as you are paying the premium, you will definitely be taken good care of.

6. School System

The education system in Great Britain comprises many exams all year round unlike in America. Aside from that, the summer holiday in the UK is much shorter with roughly 6 weeks of holiday whereas Americans can enjoy their summer for 10 to 12 weeks long.

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The schools in the UK give more emphasis on the students' uniforms where each student must wear the school's uniform. In contrast to the US, students are freer in choosing their school wear as long as it is appropriate.

7. Housing System

The majority of the houses in Britain are built from solid bricks while American home mostly consists of wooden frames. This might be due to the high level of humidity in America. But because the Brits are using bricks for their home, the house was estimated to withstand for at least 100 years.

In the US, most of the people living in the countryside live inside landed-house while apartments are the common accommodation for those living in the cities. The Brits are also not fond of living in what they call "flats" despite living in the urban city.

Source:

• NY Times

• Politico

• Business Insider

Also read: Top 10 Coldest Places In The World