UK vs USA – See for yourself
Here’s a little fun, quick & dirty video which I’ve been meaning to knock together for a while.
When I was back in England at Christmas and New Year, I recorded a few quick shots, and it’s taken me until this week to get around to do the same here in Charleston. If you’re English – you can see the American side of life. If you’re American, you can see the English side of life … or more interestingly, all the shots in England are taken in Epsom, Surrey – which is the last place I lived in before I moved to Charleston.
[Thanks to Steven in the UK, and Amanda in the USA for your camerawork]
After living in London for the first 33 years of my life and working for the 
So for ten weeks in June, July and August 2009, I drove 20,000 miles around the the lower 48 contiguous states of the USA visiting towns and places that shared the same name as places on The London
Very nice! I could watch this sort of thing all day. I am fascinated by the small differences between North America and Britain. We’re so similar, yet so different.
That must have taken a *lot* of planning.
On the other hand, since *when* is Epsom in LONDON? It doesn’t even have a tube stop!
Absolutely brilliant!
Neatly done.
“Mailbox. Drive-through.”
Brilliant.
I love it…. So true
Neat video!! I like it. “Almost Witty” Epsom is in Surrey not London proper (Greater London) so doesn’t have a Tube station.
I know! That’s why I was having some major quibbling about Geoff’s description of Epsom (somewhere) as London.
Well Geoff, is it east side surrey versus west side surrey where I am from, or just surrey against london?
Drive through everything in the States. I stayed with friends in NC in 2000 and was amazed to see a drive thru bank!
actually.. it didn’t take THAT much planning. that’s why it was quick and dirty, i did the whole thing in a hurry. it could have been a LOT slicker! (better transitions, sexy graphics of UK map against USA map, etc…)
now.. about me calling Epsom, “London”. Duh. i KNOW that people .. but when i (still, relentlessly) get asked the question here “Where are you from?”, then what do I tell them?
- London, the city where i was born (actually Lambeth, but no one hear has heard of that)
- any of the six places (Elephant & Castle, Romford, Ilford, Croydon, Sutton, Cheam, Ewell) that i lived in with my parents before i moved out of home
- or some of of the five places (Guildford, Worcester Park, Surbiton, Tolworth, Epsom) that i lived in in my adult life?
’cause no one’s ever heard of Epsom. So i just say “London”. “Always lived in London”, it’s easier. even though in my mind i’ve lived in loads of different places. Most Charleston people can’t imagine what 11 million people of Greater London is like.. [no offence]
so, er, yeah .. that’s why.
There is a Tomorrow’s World feel to your video, remember that programme?
Yeah, like the drive through mailbox: it’s really annoying in England not being able to read the time of the last post without stopping, getting out of your car, running round to the front to read – last post 4pm when it’s 4.30!
We do have shopping Malls you know in England, have you forgotten? We probably copied the ideas from the States anyway. They are getting bigger, but could have trouble finding customers these days, a lot of window-shopping going on, but not much spending. Like the Video though, especially Epsom as I used to work in the High Street.
The number of times I’ve had random conversations with people in the states and when I’ve told them I’m from England they say… “So what’s London like?”
England is actually just one big city!