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Freedom and coffee: 10 reasons this Brit wishes she were
American

By Amy Longworth On April 11,
2014 · 25
Comments

Photo: Michael
Sobota

1. You’re American, first and foremost.

I just think it’s awesome how patriotic Americans are. In the UK, unless
there’s a specific reason (such as a jubilee or a Royal birth), you’d be hard
pressed to find a house that flies the Union Jack in their front lawn, and if
you did, you’d immediately assume the residents were members of the EDL or some
other crazy Fascist movement and steer well clear.

Here in the UK, being patriotic is increasingly synonymous with being racist,
whereas in America everyone is proud to be American. Whatever their
race, culture, or creed, everyone puts themselves as an American first and
foremost, and I think that is wonderful.

2. You have so much more respect for weapons.

In a country where bearing arms is (largely) legal, I’ve found that there
seems to be a greater respect for potentially lethal weapons. I do believe that,
in a culture where weapons can fall into the wrong hands regardless of how legal
they are, it’s valuable to have grown up respecting the power of a gun, and
knowing how to use it safely is an important skill.

In my opinion, it’s better to have been taught how dangerous a weapon can be,
but also how to use it correctly, than to pretend they don’t exist
altogether.

3. You can say what you want.

Don’t agree with the opinion I just expressed? You can tell me so. And I can
disagree with you. You are free to express any and all opinions. If you don’t
agree with something, you can contest it, and you can do so whether you’re
black, white, male, female, gay, or straight. That is a remarkable ability in a
world where so many millions of people are not as fortunate.

4a. Everything is more convenient…

Disaster strikes: It’s 1am and you’ve run out of candy. In the UK, you’re
forced into a candy-fast ’till morn; in America, this isn’t even a problem
because there’s always a 24-hour convenience store at hand. I’m all about those
late-night CVS runs.

4b. …and there’s always more.

And while you’re on your midnight snack trawl, you’re spoilt for choice. Want
M&Ms? You’ve got plain, peanut, peanut butter, dark chocolate, pretzel,
coconut, almond…and don’t get me started on all the different kinds of Ben &
Jerry’s that are exclusively on the left side of the pond. Woe betide you if
you’re trying to locate the Vermonster in England, buddy.

5. Everything is cheaper.

Aside from feeling like you’ve got a wad of Monopoly money in your pocket
because of that blessed exchange rate, it’s far less expensive to live in the
US. Everything from petrol (gas) to clothes to cigarettes and alcohol is
cheaper. In California I saw a bottle of wine for $4 that was being flogged in a
British supermarket for £6.99. And that was at half price.

6. People like talking.

Brits are famously awkward and insular. We talk to strangers sparingly and
wrangle ourselves out of situations that involve more than a quick exchange. I’m
not sure why we are the way we are, but there it is.

In America, people are so much happier to chat. You can share stories and
secrets with people you meet in the line at Starbucks. If Americans are open
books, then Brits are your teenage diaries that you forced shut with two
padlocks before throwing the keys away. And that shit’s no fun.

7. You have so much space.

America is the perfect place for an adventure. In one (vast) country, you
have all the landscapes and climates you’d ever want to visit. You can travel
down roads that stretch right into the horizon, or you could get lost in a
forest with no hope of ever finding your way out. You’ve got mountains and
deserts and eagles and bears and craters and canyons and Justin Timberlake’s
house.

I’m not saying I’d like to get lost in a forest or be eaten by a bear or die
in a sweaty heap in the desert, but the point is that America is enormous and
incredible. There’s so much space in America that is truly wild, that doesn’t
belong to anyone. If that’s not pure awesome, I don’t know what is.

8. Universities give you more room to discover yourself.

I do love the fact that in America, when you go to university, it’s up to you
to decide which classes you’ll take, and you have to take a variety of classes
to help round out your education and help you decide what you really want to
learn. I loved that I could take a class in art history and obscure German
silent movies along with my Shakespeare and my American literature. I love the
emphasis on a broader education, because not all of us know exactly what we want
to specialise in at the ripe old age of 18.

9. You drink real coffee.

I was a tea-drinker before America happened, but I decided to adopt a “when
in Rome” philosophy and quickly became addicted to my daily doses of joe. In
America, I can wake up at the crack of dawn and always find myself within a
short walk to a freshly brewed mug of heaven. I love that a coffee machine is
just as much a kitchen staple as a toaster or a microwave, and when you’re not
home, you can go to any convenience store and be guaranteed a good cuppa cawfee.
In the UK, we drink “that instant shit,” and it tastes like gravy. Insert gag
noises here.

10. Your food is amazing.

Ask me what I miss most about America and I’d be lying if I didn’t say
“food.” When I lived in Pittsburgh I ate like a king (oh, the irony). In the UK,
the chances of my seeking out a decent salad on the high street at lunchtime are
slimmer than a woman who lives off iceberg lettuce. If I want a burrito the size
of my face, there’s no Chipotle or Q’doba to nurture my rumbly stomach. And our
version of Domino’s pizza is shamefully inferior to its American
counterpart.

You get the gist: Americans are crazily fortunate to live in a land where
foods from all over the globe amalgamate into one big melting pot of
deliciousness. When I tell border control I’m coming to the US to visit my
boyfriend, it’s just a ruse for, “I’m here to eat ALL the food”…and I’m pretty
sure my fat-ass BF would high-five me for admitting that.

This post was originally published at Literally,
Darling and is reprinted here with permission.

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6pm

About The Author

Amy Longworth

Amy is trying her best to be a grown-up. Really. She’s just not very good at
it. A recent English literature graduate from Exeter, England, she plans to up
sticks and move to California to live with her (American) fiancé. Amy is a
coffee snob, a vegan, and likes lifting heavy objects in the gym. Her current
life goal is to vaguely learn how to get her shit together and stop collapsing
into a huge heap of fail on a daily basis. Amy currently contributes to Literally
Darling; Contact Amy via Twitter;
and check out her blog.

Brad

Interesting how you find American coffee so great. I’m from Australia – the
home of coffee snobs – and I wouldn’t put American coffee above anything. Even
“instant shit”.

Anthony Christopher Morey

I live in Kalamazoo a small/mid-sized city in Michigan and we have two
local roasters and we can easily obtain coffee from anywhere in the
world.
On any given morning you may find me drinking freshly ground
coffee straight from my bur grinder brewed in my Chemex. Best I don’t get
started on our breweries. I am not saying that we have better coffee in the
states, but I am saying that I highly doubt that Australia can boast to be
our superior.

http://www.workingnomad.com Working Nomad

Find myself agreeing with the bit about Americans being more open to
talking but that’s about it. To say the food and coffee is better is
ridiculous and we have the whole of Europe to explore border free. I think
this article could have been so much better for a little more
research.

Paul

I am the opposite,. I wish I was British. The history, the culture we lack
here, and I find myself agreeing with a lot of what they stand for. I will
gladly trade places with her.

strfx4

Ahem, you can’t say what you want in the US. If you’re black, you can be
openly racist, just like Obama. You can also call others n***** or tell them
to go pluck cotton. Try that as a member of any other race and tell us how
that freedom is working out for you!

Irony

You just proved her point. In some countries, if you criticized the
nation’s leader, there’d be a knock on your door — actually, not even a
knock — and that comment you just wrote would be your last.

strfx4

Not quite. You can make an anonymous comment like this easily in any
western country, and several others. But there are countries out there
where what you say in public is not limited by the color of your skin.
The US is not one of those counties.

Mr.Nice

To me this sounds like it was written by an American who lived in the u.k
for awhile
I agree with some of the stuff but America is not that shiny
city on the top of the hill……. shit lots of problems
and why America is
cheaper then u.k because you have free health care in u.k everybody is covered
in America we don’t ….
guess, at the end it depends on what you choose to
see in both countries ….

Amy Longworth

Thanks Mr. Nice. I appreciate the response, but I think you’re reading a
little too far into it. I’m not trying to say America is perfect, it was
just a light-hearted little article about some of the things that I have
taken from my frequent visits to the US. My points are totally subjective!

Also, with regards to the cost of living: there’s only so much I can say
in -100 words. My point is that as a tourist (which I am), the US offers a
cheaper (temporary) lifestyle – i.e. for food, alcohol, cigarettes and all
those vices that I indulge on when I travel to the US for a holiday. And
yes, I am in fact British, and very proud of that.

James

1. English people are patriotic, but not in such an in-your-face way
Americans are.

2. Americans respect weapons? Hahahaha

3. To an extent. But it’s more fun giving a sarcastic, facetious response.
And some Americans seem more willing to say what will make you happy than the
truth.

4a. I’ve noticed the opposite.

4b. More shit snack food, yes. Much less good real food. You have to sell a
kidney to buy a cauliflower.

5. Only because of the exchange rate and you being British. And obviously
Californian wine will be cheaper in America…

6. This is at least partially true, although once you open a Brit up (i.e.
a beer or two) they can talk for England.

7. *Empty* space. And roads connecting them.

8. This has been nice. Although I dislike the style of teaching. Chalk
boards?? We’re not in the 1900s any more…

9. More-so, but most people have Keurigs, not *real* coffee making stuff
(grinder, press etc). Still, valid point versus UK.

10. No. It’s just not. She just likes a lot of food, hence why she likes
eating the “bigger” pizza and burrito “the size of her face”. In the case of
food, bigger =/= better, sorry hun. The quality is terrible, and there’s more
variety of in food in London.

I’m from Exeter too – that’s a small town, you can’t compare it to much!
People do keep more to themselves; it’s an older crowd. Currently living in
NJ, but this includes NYC too. I’ve lived in London for a couple years
too.

Amy

Exactly! There is respect for weapons and thousands innocent people die
every year because some nutcase wants to shoot up a school. Who cares if ppl
are patriotic?! This isn’t event their true country! Native Americans were
slaughtered.

Doug

Amy – you are clearly misguided and your article sounds like a love letter
to the country you are desperate to adopt you.
My advice is please remain
in the US forthwith.
I suspect you have never visited/lived in any of the
major cities in the UK and therefore would recommend you have little to no
idea about what you are talking about.
Please fell free never to come
back.
Toddlepip.

Amy Longworth

Ouch. This was intended to be a light-hearted article about some of the
things that I, personally, love about the US, from my personal experiences.
I’m not trying to stir up animosity here. But I have lived in the UK for the
majority of my life and the fact that you seem to think I have ‘no idea what
I’m talking about’ is immensely insulting.

Anthony Christopher Morey

Pffftt…to Brad, Amy, if you like our country, welcome! You have hit on
our great strength vast regions with a variety of climates, attitudes,
political outlooks, gun laws and food cultures. We are not perfect, but
what country is.

Amy Longworth

Thank you Anthony
that is what I was going for. I’m not suggesting America is this
perfect bastion, I was just saying it’s a cool
place!

Kelsey Wallour

I think you’re article is lovely, Amy! And I’m sorry some of these people
are being such fuckwads >=-(

Stephanie Schuck Glaser

What a refreshing article, Amy! I enjoyed reading your perspective on the
US. We definitely have problems, but It was nice to read an article that’s
complimentary.

Bettyp44

I’m an expat who now lives in California…once you live here you’ll change
your view on a lot of this (superficial) stuff and you’ll quickly see that,
when only using dollars and not your converted pounds, things are so not
cheaper. Good luck honey, you’re in for a huge shock!

Vito M.

the last 2 points are so wrong LOL

http://www.reverseretrograde.com/ Coleen
Monroe

This is article makes me very sad, because it is filled with so many
misconceptions.

I’m an American living in the UK, and I can tell you that there are people
who like to chat in queues, 24-hour convenience stores (and mega-Tescos),
‘real’ coffee made from beans, and a whole lot of the other things that this
author appears to have overlooked.

Look, the US and the UK both have great qualities. I should know. But this
is doing a disservice to the UK in the hope of making the US look better. It
frankly isn’t. I appreciate wanting to fit in with a new country, and in a way
we’ve swapped places. But seriously. What a waste of
time.

pd6578

what an awful list, I love America but seriously Freedom of Speech? when
the hell were you last arrested in the U.K for saying something unpopular?
Also why is their respect for weapons a good thing? give me no damn weapons
over frequent mass shootings any day.

ZoomZoomDiva

It is a myth that mass shootings are frequent. A person has a greater
chance of being struck by lightning than killed in a mass shooting. It is
the media attention that makes them seem more frequent.

pd6578

Compared to the U.K where I can remember 3 mass shootings in my entire
life they are very frequent!. Dont get me wrong I am a Brit living in
Canada hoping to make the move over the border one day because I love the
place but some of the things on this list are nonsensical. The cost of
living one is very true though.

http://alyssawrites.com/ Alyssa

Ooh, Exeter! I’m going there next month for a wedding. I agree about the
uni thing, but that depends on your course really. I disagree about the 24
hour thing – I get Ben and Jerry’s at all ungodly hours from the 24 hour
off-licence below my flat. Win!

Also, on the wine thing – I read that 50% of the price of a bottle of wine
is VAT. Considering that Brits drink 1 billion bottles of the stuff a year, I
suspect it’s to pay for the strain on the NHS it makes

tweedle twelve

I’ve never been forced to candy fast, as it is described in point 4a. There
are plenty supermarkets open 24/7. In Scotland they are open all day every day
(even sunday night). My coffee machine is a much needed part of my kitchen,
always filtered coffee on the go here. A lot of my friends also have a coffee
machine. I think someone else did mention
research.
….

If
you think Holland is just another name for the Netherlands, you should watch
this

This
Thai bra commercial will make you look twice [nsfw]

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