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FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions For Visitors To The USA And Canada - What are biggest differences between Britain and the USA/Canada?

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The differences between Britain and the USA/Canada are described in detail on the Cultural and Practical Differences pages, but to summarise:

• There is a feeling of wide open space in the USA and Canada, both in the country and in towns. This is even more the case in the west.

• Towns in the USA and Canada are laid out over a much wider area than in Britain. Roads are wide and straight and often laid out in a grid block pattern. There are numerous traffic lights but very few roundabouts.

• In the USA and Canada fast food restaurants, motels and supermarkets are usually several miles from town centres. Fast food restaurants are nearly always separate buildings with individual parking areas, and nearly always have drive-thru's. Largely because of the lower population density, the number of budget chain motels and more specialist fast food chain restaurants is somewhat lower in Canadian small and medium sized towns than in towns of the same size in the USA.

• Most of the time you will receive excellent service from friendly people throughout the USA and Canada.

• Prices tend to be lower in the USA and Canada than in Britain, especially petrol prices (gas prices) and accommodation. Petrol is not quite as inexpensive in Canada as it is in the USA. Restaurant prices in the USA and Canada are generally slightly lower than in Britain; some restaurant prices, such as in family steakhouses, are vastly lower in the USA and Canada than in Britain. The Mexican food fast food restaurants also offer excellent value for money.

• Traffic levels in the USA and Canada are much, much lower than in Britain, both in towns and on the open road. There's more information in the Driving section.

• Unlike in Britain, the National Parks of the USA and Canada are uninhabited wilderness areas, in many cases refuges for wildlife.

• Electricity in the USA and Canada is 110v/60Hz and sockets are of a different design to those in Britain. Television and video standards are incompatible with those in Britain.

• In the USA dates are written as mm/dd/yy (month/day/year). Canadians use the British date format, dd/mm/yy (day/month/year). This difference in date formats can be very confusing when filling in official forms and when consulting motel chain directories in order to ascertain the rates that apply on a certain date.

• Almost all rental cars in the USA and Canada are automatics. Cars drive on the right hand side of the road and the driver sits on the left of the car. Almost all rental cars, except possibly the smallest models, have air conditioning, radios and cassette players.

• Signposting in the USA and Canada is usually purely by road number and direction (North, South, East or West), rather than by town names.

• There are some important differences in driving regulations between the UK and the USA/Canada:

   

  • In most US states and Canadian provinces you can turn right at a red circle traffic light provided you first come to complete stop and make sure the way is clear (but probably not on a red arrow).

  • If you see a school bus with its red lights flashing then you must stop, regardless of whether you are travelling in the same direction as the bus or in the opposite direction. This is to allow children to safely cross the road.

  • In the USA and Canada you will encounter "four-way stops", junctions without traffic lights at which cars proceed (after stopping) in the same order that they arrived at the junction.
   
• The weather tends to be more extreme in the USA and Canada than in Britain - hotter in summer and colder in winter, especially away from the coasts. In the west the heat of summer is a dry heat, while in the east it's a very humid heat. When it does rain it usually clears up quickly and is soon sunny again.

• Most people in the USA and Canada have a positive, friendly, enthusiastic and cooperative attitude.

• Throughout the USA and Canada everything is so incredibly convenient.

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Most recently modified 28-Feb-06