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Advantages of the UK in no particular order:[LIST][*]Free healthcare[*]No guns[*]Much better chocolate[*]Better tap water[*]No tipping nonsense[*]Better coleslaw[*]Better bread[*]Better cakes[*]No need to add tax to the sticker price[*]No charge for taking money from the ATM[*]Much much better Indian Food[*]Cheaper groceries (I live in CA)[*]Lack of religion and in your face Christianity[*]Better bacon[*]Chip and Pin[*]Celsius[*]The metric system[*]Politics aren't totally broken[*]Much cheaper internet, cable, phone bills[/LIST]Advantages of the US (California):[LIST][*]Don't need to hear about the Royal Family[*]Less cyclists on the roads[*]Less people talking on music stations on radio[*]Satellite Radio[*]No long waits for the check after a meal[*]Weather, weather, weather[*]Restrooms have paper towels[*]Better roads[*]Better landscaping[*]Better sidewalks[*]No paper drivers license (like it was 1950)[*]Automatic transmission cars[*]People are friendlier[*]I don't have to listen to people talk about the English Premier League[*]Much much better customer service[*]Better Japanese food[*]No minimum amount for debit card purchases[*]Less road works[*]No roundabouts[*]Cost of fuel[*]Less people smoke[*]Optimistic outlook[/LIST]There are actually more similarities than differences to be honest. The 2 biggest differences for me are weather and people. The weather is much better here (CA) and the people are way more positive. Now if only they were less religious it would be perfect.
Out of interest, what do you use in America if you don't use chip and pin?
You swipe your card and sign for it just like in the 80's back in the UK. There is some pin entry but again you swipe the card. Some chip and pin is coming after the Target fiasco.
You swipe your card and sign for it just like in the 80's back in the UK. There is some pin entry but again you swipe the card. Some chip and pin is coming after the Target fiasco.
Wow, that does seem outdated!
Also, cheques are very rarely used in the UK now! Most shops do not accept them, but they are still used for pay and in businesses I believe.
Out of interest, what do you use in America if you don't use chip and pin?
Not only do we still swipe our credit/debit cards but a huge amount of people still use checks (cheques). Standing behind someone who hasn't even put the date on their check and has to fill in the little tally book is a right royal pita and most stores treat them like debit now anyways, they are only accepted if the funds are in your account and some stores even give you your check back once the transaction is completed.
Direct debit as you know it in the UK does not exist in the US. For our bank to pay our cable service by 'direct payment' they write a check to the utility then put it in an envelope and send it. Archaic and a total waste of time if you ask me.
American banking is overall totally different to banking in the UK
Not only do we still swipe our credit/debit cards but a huge amount of people still use checks (cheques). Standing behind someone who hasn't even put the date on their check and has to fill in the little tally book is a right royal pita and most stores treat them like debit now anyways, they are only accepted if the funds are in your account and some stores even give you your check back once the transaction is completed.
Direct debit as you know it in the UK does not exist in the US. For our bank to pay our cable service by 'direct payment' they write a check to the utility then put it in an envelope and send it. Archaic and a total waste of time if you ask me.
American banking is overall totally different to banking in the UK
Wow, I never realised this before!
I can go and take cash out with my debit card as I please from any cash point (ATM for you guys ) free of charge! I find it so easy here to pay for things, it generally is almost as quick as paying by cash and most people now pay by card.. I can't see how you survive with your methods!
You can shop in one store Tesco's for example and get everything. In the US you have to go to 3 stores to get it all.
People in the US still use checks/cheques all the time. It makes me laugh :-)
LOL apparently you've never been to a WalMart supercenter or Target.
And people writing checks in the US is rare - the vast majority of transactions are done via debit/credit card. And I can speak with some authority on this, having recently been employed as a bank manager for a large, regional bank.
Not only do we still swipe our credit/debit cards but a huge amount of people still use checks (cheques). Standing behind someone who hasn't even put the date on their check and has to fill in the little tally book is a right royal pita and most stores treat them like debit now anyways, they are only accepted if the funds are in your account and some stores even give you your check back once the transaction is completed.
Direct debit as you know it in the UK does not exist in the US. For our bank to pay our cable service by 'direct payment' they write a check to the utility then put it in an envelope and send it. Archaic and a total waste of time if you ask me.
American banking is overall totally different to banking in the UK
Actually this isn't true. Direct Debit is a common form of payment in the US. There ARE some US companies which are not set up to receive direct debits from banks, but those numbers are shrinking daily.
If your bank sends out checks to companies rather than utilizing direct debit, it's usually the company on the receiving end that's the problem, not the bank. Of course, some small, local banks may be lagging in technology but most if not all major banks in the US offer direct debit.
As I said in an earlier post, I recently left banking to enjoy the life of a domestic goddess, but my background is banking. I was the manager for a large branch of a large US bank.
LOL apparently you've never been to a WalMart supercenter or Target.
And people writing checks in the US is rare - the vast majority of transactions are done via debit/credit card. And I can speak with some authority on this, having recently been employed as a bank manager for a large, regional bank.
The selection and quality of food in Target or Wal-Mart is incredibly poor when compared to a large Tesco, ASDA or Sainsbury. I never buy fresh food from either.
For Tesco think Target + Albertsons/Ralphs under one roof. Or Carrefour if you've ever been to France/Spain.
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) free of charge! I find it so easy here to pay for things, it generally is almost as quick as paying by cash and most people now pay by card.. I can't see how you survive with your methods!
