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London is obviously New York, while Surrey and suburban counties outside of London could be viewed as the equivalent of New Jersey or Connecticut.
I suppose Birmingham could be Chicago?
Northern England is similar to America's Rust Belt. In Britain, older industrial cities in the North are often looked down on akin to the the older industrial cities in America. British cities like Manchester, Sheffield, and Liverpool are similar to American cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh. Gritty, cold, industrial cities that were more prominent in the past.
Southern England could be viewed as similar to America's Sun Belt (Florida, Texas, etc.). Warmer weather, healthy economies, lots of suburbs, etc.
The Scottish Highlands are definitely the Appalachian Mountains around North Carolina, Virginia, etc.
Can't remember if I mentioned this earlier in this thread but Essex has been compared to New Jersey. I'm not familiar with Surrey but maybe that is more like Connecticut.
Can't remember if I mentioned this earlier in this thread but Essex has been compared to New Jersey. I'm not familiar with Surrey but maybe that is more like Connecticut.
Parts of Surrey are extremely wealth and are part of what is known as the Stockbroker Belt or Britain's Beverley Hills.
Surrey's private estates (and gated communities) include -
Blackhills, Esher Park Avenue and Claremont, Esher
Wentworth Estate, Virginia Water
St George's Hill, Weybridge
Burwood Park and Ashley Park, Walton-on-Thames
Crown Estate, Oxshott
Oxshott Way, Fairmile and Eaton Park, Cobham
Whilst the Coombe Hill Estate in Kingston upon Thames in London, is another private estate that borders Surrey, and there are a lot of beautiful towns and villages that have extremely impressive houses that are not part of the private estates mentioned above.
Savills report that there are around 25 such private estates in and around London, including what it calls the great estates such as the likes of St George's Hill and Wentworth, however there are many more in the South East region and other parts of the UK.
This is a 10 year old thread but I thought I'd make a comparison that I haven't seen on this thread yet.
While I agree that due to the population difference it's hard to compare most cities, I reckon this one will be a pretty fair one since this one will be about suburbs of major cities:
Milton Keynes-Various American suburbs such as Irvine/Lake Forest, Naperville, Stamford, The Woodlands, Weston, Reston, etc.
Milton Keynes and the American suburbs I've mentioned both have the same population size, demographics (Moderately affluent families, diverse to an extent but not extremely diverse, intellectual moderate/right leaning population), planned cities with the exception of Stamford, organized into different neighborhoods, relatively walkable, many trees, etc.
Both Milton Keynes and the aforementioned American suburbs are criticized for their lack of soul and character and their snobbiness while the residents of these cities unequivocally deny this. In Milton Keynes it's on an even larger scale to the point that the entire nation makes jokes about them.
Also, as a bonus how about Luton/Slough-Newark/Oakland? Large gritty suburbs with high crime rates, polar opposite of the previous comparison.
I dont see how you can equate US cities to UK ones, chalk and cheese springs to mind.
Depends on what part of the USA you are talking about. England had a big impact on the foundation and development of the cities, the obvious ones being Boston and NYC (the clues are even in the names!), in the original 13 Colonies; they were a part of the British Empire, the uppermost 5 of those colonies are even called 'New England'. Therefore, I'd say making comparisons there is at least somewhat apt. However, for places in the West like California, or out in the middle like Minnesota where the local heritage is mainly German and Norwegian, which England had next to nothing to do with, then I agree that making comparisons is pretty apples and oranges.
Anyhow...
I wonder where the American equivalent of Stoke-on-Trent/The Potteries is?
I know that Ohio and the Midwest were quite big for pottery and ceramics in the day, and still are to some extent, but would it be concentrated around one big city?
Last edited by SlashNBurn; 08-26-2023 at 04:11 AM..
Depends on what part of the USA you are talking about. England had a big impact on the foundation and development of the cities, the obvious ones being Boston and NYC (the clues are even in the names!), in the original 13 Colonies; they were a part of the British Empire, the uppermost 5 of those colonies are even called 'New England'. Therefore, I'd say making comparisons there is at least somewhat apt. However, for places in the West like California, or out in the middle like Minnesota where the local heritage is mainly German and Norwegian, which England had next to nothing to do with, then I agree that making comparisons is pretty apples and oranges.
Anyhow...
I wonder where the American equivalent of Stoke-on-Trent/The Potteries is?
I know that Ohio and the Midwest were quite big for pottery and ceramics in the day, and still are to some extent, but would it be concentrated around one big city?
The UK is too small to realistically compare with a vast country such as the US, which is more similar to the size to the entirety of the European continent.
In terms of California, it is more similar to parts of Mediterranean than the UK, and parts of the West Coast of the US have more historical and cultural links relating to Spain than the UK.
In terms of pottery, parts of North Carolina are well known pottery centres, and it should be noted that like the Potteries parts of Appalachia have gone through some tough times with the decline of traditional industries.
The UK is too small to realistically compare with a vast country such as the US, which is more similar to the size to the entirety of the European continent.
In terms of California, it is more similar to parts of Mediterranean than the UK, and parts of the West Coast of the US have more historical and cultural links relating to Spain than the UK.
In terms of pottery, parts of North Carolina are well known pottery centres, and it should be noted that like the Potteries parts of Appalachia have gone through some tough times with the decline of traditional industries.
Thank you for that, never knew that pottery was such a big industry in Appalachia.
Appalachia, including NC, was mainly settled by people from Ulster, the Scottish Borders and the North of England in the early-mid 18th century. Many of its architectural ways, accents and dialects, cuisine, family values and cultural traditions such as the 'Culture of Honor' have links, either direct or indirect, to these parts of the British Isles.
I suppose even through to the 20th and 21st centuries, NC faced a similar industrial decline to Scotland and England, where it drew much of its original herritage.
Thank you for that, never knew that pottery was such a big industry in Appalachia.
Appalachia, including NC, was mainly settled by people from Ulster, the Scottish Borders and the North of England in the early-mid 18th century. Many of its architectural ways, accents and dialects, cuisine, family values and cultural traditions such as the 'Culture of Honor' have links, either direct or indirect, to these parts of the British Isles.
I suppose even through to the 20th and 21st centuries, NC faced a similar industrial decline to Scotland and England, where it drew much of its original herritage.
Traditional industries such as coal mining have declined in most countries, and the decline in mining in Appalachia is similar to other areas which relied on mining.
Traditional industries such as coal mining have declined in most countries, and the decline in mining in Appalachia is similar to other areas which relied on mining.
When you consider that many early settlers in Appalachia and the Carolinas came from England's North East counties of Durham and Northumberland, it's strangely appropriate that both regions were shaped by the coal industry, and sad that they both suffered a similar decline...
Starting about 200 years ago, a lot of new towns in Appalachia and The South were given the names of English industrial towns like Manchester (TN, GA, etc), Liverpool (VW, etc), Middlesbrough (KY), Newcastle (TX), Leeds, Sheffield (both AL), etc, for hopes that they would achieve the same levels of industrial prosperity as their English namesakes.
When you consider that many early settlers in Appalachia and the Carolinas came from England's North East counties of Durham and Northumberland, it's strangely appropriate that both regions were shaped by the coal industry, and sad that they both suffered a similar decline...
Starting about 200 years ago, a lot of new towns in Appalachia and The South were given the names of English industrial towns like Manchester (TN, GA, etc), Liverpool (VW, etc), Middlesbrough (KY), Newcastle (TX), Leeds, Sheffield (both AL), etc, for hopes that they would achieve the same levels of industrial prosperity as their English namesakes.
The traditional industry in the UK declined earlier than in Appalachia, and are still some well paid mining jobs in Appalachia.
The northern coal fields in England were hundred of years old and declined rapidly over the second half of the the 20th century.
In terms of UK cities, some have reinvented themselves to varying degrees of success, and a number of cities in Northern England have now changed significantly since the 70's and 80's, and have managed to attract significant investment.
The traditional industry in the UK declined earlier than in Appalachia, and are still some well paid mining jobs in Appalachia.
The northern coal fields in England were hundred of years old and declined rapidly over the second half of the the 20th century.
In terms of UK cities, some have reinvented themselves to varying degrees of success, and a number of cities in Northern England have now changed significantly since the 70's and 80's, and have managed to attract significant investment.
My maternal grandfather's family, specifically his mother's side, came to Sunderland, Co Durham (where I was born) in the 19th century for the mining. They were from Ireland and originally settled near Wigan, Lancashire, another big coal mining region.
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