What are the biggest differences between the everyday culture (think grocery store shoppers and cafe coffee drinkers).
They probably put ketchup on their hotdogs in London.
I haven’t been to London in a long time, but I remember that I couldn’t find a cold soda to save my life. I went to a McDonald’s and asked for a Diet Coke with “lots of ice.” It came with three tiny shards. Later, I saw a big stand-up cooler full of Coke in a convenience store, and I rushed in to buy one. The cooler had to have been set at around 60 degrees F!
That’s funny! I haven’t been to Chicago in a long time, but I had exactly that experience there! I scoured the town for a cold drink to no avail.
You couldn’t find a cold drink in Chicago? With all that ice laying around all winter?
Not a whole lot. The product ranges are different, the public transport lines work differently…
Some people like to make a drama of the day-to-day differences but really it’s two big, multi-cultural cites full of people trying to get by.
Once you get into the home, workplace and social environments differences become more apparent, imo.
The street layouts are a big difference. Chicago is layed out on a grid so regular that you could play a giant game of checkers on it. But in London, the streets are so winding and confusing that I found myself taking the tube, even if I was going somewhere close enough to walk. Just so I knew I’d emerge close to my destination.
Chicago is better than London, if you are talking about streets and transport.
London has 2000 years of history (which explains why the roads aren’t designed for cars.)