76% of Britons are not religious

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Wyrdness said:

TruckOSaurus said:
Britain is looking better and better, if I ever get tired of Canada, I'll move there.

That's funny because over here we want to move in the opposite direction it's too pricey over here, on topic I'm surprised me personally I believe that something put us here whether it's God or not but I don't believe in religion as I've always felt that it was a way of people gaining power through the exploitation of faith, no offence to anyone. Britain is a pretty open and diverse country so religion doesn't have as much influence here as most countries, most people are fine with whatever you believe so long as it's not anything overly offensive or discriminating.

It's not actually that much more expensive in the UK.  There may be some things that are more expensive (like for some strange reason soda pop), but most things are only marginally more expensive.  If you didn't have the VAT in the UK, things would definitely be cheaper.

Most things you see priced in the US are priced without tax.  Taxes vary here from state to state, and municipality to municipality (i.e. county, township, or city).  So, while a retail price of $60 might be priced nationwide, the cost will vary by were you live.  For instance, Chicago that $60 game will have an 6.25% state sales tax on it, as well as a 9.5% city sales tax.  Nearly the same as your 20% VAT.  So that $60 game in Chicago actually costs $70 (£44) dollars.  Your £40 game would be equal to roughly $64 here.  Half of the United States pays just as much as you would for a video game in the UK, or more.

Even when you take the cost of fuel into consideration, it's technically cheaper in the UK.  Yes, petrol costs less in the US.  However, in most places you have to drive farther.  Not to mention, in the UK you have mass transit options that few people in the US have access to here.  Likewise, more towns and cities in the UK are build around walking, as opposed to car centric towns and cities in the US.

Wage wise, most skilled jobs earn less than their counterparts in the US.  However, non-skilled labourers tend to make more.  I know someone in the UK who just applied for an £8/hour job stocking shelves in a grocery store.  Most college/uni students would jump at a chance to get a $13/hour part-time job stocking shelves here.  Plus you have comprehensive medical, dental, and eye coverage automatically.  Here, in one way or another, you have to pay for that kind of coverage.

The benefit to living here is if you own a business or are self-employed.  You can make a better living as a business owner in the US than you can in the UK.

I'm not trying to discourage you from coming to the US, just saying things aren't necessarily cheaper here or in Canada for that matter.