Individuals are shocked to find what counts as ‘close to’ in Europe, highlighting an enormous cultural distinction they hadn’t thought-about earlier than

• A British girl went viral when she stated a location two hours away wasn’t thought-about shut.

• American viewers insisted this certified as close by because it was such a small distance for them.

• A Florida man identified it could take significantly longer simply to depart the state.

Individuals have been left baffled by a British girl’s perspective of what places had been thought-about near her hometown, sparking a dialog in regards to the huge geographical variations between the international locations, and their differing takes on distances.

On September 19, Melody Snook, a TikToker with 1.1 million followers from Bournemouth, England, posted a comedy skit the place she posed as an American who quizzed her on the place she lived within the UK. Within the clip, Snook repeatedly shut down the American character who requested if her hometown was near main English cities like London or Manchester, because the TikToker insisted that they weren’t.

The video blew up with 1.4 million views and over 3,000 feedback, a lot of which appeared baffled by her take — Individuals identified it took just below three hours to drive between Snook’s hometown and the English capital, which they felt meant it was principally on her doorstep, and questioned what the European definition of close-by actually meant.

“Is ‘close to’ to you guys like inside visible vary?” one viewer wrote alongside a face with tears of pleasure emoji, in a well-liked remark.

Others defined that within the US it’s common to drive a lot additional than that only for a live performance or a sporting occasion and make a return journey the identical day. Individuals mentioned what folks within the US would take into account a prolonged distance as an alternative, with some figuring out it ranged between six and 10 hours drive.

On November 2, the dialog blew up yet again when a TikToker who goes by @manbrose_usmc posted a stitch response to Snook’s unique video, and likewise insisted the 2 places in England had been shut to 1 one other.

The TikToker stated he grew up in Pensacola, Florida, and he may drive for 13 hours with out doubling again and nonetheless would not go away his personal state, whereas in England, the furthest city he may discover from London was Berwick-upon-Tweed, which took simply half of that point to journey to from the capital.

“So by American requirements, your complete nation is close to London, so far as I am involved, all of England is only a suburb of London,” he concluded.

The add acquired 1.5 million views and over 4,700 feedback, a lot of which seemed to be from viewers within the UK, who wrote that US requirements did not apply as a result of the international locations had been utterly completely different geographically, and since Britain was rather more compact and densely filled with cities and cities, a 2-hour drive was thought-about prolonged by comparability.

Whereas many American commenters remained unconvinced by the logic, one viewer put into perspective simply how huge the geographical variations between the US and Europe had been, stating that the cities of Paris and London in France and England respectively are around 212 miles apart in a straight line — nearer than the cities of Paris and London within the state of Texas, that are around 312 miles apart in a straight line regardless of being in the identical state.

It is the newest of a sequence of observations in regards to the distinction between life within the US and Europe to change into a well-liked and controversial subject material on-line. Residents from varied places have debated and mentioned subjects like tipping culture and their takes on water consumption on TikTok, hardly ever reaching a consensus.

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