Actually, I really like that this is a multinational forum. I love finding out which fish are readily available in which places. Some of our "cheap" fish are quite a bit more costly in the UK, and I'm sure it works the other way as well. Also, plants seem to be (generally) less expensive here, for which I'm thankful.
I have to admit that I am a little jealous of how close all of members from England are (proximity-wise). It's very hard for me to recommend a LFS (or get a recommendation for one) since we are so spread out over here. I'm also tickled by the fact that, while I would think nothing of hopping in the car and driving 3 or 4 hours to visit a cool fish store on a Saturday, it seems like a lot of people from the UK think of that as a weekend's travel and not worth the bother. It's just funny how we can think so differently of the same distance.
The one thing I do find frustrating is the "filter barrier". It seems as though standard UK filters and US filters are different styles. (Maybe I'm wrong here, but...) There seem to be so many different choices here, as well, that it's hard to know what to do when you're first starting.
Just my two cents,
Pamela