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Also heard that there exists a place in or near England called "Jersey". And there might be a "Hamphsire" and "York"?
Correct on all three counts. [Linked Image] Hampshire is a county in the south of England, and York is a city in northern England, located in the county which shares its name -- Yorkshire. You'll find many place names in New England and the other Atlantic seaboard states (NY/NJ/DE etc.) which originated in Britain.

Jersey is an island in the English Channel. It's British territory but not part of the U.K., and has its own independent government, tax system, etc. It's actually located closer to France than to England, and although English is the official language there is also a heavy French influence in names and in the local patois.
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And you can roam at will throughout it too, without dealing with customs and immigration brearucrats. I hate having to deal with nosey brearucrats, as most Americans also hate it too.
Most Brits hate interfering bureaucrats as well. I think there's an intense distrust of "Big Brother" government in the Anglo-Saxon bloodline!

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I'm from New Jersey, the state with the most screwed up auto insurance in the country and maybe the world.
Do tell us more..... This sounds interesting! [Linked Image]

As we seem to have a general travel and country comparison thread going here, everybody feel free to add any interesting anecdotes. [Linked Image]


[This message has been edited by pauluk (edited 02-02-2004).]