How Adulthood Differs Between the United States and the United Kingdom

Lori Dorn
December 30, 2025

The wonderfully forthright Laurence Brown of Lost in the Pond explained how adulthood differs between the United States and the United Kingdom. Examples include the legal drinking age (21 in the US; 18 in the UK), occupational identity, passport ownership (50% in US; 80% in UK), tax calculation (annually in US; daily in UK), and age of home ownership (US 40; 34 UK).

Being an adult is hard, especially when you’ve lived in more than one country. Here are 7 Ways America treats adulthood very differently to Britain.

Lori Dorn

Lori is a Laughing Squid Contributing Editor based in New York City who has been writing blog posts for over a decade. She also enjoys making jewelry, playing guitar, taking photos and mixing craft cocktails.