My reaction exactly. Americans use way too much, to be honest. 8k sq ft is more than enough for like 7+ families.
Does that make Luton, St Albans etc. the 'suburbs' of London?
A good rule of thumb is (or was): Does it have black cabs?
When the kids have moved out, you can downsize to that retirement place in Spain... except that may not work as well after the UK leaves the EU.
How much carbon is emitted cooling and heating an 8k sq ft home in Utah? How far do you have to drive to do things?
Overall, the valley we live in has pretty much everything we could want, from a retail perspective.
A nice small-town grocery store about 3 mins away, and larger national chains further down the road.