There's no VAT on food, so that's not a factor.
I visit the US quite often, and most "everyday" things I'd say cost pretty much the same in the US and UK in real terms. Some things we pay more for (eg the current cost of petrol (gas) here is about 93p a litre - that's about $7.10 per US gallon
); some things we pay less for (eg car insurance, because our courts don't pay out the crazy sums for personal injury that US courts do). Overall, though, I'd say it works out pretty similar.