Com 1
There's no comparison at all.... I did my UK licence many years back and it was tough enough then... I think I sat about a dozen maybe thirteen exams.. minimum time for any maybe 1 to 1 1/2 hours...several were 3 hours... we had to sit ( I think ) maybe 10 at one sitting over 2 or 3 days... 7 passes got a partial and we were allowed to sit the 2 or whatever failures again... if you'missed more than 2 or 3 then everything had to be re-sat... things like Met are split into 3 seperate exams..met Practical / met Theory and Climatology... each 1 or 1 1/2 hours... Nav and Flt Planning were each 3 hrs and pretty tough.... many don't finish in that time. I believe that since the introduction of JAA it's become harder in some ways...easier in others.. not really up on that.. On the plus side, the flying exam is pretty starightforward... consists of general handling mostly and done in a single... the Instrument Rating is done seperately at some later date...neither are very demanding except that the student has very low hours. To some extent the oral exam necessary in the US makes up for the joke written test ( I sat my written at a computer...hadn't looked at a book for 14 yrs and got 87% after just 40 minutes... and I'm not too bright ! ) If the examiner senses any weakness in your knowlege he'll probe until he has you writhing in agony... I'm told some oral tests last for up to 5 hours or so.. I was lucky and got through it in about 2 hrs...
The FAA ATPL flight test was without doubt the toughest flight test I've ever endured... 2 1/2 hours of bloody hard work.. I have to say the guy ( Hank Smith..Long Beach Ca. ) was exteremly fair..( also extremely HUGE )
Hiring aircraft in the UK is about twice that of the US. Someone else will have to advise you on minimum hour requirement... I've lost touch.
If you're a US citizen or have lived there and are comfortable there then I would say go the US route.. if you have any need now or in the foreseeable future to have to fly in Europe then you will have to go for the JAA..