It's also the gulf stream and Mediterranean weather systems. In America it's really easy to just guess how far north something is by temperature unless it's on the west coast. So it's really easy to just assume that the pacific northwest and England are at similar latitudes based on similar weather, and being pretty far north, but reasonably comfortable year round. But nope, Seattle is closer in latitude to Lisbon.

This also plays in with how we're taught that white settlers were really unprepared for the weather of New England in winter. Turns out, nope they went pretty far south to colonize a place with brutal winters