First off, what are your goals? What will you use English for? Are you planning to travel? If so, where to - the US or Britain? And besides all that, which accent do you like better? Which culture interests you more? If you're learning English in order to visit the UK to go pub-crawling, watch a cricket or football match or just to tour historic sites, by all means, study the Queen's proper English. If you're learning English to visit the US to go bar-hopping, watch a basketball or football (not round!) game, or just to tour historic sites, go ahead and learn yourself some good American . Seriously, though, they are different languages and you're not at all crazy in deciding to choose between them. Personally, you'll be understood almost anywhere no matter which version you learn, if you learn good grammar and passable pronunciation. But although the Empire's gone, British English still seems to carry with it a certain prestige (when used naturally...Americans will sometimes fake a British accent when joking around), which might help in a business career.