Love or Like?

what is the difference between "I love you. " and  "I like you. " ?

I just have met lots of foreign friends since last summer vacation. I find they seems  easily say "I love you. " to others all the time. Therefore, I feel better when some of them say "I like you." rather than "I love you."....

However, that is totally different in Chinese culture.  (I am Taiwanese in Taiwan.) People won't easily say "I love you." to others, it seems has more different meaning in the word LOVE. Therefore, we usually just say "I like you." to others. 

In a word, I just wondering why this difference exist?                                     Because foreigners are almost passionate and Asians are almost cautious to express thier feeling? Or just because of different cultures?

love is life…......... like is love….............

when i was child i fall love to the boy which was older me.. i couldn`t sleep  in the night all time to think `bout him after 2 year he started looking to me an` i fall myself happy one day when i return to school he approached to me and started to talikg with me  oh my God u cnat imagination how became this fells :S he started make jokes.. o my  God.. he laughing his joking only himself itwasn`t  funny.. after it i understood that i don`t luv him only like his style ,appearance

I'd rather to say I love you to my relatives, my girlfriend or very close friends, but if you like to say that to everybody it`s ok…

when you say I love chocolate you mean I like it very much. it helps?