Differences between US and U.K. homes

[Youngatheart00]

Just a ponderous thread as it’s my day off and I’ve been thinking, mainly following the abundance of Netflix we’ve all watched over the past year, but also some of my travel experiences (not recently, obviously!)

Some of the differences I’ve noticed are;

• many more of the US homes seem to be fully open plan downstairs. Some don’t even seem to have doors between the rooms?

• the bathroom count / ratio to bedrooms is much higher! (Eg 3 bed / 3 bath or even 2 bed / 2.5 bath)

• heating systems, I don’t recall seeing radiators, instead vents in the floor, are these used to flip between hot and cold air depending on the time of year? How effective / efficient are they compared to our big radiator bars here?

• toilets - they seem smaller and the flushing mechanism is different

• baths - they also seem smaller, short and strangely blocky

• Space and size - all of the bathroom stuff is unusual when the overall size of homes, even cheaper ones, is so much larger. And some ‘back yards’ are absolutely huge! Obviously more land space in the US compared with the U.K. but still, notable but often not much privacy / fencing?

• waste disposal units - what ARE these?

• closets - I haven’t seen any free standing wardrobes. Are these just not used in the US?

Anyone got any others to add or any comments?

I love those big wraparound porches lots of the American homes have

@Shoxfordian oooh me too, I love the thought of sitting out on my porch watching the world go by

Massive houses but only 2 or 3 bedrooms.

Basements! Laundry rooms. They never have washing machines in kitchens. Though actually washing machines and dryers in kitchens is pretty unique to the UK, something that I hate. Germans have the right idea with them in the bathroom. Americans tend to have big top loading washing machines, though more and more I notice front opening ones, but bigger sized. Most americans don't have kettles. I never see brick built houses in America, and almost never see carpet.

You’re so right about the laundry room (that’s reminded me of the furnace in home alone 😱)

I have a friend that moved from the US to the UK. Where she lived in the US for $300,000 they had an enormous detached house - big garden, porch, 3 bed 3 bath but the bedrooms are enormous big enough for a massive bed and sofa area, all have walk in wardrobes, his and hers sinks, shower and bath in the en-suite etc. All open plan downstairs but 3 reception areas, plus enormous kitchen. I bet it was around 3500sqft.

In the UK she moved to Manchester about 5 miles outside the city and for £320,000 has a 3 bed townhouse, 1000sqft total, tiny garden, not open plan at all. She loves living in the UK but massively struggled with the difference in living space. The UK just doesn't have as much land and is very expensive to live in.

Interestingly as well in the US she was paid $42,000 as a teacher. Here she's on £29,000. So similar salary but a lot less living for the money.

I really, really love US homes when I see them on the TV, and it honestly makes me want to move there. There are many other reasons I'd like to move, too, but the houses are a major factor. Plus they're so much cheaper than here, for a much bigger house!

Although, you have to be careful with the design, as it definitely has to be 'American family home' rather than 'horror movie set'.

Yes much fewer bedrooms but massive houses. I have an American friend and when she goes back home she always seems to stay in other people’s bedrooms as they don’t have spare rooms which then seems odd when they have these giant open plan downstairs areas

I miss closets so much! Hate wardrobes.

I love the idea of a laundry room.
We've got friends in the states and they've got so much house for their money.

I never see brick built houses in America, and almost never see carpet.

In California, we have earthquakes, so... no bricks!

Originally, wooden housing made sense because of the vast supply of wood, thanks to the forests. Pine, for example, is abundant, grows fast, and is cheap by comparison to brick. We do build brick houses in the midwest and back east. Out west, no, not really. It's very rare to see a brick house out west. In an earthquake, wood and steel bend, so the risk of collapse is reduced, which is why a huge earthquake in Italy, for example, is so much more devastating than an even bigger one in California- simply because Italy, for example, is full of historical buildings constructed from stone. We construct our homes and buildings to accommodate the risk of earthquakes.

Don't be fooled that all US homes are massive, huge portions of the population live in tiny flats, many crammed in with lots of other families. I lived in South Florida for 10 years.

Pantries! I know some UK homes have them but I think they are much more common in the big suburban homes you get in the US. I would love a pantry.

We live in the US now. Our house has most of what you mention, but I'd add:

-Huge master bedroom suites. As in, the master suite bathroom and walk-in closet are larger than either of the other bedrooms in my house.

-Multiple dining spaces. Our modest 3-bed has a dining space off the kitchen, a grander one we use for an office at the front, and a breakfast bar.

-Bedrooms have to have built-in closets to qualify as bedrooms. Just a weird tidbit of information!

And we don't have radiators because we have HVAC systems which do heat and cooling. Our vents are in the ceiling though as we don't have a basement.

I suspect the size depends on where you live. There'll be a difference between city and suburbs. The US has more more land available to build on and seems to have a lot less regulation on what you can build.

Bedrooms have to have built-in closets to qualify as bedrooms. Just a weird tidbit of information!
I didn't know that. Every day is a school day on here.

At last, questions I can answer.
I live in the South, so most of the houses are brick (made with the red clay that passes for dirt in Georgia) and most floors are hardwood due to the vast amount of available pine trees.

• No wardrobes. Closets are required for all bedrooms, by code.
• Screens on windows are also required. Even if the house has AC.
• New housing codes banned radiators in the 1960's. Furnaces and ACs are vented either in the floor or in the ceiling.
• Clothes washers and dryers are sold as sets. In many areas it is against code to have a backyard clothesline.
• I have never seen a kettle, except in UK movies or TV shows. we either have coffee makers or use the microwave to heat water.

DM is American and we had a waste disposal unit in the UK growing up. Brilliant as we had no garden to speak of. So all the veg waste etc is ground up and goes down the drain. There was a switch very much at adult height to set it off. Do not put your hand in the as a common refrain.

When we lived in NC we had brick homes and our current holiday home there is also brick, just depends on the area.

I think the houses you are thinking of aren’t the norm. Lots of people live in small houses or apartments all jammed together in huge suburbs. The neighbourhood we lived in had big houses with basements, games rooms, master suites but everyone was upper management, doctors, lawyers etc...

We weren’t allowed to fence gardens as per the rules of the neighbourhood association. We weren’t allowed to hang washing out, have bins in view of anybody else, the grass had to be kept at a certain height. Someone would come and measure the grass, if it was too long they’d have it cut and bill you

I'm in the UK and I've had a waste disposal fitted in my current house and my previous one. I wouldn't be without one. I didn't think they were unusual here.

I was going to say pantry too and a utility room. Would love both!

And basements and attics with stairs

I lived briefly in the US as a student and the family I stayed with had a laundry room behind the kitchen, but THE BEST thing was the chute from upstairs. So by one of the bathrooms upstairs you opened a cupboard, chucked your dirty washing in (no laundry basket cluttering the landing), and the clothes would fall down the chute to the laundry room into a basket next to the washing machine. Also as well as a huge washer and drier there was an iron, hanging spaces, drying racks for delicates etc. All good, but I bloody loved the chute!

I’m in the uk and have a waste disposal unit too. We bought a new build townhouse in the early 90s and it came as standard. Have had one in last house and just had one installed in our new house.

We have family in California and they moved into a new build and the laundry room is upstairs. She said it was odd at first but made so much sense. Saves carrying washing up and down constantly.

Iv been watching flip or flop recently and was surprised by American houses! Things Iv noticed:

• A lot of houses are all one level (bungalow)
• kitchen/living/dining all open plan
• so many bathrooms
• a master en-suite is a must as is AC
• the actual size of the house is not that big.
• they are expensive! ($600k for a 3 bed 2 bath bungalow!)

I couldn't imagine only having one room for kitchen/living/dining. I like a separate room to escape to! I also feel like if you had a material couch, it would stink of all the cooking smells.