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?

My HoA is a nightmare but the city ordinances are too. I need to have some trees taken down- one in the front garden and 5 in the back. The city approved 3 months after I submitted the application, and provided a list of trees that I can choose from to replace the shade tree in the front (must be replanted in the same position and overhang the street). Now my HOA needs to approve the same; they have sent a consultant to decide exactly which tree from the city list I must re-plant. Consultant has reviewed the other trees in the street for ‘theme’ and I’m assured will select something appropriate. I’ll wait another month for HOA approval, then I can post a modification approved sign from the city and one from the HOA and finally have an approved contractor remove diseased dangerous trees.

The politics on the HOA board are hilarious, makes the PTA squabbles seem like child’s play! I live in Atlanta, most neighborhoods have HOAs but mine is particularly bad!!

@PinkPurpleParade
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.

Where abouts in Greater Manchester? In a quiet suburban area (low crime rate, no busy roads), you can get a detached house with 4 bedrooms, 2+ toilets, 2 living rooms and a huge garden for £200-250k.

Loool

You all don’t even know what you’re missing. Don’t ask too many questions or you’ll never be satisfied with your living conditions again.

@ClearMountain

In America you will have a huge house. You will hardly ever be in it because you barely get any paid holidays off work. If you get poorly you will probably lose the house because of your medical bills.

I work in a local government building department and have 192 hrs a year, plus 12 holidays. My health insurance is very good, $600 deductible, and for myself it’s about $12 every other week. DH added on must pay $125 eow. We have dental and vision insurance and a pension. We have had people in management turn down jobs here, because a first year employee ONLY gets 152 hrs of leave time a year. We have more vacation time than people realize. More people are on set salaries, so they don’t have “leave time” but just get paid a set amount, no overtime, no deductions for time off. Then there are self employed who do not have “time off” but they decide for themselves. It is true that people in low income positions are not as fortunate though, but there are many opportunities for people who are motivated. My position is rather lowly, but I love my job and am happy with the pay and benefits.

“ I'm always blow away by the parking threads...no one in my whole neighborhood has to park on the street. Very rare in rural areas to have to park on the street ”
I remember overhearing American tourists in London talking about all the fancy cars that are parked in the street. Unless you live in a building with underground parking or a house with a garage, where else could you leave them?

I am British thru and thru but I detest having the washing machine in the kitchen. We always move it. We get round the regulation about electricity in bathrooms by stacking the washer and dryer and building them nto a cupboard. In a small flat renovation I did for my son we built them into a cupboard into the hall next to the bathroom as he didn’t want them in actual bathroom.

My parents used to have a waste disposal - this was years ago in the UK. I was terrified of it

I lucked in and found Tetley tea bags at a local grocery store at non-British-import prices.

We also had a rubbish shallow tub but had a rubber cover that went over the overflow so you could fill it up a bit more (the cover was open at the top so it still allowed the overflow to work well before the bath overtopped).

I love my job and am happy with the pay and benefits.

Same with me. There is a lot of misinformation on MN about vacation time and other benefits in the US. One of the things that most employers do is to reward longevity, so the longer you stay the more vacation time you have. Another myth on MN is that there is an expectation that we in the US don't take all the vacation we are entitled to because of workaholic culture. I think maybe that was the case for some 20 years ago, but workplace cultures have changed a lot; you are just as likely to be told to take vacation if you are not doing it on a regular basis. And some professions and workplaces require it as a fraud prevention protocol (harder to cover up embezzlement or cooking the books when you are out for a period of time).

I used to watch Supernanny USA (I was rather hooked on it but not any more) and was always shocked at how huge and beautifully furnished the family homes were, more so because in most cases the fathers seemed the main salary earners yet had fairly ordinary jobs. By ordinary I mean manual work or police/healthcare workers etc. not high flying business owners.

@Livpool

My parents used to have a waste disposal - this was years ago in the UK. I was terrified of it

So did mine in a 70s house plus dm has one in current house. I don't like them

user64332 British homes were mostly built with no bathrooms originally and therefore have no room for a washer and dryer. Also the only power source in the bathroom used to be those horrible ceiling height electric bar heaters as it tends to be dangerous to mix electricity and water. Also Americans power is so low voltage they cannot power a kettle in most states, would make it very hard to have a cuppa.

I grew up in a council house and I honestly thought that waste disposal units were standard. It still makes me feel odd putting food straight in the bin.

Bathroom fittings are the same size, but most American houses will only have one bathtub. Because only children take baths. A McMansion might have a fancy standalone bathtub for the lady of the house to take long indulgent bubble baths in, but it will be mostly decorative.

I don't understand putting the laundry machines in the kitchen. Or in the basement, where lots of American houses have them. Surely they belong on the same floor as the bedrooms, where you keep (and take off) the clothes. If I ever have the chance to redesign, I would put them upstairs.

[quote SushiYum]@PinkPurpleParade
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.

Where abouts in Greater Manchester? In a quiet suburban area (low crime rate, no busy roads), you can get a detached house with 4 bedrooms, 2+ toilets, 2 living rooms and a huge garden for £200-250k.[/quote]
In south manchester - so sale / timperley / Altrincham a 4 bed detached would be around £500k or more. A 4 bed detached (but on a main busy road) with a small garden just sold for £750K

If you hang your washing outside you want WM downstairs ideally in a Utility room which I fortunately have

@LisaD76

user64332 British homes were mostly built with no bathrooms originally and therefore have no room for a washer and dryer. Also the only power source in the bathroom used to be those horrible ceiling height electric bar heaters as it tends to be dangerous to mix electricity and water. Also Americans power is so low voltage they cannot power a kettle in most states, would make it very hard to have a cuppa.

They would have a bathroom if they were bigger than a 2 up 2 down, but the toilet would probably be outside in an outhouse.

Washing machines were preceded by coppers - large vessels you lit a fire under to heat the water and user a posser in to agitate the clothes. There was a mangle, outside, for getting the excess water out of clothes before hanging them up to dry. It would have been completely impractical to do that upstairs in a house!

NRTFT, but have skimmed most of it. I'm an American and live in the NYC northern suburbs. Our current house was built in 1986, so not terribly new or old.

We have a 2 acre plot, but most of it is wooded. The garden and yard are about half an acre. We have four bedrooms and three full baths, one of which is off the laundry room and quite small but usable. The living space is about 3000 square feet, not counting the basement and attached two-car garage. That's a pretty typical size for my neighborhood.

The house is built into the side of a hill and we have a second-story deck that runs the full length of the house and looks out over the woods. This is very popular with the cats when the weather is nice. I have planters out there in the summer that I grow tomatoes, peppers and herbs in. If I grew them in the garden the bloody deer would eat them.

The HVAC is a gas fired, forced air furnace with a huge electrostatic filter that removes dust and pollen from the air. The central AC circulates cold air through the same ductwork. You do see radiators but mostly in much older houses. The heating and AC work really well and I love not having to dust much.

I have a gas stove and a kettle for that. It comes to a boil quickly on the biggest burner, so I don't mind not having an electric one. Our house is covered in cedar shakes, which is a nice look, but you do have to stain them every 15 years or so.

We've redone two of the bathrooms, pulled up the little bit of carpet that was in the halls and put down white oak floors. The kitchen is next. We also needed some roofing done a couple of years ago. It's been a nice house to raise the kids in, but now they in uni, though one is doing a remote internship from home at the moment.

Two questions if I may:

1. What is a .5 bathroom - is it just a toilet and sink? Or just really small?

1. Do US cookers/stoves/ranges have gas burners or are they all electric?

@MissConductUS your house sounds beautiful!!

@StCharlotte

Two questions if I may:

1. What is a .5 bathroom - is it just a toilet and sink? Or just really small?

1. Do US cookers/stoves/ranges have gas burners or are they all electric?

A half bath is just a toilet and sink.

Some stoves/ranges are gas and some are electric. Most cooks prefer gas, but it's not available everywhere.

I have a gas stove

Ha - I typed my post about an hour ago but just I hadn't sent it so thank you for anticipating my question

Now, about these half bathrooms...

Oh you've covered that too - thank you!

A half bath is also called a "powder room" as that's where ladies when to powder their noses. The would usually be off the living room so that they would be accessible to visitors without having to go past the bedrooms.

It is a nice house. I can post some pictures of the deck later.