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?

They have cardboard mansions on sprawling plots. We have sturdy tardises on plots the size of a pinhead.

What I always notice is that they often put the bed with the window behind it. So many films have this. I don't think we do that in the UK except with very specific modern architecture.

I don't think we do that in the UK except with very specific modern architecture

Besides the damp, draft and condensation in the houses I've lived in the windows are usually too low to stick the bed head in front of.

Another waste disposal owner!

I insisted on it after the great maggot infestation of 2017. Two week collections for food waste do not go well in the summer months, especially when the council refuse to let you use biodegradable bags.

DH is absolutely terrified of the thing and always hands me the plates to scrape down it. The plumber who fitted it is coming up for retirement and it’s the only one he’s ever fitted he tells me so I think they are quite unusual here.
Absolutely wouldn’t be without it though.

I was also excited to find out that rubbish shoots (where you drop your bin bags down) actually exist and it's not just in the movies - our letting agent thought it was hilarious that this was such a novelty to us

have you never come across rubbish chutes in uk blocks of flats, esp tower blocks, they are quite common.

US - California here. We can't have beds near the window in case of earthquake. In fact, we have wooden shutters now so possibly would be able to, but it never recommended.

We have no doors except bathroom and bedroom - just big arches, which makes for lots of light and air movement but is hard to heat in the winter. We do have gas heat, with floor or low on the wall vents to circulate it. It is not dusty as long as you replace the hepa filter timely. Oh, and give it a vacuum now and then. I miss a door! I always feel so much more 'settled in' in the UK when sitting watching telly in the evening. Shutting the door and the curtains makes it feel right!

Is there an American version of Rightmove? Feel like I’d love to have a nosy on there’

When I went to NYC at the airport lol, I thought the toilet was broken as there was so much water sitting in it. Then o seen the hotel toilet was the same so it’s obviously a thing.

[quote Olga83]This is the sort of thing I mean, where the kitchen and bathroom cabinets don't seem to fit with the age of the house

www.zillow.com/homedetails/3995-N-Williams-Pl-Springfield-MO-65803/50246422_zpid/[/quote]
So, that's a very 90s kitchen, and my guess is that it hasn't been updated since.

Some people really do like a kind of country look, which is what that's pointing to. This is particularly true in the south and midwest--you'd be amazed at the amount of oiled bronze fixtures. Frankly I'm not a fan of the British flat/shiny/modern kitchen look, which I think feels cheap. But I don't like the American country/oak/bronze look here either. Something nice and simple and Shaker does it for me!

As for house prices, they vary enormously, as you might expect. Houses are generally much cheaper in the south, midwest, and southwest.

Oooh, can I turn you on to such a fun feature? The New York Times has something called What You Get, which literally takes once price and pulls three very different listings across the country. www.nytimes.com/column/property-values

In my own "What You Get", for $500k (or around £365k, currently), you could get this house in Florida, if you really wanted to live in Fort Myers:

www.zillow.com/homedetails/8980-Paseo-De-Valencia-St-Fort-Myers-FL-33908/66168356_zpid/

or this house in Montana with 43 acres
www.zillow.com/homedetails/956-Fattig-Creek-Rd-Roundup-MT-59072/193321200_zpid/

or this one right outside Albuquerque, NM:
www.zillow.com/homedetails/6506-Oersted-Rd-NE-Rio-Rancho-NM-87144/113475660_zpid/

or a Connecticut farmhouse:
www.zillow.com/homedetails/31-S-Main-St-East-Hampton-CT-06424/57854776_zpid/

or for just £274k, this gorgeous thing in Normal, IL: www.zillow.com/homedetails/705-Broadway-Normal-IL-61761/76964137_zpid/

But also, in Staten Island you're looking at a 1,050 sq foot home:

www.zillow.com/homedetails/393-Pelton-Ave-Staten-Island-NY-10310/32274996_zpid/

You can also get very straightforward suburban houses, like this, basically anywhere: www.zillow.com/community/wyndemere-estates/2077485443_zpid/

Zillow is so addictive that Saturday Night Live did a skit about it a few weeks ago

@BillyIsMyBunny

Is there an American version of Rightmove? Feel like I’d love to have a nosy on there’

realtor.com

Over 20 years ago we went on holiday to New England and loved the homes we saw so I bought some self build books to look at all the plans and dream! 5 years later we built our own American style home in Scotland. We have weather boarding on part of the exterior walls and a covered porch. We have a double height ceiling in the dining hall and a sunken sitting room with 3 steps down to it. The kitchen is separate but is a good sized dinning kitchen with an island. Our master bedroom is on the ground floor with a large en suite with spa bath and a walk in wardrobe. My brother is an architect and has built quite a few homes like this in the last few years. We have relatives in Ontario and their electricity supply is 110v too. BIL had this super, fancy electric kettle. It was useless it took about 15 mins to boil!

Sorry, I meant to say - Zillow is a nice shiny site but it lists homes that aren't for sale as well as ones that are, and when it lists ones that aren't for sale, it overestimates their worth by quite a lot - so unless it actually shows a home currently for sale, then take the value it gives you with a big pinch of salt. If it's not for sale it will say "off-market" but will show you the photos from the last time it was for sale. We just put our home up for sale and Zillow overestimated its price by more than $130k.

I think people who bought inner city homes in the US in the 80s-90s lucked out in terms of size. Homes now are much smaller - for example flat rentals across in New York (not just the centre) can be 2-3 x the cost of London flats in a similar location and half the size too.

I stayed in a house in Canada, rather than the US, but I assume it's similar, which had a central vac system - no need to lug a vaccuum cleaner around - just sweep up your rubbish near a slot in the skirting board and turn it on and it sucks it all away down in to the basement! That I was fascinated by!

wow! that sounds like sci-fi ! by magic it disappears ! then what ?

Is there an American version of Rightmove? Feel like I’d love to have a nosy on there

Realtor.com is good, but I prefer Trulia.

i don't like the idea of having steps within the ground floor just for style reasons, to give an enclosed feeling to a room area; if someone needed to use a wheelchair that would be a problem, can happen to anyone at any time.
it's a pity not to keep the usefulness of large open-plan layout otherwise.

Well its all about land prices and space - they are cheaper. US houses are not as constrained by neighbouring houses and are newer so they have space for utility rooms, ensuites, and walk in closets, garages, gardens and pools. But they don't have as much character and design is often much more basic than UK design aesthetics. And US suburbs are barren wastelands mile upon mile of housing with only cars to access amenities like malls. Not for me.

Some people really do like a kind of country look, which is what that's pointing to. This is particularly true in the south and midwest--you'd be amazed at the amount of oiled bronze fixtures. Frankly I'm not a fan of the British flat/shiny/modern kitchen look, which I think feels cheap. But I don't like the American country/oak/bronze look here either. Something nice and simple and Shaker does it for me!

Some good points here. Where I am (Deep South), the "modern farmhouse" vibe has been popular for a while. And the "British flat/shiny/modern kitchen look" is often referred to as "Euro modern" which most people only experience by watching House Hunters International. My kitchen has plain painted white cabinets, no oak or bronze or anything country.

Someone on the thread asked about built-in hobs or ovens. Some kitchens do have built-in cook-tops and wall ovens, but most people I know have a range aka stove. My sister-in-law and brother have a stove and a built-in wall oven, which is why we always have Thanksgiving there. Thanksgiving menus require high oven capacity.

@FlippinNoah

I'm an American who's addicted to Rightmove. I love looking at older architecture, thatched roofs, etc. Also at the huge estates with stables, coach houses, gorgeous gardens, etc.

I love to garden and you have a wonderful climate to garden. I live in a temperate rainforest here in the US so I'm putting in an English cottage garden. I just love that look!

My favorite thing on Rightmove is to look at tenement flats in Edinburgh. But I am getting too old to climb those stairs.

I think the difference in kitchen styles is a matter of taste. Sleek, shiny kitchens aren't popular here. Cabinets made of materials other than wood are also not popular, and are considered cheap-looking to many.

UK bedrooms would have loads more space if only architects/developers would embrace built in cupboards. Free standing wardrobes are heavy, often ugly, and take up loads of space!

I am on zoom calls with US colleagues who work from home. I like to have a good nosey around the background of their homes. Usually massive of course. Love it they have ceiling fans in Texas. Yes, to oppressive dark wood kitchens. Also, seem to have quite old fashioned dark wood library and furniture and heavy framed pictures (my colleagues are lawyers, could explain it). UK decor seems more contemporary in comparison. Saw the inside of a NY apartment, which is more cosy and compact and New England house, which has some quirky features but great outdoors.

Garbage disposals are slightly terrifying but I always get a strange sense of power whenever I use one. Genuinely a small highlight of my day.

Forced air hearing is much more efficient that the UK style radiators- it’s just the same as the normal hearing vents used in commercial offices and spaces in general. Our house in the UK was admittedly old and draughty but it took ages to heat up.

One baffling thing we have here that’s entirely unheard of the UK is a lack of light fittings in some rooms. You may notice in some US shows there’s loads of lamps everywhere. This is generally because there isn’t a main light on the ceiling at all. In our house none of the bedrooms have lights on the ceiling. You just buy lamps and plug them into the outlets which connect to the switch by the door. This isn’t by any means universal but still strikes me as odd it’s even an option.

6 and half a dozen really. The alternative is what we do here, and send the vast majority of it to landfill to sit and rot away over a period of decades rendering large swathes of land unusable without expensive and ecologically damaging remediation. Not all food waste can be composted. Our waste disposal gets rid of most of the non compostable food waste. Virtually nothing goes in to the waste bin. The only issue I have with our waste disposal is the use of water to flush it away, but that's the same issue I have with the WCs. We should have a far better grey water system in the UK.
Im uk and our council take all food waste to create energy and compost and thought I read that all councils are expected to take food waste sometime soon