UK and America are two countries separated by a common language, UK and US Q&A

[Pipbin]

Continuation of the previous thread where posters from the UK ask questions like 'what the hell is going on with the gaps in US toilet doors'; and posters fro the US ask things like 'what is with wearing stripes'

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/a2149133-to-think-there-is-something-wrong-with-Americans?msgid=48969042#48969042

A den is like a family room. Where we live, you tend to have a formal living room with posh sofas, pretty ornaments and no tv (where adults congregate for coffee in porcelain cups) and a den with squashy sofas, tv, xbox, where you eat pizza from the box.

We dont have much need of a formal living room so that's our study now. Our den is open plan with our kitchen.

Den may differ according to the region, but in the South, it usually means a casual living room, especially in a house that has a formal living room. It also might be called a family room.

Pedal pushers are pants trousers that end right below the knee.

Going back to mental health in the UK we have a mental health act ( different in Scotland but the same objectives) which allows people to be compulsory admitted to hospital for assessment and or treatment does the us have similar? And if so how would that work with insurance?

Oneflew I have heard that mental health qualified nursing is recognised in Canada not sure if this is any help to you !

Can we talk about the school day? Does the school day in the UK still start around 9am and finish 3-4pm (depending on primary or secondary school)? In the USA schools go in early (7:30am!) but they are out around 2pm (or around 11am on early release days). Makes it a challenge for working parents. Any one else care to comment?

'Savory' in the UK doesn't mean a particular flavour, it just means 'not sweet

But don't forget that a savoury is a thing too. Not unlike a pasty.

I guess kind of like a chocolate flavoured Refresher, if that makes sense.

Refreshers in the UK and US are very different sweets. The ones in the UK are small, hard, fizzy sweets.

Lady: Pipbin can you put a warning on cheap/reasonably priced UK property? Just so use Southerners know to cover our eyes
You know the rest of the country love watching Location x 3 just to laugh at London prices.

I have a question about 'real estate'. On TV the real estate agents wear red blazers, is that a uniform for them, like a chef wearing whites?
Also, I've heard people say that they have got their qualifications to become real estate agents - over here anyone can set themselves up as an estate agent.
And - whenever someone looks round a house on the TV they seem to be empty. Do people move out of houses before they sell them somehow?

I can answer that Tiny. My school (I'm a teacher) starts at 9 and finishes at 3.30. I know some schools start at 8.30, but not many before that.

Tinyshiney D's starts school( primary at 8.40-845 finishes at 3pm not sure about secondary but my sisters oldest son will be starting year 8 second year secondary in September he walks up to her school ( she is a primary school teacher) to meet her to take him home so I am guessing he finishes 3-45 ish it would take him maybe 20 minutes to get to her school obviously she stays after the kids finish to prepare for the next day attend meetings etc .

Can anyone advise me why 'Taco Bell' hasn't made it to the UK yet?
Or Fritos corn chips? It's not like the UK is a crap-free country.

pipbin the owners ALWAYS leave when a buyer comes to see a property. The showing is done by the agent. No one expects to meet the current owners and buyers would prefer if all traces of the current owner were hidden away! Including pets. You do see some houses "for sale by owner" but this is still seen as quite unusual. The real estate agent makes a commission on the buying/selling of the property (i.e. there is no separate charge for them showing your house).

Clearly you cannot hide a pet - I meant you need to take them out of the property. Dogs especially. Cats sometimes.

Selling and buying of real property is primarily a matter of state law and regulation so varies by state. In my state of Florida is it pretty tightly regulated; real estate agents have to pass an exam and be licensed. Most take courses for this and there are schools that train agents. There is a Division of Real Estate in the Florida State Department of Business Regulation that oversees qualifications and licenses. I think other states are similar.

Hi guys,

Was sent here by a friend - she reckoned I might be able to get some help here. I'm looking for some advice...

Long story, but we're based in the UK, and have 2 suitcases stranded in Union Station, Chicago. What's the cheapest/easiest/quickest way to get them back to the UK? They're stored in an automated locker at the moment, and although the company will release them to a shipping company at my request, there could be a problem if completed paperwork is required. Obviously we don't know exactly what the cases weigh, but one is hold compliant (around 20kgs, I think), and the other is a carry-on.

Any thoughts? I've spent around 5 hours today phoning train stations, rail companies and airports and storage companies, and I'm at my wits end!

Thanks for any help :)

F

I love this thread :-) - so why the early start/end times in American schools?

Heavens, yes. If I had a nickel for all the times I had to drive around town with two dogs and a cat in the car so the house could be shown. . .

I have a lot of experience because because of job transfers, all within the same state, though.

essex Someone else will probably explain this better. I think there is a cultural element but 2 reasons usually quoted:

1. The same buses are used for elementary, middle and high school so they get the elementary kids in first, then go onto the next route/school. Although our high school only starts 30 min later than elementary so that doesn't explain it (i.e. could move all the schools later).
2. It leaves plenty of time for after school activities.

Can you tell me why Nando's hasn't made it to the US yet? What have you got against piri piri chicken?

We had the estate agent do the viewings on our last house, but we did some ourselves.

But what I meant was that the houses seem to be completely empty, as in no furniture.

Why the late start times in UK schools?

A lot of US businesses start the day at 8. It's not just schools. My DCs have always gone from 8 to 3 except in KDG when the day was 9 to 12.30.

Real estate agents no uniforms around here. There was one company that used to all wear a navy blazer but they don't operate here any more. You have to pass a professional exam and you can take classes at a junior college to prepare you. A lot of RE agents have a business degree however, as well as the professional accreditation. You do sometimes find yourself looking an an empty house for sale but for the most part the owner is living there. A lot of people stage their houses so even a house that has been vacated will still have furniture placed there by a stager or by their selling agent. 99.9% of the time the owner vacates the home for the duration of the viewing which is usually arranged in blocks of one hour potential buyers are accompanied by the buyers' agent. A selling agent will affix a little lock box with the door key inside to your front door or somewhere close. Buyer's agents swipe a keycard to open the lockbox.

Of course I'm basing the blazers thing on an episode of The Simpsons.
The whole box thing seems complicated. I just gave the estate agents a key and they kept it in their office.
The people we bought our house from showed us round. They sold it to us because they liked us and we are still friends.

Most of the houses I have viewed have had furniture in them, and we have only sold one house that was unfurnished at the time. We had to move before it sold because of job start dates, and we rented in the new location until it sold.

It is generally thought to be harder to sell an empty house. My brother and SIL are in the process of selling their house, and they are getting a professional "stager" in to stage the house. We have never done that, but we did always did a lot of editing of stuff to make the house more presentable.

One of the things that I find really hard to grasp in reading threads on here about house purchases is how easily a deal can fall through after initial offer and acceptance (I realize it's different in Scotland). That just doesn't happen in the US much at all. Once there is offer and acceptance and a deposit made with the real estate agent (usually something that happens in about 3 days), the seller can't pull out to accept a higher offer without legal repercussions.

No red blazer uniforms here, either.

We never let them use a lock box, mainly because of the pets. We left a key with our listing agent.

Scone. It is all very precarious in England - Scotland is different - nothing is sure until you exchange contracts, by which time you have spent loads of money on legal stuff.

Taco Bells in the UK:

Lakeside shopping centre, Essex
Eastgate shopping centre, Essex (food terrace)
Manchester Arndale, Manchester (food court)

This is according to their website. I had heard that there was one in Essex, so looked it up.

Pipbin It is an odd difference, especially since much of real estate law in the US is based on English law. I'm glad we don't have that feature.