UK Compared to US Homes

Hi all

Yep, Peedal I agree with you 100% - a 'home' is what's inside, the atmosphere and the people and the love contained - that can happen in a crummy bedsit or a terraced house or a mansion! I 'think' the op meant it in the actual physical construction viewpoint - but you are still completely correct in this perspective.

Whilst my previous example was of course more of the extreme - i.e a 5 bed house with 3 bathrooms compared to not even being able to purchase a 1bed flat for the same money here - I also understand your point of that example being 'too big' and that a small compact home could be and is in your case much more preferable - and thats just what you tend to find in the UK in 'comparison' - again fair point and I do agree!

However, looking at the point of the op's question, and certainly from myself in terms of physical comparisons and the practicalities of 'houses/homes' - I'm extremely frustrated that even with trying more and more (I've had 2nd jobs, worked 7 days a week, compromised and saved in various elements) it's 'generally' still not enough to get what I beleive is a 'modest' request at a decent 3 bedroom house in a semi decent area' in the UK - I personally dont need a bedroom with a master suite and bathroom in it that I've seen are bigger than my entire upstairs of my home here! I'd want something a little more 'practical' and that's when I compare like for like. I see a 'similar' sq ft sized house for sale in the US (and other countries) and suddenly, all that effort has a good place to be in - ie a home of my own from which my impending and probable wifey and sprogs can at least live comfortably in - I think that's what frustrates people the most and then have a public 'moan' about it - I am definitley one to go and do something about it, whereas the vast majority will still be 'negatively' whining about it for ages. I wish the UK would be more 'realistic' for what's now the vast majority of the population - but the sad fact is that it isn't and isn't likely to be for quite some time.

So going back to the US and UK house thing - I'd agree with paul, there are more quality features found in more US homes than you'd find in like for like here. They all do make sense - Air Con isn't 'JUST' for cooling, it's also friendly to people like me with allergies and also removes excess moisture which is damaging in a domestic dwelling. I'd say AC is a good investment year round for those two reasons. Central Vac - USA has had this feature for years in many homes, laundry chutes i think are fantastic! then as already mentioned, when comparing like for like new homes, I found the level of quality in the construction higher than the houses here - they just 'felt' more solid - to test, I thumped the walls on my cousin sis's house in Cali last time I was there! - I did the same here in a friends place and he almost threw me out of the house saying dont bloo*y break it, i've only just moved in! (and he's a building surveyor!)

Cheers! DtM! West London & Slough UK!

From my experience in American Homes, there tends to be a lot more individuality from house to house.  For example, driving along a street in Nashville (where my husband is from and I lived for a while) the houses are often different from each other completely.  Some people hate that and prefer them to be uniform but I loved just driving around and looking at how different each house was to the next.  I know there are places like that here too but with planning restrictions it's not so much the case anymore.  Just look at a new housing development, every house is pretty much the same and lacks any individuality.  I'd rather live in a ramshackle old cottage than one of those.

Houses in the US can be very lovely and HUGE for a lot, lot less than they would be here but if I lived there I think my concern would be finding something small and cosy enough.  I like little houses which most people find weird since I grew up in a 15 bedroom house, a little cottage is my idea of a perfect home. 

My American mom got hooked on some British sitcom or other. So she calls me up and says, "why does that lady keep putting the milk in the dishwasher?" Those teeny-tiny fridges...yeesh!

But the thing about homes in the UK is, when they say a house is Tudor, they don't mean white with black beams. They mean some nutcase Tudor was sitting on the throne when it was built!

If that's not Death by Coolness, I don't know what is.

My American mom got hooked on some British sitcom or other. So she calls me up and says, "why does that lady keep putting the milk in the dishwasher?" Those teeny-tiny fridges...yeesh!

But the thing about homes in the UK is, when they say a house is Tudor, they don't mean white with black beams. They mean some nutcase Tudor was sitting on the throne when it was built!

If that's not Death by Coolness, I don't know what is.

We have the other kind of Tudor too, it's called "mock Tudor" 

From my experience in American Homes, there tends to be a lot more individuality from house to house.

Definitely.  Even where all the new homes on an estate are built by the same developer, there seems to be much more variety -- At least a half dozen different layouts, different trim and colors, some set forward, some back, some end-on to the street others broadside, etc.     Far too many British developments have row after row of the same little boxes all exactly in line and with almost zero variation in style.    If it weren't for the numbers on the doors you could easily walk into the wrong house.

Admittedly there are the Levittown-style places in the U.S. as well, but to my eyes even those are more attractive than the typical British council estate of semi-detached (duplex) houses. 

Definitely.  Even where all the new homes on an estate are built by the same developer, there seems to be much more variety

That's the polar opposite of my experience which just goes to show, yet again, that these things are completely regional in nature.

That's the polar opposite of my experience which just goes to show, yet again, that these things are completely regional in nature.

Exactly. 

Wow, chary & peedal, where do you live? The parts of Ireland & the north here that I've lived in/seen are all cookie cutter, with very little variation in architecture. Adding a bay window or a loft conversion doesn't count as variation when the base houses are the same.

Having said that, I think that - because of space, because of weather - everything here is so much more interior - things may look bland/cookie cutter on the outside but inside it's usually a riot of color, decoration, etc.

I do wonder why the majority of houses, that I've seen anyway, don't seem to have windows on all sides (if they have a side/s). Usually the windows are just front and back of the house and if there is a side window, it's a very small bathroom window. Why is that?

Some UK houses will be "lacking" in windows because of the Window Tax, depending on how old they are:

http://www.longparish.org.uk/history/windowtax.htm

"Window Tax - 1696-1851

In 1696 in the reign of William III another form of taxation came into force this was known as the “Window Tax” and would last until 1851.

In 1696 there was a financial crisis created by a growing inflation caused by the many conflicts both in Ireland and on the continent. One of the forms of taxation created to help pay the debt was known as the “Window Tax”.

By 1700 reforms had taken place by slashing taxes, auditing the accounts showing irregularities, and finally the nine-year war had come to an end in 1697, but the “Window Tax” would stay for another fifty one years.

The tax would be paid on a house of more than six windows. Unfortunately none of these records appeared to have survived, one way for a person to by pass the tax was to brick up one or two windows over the stated six, even today on some of the older houses the bricked up windows are still there.

In 1792 houses with 7-9 windows had to pay a tax of 2 shillings, and those people with property containing 10-19 windows would pay a tax of4 shillings.

In 1825 the number of widows taxable went from six to eight windows. The Window Tax would be replaced in 1851 with a tax called House Duty."

But Paul was commenting on US houses, and chary and I seem to disagree with the fact that they have "more variety", based on our experience.  We're only commenting on what we know - and that boils down to the fact that one cannot make broad assumptions about EITHER country in architecture, weather, behaviour of its citizens, whatever.

Yep, I'm with Chary and Peedal. The houses in our area are quite varried. Except of course for rows of Victorian terraces (which I happen to have a soft spot for) - which look the same but which people have made little changes to to give them a bit more personality.

It's actually become an issue for us because dh is more open to what we buy but I don't like the look of a lot of places we see!  It might actually be easier if everything looked the same.

And as for what houses "come with" - the first house my husband and I lived in as a couple in the UK had a washer, a dryer, a washing machine, a garage and an 85-foot back garden, with patio area and brick BBQ.  The second house also had a large back garden and patio area, and separate garage.

The house we fell in love with and bought?  A 3-bed Victorian terrace with a 30 foot garden and not even a guaranteed parking space on the street!  I'm happier in this house than I was in the first two.

I do wonder why the majority of houses, that I've seen anyway, don't seem to have windows on all sides (if they have a side/s). Usually the windows are just front and back of the house and if there is a side window, it's a very small bathroom window. Why is that?

Notwithstanding the Window Tax, which obviously has had no effect on anything built in the last hundred years, I suspect it's probably arisen from the desire to keep a certain amount of privacy.

Look at a typical British street which has a straight line of semi-detached (duplex) houses.  Obviously one side of each house can have no windows since it shares a wall with its partner.   The space between pairs of houses is often not that wide, and with them all in a straight line large side windows would overlook directly into the rooms of the neighboring house.

You tend to find side windows more on individual detached homes on larger lots and/or separated by hedgerows, etc.

I was more referring to modern homes, there is greater individuality in older homes I think.  I live in the Highlands so a lot of houses were built to accomodate the weather so can often look quite alike.  The planning restrictions on modern houses however can be quite ridiculous and that's why I think modern homes have a tendency to be quite similar in appearance (if they are in an urban setting especially). 

I didn't mean to say houses in the UK weren't as attractive as those in the US, more that owners often have more leeway in their personal embellishments.  The average suburban area here (that I have experienced) will have houses that look very similar to each other whereas in the US that wasn't my experience at all.

In short, when am here there's very few houses that I see on a daily basis and think "Wow how beautiful!" (unless it's a grand country house or something) whereas in the US I found myself thinking that all the time (in the places I visited).  It does of course take into account personal taste.

Also, hatsumomo, because of the design of houses here, there isn't much scope for individuality the way there is in the states, even in cookie-cutter places in the states. Maybe it's not just the design, but also availability of materials, etc, too, and the whole, 'but that's not how we do it here' mentality. Our current house is a terraced house and there's not a helluva lot we could do to make it 'our own'.

Definitely.  Even where all the new homes on an estate are built by the same developer, there seems to be much more variety -- At least a half dozen different layouts, different trim and colors, some set forward, some back, some end-on to the street others broadside, etc.     Far too many British developments have row after row of the same little boxes all exactly in line and with almost zero variation in style.    If it weren't for the numbers on the doors you could easily walk into the wrong house.

Admittedly there are the Levittown-style places in the U.S. as well, but to my eyes even those are more attractive than the typical British council estate of semi-detached (duplex) houses. 

There are areas in Maryland and DC that have street after street of tiny brick boxes, absolutely identical. They made me think of Monopoly houses. They're clearly older developments, maybe 50s-60s? I found them pretty creepy, actually.