I love it here, but I need a rant...

People in the UK just are more acclimated to not having unnatural amounts of heat at all times in all rooms at the same time. They wear winter clothes in winter and curl up under blankets when watching TV to keep warm. 

I learned this in the US and the rest of my extended familiy and friends in the US did as well. If we were cold, we put on a sweater, snuggly socks, a blanket and drank tea or hot chocolate to keep warm. Like balmheron, my parent's house wasn't insulated, so it was always cold from November until April, but I lived in New England, so my cold tolerance might be different than people from other parts of the US.

I had oil heat radiators in the US too and they were bloody expensive to run!! Mine weren't very effective either, but it was a really old system.

We keep the heat pretty low in our place (I even turned the radiators off in the bedroom). Neither of us like it too warm. Lots of blankets on the couch, nice cozy sweaters. I'm from New England....and Glyn grew up in a house with no central heating at all (gas fire in the living room was all they had) so we grew up in cooler houses.

Another New Englander who grew up in a oil radiator-poorly insulated house.  Now I have a cosy warm flat!
Really, take advantage of the things that keep houses warm- thickly shut curtains, curtains over doors ,draught excluders, closing doors and only heating up one room, radiator reflectors, also clean out your radiators and behind them, don't hang your clothes all over them if you're trying to stay warm in one room, shut your trickle vents....   And hot water bottles and thick blankets are your friend.  And if all else fails, drink tea.    

Really, take advantage of the things that keep houses warm- thickly shut curtains, curtains over doors ,draught excluders, closing doors and only heating up one room, radiator reflectors, also clean out your radiators and behind them, don't hang your clothes all over them if you're trying to stay warm in one room, shut your trickle vents....   And hot water bottles and thick blankets are your friend.  And if all else fails, drink tea.    

Good advice! We also have reflective foil behind our radiators which helps. In the evening we have an open fire in the sitting room and keep the door closed so that room is lovely and warm.

I grew up in a 150 year old house in Wisconsin, and let me tell you that was COLD.  We had radiators, and my parents flat out refused to turn the heat up higher than 68.  As a child, I thought that was freezing, but now I keep our flat at 18 C, which is 64 F.  That's plenty warm.  I can't stand hot houses and would far rather have a jumper and a warm blanket that an overheated room. 

 

I never turn the thermostat above 68 in the US. When I was working I shoved it down to 60 during the day. Much lower at night. Windows are old and lose a lot of heat.

I recommend a warm cat or two 

Wow, were people really saying that radiators = no central heating??  The house I grew up in had forced hot air, but most of the places I lived in when I was on my own had radiators which I definitely liked better.

My last word on retail--back in the day I would work any and all hours for the money.  These days I don't want to for the most part.

At my last flat in London, no, there wasn't a thermostat or anything else to adjust the temperature throughout. It was just radiators and single-glazed windows and we had to move to a more modern building for the luxury of central heating - I know the difference between having central heating and not, so no need for remarks, thanks  . And yes, we do know what blankets/socks/sweaters/heat insulating curtains are (and use them). I grew up in Michigan, but we always had a very warm house because my dad hated the cold. My (British) husband keeps the flat below 20C in winter to save money though.

I wasn't just talking about in the flats either - my office just has individual radiators (again, with no central temperature control) and no air conditioning, so I freeze in winter and roast in summer.

My rant is the constant stream of complaints for it being different in a different country . . .

I grew up during the 1970s energy crisis in the US. The standard was no warmer than 68F in the winter and no cooler than 72F in the summer. I don't remember anyone ever questioning that and it was fine.

Having said that, the last couple of mornings I've woken up to a 12C temp in the sitting room!

I grew up during the 1970s energy crisis in the US.

It was just radiators and single-glazed windows ...

I never turn the thermostat above 68 in the US.

I grew up in a 150 year old house in Wisconsin...

Another New Englander ...

Yeah, well my dad was a meteorologist for the NOAA, and we lived at a weather station in Antarctica, about a 10 minute walk from the South Pole. 

Because it was the 70s and the US was bankrupt from the oil crisis and having spent all its money sending men to the Moon, there wasn't enough money for heat or food at the station, so in order to slow our metabolisms enough to make our food last, we spent 364 days per year encased in blocks of solid ice.

Once a year on our birthdays, penguins would peck us out of our ice block and we'd get a grilled cheese sandwich and a cupcake with a wind-resistant candle in it, and then it was back into the ice for another year.

So the stupidity of English methods of dealing with its climate doesn't bother me, because I'm totally impervious to cold.  I'm typing this on my laptop, sitting outside in my garden, drinking an ice cold Coca-Cola™, wearing not a stitch of clothing.

LOL, Camoscato, you win the internet. 

"We used to dream of living in a corridor..."

Should have gone for an ice cold cider camoscato, that would have been more British 

We need a like button for Camascato!