5 Differences between British Homes and American Homes

I have been in the fortunate position to live in both the United Kingdom and the United States during my lifetime, and I have noticed that whilst many details of the homes in both countries are similar, there are some differences that I would like to point out between homes across the pond, 5 of them in fact.

1) The first difference between British homes and American homes is located in the bathroom. In the United States, it is not unusual to see plug outlets in the bathroom, often adjacent to the sink. In the UK, this is illegal, but with one sole exception: a shaver plug.

Plug sockets in the bathroom.

Another thing to mention is that in British homes, the bathroom may not include the toilet and/or the sink inside. In many homes in Britain, the toilet is often in a separate room to the bathroom. However, in my case, the bathroom that I had in my home in Britain did have the bathroom and toilet in the same room, albeit in a rather cramped setting, but more on that in the next entry.

In the US, the bath and the toilet are usually in the same room. Unlike in the UK.

2) The second difference is in the toilet itself. Now, I know it may sound gross, but trust me, there is a difference, and it concerns the water height inside the toilet bowl. In the US, the water height is very high compared to the water height in the UK. Look at the image for more details.

The water height in the UK is a lot lower than the US.

3) The next difference is that due to British homes being significantly smaller on average than American homes, it is not uncommon to see the washing machine and/or the tumble dryer in the kitchen. However, a lot of British people do not own a tumble dryer, and instead dry their clothes outside on a clothes line.

These may be in the kitchen in a British household!

4) The penultimate difference is how the two countries receive their post. In the UK, it is more common than not that any letters are placed into a letterbox, which then goes directly inside the home. However, in the US, postboxes are more common, and the recipient has to go outside to retrieve the letters.

You have to go outside to get your letters in the US.

5) And finally, the last difference is how we control the temperature in our homes. In the UK, there is usually a radiator in the rooms, but no way of cooling the room down. However, in the US, air conditioning is widespread. So why does Britain not use air conditioners? Simply put, the climate in the UK is generally colder than it is in the US, so they are not needed.

Air conditioners are a rare sight in the UK.

Thank you for reading this blog post from Jack Fawsitt Productions talking about the differences between British and American homes. An accompanying video on this topic is coming to Jack Fawsitt Productions, and will be released on Monday 29 April at 12:00 EDT (UTC -4) on YouTube, Facebook and IGTV.

All photos were taken on the Nikon Coolpix S3300 compact camera, and are Copyright Jack Fawsitt Productions.