In the US, the American Dream includes a “dream home”, but in the UK a dream home would look vastly different to the American counterpart. When comparing the differences between US and UK homes, we can find many of them, some drastic. No matter how similar the cultures may seem, two countries separated by thousands of miles have some very different characteristics in their homes.
Local culture and weather must be the two things that set the norm on what homes look like inside and out.
One of the most striking differences is that in the UK, only 0.5% of homes have air conditioning, while in the US the number is 87%! Do Brits have a higher heat tolerance? Are homes very built to circulate air and temperature? Or do they simply have an average of colder weather?
Having lived in both UK and the US myself, I can say I was totally okay in London without AC, (a heating system is a different story), that I needed and had. But in the US, I’ve found AC in our homes almost essential. Especially in our apartments in North Carolina, Utah, and Texas. It got pretty hot. In fact, the forecast today calls for a high of 100F! I don’t know what I’d do without AC.
While in Oregon, we actually didn’t have AC. But it doesn’t get as hot in the Pacific Northwest, and we lived in a basement apartment where the heat of the sun wasn’t direct, plus it’s always cloudy there.
One difference where I personally prefer the UK version, is that homes are more commonly built of brick and stone, while in the US lumber is more widely used. I like the rustic look that brick provides.
There’s another difference that might surprise you if you’ve never visited a home in the UK. There, they normally have separate faucets for hot and cold water in the same sink. I do know some people there find this irritating.
And UK homes definitely don’t have walk-in closets as Americans often require when home buying/renting.
Moreover, in the UK they have letterboxes for mail in their front doors instead of mailboxes separate from the house, as they do in the US.
Also, in homes in the UK tea consumption is higher, while in the US they opt for coffee.
But these are just a few of the unique differences. Check out the infographic below to read about more interesting differences between US and UK homes.
17 Major Differences Between US and UK Homes
[17 Major Differences In US and UK Homes Infographic by Your Best Digs]
What does your dream home look like?
A New Life Wandering 
Really liked this post! I am writing one on the difference in decorating styles between the US and Italy. The lack of closets is part of my post for sure! Anyway..hope you are well.
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Hi Diana! 🙂 They do love their walk-in closets here. I don’t complain 😉 And I did grow up with one in Mexico, so I like them too. I know in Italy they don’t use AC either and it certainly gets hot there!
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Really enjoyed this post! I wonder how garbage disposal for food in a sink looks like.. never seen something like that!
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Oh! You can’t really see it 🙂 It’s installed under the sink, and it allows you to drain food scraps through the sink and there’s a switch, like a light switch to turn it on for a few seconds to “destroy” those scraps. I don’t know if that made sense, I’m terrible at explaining haha.
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Coming from the UK originally although now living in India, it was interesting and fun for me to read:-)
That tea consumption for the UK is pretty low….I think most of the people i know in the UK consume around 5-6 cups! We love our tea:-)
Although they have had a heat wave in the UK recently, we don’t tend to need AC, but most definitely heating!!
Look forward to reading more of your blog.
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At least tea doesn’t have as much caffeine as coffee, and maybe a cup of tea in average is smaller than a cup of coffee. Not sure.
About how many cups of chai a day average do you think people drink in India?
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