7 Things About My British Flat I Don't Understand

[@disclancer]

Hi Alanna, most places with stairs have a cupboard under them in my experience where you can store your suitcases, Christmas's tree and magically inclined relatives.

[@sarahgreefable]

Harry loves it

[@mortxiii]

or buy a free standing wardrobe [closet]

[@carliem9494]

Love that!

[@feanorian21maglor38]

Excellent!

[@queen_of_ravens]

"Magically inclined relatives" 😂

[@robertselkirk674]

Hi Alanna, Your "bathroom" with sash windows is a Georgian design (The Georgian era is a period in British history from 1714 to c. 1830-37) and was originally a bedroom; they did NOT have any indoor plumbing or toilets, and the bath was usually a portable tin bath brought in from outside when required !!!!! As to the bugs, you could add net curtains which are very often used in GB in place of insect screens. As to the fridge size, we usually shop more often, and buy smaller quantities of foodstuffs. Also the kitchens are smaller (as are the houses and indeed the whole country) Love the video, will catch up on the rest ;later today, having just found this one. . Stay Safe.

[@Sorarse]

We had our bathroom re-done a few years ago, and it was a conscious decision to replace the frosted glass in the window with clear. The reason was because our bathroom isn't overlooked, and in fact looks out over an orchard, which is a nice view when sitting on the loo and contemplating the meaning of life.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Beautiful!

[@wilmaknickersfit]

If the room is on the ground floor then usually we opt for an obscured view, but if it's upstairs and not overlooked then why not have clear glass? Just remember the old joke about the blind (window) cleaner... 🤣

[@KopCole]

Or maybe you like getting out the shower and letting the window cleaner catch an eyeful of boob

[@chrisspere4836]

Storage heaters contain lots of bricks which hold the heat. Its interesting that what you are doing on the loo and the meaning of life are the same things.🙂

[@thedisabledwelshman9266]

@@AdventuresAndNaps yes we know that bathrooms in british houses are a lot smaller than in america or canada. we get it.

[@Spiritof1955]

We plug our rechargable toothbrush into the shaver socket (the two pln plug fits perfectly). Shaver sockets, by the way, use an isolation transformer so they aren't connected directly to the mains power. The transformer is also the reason why they are dual voltage. It's all clever stuff.

[@fi8781]

She doesn't have one of those though. My old house doesn't either.

[@jimfoyle2817]

I never knew that - ours is 220v, I assume - as my Sonos is wired up to the same feed.

[@Spiritof1955]

@@fi8781 They usually have a shaver socket fitted when the house is rewired or the bathroom is refitted.

[@markianclark9645]

well..this is right in my alley..i recently fitted one of these to the family bathroom (i don't live there)..they trust me as i'm an engineer..not electrical but i have a lifetime of knowledge..yes they often use a powerful stepdown transformer (avoid the cheapie ones)..i opted for a more expensive power supply..i chose it over the cheaper one they suggested..it does connect to the mains but that's the input..the output is only 12volts (i think!)..i set it into the wall as i don't want someone tugging a cable and it comes off with the lead..i assume modern bathrooms have them as standard..but if it's old or renovated..then they'll need to be refitted..especially in an ancient house like Alana's...depends if she needs an appliance for the socket...not everyone uses them when they're fitted

[@phoebus007]

Alanna, the sash window in the bathroom has the added benefit that, not only can you sit on the loo and simultaneously look out of the window, but you can slide the lower panel upwards to open it. This both gives you a better view out and offers you the opportunity to hold a conversation with someone outside.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Perfect! 😂

[@hopefletcher7420]

For those not living in Canada or the US, electrical outlets in the bathroom and kitchen are GFIs. Ground Fault Interrupters will shut off immediately if moisture touches them. They have a reset button to turn back on.

[@charleslambert3368]

I think that's required in new build houses in the uk too

[@jackmason7823]

When you showed your fridge I was immediately jealous; its massive! Also bottles go in the door and the shelves can be moved to allow larger ones to fit :)

[@Cheepchipsable]

That was a combined fridge freezer. The fridge part was probably 200 litres.

[@purpleturtledances]

as someone whose always lived in the uk that fridge is on the large size and most fridges have the freezer part underneath so i dont know what shes complaining about.. dine bottles fit easily and i can fit a week and a halfs worth of shopping in mine which is a bit smaller then the one that she shows

[@aimee-lynndonovan6077]

Yep!

[@cinqueqwerty]

We all have that type of fridges. I’m from Central Europe And that’s rather big one

[@tomwebb3081]

The outlets in the bathroom isn't so much 'touch with wet hands', but more 'what happens when you drop a full power item into the occupied full bath' - especially with older fuse boards (rather than modern RCD boards).

[@sh4dowchas3r]

It's also not that they are compelely banned it's just the zoning in the electrical regs for bathrooms and most bathrooms are too small to allow a socket.

[@gharwood1356]

@@sh4dowchas3r 2m isn't it, between outlet and bath or basin. Interestingly, everywhere I go in Europe, there's an outlet by the sink. RCDs rule!

[@sh4dowchas3r]

@@gharwood1356 I'm not 100% sure I'm not a sparky, but 2m rings a bell from a vid I saw by an actual sparky

[@gharwood1356]

@@sh4dowchas3r It rings a bell for me from work, but it may be the phase separation for 3 phase. Probably the same though.

[@Chris-Lynch]

@@gharwood1356 No - each house only gets a single phase. Three phase ends before distribution to the House. Next door “might” be on a different phase - as is the case when I wired up the house we built next door. So if you were to somehow manage to wire the two together it would be extremely dangerous to connect up but if you managed to do it, you would still have 240V (RMS) between each phase and neutral but as you only have two phases 120deg apart you get what is known as line to line voltage (which is actually used in the US in some cases for higher current devices, but that’s complicated even more by the fact it’s actually 220/240V RMS to the House anyway but going into why it’s actually 120V RMS for most of the house would be too complicated for here). Anyway, line to line for a US “120V RMS” supply is actually 208V RMS and for 240V RMS it’s 415V RMS. Incidentally the peak voltage of three phase is technically 480V RMS (plus or minus 240V RMS) or obviously 220/240V RMS in the US, although it’s never actually at that level at any given time precisely because the phases are 120deg apart which at 50Hz adds up to 0.02/3 seconds between peaks. And just to make it that bit more complicated what I just said is really redundant when talking about peak phase to phase because you don’t consider the RMS value but the real value - which is plus or minus ~325V in Europe. So ~650V peak to peak!

[@coot1925]

I was married to an American for 15 years and comparing the different eccentricities between UK and USA the things I miss from America is a screened porch. The house was in Florida and I loved sitting outside during one of their amazing thunderstorms coming in from the gulf of Mexico and not being bothered by insects. They did have a cat flap that the raccoons would use to come through to steal the cats food which made me laugh. They're like little bandits. Love your channel ❤

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

So true! I don't know anyone here with a screened porch - I missing seeing raccoons, so cute! 🧡

[@BrandonLeeBrown]

Before air conditioning, houses in the south would often have three porches., on the south, the west and the east. The bedrooms were on the north side of the house. The purpose of the three porches was to keep the sun off of those three walls of the house. Often east side porch was screened in, because the afternoon sun was on the west side and the east side porch would offer the most shade, to relax in after a hot day. The north side would have the least sun, with some morning sun and the bedrooms wouldn't be used until evening. In the north houses would often have a porch with glass widows, later called a sun room. After World War II, small houses were built for returning veterans. Air conditioning still wasn't common. These new, small houses lacked porches and A/C. They started adding covered, screened patios in the south, called, "Florida rooms" and windowed add-on rooms or patios in the north, called, "sun rooms." With small A/C units available these days, some Florida rooms get windows instead of screens now. Some post-war Florida rooms were made using carports that came with the houses, instead adding a patio.

[@redrob6026]

I've never had someone turn off the light when I'm in the bathroom, but I live alone so that would be quite creepy.

[@jonathan.palfrey]

😄

[@onyxstewart9587]

You're not wrong about the bees! Every summer I end up chasing out huge bumblebees that have come in through the window. Still prefer dealing with bees over the bluebottle flies that spend hours bumping against the window instead of flying back out

[@georgecaplin9075]

You don’t smush them with the Sunday Times!??

[@peterb2286]

Same here. Every life is precious and no Sunday Times. Just a large glass and a piece of paper.

[@GOGS-zg7rd]

You know you can remove fridge shelves right? You can make an area for taller items.

[@benwagner5089]

Yes, but at the expense of being able to store other items that would have gone on the removed shelf. Granted, she has a large unit, but almost half of it is a freezer. As an American suburbanite, I'd prefer having a larger fridge section and smaller freezer section; I can always get a separate freezer chest to store in the basement, garage, or kitchen. We also have door shelving that can accommodate the tall milk cartons, opened wine bottles, or 2-liter sodas.

[@trevorhawkins3873]

@@benwagner5089 I think more combined fridge-freezers here in the UK are starting to have more space allocated to the fridge, but with the downside of not always having somewhere convenient to put a stand alone freezer it definitely is a trade off. Property/land prices are probably the biggest factor in not having the space for most of the things North American homes have that we don't.

[@LeicesterGuy123]

Suitcases and the Christmas Tree can either go in the cupboard under the stairs or in the attic/loft :) Also it's funny that no British person would ever use the word 'closet' in any context other than 'coming out of the closet' 😂

[@EmilyGilbeywilbey]

I might call something a closet. Not a cloak room downstairs or a wardrobe in a bedroom or an airing cupboard. But a specific linen closet possibly next to a bathroom just for towels and bedsheets etc when there is a separate airing cupboard to distinguish between the 2 🤣🤣

[@EfftupSmith]

or Water Closet (WC)

[@janstickles3035]

@Adam C- where do you think the term "coming out of the closet" originates? A closet is area to keep things from view. ( Like your "cupboard". So to come out of the closet would be to come out in to view. So for reference sake, should you be using the term " she came out of the CUPBOARD".......Hmmm... One to ponder.

[@MelissaThompson432]

A closet is a small close ("enclosure";) ie, a very small room. Sometimes cabinets are referred to as closets, but they are generally understood as intrinsic to the house.

[@boxershiner]

@@EmilyGilbeywilbey An 'airing cupboard'? What is it, and what is it used for?

[@elliewoolstenholmes108]

My childhood home and my last flat had storage heaters. I am absolutely convinced that NOBODY knows how to use them!

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Truly awful! 😂

[@elliewoolstenholmes108]

@@AdventuresAndNaps They really are! My Dad wanted to fit them in the bungalow my parents moved into a few years ago and Mum wouldn't let him! After a while, he admitted that central heating was better than storage heaters after all!! 😂

[@oddjobkia]

the only use they have is to take the bricks out and use them to floor a greenhouse.. They store the heat from the day and slow release over night

[@sharonclaridge]

We bought a house with them and it was tricky to plan ahead as to how much you wanted them to charge up overnight depending on how cold you thought the following day was going to be. Then the gamble the next day; how early would you dare to open the output vent! We still have a variation of them but we've got the more modern version which pretty much look after themselves once you program them :)

[@georgegonzalez2476]

The uk had a lot of nuclear plants that don’t like to be throttled down at night. So storage heaters make sense- you can charge them up with cheaper overnight electricity and then let the heat out during the day. Almost makes sense.

[@malcolmbentham9909]

In Canada and the US the voltage is actually 220 volts. We only use half at normal outlets and full at high power devices (AC, stove, dryer etc.). It's code in kitchens, bathrooms, and outdoors to have GFCI (ground fault circuit interrupter) outlets, making it almost impossible to receive a shock.

[@chrispop99]

Similar rules apply to the UK, except we have Residual Current Devices, which provide the same level of protection.

[@kevinholderness4243]

Loved the video and no offence taken 🙂. As an old-timer can I help with a bit of history. Usually, the only British homes with basements are old "town houses" (a step above working class housing). The basements were known as "coal cellars" and thats what they were for. A chap with a wagon would call round and deliver coal by pouring it down a hole in the pavement into your coal cellar (from where a servant would take buckets of it upstairs as needed). The hole in the pavement was covered with a metal man-hole cover, most of which have been tarmaced over by this time.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Interesting! Thanks for watching!

[@Tonyupnorth]

interestingly i live in a Victorian 2 up, 2 down in Yorkshire, I also have a coal cellar!

[@RosLanta]

I wouldn't say "only". I used to live in an 1850s semi-detached house which did have a coal cellar (not accessible but visible via a missing brick) but also had a three-room basement complete with fireplace where presumably servants used to live. It wasn't usable as rooms because the ceilings were too low.

[@kevinholderness4243]

Hi Tony, yes I was born and raised in Preston (before defecting to the south some 45 years ago) and we also had a few coal cellars, however, coal bunkers or coal sheds in the back yard were more common. (For Alanna if you read this, a back yard was a paved area maybe 10ft square with a 6ft high brick wall around it)

[@darthgardner]

@@Tonyupnorth same here im in lincolnshire i have a 2 up 2 down with the grate outside the front window for the coal to be dumped into and rain😟..

[@stevebarlow3154]

One thing I'd suggest for cold and damp flats and houses is the portable oil filled radiator. It is powered from the mains but is very frugal in its use of electricity. It is also safe to leave on during the day at a low setting if you go out to work. Or for longer periods, such as going on holiday, if you have a damp house.

[@bernadettedevereaux8694]

I love an oil filled radiator because it is so quiet and the heat is like an invisible cloud that doesn’t have hot spots nearest to the vents.

[@cosh5]

We have special sockets for charging toothbrushes or using electric razors in our bathrooms. I have never been in a house in England that didn't have at least one. Most bathroom windows are frosted or textured for privacy. Underfloor heating was briefly popular, but most homes have radiators. They are individually adjustable, plus room thermostats are commonplace too, so you can have some rooms warmer and others cooler. Radiators double up as drying spaces for laundry too. Closets are rare due to lack of space in our smaller homes, though understairs cupboards and lofts are usual in houses. Cellars and boxrooms are more common in older houses. We prefer under-counter appliances because our kitchens are typically too small for big fridges. You just need to adjust the shelves for taller items. Fridge door spaces are sized to accommodate wine bottles etc.

[@zaixai9441]

In regards to the hot air. The UK did have a "hot air fad" in the 60s/70s. My grandparents were in a self-build group and most of the people chose to have hot air instead of radiators, but my grandparents chose radiators instead and they all converted to radiators after 5 or so years of living in them. Also, my other grandparents lived in a house with hot air too. It just didn't catch on and I think a lot of people complained that it made the air dry.

[@tonys1636]

They also needed the air filter cleaning regularly (weekly if in a city) otherwise they would overheat and shutdown. As mine did the first winter after moving in. Found the instruction manual in the back of the cupboard over it. Airing Cupboard/Hot Press?

[@thebigeasy87]

I can confirm... Recently brought a 70s house with weird vents in the floors, ceilings and a huge empty void in a l cupboard on the kitchen.....it was the remnants of the hot air heating system which we've had to remove and knock down a wall to reclaim the kids then space wasted.

[@zaixai9441]

@@tonys1636 yeah. I remember looking into the hot air vents in the walls of my other grandparents house and they were full of dust. I'm not sure if you could clean them but I'd imagine the average person wouldn't have gone round unscrewing the vents.

[@tonys1636]

@Nicky L Mine was a 70's house, the filter was a sheet of foam that slid into the intake on the top of the unit about A4 in size. The intake drew air from the hall and living/dining room. First time I washed it there was about half an inch of sludge at the bottom of the sink and the filter was about a lb. lighter. Done monthly after. Unit could be run with the heating off in summer to circulate air but not during/after cooking and eating Kippers or a Curry.

[@marck717]

Hi Zaixai, I’m from Illinois and here almost every home has a central HVAC system, or what you would call hot air with air conditioning built into the same system. I think the reason your grandparents air was too dry in the winter was that their furnace/air handler probably didn’t have a built in humidification control system to add moisture into the air in the winter and remove the moisture in the summer. That is standard on almost all modern systems today. Also most systems use hepa-filtration to remove dust and allergens from your home. You could also have dampers installed in the ducts so you can keep different parts of your home at different temperatures and the whole system can be controlled by your cellphone. I don’t know why it hasn’t caught on in Europe. It is relatively cheap to run, as it uses inexpensive natural gas for the heating part of the system and electricity for the blower and the air conditioning part of the system as well as adding a minimal amount to your water bill for the humidification.

[@me-in-Australia]

Australia has light switches and power outlets in the bathrooms and is on 240 volt and no high death rate from electrocution. I think the UK bathroom phenomenon is more of a hangover from times past

[@aliciasteiner6855]

Same in Germany, I literally have outlets Right next to my sink.

[@wanjina618]

Agree, however my current house has the bathroom light switch on the outside and a double outlet inside. Go figure.

[@TheMsLisaF]

Yeah the British are so afraid of being electrocuted lol - I’m over 50 and I don’t know of a single person who has been electrocuted by bathroom outlets

[@alwaysfair4991]

​@@TheMsLisaFWorry about bushfires.

[@FlyingPhysicist]

We had a similarly size-challenged fridge a few years ago. For tall bottles we just removed the middle door shelf... Re: sleeping in the height of summer, a couple of strategically-placed fans (along with some other tactical alterations) make a world of difference 👍

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

We thought about removing the middle shelf but then we'll have to move all those bits lol We do have fans for the summer, I still struggle 🥵 Thanks for watching though!

[@andrewmitchell3336]

@@AdventuresAndNaps or you could lay your square box cartons on the shelf then you would have room for your milk bottles in the door the square ones will lay flat on their side with the screw top upwards works for me

[@mandygriffin5241]

@@AdventuresAndNaps freeze water bottles and stand them in front of the fan. Feels like air con!

[@johnmccallum8512]

@@mandygriffin5241 AKA swamp cooler

[@TheJulianFletcher]

You usually have some options about the gap between the shelves in the fridge door (and the ones inside the fridge). Perhaps you could move the middle shelf in the door up by one notch and shift anything oversized for the middle shelf down to the bottom shelf?

[@stephenlee5929]

Hi Alanna, on your radiators there is a second thermostat. The main thermostat limits the call for heat dependant on a given room temperature, then hot water is pumped through all the radiators, except that at 1 end of each radiator there is often ( note spotted it on your 2nd radiator shown) a thermostatic valve, when the air around this becomes hot enough this radiator is switched off. These are normally numbered from 0 or * to 5, where 0 or * is frost protection and 5 is as hot as available Note there is normally 1 radiator which does not have this, and is close to the main thermostat, since if all radiators are set lower than this thermostat, you will call for heat but have no outlet for it. Boiler will normally have some protection for this. Note this is a basic explanation, I'm not a plumber/heating engineer.

[@wilmaknickersfit]

We fitted the individual radiator thermostats in our house because I like a cool bedroom. The house is small and very easy to heat. We ended up replacing the gas fire with a fake electric wood stove just for the flame effect and let the radiators heat the room (it's still too hot sometimes!)

[@billydonaldson6483]

There are various handles available to fit to the bathroom cord for cleanliness as they can be sanitised. Most modern homes are built with razor/toothbrush 110v outlets in the bathrooms. Thermostatic valves can be fitted to radiators, these can be set to different heat values for various rooms in order to balance the system. A lot of the flats in places such as London were once just rooms in a larger house so they won’t have all the amenities of a house such as storage space.

[@vernonstone762]

I really do love the look of your flat, absolutely love the bare brick walls.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Us too!

[@nightowl5395]

Yes, I always think that too.....that I love the exposed brickwork. I do wonder how many of the walls are like this; is there a brick wall showing in more than one of the rooms...? I love your videos btw.....and your personality 💜

[@kinsmansteve]

The bricks are a giveaway that the building is old, they have different proportions to modern bricks. They look like Tudor era bricks to me, although I'm certainly not an expert.

[@rstewardson4164]

In the US, according to the building code, a bedroom must have a closet. Also any outlet near water must be protected by a GFI, Ground Fault Interrupter, which will cut the power.

[@mittfh]

In the UK, homes built or renovated recently will have circuit breakers rather than fuses at the "Consumer Unit" (distribution board), and the Ring Main circuits protected by a GFI (although we call them RCDs - Residual Current Devices). In bathrooms, there are rules about what type of light fitting is allowed where in terms of proximity to the bath or shower; while in bathrooms, kitchens and outside, any electrical work must be carried out by a qualified tradesperson who has to provide the occupant with a form certifying compliance with building regulations, which must be passed on to the new occupier in a sale (failure to provide one could affect the sale). It's also recommended that any mains-powered electrical appliances used outside are plugged into a socket with its own RCD (hopefully tripping before taking half the house with it!), and permanent wiring be contained either in conduit above ground or armored cable below ground - again protected by its own RCD (and possibly a separate circuit from the CU).

[@l1ncs]

'breakers' are on every electric loop in UK .. the trip box is usually near a main entrance .. usually it's designated by room and a completely separate one for the oven (different current strength)

[@chrispop99]

@@mittfh Recent amendments to Part P relaxed the need for work in kitchens to be notifiable.

[@getaylor3915]

Australia is 240 volt, we have switches and outlets in the bathroom. Must be a hang over in the UK from previous times.

[@9-Paul-6]

haha when you desribed your fridge i was expecting a tiny fridge and then you revealed it to be a standard sized fridge here in the UK. Although the shelf situation is a bit different as you can usual fit milk upright in the doors.

[@Oxley016]

Yeah I live in a family of 5 people but we frequently have a 6th person in the house as well and we fill a fridge of pretty much the same size once a week and it usually lasts until the next shopping.

[@TheLunaPulvia]

Living in a very old apt in Brooklyn NY we also had no closets and very little room, my biggest tips are to buy a used wardrobe on OfferUp (lots of free stuff on there) and get a bed frame that's high up with lots of storage room underneath, mine has 4 huge rolling drawers ♥️👌

[@howardkey1639]

A great video Alanna highlighting some of the differences in life either side of the pond. I rate this 6 out of 7 spare electrical cords for being informative and 13 out of 13 UK socket outlets for being done with a certain sense of humour. 😊

[@nyneeveanya8861]

Loved your video. Made me feel old though. I have lived in homes with radiators,gas furnace and even one heated by a water boiler,and light switches outside the bathroom. You can also buy large wardrobes if you don’t have a closet. Also my bathrooms have clear windows, most of my windows came with screens but were removed years ago. When sharing an apartment we always had a no hair drying in the bathroom rule. Made it great for getting ready in the mornings. Your fridge is not small. Just remove the top shelf to make room for tall objects. And if you are storing under the stairs and don’t have doors there buy and hem a curtain. You can buy window coverage in many colors,patterns, and opacity online. Very pretty and fairly cheaply that won’t harm the windows.

[@sherrymackay3926]

That was hilarious about not having light switches or ‘outlets’ in the bathroom. We have 230V power in Australia and definitely have all of the above in them!

[@CamEnergy]

The same in Norway. Ppl in the UK freak out and get hysterical every time I mention it 😂

[@davidioanhedges]

I think we had a period when people in the UK were very wary of Electricity, and got a bit paranoid, and rather then teach people it was safe, they engineered solutions to make it safe to reassure people - we have very safe electricity, but probably overly so ..

[@englandcalling9721]

An alternative to stick on frosting for the bathroom window, is an expandable curtain rod with a half height curtain. You'd have privacy when seated, but still see out when standing. With the right material, they look quite pretty.

[@barrydouglas6276]

Also vapourised acid can be used to frost a clear pane. If this is your choice please wear a decent ventilator and don't be shy with masking.

[@davidioanhedges]

Net curtains

[@littleannie390]

Back in the 60s we had warm air heating. I also had a house 20 years ago with warm air heating, which I liked because the heat was instant, but it as it was put in when the house was built it was difficult to add to it. We ended up having to put in an additional boiler and radiators to extend the system. Also I primarily use my shaver socket to charge my toothbrush.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Yeah I don't have a shaver socket

[@thebigeasy87]

It do takes up a chunk of space in the house. In our case a good 3x3ft empty cupboard eating into our smallish kitchen. Such a waste of space.

[@wilmaknickersfit]

In the 60s in Scotland we had a brand new house with warm air heating, but it was on the wall - low down though.

[@wessexdruid7598]

@@wilmaknickersfit Heat rises. If you blow hot air in at the top, a layer of cold air will just sit below it.

[@British99]

My parents built an American kit house, a Guildway house in Windsor Berkshire in 1969, which had warm air underfloor heating. I absolutely loved it, unlike radiators which I hate because of the layout restrictions. The wall heaters you referred to are called Convector heaters, because they convect or push air over a heating element and into the room.

[@_Steven_S]

When you said "small fridge" I was expecting an under cabinet fridge.... but that's a standard-sized fridge 😋

[@DaughterofDarkness]

Your refrigerator is huge! When I lived in Switzerland, a family of 5 had a dormitory size refrigerator. I thought that was what you were talking about until you showed the footage. I'm totally with you on the lack of screens on the windows though. It looks nice, but the bugs do come in.

[@kevinparkes417]

Hey Alanna. Great vid as always. You always cheer me up. When you said how old your building was it occurred to me (although I'm no expert) that the reason you don't have frosted glass in the bathrooms may be that they would have been converted from normal rooms at some point and planning restrictions may have prevented frosted windows being fitted to 'preserve the character of the building'. You also hit the nail on the head when you said British houses are generally smaller than in North America. This is mostly because this is a small island and space is limited and expensive. So that's why we don't have a lot of built in storage. When older houses were built people did not have all the cr@p we have now so didn't need much storage. Newer houses make some attempt at storage, but not a lot. Lofts (attics) are the first line of defence, quickly followed by the garage if you're lucky enough to have one - which is why most brits don't keep their cars in the garage. If all else fails there's the good old garden shed which turns into a store room, workshop, playroom, laundry (because UK houses don't usually have a laundry or utility room either!), office and anything else you can think of.

[@thimbur3543]

Yeah, when that house was built it very likely wouldn't have had an indoor bathroom/toilet. Mine's early 1900s and that's had an indoor bathroom added by dividing one of the bedrooms. Though it did have frosted glass. At least Alanna's isn't outside, in the yard, with no lighting or heating like the ones I remember from my youth.

[@paultipton743]

As the windows are sash type as well the building could well be listed being an older building so have to keep the original type windows for the character

[@boxershiner]

basements?

[@catman4471]

Not having sockets in bathrooms has nothing to do with the voltage difference, wet hands on 110v could kill just as easily, it's just that we're a bit more stringent on safety.

[@MelissaThompson432]

If they were not covered in plastic/some other nonconductive material, that might be more compelling....

[@catman4471]

@@MelissaThompson432 But plugs have metal prongs that go into sockets. Think of it this way...dip a plug into water then plug it in with bare hands.....or rather...don't. The perceived danger is that when you're in a bathroom it could be quite easy to forget your hands are wet when plugging in equipment, plus mositure in the air might have dampened the plug.

[@ginathegreat2907]

In America there are circut breakers and they're right on either the plugs (hair dryers have them) or the outlet. They're the red and yellow buttons

[@Hoschie-ww7io]

@@catman4471 in the US the rate of fatal accidents related with hair-dryers is around 0.3%. Guess the myst of having higher standards in the U.K. regarding not having proper power sockets in bathrooms is overrated.

[@MS-19]

11:24 Christmas trees and suitcases are supposed to go in the loft or garage, though, as you noted, you're unlikely to have both (or even either) if you live in a flat rather than a house. It's interesting to think about the differences between North American and British homes. Lifestyle and environmental factors inevitably influence design; so too does history. If you haven't read it, I strongly recommend Bill Bryson's book "At Home," which explains the evolution of house building (in Britain, America and elsewhere) in the context of developing human civilisation over thousands of years.

[@davidfaraday7963]

There is a new option for light switches in bathrooms: wireless switches. Since these switches are not connected to the electricity supply they are totally safe. Some types, known as "kinetic" don't even need batteries. You can have a socket outlet in a British bathroom - as long as it is at least 2.5 m from a bath or shower cubicle. Mind you few British bathrooms are big enough for that to be any help.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Interesting! Haven't seen those yet

[@codenamenel]

3m not 2.5

[@davidfaraday7963]

@@codenamenel Amendment 2 of BS7671 18th Ed changed it to 2.5 m.

[@lorraineyoung5909]

The only reason we can have electrical switches on the inside of the bathroom is our bathrooms are large. The switch is required to be 6 ft (I'm doing this from memory) from the bathtub/shower so you cannot touch the switch while in the shower. Both the houses I have owned in Ontario had the switches on the outside of the bathroom and I have never had them switched off while inside. Outlets are required to be GFI protected, either at the outlet or at the breaker box.

[@karlyhitchcock7730]

Another comment, thank you for making videos like this even if people are offended. It helps people like me who are trying to move to the UK with young kids. It makes it so much easier to plan ahead rather than not know a quirk when we get there😂

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thank you so much!!

[@johannaox]

Brit here! ☺️ On the most part she is speaking truth and I’m not offended at all. ☺️☺️ Just bare in mind. She is talking about flats. Flats in any country I have been to, don’t have the same storage as a house. So if you rent a house every place has an attic, under stair storage and some have basements and sheds. ☺️ We don’t have mosquitoes in the UK, well very rarely. (I’ve personally never been bitten by one in the UK) But she definitely says it correctly with the smaller houses, fridges, waaaaay older buildings (with that comes older systems that people haven’t bothered updating then like the radiator story, bare in mind 😂). A smaller country so facilities are all closer, land space is smaller and more expensive. Yeah I hope that helps. ☺️ best of look with the move. ❤️ P.s. for the kids, children wear uniforms in the uk, schooling is a lot different and you either fail or pass school you can’t stay on and repeat years like I believe the USA can. But it’s a great system. ☺️

[@Gisburne2000]

If you unclip the fridge door's middle shelf you'll be able to get much taller items in the door's bottom shelf. Of course then you've lost some shelf space, but all the items I see there could probably be stored horizontally in the top shelf of the fridge itself, once you've moved all those bottles into the door! It's the size of the salad drawer which is causing problem. It juts out so far that you can't use the bottom 20% of the door. I have exactly the same size fridge, but my door shelves go right to the bottom and I get 6-pint bottles of milk in there.

[@bruce5535]

We have an airing cupboard. this is a cupboard where the Hot water tank is, and although its well insulated a tiny amount of heat does escape. Clothes are generally put in there prior to ironing to fully dry. (Ours acts a storage space for clothes as well) Generally they have slatted shelves inside so the clothes can be put on but also the air can circulate.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

I'd love one of those!

[@stevebarlow3154]

@@AdventuresAndNaps Airing cupboards were very common in older homes.

[@eimeargargan2071]

Most houses and apartments/flats in Ireland still have these except we call it a “hot press” very handy for clothes taken in off the line or damp towels.

[@lesleylickley2207]

There's a very good reason for British homes not having window screens or air-con. Because our summer usually consists of a couple of days of sun and a thunderstorm (if we're lucky) it wouldn't be cost-effective!!!😆😆

[@alandillon968]

The last radiators you showed my have there own individual thermostats, so each room can be hotter or cooler than the main thermostat. Those knobs on the radiators may be increased or decreased to adjust the temperature. If not you can buy them snd have them fitted. This allows you to have rooms not used often can be lower example Hallways. You can buy an American style fridge freezer if you want in most Electrical stores. Many foods go off quicker in the UK and Europe so don't last as long even in a fridge. By moving the shelves in a fridge you can make room to stand bottles up. Then have a narrower space above for cartons, cans etc.

[@pgbaines65]

I was going to say the same thing but add that there has to be one that is a loop through without a thermostat. Best setup is to have the through rad and thermostat in the coldest room to get the best overall control. 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧🤠

[@Dan-Athema]

It's actually a common misconception that you can't have sockets/switches in UK bathrooms. As long as it's 3m from a bath/shower you can have whatever you want. The flip side of course is that most of our bathrooms are not large enough to have 3m between the bath and the room boundaries. But in olde properties or larger homes you can have them.

[@peterfhere9461]

Regarding fridge sizes - My impression is that food has a longer use by date in the US as a consequence of additives and preservatives. This means you can keep food for longer, which then means you need a larger fridge. Plus of course house sizes are far larger meaning there's somewhere to put a large fridge 8-)

[@williamjordan5554]

They've ALWAYS been bigger. Everything in the US is bigger except coins and plugs. You'd be shocked. I was shocked returning to the US after a year in the UK.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Well there is more space in general. I imagine there are many item you may refrigerate in the US that you wouldn't need to in the UK since th climate is generally cooler.

[@roldanbelenos1549]

Well, not necessarily. Some of it has to do with the way foods are prepared (e.g. eggs must be refrigerated in the U.S. due to sanitation processes), but I would say it's mostly about economics. Currently at a local supermarket here in Texas: Reduced-fat (2%) milk is $1.29 for a pint ($2.73 per liter), $2.49 for a quart ($2.63 per liter), $2.59 for a half-gallon ($1.37 per liter), and $3.89 for a gallon ($1.03 per liter). ... Buying a gallon vs 4 quarts (exact same amount of milk) saves $6.07 plus the cost of three additional trips to the supermarket. ... But a gallon milk jug requires a larger refrigerator. Most (but not all) fresh produce lasts longer when refrigerated, too, which mean less trips to the supermarket (which for the vast majority of people here requires a trip by automobile). The humidity-controlling drawers in my refrigerator take up about 20% of its interior space, but they really work!

[@boxershiner]

@@williamjordan5554 very punny: You'd be shocked by plugs? ;)

[@williamjordan5554]

@@boxershiner They actually are much bigger in the UK.

[@ziploc2000]

My old house in London was built in 1878, so the bathroom was a converted bedroom. It had old wooden sash windows throughout which we replaced with plastic sash windows (to retain the look) with double glass panes for insulation. I'm surprised you didn't mention the electric outlets. Most older UK houses will be woefully under-supplied with outlets, though even in the US we're having to use extension strips everywhere as we have more and more devices requiring power - e.g. TV + DvD player + router + games console + Amazon Fire stick, and only 2 sockets nearby.

[@boxershiner]

US homes, until the early to mid 60s had indoor bath rooms, containing a sink and a bathtub. and they usually were built into a home's former 'pantry'. Before that people washed up at the kitchen sink. There was a path out the back door to a small wooden structure . . . . My mom's parents and grandparents, my babysitter and many school friends used similar. My dad's father, on the other hand, was a builder, so I've never lived in a home without modern plumbing, altho, when the last one was built it only had 2 prong outlets. These days most have been converted to 3 prongs.

[@Mr-Tibbster]

Looks like a great flat. If you've ever lived in an old Council flat, you'll know what I mean in how comparatively luxurious this place is. I mean, even your digital thermostat looked amazing to me, lol. And that build in fridge looks really nice. Meanwhile, where I live, we have walls that always go black with mould and the wall paint to powder, condensation in the air (which causes household items & clothes to also go green or black), sometimes the room doors fall off, council workers broke our shower thermostat when they did "maintenance", and the switches on the wall sockets cause my PC monitor to flicker or go blank for a few moments. But other than that, it's ok I suppose. Lol.

[@lindyashford7744]

My council home came with no flooring at all, apparently that is quite common, and when they are vacated all flooring is ripped out as a matter of course. We just had bare very rough concrete, and it cost a fortune to have laminate put in. When I leave it will get ripped up too no matter how good the condition. This seems bizarrely wasteful.

[@hannahdebs4616]

Ah, now this is the British homes I think of lol.

[@trevorhawkins3873]

@@lindyashford7744 The flooring issue is one of my bug bears about social housing. Absolutely ridiculous the things they don't include and you have to get rid of or they'll charge a whopping amount to dispose of for you. Just makes no sense when these are supposed to be for people with the lowest incomes in society.

[@markb3146]

WOW ! In Australia we have 240v , have internal light switches and power points too !!! we live dangerously ..... quaint electric codes

[@juliancarter557]

I confess I am at that stage in my life where I do have a nice house we rebuilt. When we designed the kitchen it was designed around an American fridge freezer, you can get them if you have the room. Having lived in Atlanta I know where you are coming from re the AC / heating systems. I do miss AC in the summer. BTW if you have a shaver socket in a bathroom in the UK you can charge your toothbrush there as they are 110v, however I appresiate your current abode does NOT have one. Keep up the video. (Y)

[@bobblebardsley]

Just to be clear, the 'thermostatic valve' some people have mentioned on radiators is the thing at the bottom-right of the radiator at 8:50. It should have numbers 0-5 around the bottom and a little arrow, align the arrow with 0 for off, 5 for full heat, and in between to adjust each radiator individually. Perfect if your main thermostat is in a draughty location and is making your more insulated rooms/areas too hot, or if you just want the bedroom cooler or whatever. You can also turn it to zero in rooms you don't use much (e.g. guest bedrooms) to save energy, although it's best to heat all rooms in cold wet weather to avoid condensation damp problems.

[@slovenageorgieva2792]

It's very interesting how, me, a European living in the UK can come up with a completely different list of things that bother me in British houses. 😂😂

[@caroleberreur9585]

Yes, same. I’ve lived in the UK for 25 years and never remarked on these, ever. 🤯🤷🏻‍♀️

[@peterb2286]

The irony!

[@kayelle8005]

I’d like to know that list.

[@listohan]

We have 240 volts in Australia and our light switches and (standard) outlets are all in the bathroom. The Brits have some long standing hangups about electrical safety. Years ago when the BBC TV signed off for the night viewers were counseled to turn off all their outlets. More recently I know of people who used to turn off their modems at night presumably for the same reason.

[@Malfie657]

Interesting to know the differences, and thanks for highlighting them Alanna. Rather than be anything to do with how much people eat, I always assumed that UK fridge sizes were down to the fact that buildings are, on average, older and smaller and often designed for a time when fridges and freezers weren't even a thing. I can still recall that my Nan had something called an 'Oh So Cool' which sort of kept a couple of pints of milk and a bit of butter lukewarm in summertime - there was no more space than that. It wasn't connected to mains electricity, was made out of stone and weighed a ton (not literally!).

[@helencoates3624]

A hold over from the old 'buttery', which traditionally was on the north side of the house (less sun) My house (built around 1920) has a large slab of concrete under the stairs which would have served as a 'pantry' area where things like butter, milk, cakes, veg etc. would hopefully last longer.

[@artbyeliza8670]

We have switches inside the bathroom - and electric points too - and in Australia we are on 240v

[@stephenparker6362]

Hi, Alanna, I can't imagine anyone being offended by this, it was fun. I think I've mentioned this before but you should buy a couple of portable air conditioning units, they are very good. Another great video, well done.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks Stephen!! We were looking at some kind of portable unit for the summer 🙏🏻

[@hairyairey]

@@AdventuresAndNaps You can actually get air-conditioning fitted to your house in the UK - I think some companies will even fit heat pumps that can heat and cool. Not cheap though!

[@dabe1971]

@@AdventuresAndNaps You might want to reconsider once you see the change to your electric bill ! They aren't cheap to run. Not quiet either.

[@davenwin1973]

@@dabe1971 air conditioner is not cheap to run in North America either. North American Air conditioners are window units, central, which is tied to a forced air furnace to cool an entire home, and ones that run similar to radiators, but the unit is ductless, and controls specific zones of a home. Window units can be both 120V and 240V (yes we have that, but not in the same form as Europe). Models that use 240V must be on a dedicated 2 phase 240V circuit. Our 240V system uses 2 120V hot wires to supply that much power. Central air units are 240V. The ductless units can run on both, but only single room units can run on 120V, while multi-room units run on 240V. In the summertime in North America, many parts are humid, and air conditioners help reduce moisture. One way to reduce costs to operate air conditioning, is to have it at 78°F or 26°C, and run fans to spread the cold air around more efficiently. Ceiling fans also help spread the cold air up, and around, as cold air falls. Those same ceiling fans also help in the winter, by reversing the rotation of the fan, and pull the hot air down from the ceiling.

[@thecraggrat]

@@AdventuresAndNaps That should work OK in the UK as the rooms are so small, just cool the bedroom so you can sleep. I know, I'm British, as a kid my bedroom was an ~8'x6' box room...! Right now I live in the US in Phoenix, I pay ~$400pm for aircon in the summer & that's with trying to keep the cooling to a minimum - I use ~88ºF, I think you'll run a lot lower than that :-)

[@tobortine]

Love the video - Some of the things you highlight are because you're living in a flat, when you buy a house you'll get more storage space and more choice about how things are set up. But meanwhile keep making the videos, they're interesting observations on British life.

[@daijay9084]

I moved from a 1950's house with built in cupboards/wardrobes into a modern flat with no built-in storage. My answer was to buy an Ottoman bed. My Christmas tree and suit cases (filled with other pieces) fit underneath. I agree with you though, all residences should have built in storage, it's crazy not to. I hope you settle in well and enjoy your new place.

[@gillianrimmer7733]

Yes, we are in the process of downsizing after buying a small retirement apartment. It has no storage to speak of so we have bought a king size ottoman bed for our bedroom, and a single one for the spare bedroom- it's a brilliant way to utilise what would have been dead space.

[@marymac1646]

I lived in Europe for several years and found the differences in houses so interesting. I loved our radiators! We had the wall type with the nozzle adjustment and it was so nice to just lean on one of them on a frosty winter morning.....aahhhhhh. The house we lived in was built by people who had lived in North America for a while. They like the closet idea so there were some in the house but in one of the bedrooms we did have a wardrobe. What I liked about the wardrobe idea was that, space allowing, you could completely re-arrange the room. We didn't miss the air-conditioning as it didn't get as humid in the summer where we lived. I got used to having no window screens. I never considered them a safety feature anyway; just something to keep some of the bugs out of the house. Our neighbor's cat used to come in through my windows for a visit on an almost daily and I enjoyed that. The shops were close so I didn't care about the size of the refrigerator-it was big enough and it did the job. It sounds like you're enjoying living in the UK. Enjoy every moment and know that you will have these memories forever.

[@jameskelly8586]

In Europe, I found that the toilet was in a separate room. So one always had to go from the toilet to the other room to wash the hands. Also in Europe, a lot of flats are just empty boxes--you have to bring in your own appliances (such as stove and fridge), kitchen cabinets, everything. The apartment is naked and then you fill it up with stuff and, when you move, you take all that with you, leaving the box empty again.

[@davenwin1973]

I know this is common in Germany, but I haven't found out if it holds true in other European markets. Now between the UK and Germany, when it comes to power in the bathroom, is that Germany is also on 240V, but light switches and power outlets are in their bathrooms.

[@gerardphelan7996]

@@davenwin1973 Polish Friends say that is the same in Poland

[@gunnarmedin4104]

Almost every time I read/hear someone stating that in Europe it’s like … whatever I think they wrong. Different countries, cultures and traditional ways to do things.

[@MartinParnham]

I rented a room in a house (in England) that had the same set up with the separate toilet and bathroom. The house was decent enough and I enjoyed living there but that’s one of the things I disliked about it. I was surprised the landlord didn’t just have the wall knocked through.

[@Lulu-jl5zd]

Really interesting vlog. I used to live in a Victorian house which had servant,s quarters. But the main rooms were huge. The storage in that house was a cinch because each bedroom had a "dressing room" next to it. So apparently that is what they did back then. Get out of bed. Stumble to the room next door where all the clothes and stuff were kept to get dressed and each bedroom also had a sink to wash in. Also the cook had a staircase which went straight to the kitchen rather than the main staircase. It even had it's own laundry! So much character!

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Wow, that's incredible!!

[@Sav453]

Great video Great content. It's interesting to hear the difference between British homes and Canadian homes

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks! 😃

[@jameskelly8586]

I would like to see a video on wintering and summering the house in Canada. This is not the case where I live in Vancouver--we never bother with screens on the windows--but I was surprised when I went to other cities in Canada and saw that, for example, in the spring you take off the double window and put the screen on, and then in fall you take off the screen and put the double window on. Lots of little things like that that most Canadians do, but not here in Lotusland. 😃

[@maltesephil]

11:40 self storage unit for bulky stuff you need to store but don't need immediate access

[@MightyMoo89]

Have never understood why we dont have screens on our windows after visiting Canada over the years..theyre such a great invention espicially during spider season.

[@asthenewt]

nothing stopping you retro-fitting screens on windows and screendoors.

[@kayelle8005]

I’ve moved from one city in Australia where every single home, townhouse and apartment I have lived in (7 homes) and every friend and family members homes, had fly screens to a city where they seem to be really rare. Flies coming in doesn’t bother me so much but moths at night and mosquitoes. Yuck.

[@rheostar]

Sitting in my house that was built in 1895, I can see my electric toothbrush sitting on the floor, plugged into a room socket close to sash windows that have radiators underneath them. Your video accurately describes so many of the older houses in the UK. Excellent video Alana.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks so much!

[@MrNicopa]

We’ll done Alanna. You have independently discovered the concept of the “box room” - a small room used solely for the purpose of storing infrequently used objects such as large suitcases.

[@richardhathaway2901]

My house in France has both switches and sockets in the bathroom and at one point even had the washing machine in there too. The toilet however was downstairs next to the kitchen. The voltage in France is around 230V AC.

[@abgbdwlf]

We have this issue in New Orleans a lot, old homes no closets, so armoires are very common.

[@jillhobson6128]

What is an armoire? It sounds like something from a mediaeval castle.

[@abgbdwlf]

@@jillhobson6128 it’s a piece of furniture that stands up and you can either hang your clothes or fold them on shelves. Similar to a wardrobe but usually more ornate.

[@jillhobson6128]

@@abgbdwlf Thanks for that. I'd just call it a wardrobe no matter how fancy it is! That's us Britons fir you!

[@martaraquelpaz]

Well, for another head scratch: I'm in Portugal, voltage is 220 and our bathrooms have switches on the outside BUT as many outlets as we want on the inside. I guess constructors just want us to live on the edge...

[@paulgrimshaw6301]

We clearly need to help out visitors with UK central heating! You'll find that most radiators have their own thermostat so that you can set the temperature of each room individually. The central wall thermostat is mainly for switching the heating as a whole on and off, with the heating balanced such that the location of this thermostat (usually the hallway) gets up to temperature last. Nowadays this central thermostat is often a smart one which includes functions such as learning when the heating isn't needed, allowing you to switch on the heating when out of the house from a mobile phone app when returning home, and responding to voice commands.

[@andyrichardsvideovlogs8835]

Hi Alanna, that was a great video and very amusing. I have news for you though. Your fridge is not small. It is massive !! Just badly designed. I can easily fit 3 large milk cartons in my fridge door, and the top shelf has a lift up flap so you can stand wine bottles up. Keep your videos coming they are so enjoyable.

[@thebigeasy87]

Previously living in a flat we switched to real Xmas trees. We prefer them anyway and it saves storing them.

[@feanorian21maglor38]

I was going to say we did the same, and then I saw your comment. It makes sense not to have to store a tree when living in a flat.

[@cassie.minimalist]

We have 240v in Poland and we have normal outlets in bathroom and never got electricuted out of it

[@tonys1636]

No switches or power sockets in the bathroom dates back to early domestic electricity in the 1920's. Switches and sockets were made from Bakelite, an early plastic. Unfortunately if scratched or cracked it will conduct electricity along those and through it if damp, as anyone who has tried to start their car on a damp evening and watched the display of sparks running around the distributor cap if scratched (older cars). Bathrooms (a luxury) were often unheated so very damp. All central heating systems should have a thermostat but older ones may not be as sensitive and only react to a difference of 2 or more degrees. With the current price of Gas and electric no one is going to have the heating set at above 20℃, just wear an extra jumper I wish I had a bathroom with a view, soaking in a warm bath watching the Sun set or rise would be heaven, or on the loo, people shouldn't be looking. If overlooked building regs state that the glass should be obscured or translucent. The same with naked sunbathing in one's garden, neighbours shouldn't look out of an upstairs window into one's garden.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks for watching Tony!

[@hairyairey]

How are neighbours not to look into the garden? I think Dave Allen covered this in his show. If I (a man) am seen naked in my garden it's indecent exposure but if I see my naked female neighbour in her garden I'm a Peeping Tom!

[@tonys1636]

@@hairyairey Being naked in public (indecent exposure) is only an offence if someone complains or one is carrying out an indecent activity. Hence the warnings on the many English beaches that allow naked sunbathing. (No clothes required beaches). Some are easily viewed from the passing road or buildings adjacent to, or the worlds oldest electric railway.

[@8draco8]

@@AdventuresAndNaps This days building code allows for sockets and switches inside bathroom outside of specified "splash zones" but since the bathrooms are generally tiny it's easier to do it the old way

[@TusharPankaj]

Great video! You look so happy about that thermostat lol

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

So grateful for it! 😂

[@markpstapley]

Newsflash. The horizontal distance between the edge of the bath, and sink, in a bathroom to a power socket, has just been reduced from three metres to two and a half metres under 2022:BS7671 Amendment 2. Still too far for 90% of the U.K.'s small bathrooms. If you want a hairdryer in the bathroom in the UK best to get one of the wall mounted hair driers specifically certified for fitment in the bathroom.

[@gerardphelan7996]

When crossing those 20 miles to France and staying in a hotel I spotted the power sockets just behind the taps in my hotel. What a tragedy in motion I thought imagining the regular funeral corteges of locals and visitors electrocuted by the 230 volts used in France. My onwards route bypassed the coffin bearers, but surely they were there. Later in a Polish hotel I found just the same arrangements of water containing taps in front of electricity bearing sockets and later still found the same arrangements in Munich, Germany, when visiting a friend. Water is the same everywhere and voltages are 230 everywhere in Europe. How does one explain the differences? Ah - maybe those 'foreigners' in France, Poland and Germany were well educated at school and know how to behave properly in the company of water and electricity, whereas in Britain, we believe that 'The Government' does everything for us and that allows us to misbehave. True?

[@worcslee1287]

Another good video... I'm loving these latest videos providing an insight to your life here.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thank you so much!

[@daveash9572]

A less well known fact about pull cord lightswitches... From the installation point of view, it's much easier to wire a switch mounted on the ceiling to a light fitting on the same ceiling, than it is to get a cable down to lightswitch height.

[@colonelweird]

I lived in Dublin for a couple of years and had similar experiences. But for me the biggest difference was in how they supply hot water - they had no large hot water tanks as we usually have in the US. Showers used what I think they called an immersion heater, an electric device in the shower itself that heated the water as needed. Hot water usage had to be carefully planned each day.

[@toriladybird511]

Imersion boilers are not in the shower unit 🤣 its a hot feed from the boiler

[@colonelweird]

@@toriladybird511 So what's the thing that hangs on the wall above the tub? It's like a big flat box. I think that was the immersion.

[@dotmenziesholden1251]

@@colonelweird Electric showers have a heating element inside the unit that heats the water on demand. You can also get showers that operate from a gas boiler elsewhere in the house (often placed in the kitchen) that heats water on demand for the sink, washing machine, shower, bath etc.

[@shalpin]

As an expat living in the US: I agree. Everything you lost, I gained. About the only thing I miss: there's a feeling of being security and coziness from a being in a brick-built home.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks so much for watching!

[@chrisspere4836]

How do you mean you lost, I gained. We didn't lose anything. You just went somewhere where houses are bigger and take up more room, so your using up land quicker whereas in England we've already used up the land and are now searching for every little spot we can fit new properties.

[@joey-pn3xe]

@@chrisspere4836 England only builds on 2% of land for residential homes. There’s loads on land and lots of nimbys

[@joannecunliffe8067]

Hi Alanna. If your bed is a wooden frame (and has space underneath), many Brits put boxes under their bed to store winter clothes (or toys for children). We ALWAYS stored our Christmas Tree (and decorations) in the attic/loft (as you only need them in December). (Well I'm a Buddhist now but still celebrate 'Christmas' to keep family and friends happy - *rolls eyes* - go figure! Bodhi Day, anyone?). When my Mum and Dad went up into the attic to bring down the tree, it added to the excitement of approaching Christmas. Many Brits just have free standing wardrobes and some of the wooden ones can be really beautiful. In the same way, I've always stored suitcases in the attic/loft.

[@johnaquillo3397]

The light switch thing is very weird! I live in Australia and we too have 240 volts, like in the UK, but ALL the light and power switches are IN the bathroom, toilet etc. Not outside or via a chord. A chord? Really? I haven't see one of those anywhere since the very early '60's when I was in kid and then only once in an old lounge room on a very old 1880's house. I also haven't heard of anybody being shocked or killed because of the light or sockets being inside the bathroom. Must be something about the British electrical sockets or plugs or wiring, something rather "strange" or non-standard....???

[@kayelle8005]

My grandmother’s place in Sydney was an old 1880s home with various conversions and it had cords for some of the bedroom lights. Not seen them in anything other than a really old home.

[@johnaquillo3397]

Yes very old indeed! I think the hanging chord thing may of disappeared in the 1920' or maybe early 1930's at the latest. Of course it costs money to replace them - so some didn't bother or couldn't afford to? Anyway that's my guess.

[@ozbaz99]

In Australia we have 240v power and we have regular light switches inside bathrooms and we also have the same power outlets in a bathroom as out. The regulations used to be like the UK but changed progressively in the 1980s. No issues by the way esp with modern safety switches in the fuse box.

[@grantparman4705]

I knew that the UK had a higher voltage than my home country here in the US, but I didn't know that the UK had double the US voltage. Wow!

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks for watching!!

[@hadz8671]

Actually, since 2003 it was lowered to 230V.

[@stephenphillip5656]

120V will sting a bit, 230V will kill. I did briefly catch a bit of 230V & it's an experience that, although I can, (I survived!) I'm unwilling to repeat.

[@robertkoons1154]

Actually in US, and Canada voltage is transmitted at 240 and stepped down to 120. Ovens, stoves, clothes dryers, and central air / heat have 240. Everything else uses 120. We generally also have ground fault outlets in bathrooms, kitchens and outside outlets so we don't get shocked. Sorry about no attics, basements, and closets, I guess you have to suffer for your art/true love.

[@johnturner4400]

@@hadz8671 depends where you live. My voltage is 246v

[@Brit_in_Mindanao]

You want to try the Philippines, American style outlets, anywhere you like including the bath/shower wet room AND it's 230 volts!

[@kevinholderness4243]

And while I'm at it. I've heard a lot of comments that we Brits are backward because we use radiators instead of warm air heating. In fact back in the fifties and sixties when the government had a massive house building programme, many of the houses were built with warm air systems. However, there were complaints by health care professionals that it was unhealthy, by environmental agencies that it was wasting energy, and by tenants that it was too expensive. Hence in the seventies and eighties these systems were ripped out and replaced with radiators.

[@hairyairey]

I think in the 70s there was a push for storage heaters. They charged up bricks overnight on cheaper electricity (economy 7 - you can still get this tariff if you're insane enough! Not worth it unless 60% of your electricity use is overnight - 1/3rd of the day). Trouble was that if the next day was mild weather you'd just get a hot house and wasted energy. And only really useful for heating in the daytime. I would suspect there'd be no heat left in the evening. They obviously went out of fashion.

[@adcs88]

Yep - the typical household power consumption in both Canada and USA is nearly 4 times higher than UK’s and over 10 times worse than China’s. Canada’s being worse that USA, amazingly - a pair of clown feet carbon footprints. But it’s all China’s fault of course.

[@maxineallen5673]

It's not good for furniture either! All the antique wooden furniture in our house, which we inherited from my husband's US family, is warped and damaged from the hot air heating.

[@eze8970]

Remember also that gas became a cheap fuel source from North Sea etc, I think in the 80's?

[@kevinparkes417]

We lived in one of these 1960's houses for a couple of years which had warm air heating. HATED it. Too expensive. Too dusty. And rubbish at heating the house. We had to leave it on most of the time just to stand a chance of having a luke-warm home in the evenings. I think the problem was also that the houses were very poorly built and had no insulation. Soooo glad when we moved to a modern house with real central heating and copious radiators. Warm. Cheap. Efficient. And convenient.

[@PhilipWorthington]

Hi there, as someone from the UK who has also lived in North America I agree it can be really confusing how houses work! The craziest for me in America was the lack of electrical safety, and the fact you could easily trip a breaker while doing really simple things. However, a lot of what you describe is really just a difference in perception of what house ownership means. In the UK we talk about the number of bedrooms and bathrooms (which is why you have three toilets, it makes it more desirable), as you are buying a brick or stone structure that is fixed in size and shape for the most part, and may be hundreds of years old. In the USA, and I'm guessing Canada, you talk in square footage - either the house or the land itself. The perception is much more you have bought some land, and the house itself can be extended, or even demolished and rebuilt as you like. You have the space to do that, a more 'can-do' attitude to home improvement, wooden houses rather than brick and (consequently) more relaxed planning laws that make it all possible. So, because of that, and because your country is so much younger, North American houses are both larger and newer. And if it doesn't suit, you just extend or rebuild. In contrast, in the UK the house footprint might have been established for hundreds of years, so everything has to be retrofitted (and usually has been done by multiple owners over time). Former large houses get subdivided into flats, bedrooms get turned into bathrooms, plumbing and electricity are added decades or centuries apart. Which is why you get oddities such as downstairs bathrooms, weird windows, and no space to put a huge fridge. We're used to it, and for many people it's preferable to get a property with 'character', but other people will opt for a new-build house designed with those conveniences in mind. This might make new-builds seem better, but they are usually more expensive and smaller, with small gardens, they are also often comparatively badly built, and come with exorbitant land rents as a kind of extra (uncapped!) council tax. Obviously the size is because we don't have much land, and builders rush putting up as many tiny houses as they can legally fit on a small plot of land to sell for a lot of profit, so I avoid buying new-built.

[@Holmesy87]

I can't wait until you guys get an actual house here, and see how your opinion changes vs living in flats.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks! My first 2 homes in England were actual homes, only been in flats in recent years.

[@raystewart3648]

@@AdventuresAndNaps Why move so much? I hear and see that a lot about Americans and Canadians doing this all over youtube. Work is one reason yes I understand that and from your old flat from that nasty landlord you had, fine. But still.....

[@lucyinthesky9479]

@@raystewart3648 That's life for a lot of people who rent. I moved at least every two years when I rented.

[@flocof1]

In Australia we have 240 volts and we have switches and power points in the bathroom

[@IndyMartiniVideos]

I’ve always found it so weird that Americans have plug sockets in the bathroom - hair drying has always been something I do in my bedroom. I’m not sure the frosted window bit is a British thing? All bathrooms I’ve had have had frosted or no windows. Oh yeah, absolutely - the concept of air conditioning in a house (as opposed to a huge department store/office) is so weird to me. In England, if it gets too hot (which equates to about 2 weeks a year) you just get out the standing fan and open the windows

[@marydavis5234]

IN the US,WE blow dry and curl our hair in front of a mirror, and the power outlets/light switches have built in circuit breakers in them and when they detect any moisture aka water or any kind of liquid, the built in circuit breakers cuts off the power to them both and the main circuit break shut off too. and both of them have re-set button, and they will not re-set until they are 100% dried out.

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

I really enjoy your special Canuk take on the UK scene. I attended school in London for six yrs of junior prep, and went to med school in Montréal for six yrs, so although an East African I feel an affinity to your channel and love its "different" flavour. My oldest and his family have been in BC now since his UBC days (25 yrs), and his wife is Métis and their kids include an adopted Haida son, so I see the UK through similar lenses to you, 60 years after last living in the country.

[@xneurianx]

Born and raised just outside London, now living in Brighton. I've never lived anywhere without a thermostat or closets. Old properties are a lot less likely to have these things. Kent has a lot of old towns and old buildings.

[@eisamiller88]

We had those wall heaters (the 2nd type you mentioned) in the house I grew up in. They're actually pretty common in old, unrenovated houses in the US. My dad was worried about the safety, and also you are correct that they are very expensive to run, so he disabled the ones in the bedrooms, living room, and kitchen. The only one that was working was the one in the bathroom. It was wonderful to have a bath in the wintertime with the heater running. As long as the door was closed, it kept the room toasty warm which was super relaxing. I also was a little naughty and loved flicking water at it to see it steam when I was young. Haha! My grandparents had them too. It was the primary source of heat in their home. They didn't have central heat/air. My parents' house had central heat/air, but the bathroom didn't have a vent which is why we used the wall heater. The central air also stopped working (heat still worked) when I was about 12 and my parents couldn't afford to fix it....we live in the South...summers were interesting after that. My grandparents lived their whole life here without air con though.

[@jp80a68]

Great video. It might help you to know that until the 1960's many homes were heated by coal fires .Prior to this there were many deaths from Smog , the mixture of smoke and fog that exsisted around London and industrial cities. In the 1960/70's laws were passed to stop people using coal. As a lot of our houses were built before this time heating systems were added ad hoc, this can account for the variety. Storage, a lot of houses have built in wardrobes, especailly the newer ones, flats being smaller often don't. Places to store things, under the stairs, the cellar, the loft, the spare bedroom, the utility room. Why are you using your fridge wrongly? you put your milk and wine in the bottom shelf of the frige door. I have 4 litres in mine now. No screens yes! We don't have as many bugs, you've lived here, you know how cold summers are, come a few hundred miles north and even colder, even fewer bugs. How many days are you not able to sleep because of the heat 10 a year. Worth the cots of an AC system ? American homes are bigger because the country is bigger 11 of your states are bigger in area than the UK.

[@bilsib53]

My understanding is that the loft is a space under the roof, usually accessed by a ladder and can usually be used for storage of unwanted stuff (and mouse traps). Whereas an attic is a room under the roof with proper flooring and accessed by stairs. Excellent for the overnight storage of visiting grandchildren, or perhaps the maid, and other assorted clutter.

[@Cheepchipsable]

Could be US/UK definition difference.

[@bilsib53]

@@Cheepchipsable , of course. Loft is Germanic and Attic is Greek.

[@eiPderF]

An attic is storage and insulation, a finished attic is actual usable space. The only lofts I’ve known were open to the next room, as in, it looked down into the family room. And a “loft apartment” isn’t any of those! 😄 I’m in the us 🇺🇸

[@t.a.k.palfrey3882]

I am maybe somewhat older in these regards, but when I was at boarding prep in England (8000 km from home), another reason given by matron for not having electrical outlets in bathrooms was the danger from the temptation to use a hairdryer close to a full bath (lots of boys using the room at once). 66 people died or were injured enough to be hospitalised in the US, because of bathroom electrical injuries in 2020. BTW, I have found that in my 72 years to date, I have never had to recharge my right arm in order to brush my teeth twice daily...just saying! 🙄🇰🇪🇨🇦

[@kelvinwatt8535]

In Australia you can have switch inside bathroom or outside bathroom. Australia uses 240V. We have power outlets in bathroom

[@zaixai9441]

I always find it weird how people say "the UK is small, that's why we build small" even from British people. But, no it isn't really. Look at a map of the UK and you'll see that it's very empty, we have a lot of space to build on. I don't understand it.

[@stevebarlow3154]

It's to do with the price of land in cities and towns. Which is why even wealthy Georgians bought terrace houses in the best areas of London. It was cheaper to have a tall house, rather than a wide house!

[@benlee8436]

I have closets and I know them as closets! Also, the house I stayed in with a bathroom window like yours had a slatted blind. That worked really well as it could be adjusted to obscure the view but still let light in.

[@AdventuresAndNaps]

Thanks for watching!