German Houses VS American Houses [REACTION]

My name is Michael! I teach geography, history, religion, social science and physical education. Way too many subjects if you ask me... I don't claim to be an expert in any of these subjects.
Although I am pretty awesome at PE!
Instagram: / michaelsodstrm
Original video: • Video
Take care!

[@beepinger]

We do have freezers. :) As you said, it is a box inside the fridge or a bigger freezer that sits under the fridge and can be opened separately and is about half the size of the fridge.

[@crazyo7560]

The „freezer“ was actually invented in Germany, cause they were in need to transport the insane amount of beer with a train in the summer lol😂😂👌

[@ladybansheesilver7640]

We even have big freezer up to 1,7m

[@Inuit_Joe]

In Germany we say „Gefriertruhe“ 😂

[@Gaehhn]

@@Inuit_Joe or "Gefrierschrank" depending on its orientation

[@KaynMoony]

As a german student I can say, it depends on the price of the fridge. If you buy the cheapest ones you may find one without freezer. But these are really hard to find tbh. Also we have storage rooms if you live in older pre-war houses. As far as I experienced this "Abstellkammer" or "Vorratskammer" is used for food or your vacuum cleaner.

[@meine-lieblinge]

1. I'm german 😊 If you loose the key and no one is inside the house, you have to call a "Schlüsseldienst" to open the door. Of course we have freezers! But rarely side by side to the fridge, like he is probably used to. It usually looks like a second fridge and in many houses I know, it's not in the kitchen but in some kind of forage-room or storage-room or even the garage. We do have screens to keep out bugs, called "Mückennetze" or "Fliegennetze" but they are not permanently installed and when I move out, I take it with me. Oh and regarding the doors. The house I live in has a door like the one in the video. So do all houses I know, where there lives more than one family / person. Houses for only one Family mostly have back entrance which has a "Türklinke" (like the shown door on the inside has) on both sides. So you can enter without a key, if it has been unlocked in the morning by the first person who leaves.

[@_pirate_panda_]

Regarding the radiators, I would say most houses in the US have a central HVAC system of some kind. Mini-split systems are starting to become a bit more popular but by and large most new home construction is using a central system. Each room will have a register which is a little grill that can be opened or closed to let in more or less cool/heated air depending on the needs.

[@benbobomb]

My refrigerator-combination has a freezer at the bottom seperated from the fridge with 3 big plastic boxes to put stuff in. My grandma has a seperate freezer besides her fridge. In modern homes the big american two-door-combinations are more common nowadays I think. Some people I know have seperate freezers in the basement.

[@Gaehhn]

Regarding the doors: many doors have a mechanism in the frame that allows it to be opened without the key just by pushing on it after flipping a small lever while the door is open. That is useful when you either do some work in your front yard or just want to quickly take out the trash but it can also be used to keep the door accessible for your children without a key. That's how my family handled it while I was in kindergarten. Once I went to school I got my own house key.

[@leaalexandra3847]

First, as a German I can say that everybody has a freezer. If you don't have a whole lot of space you'll have a compartment in the upper or lower part of your fridge. If you have a bigger house, you might have no freezer within your fridge but a separate "Kühltruhe" (freezer chest) in the basement. Second, I've never seen a bathroom like the one he showed. Toilet is completely normal but every bathroom that I've ever been in before either has a completely separate shower away from the bathtub or just a shower or a bathtub with a shower curtain. I mean, why would anyone want water all over the place?

[@DerJarl1024]

In Germany there are indeed single-storey houses, which are called bungalows here. A bungalow is usually a one-storey house that can have different roof shapes. The term is often used in connection with holiday homes and summer houses, but it is also used for normal residential houses in this special design. This single-storey house style is particularly suitable for older people who can no longer climb stairs. With the same living space, however, a much larger property is needed here than if the living space were distributed over two or even three floors. As a result, such a house is not necessarily cheaper, especially in urban centers with high property prices, although one might have expected this. On the subject of refrigerators, in Germany there are smaller refrigerators with a small freezer compartment. These refrigerators are intended for small apartments, such as student housing. In much larger fitted kitchens, refrigerators and freezers are usually separate devices. There are also large chest freezers, which are more likely to find space in the basement of a family home.

[@harrystinefelt8765]

Most American household have two cars hence the two car garages that appeared in the pictures. The area above the garages are generally finished. It's a marketed as a 'bonus' or media room. Again, the houses shown looks like they're slab built and therefore don't have a basement. One of the bays is typically used for storage or as a workshop. We certainly do have radiators in the States depending on region (if you're living in hot climates radiators are pretty useless). New construction isn't typlically going to have them as forced air HVAC is the norm.

[@lemac3200]

Of course we have freezers. It depends on what type of fridge you buy. It's almost as if you'd say "German TVs don't apply HD resolution" it depends on what type of TV set you have🤷‍♂

[@SilvanaDil]

American houses will have central heat (rather than radiators) and central air conditioning. If you upgrade, particularly for a large house, you can get zoned heating/cooling.

[@KevBehindACamera]

I am in the Southeastern part of America in a state called Georgia. We have a house with a two-car garage attached but the people who lived in this house before us converted it into a large room.. more like a recreational type of room.. and it has been weatherized and insulated. A typical one or two car American garage will usually not have any heat or air conditioning in that room and will have a thicker door connecting it to the rest of the house

[@SilvanaDil]

I can see someone accidentally walking into one of those wide open German windows.

[@Humpelstilzchen]

No door knobs. Yeah we don't have one either but there is a small metal plate at the lock in the doorframe that you can pull up or down to unlock the lock. You still can close it but you can open the door without key. We call this plate Schnapper so snapper 😉

[@DaxRaider]

not having doornobs makes it easier. you can just go to the shop or go to teh washroom for 10 minutes and u dont need to lock the door

[@juwen7908]

But it also makes it much easier for housebreaker. But if you are in a region where you feel safe enough to do this, you can do it here too. This kind of lock has mostly a little metal thing you can put down and then the door don't locked, only closed. Greetings from Berlin 😎

[@winterlinde5395]

Freezer -Compartment in the fridge fits 2 boxes of icecream or some pizza -Section underneath the fridge, opens separately. Can have the size of a kitchen cabinet. Looks like one. With drawers. -Big chest in the basement, some have two. Fits your mushroom haul from the last two autumns, all the Asparagus you need for the traditional Lower Saxony Soups you are making until next spring when there will be fresh asparagus, the blackthorn fruits that have to be freezed before making liquor out of it, half a pig and half a boar if you are lucky enough to have a hunting neighbor, pizza, peas, spinach, fish sticks, several 2,5l ice cream containers…also the small plastic tray thingy to make about 15 icecubes that never get used 😁 Choose what fits your needs🤗

[@aidenroqz]

I live in NYC and in the city the houses aren't usually that spacious. Most of the houses he's showing are in the rural areas or in the suburbs. Houses in the city are more compact and much closer together with usually a one car garage if at all or a short driveway. Most people in the city live in apartments as well because houses are really expensive in NYC. I'm not sure about the price in other American cities but here they're really expensive and taxes are a lot too. There are also condominiums which are usually 2 to 3 story houses which are shared by families in which each family lives on each floor or some families rent 2 floors or the whole condo. The rent usually depends on the area and how old the building is. And unless you have a really really good job, most of us prefer and can only afford renting apartments. In the area I live, which is the Bronx, a 1 bedroom apartment goes for about $1,400 to about $1,700 USD depending on the size of the apartment and the area is located in. Love you're vids Mike, cheers from NYC 👍🏻👍🏻

[@kristinavanhorncook9309]

Having lived in both US and Germany I can confirm that these are mostly accurate. I really miss those German shades, they were so nice!! Regarding the radiators though, in the US we have central heating. There's a furnace down in the basement or wherever that pushes heat into vents throughout the entire house.

[@demongarden91]

Kurzgesagt has a lot of really well made videos about space,, also one about size comparison for black holes

[@AxelS5304]

Most European houses do have such a garage and almost nobody has a build in fridge and toilets are usually in a seperate room. (If you have a house build after the 80's)

[@goofygoober779]

That is why you have this blast shielding on the windows, so that you can let them down and fuck in peace without the neighbor giving you an awkward thumbs up from across the street.

[@KevBehindACamera]

Radiators are better in the winter because they add more moisture to the dry cold air. American houses will have furnace which will be heat gas through combustion but due to this, American houses need to have a carbon monoxide detector to make sure you don't die in your sleep. But the air which is hested by the furnace willl then run through ducts which are behind the walls and blow hot air into every room & you have a choice to close the vents in each room.

[@dbn52]

My husband was stationed in Germany in the early 70's. He is tall and hit his head on every ceiling on the second floor bedrooms. I find this interesting cause Germans are not short people.

[@Vitalien]

There are even differences in toilet paper. In Germany it is usually folded before use, while in the USA it is mostly crumpled. (Here's a 2012 study) My favorite in "Facts You Don't Need". 😂

[@sydney4911]

It's too bad that he didn't show you pictures for all of the items he was comparing.

[@juwen7908]

Very nice to watch your reaction to this. I've seen many not europeans reacting to this and they are all so shocked by things, which I, as a german, consider as pretty normal. Just like you do, so refreshing! Some things that are considered as normal in the US, for me it looks just very old fashioned, like the toilet back tank or that they like to have carpet in the whole house, sometimes even in the kitchen! That's what we had, but 40 years ago. When you go to an old house from the 70's or 80's, you can see this! (The same with the door knobs. Older house has just door handles, but for safety reasons most of german houses nowadays has this kind of not movable door knobs and you need your key.) With the Freezers he is just wrong. For sure, we have freezers! I would guess, nearly every household has at least one. Maybe he hasn't recognized them, because we europeans are hiding them like the refrigerators ( sometimes even in the refrigerator, like you said 😎😉) Greetings from Berlin 😎

[@PhxVanguard]

Most houses in the US are no longer carpeted. This was a style many years ago because carpet was expensive, so it was a way to appear wealthy. But now homes will generally have wood, laminate or porcelain floors. Also, most toilets now are single piece with a tank incorporated into the base with push buttons. This cuts down on water waste and is much more environmentally friendly.

[@SPEEDY4004]

Got my housekey end of Kindergarten/ start of elementary school but managed to loose or forget my key 2-3 times too and had to wait for my parents. Our family has a freezer in the cellar big enough zo fit 1-2 corpses... mfg Olli

[@PPfilmemacher]

Same

[@iliketrainsilikeplanes6047]

Actually, at least in Austria, the toilets do have back tanks, but they are built into the wall

[@iliketrainsilikeplanes6047]

@@user-xr5up3ed3z I guess that works too

[@zzennaxc]

we have freezers lmao, they’re just not directly connected to the fridge lol

[@thecreaturebehindyou]

i expected the whole wall thing

[@larswiese5622]

He hasn't mentioned the walls xD

[@arolessAAL]

I think you should react to the "LIFE BEYOND" series by "Melodysheep"....its really amazing and mind boggling. Its a three part series by the same guy who made the "timelaspe of the future" you reacted earlier your channel.

[@Frohds14]

He has got several things wrong or hasn't understand, why it is like it is. German houses mostly have a basement deep in the earth, they are build of stone and concrete. They are massive and nowadays they are heavily insulated, with at least 50cm insulation. This is very expensive. A garage doesn't need insulation. So you go for a cheaper way and you don't attache it to the house. If you would, the garage would need insulation, too. The alternative is an open carport or a prefabricated garage near the house. Another reason are the fumes from the car, which you should not underestimate. They are a health risk. German houses and appartements mostly have something similar do a door knob. There is a small hook in the latch of the door that you can flip over with your fingernail. Then you can open the door only with pressure. This is useful, for example, if the children are in the yard and constantly want to go in and out. My vicarage door is open all day like this. Newly built houses in Germany are often passive houses. They no longer have radiators, but underfloor heating and cooling. Of course we have freezers, mostly large chests in the basement. I am single and have a large American style freezer and a freezer chest. The harvest has to go somewhere. Most refrigerators have a very small freezer compartment in which you can temporarily park a frozen pizza and lasagne. Of course there are fly screens for the windows. I have automatic ones that I can extend like the automatic shutters. It's a mystery to me why I have them, because the 10 mosquitoes per year come through the door to bite me. Since I don't live in the near of a river or sea, I don't need the screens. Where you need them people have fly screens out of fabric that are attached at the window with Velcro, so they can close the windows during the day and darken the rooms in the summer, that's good enough for German summers. Well, we usually have curtains on the windows for a little more privacy. His windows would drive me crazy, everyone can look in there. Low ceilings or sloping ceilings are by no means the norm everywhere. It depends on the region and the year the houses were built. At the moment, cubes with flat roofs are modern, before that houses with sloping roofs, back in the 90s hipped roofs and dormer windows. How far down the sloping roof goes is also different. For example, I have a slight sloping roof that stops at 1.50 m. The bathroom is 1980s standard. Water, especially warm water, can be very expensive in Germany. That is why bathtubs are already a great luxury. They have often been replaced with large walk-in showers. I still have both, but I can't use the bathtub because the smart architect placed it directly under the sloping roof. The dog fits in, I don't. The toilet is also 1980s standard. Today there is no longer a porcelain base (for the 💩 check), because they should work with a maximum of 3 liters of flushing water. Two flush buttons are common, one for small business, one for big. Japanese toilets are getting more common, with a butt spray to save toilet paper and protect the environment.

[@Veit-A.-G.-Mayer]

Many of our toilets have backtanks

[@Veit-A.-G.-Mayer]

We have Freezers many

[@mell7702]

To be honest, the toilet comment are just design difference. Newer toilet design have cistern in the wall like the said German ones. Its just preference or renovated or not

[@davidschmidt3971]

well iam german and we have a freezer thats the same size as our fridege in our basement

[@elanarseastar6987]

Don’t use the front door use the backdoor

[@SPEEDY4004]

Ah yes that video - part of his (german) examples felt rather special/uncommon. Preferred Passport for Two's videos for these comparisons. mfg Olli

[@arnodobler1096]

Americans and German Windows 🤣

[@GentleRain21]

Did he spend more time on the toilet than he did any other one thing?

[@ExarchGaming]

a bit of constructive criticism for the creator of this video, would have been to shown the american example. he clearly made the video for consumption by other Americans, and so just assumed that everyone would know what the american side looked like.

[@JohnHazelwood58]

I don't like these (general) comparison videos as ... man, you know: every flat or house is different!? o_O As I live in Germany, I can tell you: my german house looks nothing like that "german house" in the video!

[@TheBl4cKH4wK]

A bit disappointing video you watched there because sadly a lot was very generalized or only from the german but not the US perspective.

[@agamemnonpadar5706]

Biggest difference between US and German houses: No bullet holes in German houses, but at times Stolpersteine (stumbling stone), a golden plaque, in front of it, remembering atrocities committed by our ancestors during the Third Reich by naming the victims names and what their fate has been. Nothing similar in the US, where some people have total memory loss when them are asked about slavery.

[@adjudicator4766]

This has got to be the most ignorant comment I have ever read. There are thousands of memorials for slavery in the US. There are no bullet holes in our houses. You clearly have no idea what you are talking about and are blatantly coming off as an idiot.

[@slayforGenevieve]

Happens when Germany has little to no freedom of anything and has no guns.💀

[@frederickbays405]

Anyone who does not own at least a 7cuft freezer cant even buy meat at a good price. In a 7cuft freezer u can fit 1/4 co, 1/'4 pig and at least 10 chickens. As for freezing veggies u can put enough in one to last one person a yr. By buying in bulk from a farmer u can lower ur food bill by as much as 50% with just 2 little 7cuft freezers. Even if u are feeding u to 4 ppl out of them U just have to go to the farms more often I have three 7cuft ones Why three and not just one big 21 cuft? B/y when u open that 21 cuft one to find something it takes longer to find it thus it is open longer and it will take that much more to get the temp back down. I open one of my little ones find what I want in under a min and close it. One is for meat one for veggies and one for fruit.

[@GrouchyBear411]

Yep, we do have Freezers, the small compartment in the fridge, or even standalone big ones. It was easy for me to understand all other differences the Dude pointed out , though, as i am from Germany, lived 23 years in the US, and am back in Germany. 😅 And yes, Skandinavia is less different to Germany than the US is to Europe.