Differences between US and UK Homes - American and Scottish Perspectives 

The doors open into the room as opposed to against the wall to give the person in the room notice that someone is coming in. This came from the 18th and 19th century when people wanted to get ready to accept visitors. Nowadays it is part tradition. As a carpenter/ joiner for 40 years I had loads of customers that wanted their doors flipped to open the other way……..until I told them the light switch would be covered by the opening door.

My son lives in California and it still astounds me that they dry everything in the dryer even though it's sunny most of the time. We pray for sunny days in the UK and when it does everything that isn't nailed down gets washed so we can get it dry outside 😂

One other difference is that the light switches are reversed so that up is off in the UK. Enjoying your videos. ❤

I so enjoy your videos it’s real life I hope Zach you continue to enjoy your life’s journey back home in Scotland and Annie it’s so nice seeing you embracing the decision. I’m Scottish and have traveled and lived for many years in all parts of this amazing world. I’m 75 and as of February this year have moved back home to the east coast of Scotland. Wishing you all the best 💕🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Zach, your accent is definitely coming back. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We now have two large singles put together, hubby is miles away from me which is a good thing as he tends to flap his arms about whilst asleep. 😄👍

Not an easy topic to cover without pissing off either the Brits or those from the US!! Even though I think you are great, I must admit I was expecting to be a tad annoyed at times. But not at all. You covered it honestly, sympathetically and respectfully. No pissing off occurred! So, well done guys. Another really great video. Wishing you all the best in your new home.❤

As an Australian line drying is the best, we do have dryers, but mostly line dry. Plus we have laundries, mostly good size ones too. But our homes are mostly what Brit’s call bungalows, big and open plan.

6:43 "shut that door! Were you born in a barn?" Was a common refrain in the winter as I was growing up!

Living in Canada, one of the things I really enjoy here is that there is a basement for storage! Maybe that's a bad thing as then one tends not to throw anything out!

In the UK if there are two single beds in one room we would refer to those as twin beds.

I am enjoying your channel so very much! It’s become the highlight of my week. Both of your on-camera presence comes off so naturally as if you two have been doing this forever and ever. So nice. I have an electric kettle after my first trip to Scotland in 2019. It just made complete sense so I bought one too. The things people can learn from each other 🤗

My husband is from England, and we've been going back twice a year for decades. Brought a laugh at many of the things you mentioned. A few I have noticed over the years: Electric showers have never seemed right, many places have separate hot/cold taps instead of mixer taps, small refrigerators because everyone shops more often, using a coin to get a shopping cart and having to bag our own groceries. Look forward to more of your experiences.

You both look well, Annie's complexion is a picture of good health. Fresh vegetables get harder to grow the further North you are in the UK, but Scotland has the best soft fruit, be sure to try them.

In New Zealand our doors open inwards, rooms smaller easy to keep warm , we have carpet throughout the house as it gets really cold over winter . We have builtins in all the bedrooms . We have a seperate laundry room . I have a pellet fire for my heating . Cheers Sharyn and Rosie 🇳🇿

Great video. You will definitely feel the benefit of these interior doors in winter.

You two always bring a smile to my face. I'm in a happy mood after your videos. TY for that

As a born and raised in Southern California I moved 24 years ago to New England. In Massachusetts we use Radiator heating and that was totally foreign to me as well! Lol

Plenty of British homes have Utility Rooms where the washing machine & tumble dryer are kept

Regarding the windows with locks. This is only for modern upvc windows. Old fashioned wooden sash windows usually had one snib that fastened both top and bottom halves together and therefore couldn’t be opened until it was switched to the off position. They also did not tilt in but usually only slid up or down depending on which half you pushed.

I’m in England and just noticed nearly all my doors open against the wall . I never lock my windows . I’m enjoying your videos ❤

Perfect timing I've just woken from working night shifts and your video pops up, cup of ☕ time 👍

I moved from England to Australia. Visiting the US on a number of occasions and living in the UK most of my life and now Australia. Here is very much a mixture between the UK and US. Almost as if they cherry picked between them both. Here they have plugs in bathrooms which was very alien to me when I first moved here, laundry rooms are much more of a common sight. It's interesting to hear the differences you highlighted. Hope you're all settled now in your new home. I really do miss the history, the old towns and villages and a good pub. Mike 🇦🇺🇬🇧

Really enjoying seeing how others see us, and how you two interact....a joy. And a new subscriber.........

We had the door conversation with a carpenter . Our house was built about 100 years ago and the doors open like yours. He said it was for privacy as you walk into the room. Interestingly though he said new houses have their doors fitted the other way, ie towards the wall ..

Love your video and Hearing your difference hear in Scotland and in the USA keep it coming along just love it 👍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We live in Toronto and going into our retirement downsized from a home with a 2-car garage to a small, 65 yr old bungalow with no garage. We purged a lot of stuff and we have 2 sheds. One that houses the lawnmower and snowblower and gardening equipment, and the other we use for storage.

So glad I found you! I love seeing life in countries outside the USA. I live in Nashville TN and could see living in Scotland. Plus I have Scottish blood. Love your home and i look forward to more of your adventures! Sandee R

Hello Both. Great videos. I lived in the US on Staten Island (NY) for 6 months from January 1994. I found my power bill was higher in June than the winter months because of the a/c. I live in a fairly modern home in South Wales. It’s well insulated and my gas central heating has thermostatically controlled radiators. In winter both bedrooms radiators are switched off. I’m not a miser but a better quality duvet with a higher Tog rating for the winter is the only heating I need in the winter. Snuggling up under a good duvet I prefer, I’m single! Being an island we are short of fresh drinking water. Valleys in Wales have been flooded to supply water to England, politically it doesn’t go down well when your village is going to be flooded and you are all going to move. We also are a bit more water use conscious, my toilet has two levels of water flush. The uk design means that the bowl will hold a full flush without overflowing. We will have a toilet brush, the US have a blockage plunger. Me I’d rather clean a skid mark than face a blocked toilet. The UK mains voltage is 240/250 volts ac 50 Hertz, as opposed to 110 volt ac 60Hertz in the US. The UK electricity rules are generally built on rules of safety usually from accident casualties. The old story of a spouse dropping a hair dryer into a bat6h to claim off the insurance is true. Wet hands touching a light switch resulted in cord pull switches.

About beds, in the US in the 1960s and 1970s, my parents always said single and double. I never heard the words twin and full until the late 1980s. My dad was borb in 1924 and my mom in 1929.

Hi, loved listening to you both discuss USA/ UK homes. Many of us now in the UK have a dedicated boiling water tap which replaces a kettle. I have kept my kettle but use it in the utility room because having opened up my lounge, dining kitchen space I didn't want the noise of a boiling kettle in my main living space. Also with it being open plan I needed a utility to keep washing machine and dryer out of what is now a lounge/kitchen. Just to add to the postbox conversation, Royal Mail now has an app and they will collect items, letters and parcels to post from your home. For a fee! There far fewer post offices than there used to be.

Hello from Chicago, I live in a 130 year old 2 flat that has small rooms except for the large eat in kitchen. The floors are hardwood except for the bathrooms. All the doors open into the rooms away from the wall except for the two pocket doors. Radiators thru out the apartments built in hutches and large double hung windows. I don’t use a coffee maker as the last one I had broke and wasn’t recyclable I bought an electric kettle and a funnel for coffee. Love your videos . Thanks

im loving this channel!!!keep going please!!!

Boilers with radiators are pretty common in New England. The radiators are typically little baseboard units, not big standup units.

Your description of a conservatory reminds me of one of my favorite children’s books, The Big Concrete Lorry, by British author, Shirley Hughes. It’s about a family who’ve outgrown their home and add a room to the back. Excitement ensues when the concrete lorry arrives before they’re ready. One of my Grandson’s favorite stories! Love your channel!!

In every property I have owned in England I have had to pay a lot of money to get the radiators moved. I think homeowners used to be told that if they put a radiator under a window a lot of heat would go straight out of the window, but it actually creates a curtain of warm air that stops the cold air from coming in. It also means no more condensation running down the windows, and best of all you've freed up the walls again.

We have mail slots in the US in many neighborhoods. I think it depends a lot on the age of the houses. Love watching you getting settled in your new hometown!

Thanks guys, enjoyed this video. Hope you and the wee ones will be really happy here in Scotland. 😊❤

We live in a house built in 2014 down in England and our doors open against walls. I’m guessing whatever the reason it’s not something new builds here do. Thanks for video!

We hang our clothes outside to dry in the U.K, saves a ton of energy and after about 2 weeks in the summer they’ll be dry 😂

I'm from Edinburgh. I've been in America for 23 years and I still speak in a Scottish accent as strong as it was when I arrived, yet Zack sounds very American in half that time!

Enjoying this new channel!! Can’t wait to binge it this weekend! 😂

I enjoy your RU-vid station so much. Been watching from the beginning.

Interesting comparisons. I'm from the UK and all my doors open towards the wall, so don't think your current doors are a regular UK thing. Oh, and something about the post, you can arrange for your postie to pick up your outgoing mail, so you don't actually HAVE to go to the red letter boxes - I only found this out recently.

I grew up in military houses as a kid in the 1970s, and because of the threat of letter bombs from the IRA our letterboxes were screwed shut. Also, you forgot the main difference, that the wind is not going to blow your house down in the UK 😂 Great video guys 🤘👍..

Interesting, I've got a conservatory which is my sun room,I've got triple garage with gym above,garden room outside, which is a bar, my heating is air source heating, solar panels, triple glazing! I live in Scotland

We built our house in Illinois in 1972-73. We just replaced the toilet in the basement and it's called a low flush toilet which most of them today are. It has a very low water level and it looks like the amount of water coming in would never be able to flush it, but it's supposed to flush a bucket of golf balls in one flush! I think hardwood floors all over in the US is a relatively new (modern) thing. We still have carpet in the living room and bedrooms and the entire basement. I was really surprised to see the locking windows when we were home (for me) to NE England 6 years ago! Built in closets are not a thing in really old homes in the US. Or if they had them they were often very tiny. We use our double garage year round to keep the vehicles out of the weather. Yeah, lots of people keep them full of junk 😂 UK people say they don't use tumble dryers because they use a lot of energy, but then they stand for hours ironing the clothes that came off the line all wrinkled 😂

I hadn't noticed in our Edinburgh flat, but you are correct - the doors opened differently. I wonder how we missed that. You may find this funny: years ago in National Lampoon magazine, the described the UK as "once ruled half the world but still haven't figured out central heating."

Midges don't typically come indoors in my experience here in Scotland. A few may follow you back indoors if you've been out and they are in bloodsucking mode, but you can pick these off one by one. Where I live in SW Scotland there are no mosquitos, but there are clegs, deerflies and horseflies outside (even the giant horsefly!) in the Summer which all can draw blood if you don't swat them away.

Interesting video, a joiners/carpenters’ convention for hanging a door that you've noticed is correct, this is for privacy reasons, opening the door blocks the view into the room, the person inside the room can pop their head round the door to answer but still restrict the view for the caller, your internal doors have glass panels, which is ok for the sitting room. For info radiators are usually placed below a window or away from a room entrance.

Love to see you both settling in. It’s nice to see you both giggling 🤭 and enjoying each other. Can’t wait for the next video. 😊

It is easy to forget that in the past, when all of these older houses were built, the extended family was the norm so there were a lot more people living in the house ans so privacy was more of an issue. Also, just like most people today have a washing machine, in the past many people who were far from rich, would have a maid or other domestic help - so again a bit more privacy when a door is opened is valuable.

The light pull is because if you have wet hands it’s safe .

I love your videos. You are a great couple. I am really excited to see the rest of your journey

I seem to remember (from a long time ago) that I was told that when the door into a room opens it usually supposed to screen the room until you move completely into it. Nothing to do with radiators since in those days not many people had central heating.

For the flushing thing, it’s a short flush for a wee and a long one for a poo. Newer ones have the small and large buttons for the same reason. I don’t think there’s a set way for doors to open - ours all open onto walls, and you can always change it if you really wanted to - but the door you showed would block the light switch if you flipped it.

Another great video l love hearing the difference between Scottish houses and US houses your house looks lovely hope your settling in and enjoying been back in Scotland your such a lovely couple love from bonnie Scotland ❤

We lived in VA for 3 years. I miss the basement we had. My kids missed the AC. I loved the open plan feel of our US home. I love my home in Scotland. I miss bug screens! I would love screens on doors and windows here.

Love you guys. My ex was American and he moved back here with me too from California so I really can relate to your journey. I spent 10 yrs in California. The doors wherever I have lived in the UK open to the wall, so maybe just a thing where you are. Newer toilets flush immediately. We do have coffee pots here, check out Argos or John Lewis etc. Look forward to seeing all your videos.

My husband and I did this identical move over 15 years ago, so I know very well all these fun discoveries. I'm here for your fun banter as it all brings back memories for us! Hello from midgie-filled west coast 😉

I am really enjoying your videos. I was born in Edinburgh but moved south to southern England. Since then we have lived in France twice!) and now live in Southern Spain. It is really interesting to see the sort of differences there are! I must also mention that your laugh, Annie, is wonderful and I just love it!

I was told by our door hanger that doors open into the room so you can easily turn on the light switch as you enter. Hope you enjoy your new adventure!

Doors that open towards a wall won't be able to open 90 degrees whereas doors that open away from a wall can be opened completely out of the way. As doorways are relatively narrow, the latter is more practical.

West Coast here, yeah the midges are predominantly outdoors, and rarely really come indoors unless you bring them in within your hair or clothes, they are attracted by your breath so there are not really many hiding places.

This was a fun episode!!! You guys make me laugh!!

Where I live and travel in Glasgow and Clydebank I see a lot of these new prefab builds, where they stack modular units together and throw up a small multi-story within a couple of months. I have to say they don't seem too appealing.

U.K. toilets have a different flush mechanism to US ones which might explain the water level. Also the waste exits from the back of the toilet rather than underneath.

"in the UK we don't have any sort of central heating" ... yes we do, that's the most common heating system in UK houses. We don't have central air system.

A Gram from Missouri here & am enjoying your videos. Thank you for inviting us to join you. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿One thing I noticed on my first visit to Scotland was that our bed had no top sheet, I had to request one at out B&B in Edinburgh because I like to sleep with minimal covers. I was also a bit confused at first about using English pound or Scottish coins… Hope the midges don’t visit your area, I’ve only experienced them in the Inverness area. Thank you.😊🇺🇸

Wow, thats really scary to have locked windows if there was a fire. Did you realize you can adjust the water level in the tank. Y'all are enjoyable to watch. This channel will become very popular.

We have all sorts of windows in Canada , European style that open on different sides, sash, sliding... with screens is the norm ( mosquitoes, midges, black flies... ). They lock but never with a key... I believe in Canada they outlawed dead-bolt doors that opened from the inside with a key for safety concerns...it must open with a bolt/latch on the inside.People must be able to "escape" a dwelling easily in case of an emergency without looking for a key...the same I imagine would apply to windows...By the way, I love my clothesline!..was not allowed at my last dwelling and I certainly missed it..ridiculous!

the reason radiators are so close to the door is that in many cases the central heating was added at a later date rather than when built so your heating installer has taken the easiest option to run pipes just inside the room, less floor boards to lift , would be more efficient if the radiator was as central within the room as possible

I think it would be good to update your WC to a push button flush, dual button a short flush and a longer flush.

Great to hear your progress folks!!!

Regarding the toilet flush, it’s a water economy thing. Just doing a quick flush if there’s not much to shift, and hold the handle down to empty the whole cistern.

The doors opening into the middle of the room is because in the Victorian era (or possibly older) it was considered more polite and you could announce yourself entering a room whilst giving the occupants privacy.

Great video I love to here about different things between the uk and the USA 😊

Hilarious discussion!!! Zach’s accent is getting more Scottish !!

Interesting to see the differences - as an Australian some are similar to the UK (bed sizes/names, kettle versus filter coffee, water level in toilet - although ours ‘swirls’ the opposite way) and some are similar to the UK (power points and light switches in bathrooms, quicker flushes, open plan living, wood frame houses, reverse cycle heating/cooling, separate laundry rooms).

With the long flush. Most likely you will be able to do a short flush if you do not need to flush away solids. This will save water, but will take care of the yellow liquid. And as there is way less already, it does not need a full flush. Most will have two buttons. A small and a large one, but I have seen the handle that can be used to do a little and a lot of water.

Your house looks beautiful. Looks brand new everything. Wow I want to house tour!

I live just outside Vancouver, B.C. and am surprised at how many things in our place are similar to your home in Scotland. Light switch to my bathroom is in the hallway; not much water in my toilet, no A.C. here on the coast. We have individual thermostats in each room, aside from the bathrooms. Some people here have screens on their windows- some don't. I love your towel warmers. I've seen those in many countries in Europe....no carpet in our place- tile and laminate....most people here have gotten rid of carpet; also we noticed in Europe Britain how many doors there are to various rooms- like a door to the kitchen, living room, dining room- everything separate....I have a perculator for the times I make coffee, but honestly, my hubby picks up McDonald's coffee every morning for us- $2 each for a large. In Canada we don't have little boxes to pick up our mail from - it is either brought to the house or picked up nearby at a set of mailboxes...........hey!!!! Only people in The Maritimes say "house" like that!!!!!!!!!!

A lot of the differences are cost/wealth based. Having grown up in a small home in New Zealand, I will take my American home all day, every day! I'm a big fan of fully insulated homes with central heat and A/C. Energy is a lot cheaper(for the most part) here than a lot of other countries, so having a larger home with fewer internal doors(to keep heat in the room) just makes sense. Laundries in kitchens is definitely a European thing. I've never seen it in New Zealand or Australia.

I live in NH in the US and have almost always line dried my clothes outside on a line or on a line and racks in front of the wood stove. I do live in an off grid solar home so do not own a dryer and probably wouldn’t use it. I think people are much more wasteful in the US of our resources. The cost I assume is less so people are less inclined to conserve. I really enjoy your channel.

I think filtered coffee machines were around in the seventies/eighties (I remember my parents had one), but they then went out of fashion and we now tend to have pod type machines or ‘bean to cup’.

I really love your videos, just found you! Zach sounds American to me? So odd! I have lived in Scotland 11 years now and I still have my former countries accent!!

It is allowed to have a normal light switch in the bathroom, but it must be at least 600mm (2 feet) horizontally from the bath or shower. British bathrooms tend to be quite small and most have a ceiling switch or external switch.

20:02 in England being able to give the postie a letter to deliver from your home is now possible

Ty for sharing that was very interesting 🧐!! 🤩👍🏻

All* of the doors (including the main entrance door) in my ground floor flat all open to the wall at the right hand side, (except* the _other two exit doors_ one leads from the kitchen through a balcony, to the front garden path, to the walkway outside the front of our flat. The other leads from our living room (at the back), into the back garden, and onto the grassed area between our flats, and the block in the row behind us. We are in a middle block - each block divided by two separate entry foyers - accessible via electronic key fobs and entry buzzer system - into a set of two flats per storey, with only three storeys including the ground floor, so each division has six flats, and each block has two divided sections. Each block having a grassed area behind the back gardens, and another in front of the front gardens. It's a _very verdant_ estate, lots of green grass, white daisies, yellow buttercups, trees and border hedges plus wooden fences around each garden. The blocks stand edge-on to the main road, so (intending to) reduce traffic noise. (...and the light switches to the overhead off-centre ceiling lights are on the opposite side, at the left).

We (in North Yorkshire, England) have a uPVC double-glazed front door without any letterbox. However there is a very old looking mailbox, about 3ft 6in high, with a mail-slot near the top and locking doors to the front and rear which we can open in order to take out the mail. It is approximately 4 ft from the front door and you have to walk past it to get to the door. It is painted "post-box red" with the word "POST" and a horn painted in gold, on the top. We normally have the same postman in our part of the village. When a new one filled in for him for a week or two, he rang out doorbell to hand us that day's post. He said he couldn't find a letter/post slot in the front door. I just pointed out the very obvious red/gold box about 2 ft behind him. Cue a sheepish grin from postie.... It hasn't happened again in the 21 years since the post box was put there! PS - Since typing the above I have been outside to check. The post box ALSO has a crown painted gold on the lid (as in Royal Mail) and is actually 5 ft 7 in away from the door but still highly visible. Good video, again.

Harking back to my posts about damp in U.K. houses , keep an eye open in regards built in closets/ wardrobes …… Often built into a nook that consists of at least one outside wall they can become an ideal breeding space for damp as they are often dumping grounds for storing stuff that never gets moved for years on end , then one day you move something and see how much black mould has been allowed to fester in that airless environment

I’m going to Scotland for my very first international trip in 8 days. Beyond excited 😊

Oh my God, I love the front of your house. It’s so charming.❤

Loving your videos ❤ ...Zach's Scottish accent is def coming back 😂 x

I grew up in the US and we always had a tea kettle and I still have one

Your smiles last forever 😊

So glad I found your channel! You two are lovely. Oh, and thanks for “talking Canadian” 😂😂. Love from the Heart of Canada - Winnipeg, Manitoba. Just above North Dakota and Minnesota.

7:33 check which ones are safe to move first!

Radiators are usually placed under a window. The reason why is that they heat up the cold air that comes from the window. As the heat rises from the radiator it warms the cold air up as it mixes with the air in the room by convection. It gives for a much warmer room and helps stop cold spots as there would be with the radiator across the other side of the room, far from the window. It’s also best to have conservatories separated with their adjoining rooms by doors because the temperature is more difficult to control due to large expanse of glass. In summer they can overheat and in winter they can seem never to warm up properly. This is another example of why we have doors everywhere! And mostly we call the half-bath the downstairs loo.