Why Don't We Have US-Style Accommodation?

Fly_Baby

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Or

All that space
Diverse landscapes/environments in different states
Old fashioned courtesy and family values
National pride
Incredibly clean streets and highways
A Police Force that isnt afraid to act instead of being a namby pamby bunch of social workers
Reasonable property prices giving value for money instead of signing up to a crippling lifetime loan to live in a shoebox
A willingness to give good service with a smile
A can do attitude

Apart from property prices, I find all of the above here in the UK. And without the American accent!

But then again, I bet New York isn't cheap to live in either, and there are plenty of affordable areas in the UK.

solodanceparty

C_Mababejive wrote: »

America is a BIG country whereas this is an overcrowded rat hole.

America may be big, but it's still a rat hole. America is not Disney World. I think people tend to forget that.

solodanceparty

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Or

All that space
Diverse landscapes/environments in different states
Old fashioned courtesy and family values
National pride
Incredibly clean streets and highways
A Police Force that isnt afraid to act instead of being a namby pamby bunch of social workers
Reasonable property prices giving value for money instead of signing up to a crippling lifetime loan to live in a shoebox
A willingness to give good service with a smile
A can do attitude

Your idea of the US is very different from what it's actually like.

vaporate

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Or

All that space
Diverse landscapes/environments in different states
Old fashioned courtesy and family values
National pride
Incredibly clean streets and highways
A Police Force that isnt afraid to act instead of being a namby pamby bunch of social workers
Reasonable property prices giving value for money instead of signing up to a crippling lifetime loan to live in a shoebox
A willingness to give good service with a smile
A can do attitude

:rotfl:Coming from someone like me who lived there for a few months, I wouldn't live in the US if you paid me lol It is a crap hole with high crime rates.

Secondly, yeh health care is a shambles over there. Watch the documentary called 'sicko'.

As for American national pride, Hah, more like sheep who are very naive. They have nothing to be proud of. No history, no culture.

Many Yank houses are built out of wood too not bricks.

As for diverse landscape, well duh holmes. I stick with Europe anytime.

Jowo_2

There's nothing admirable about the system in the US.

When you compare street homeless figures with the US or homeless figures between New York and London, for example, it makes the US look pitiful. Over there a person can work like a dog and still not earn enough for basic healthcare and the cost of a trailer. So what if its easier to move across the US than the UK to take up job opportunities? Our safety net is better even if geographical mobility is less.

Fire_Fox

Don't feed the trolls, ladies and gents.

g_attrill

vaporate wrote: »

Many Yank houses are built out of wood too not bricks.

This is probably something to be aware of when looking at property prices. As well as cheap land, the houses are built cheaply, and it shows both inside and outside. We think nothing about buying a 50 year old house, over there it will have many issues, eg. the rooves are built from wooden shingles, and the sidings from wood too, and these need replacing fairly often, although they tend to use longer-lasting materials these days.

g_attrill

C_Mababejive wrote: »

All that space

Mostly where people don't want to live though. The populated areas are mostly dull, and expensive to live where it isn't.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Diverse landscapes/environments in different states

True, however in most states the environment is mostly the same, you have to go a long way before it changes.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Old fashioned courtesy and family values

Mostly caused by strong religious instincts.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

National pride

Many Americans find it irritating.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Incredibly clean streets and highways

Depends where you go, it's not clean in the areas where the street cleaners are too scared to venture without armed guards

C_Mababejive wrote: »

A Police Force that isnt afraid to act instead of being a namby pamby bunch of social workers

True, but they admire our police for being professional and capable.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Reasonable property prices giving value for money instead of signing up to a crippling lifetime loan to live in a shoebox

This is true, but (see my other response) many American homes are somewhat similar to a shoebox in construction.

C_Mababejive wrote: »

A willingness to give good service with a smile
A can do attitude

In many cases "service with a smile" is to get that tip and "have a nice day" is practically an automated reponse with no feeling behind it, although in general I have found the customer-facing attitudes better than here.

Person_one

C_Mababejive wrote: »

Or

All that space
Diverse landscapes/environments in different states (lovely I agree, you can't live in them all!)
Old fashioned courtesy and family values (often comes with a lack of tolerance towards non-traditional families/situations and religious discrimination)
National pride (a populus woefully underinformed about the world beyond their borders)
Incredibly clean streets and highways (in some places, this can vary between two disrticts of the same city as anyone who's walked around NY or LA can tell you!)
A Police Force that isnt afraid to act instead of being a namby pamby bunch of social workers (Much higher levels of police brutality and corruption)
Reasonable property prices giving value for money instead of signing up to a crippling lifetime loan to live in a shoebox
A willingness to give good service with a smile (insincere OTT 'friendliness' bordering on harrassment in some shops!)
A can do attitude

Messed up healthcare system that leaves people to suffer and die from curable illnesses

Irresponsible gun laws

Institutional sexism and racism

Not that the UK doesn't have its problems and hopefully America will start to do better with its new government, but while I love to visit and have many friends there, you couldn't pay me enough to move permanently.

Jowo_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

As some of you know, I'm often "on the move", not sure where to go to next. In discussing similar things with an American it seems over there you can turn up where you like and book into a hostel/hotel at an affordable rate, wherever you want pretty much. He said he'd been confused why Brits he'd spoken to saw moving as such a big deal.

Perhaps if the US has a more geographically mobile workforce, there is more amenities provided for this?

Perhaps in the UK there just isn't the demand that could justify this type of service or perhaps there are constraints in our legal system that make it less workable, such as the security of tenure of tenants and the difficulty in evicting tenants with arrears?

It's speculative of course, but maybe the american system has a better legal framework that permits short term accommodation and makes it easier to get rid of non-paying tenants.

Hostels here tend to be associated with homelessness or backpackers and not something that a professional would aspire to live in. They'd be massive reputational issues to deal with in terms of marketing a hostel for working people. Short-term accommodation for professionals tend to be serviced apartments towards the luxury end of the market.

Here's a hostel with ensuite rooms in London for £169 per week or non-ensuite for £117.

http://www.london-hostels.co.uk/uk/pages/hostels/Friendship-House.aspx
http://www.london-hostels.co.uk/uk/pages/hostels/Belvedere-House.aspx