My gripes on houses in London (aside from being expensive)

filcanmike

I just moved to London last July from Canada for a working holiday to experience life here and explore the country. Things are going great and I love London, the UK from what I've seen so far, and the people. I really do .

One thing about living here that surprises me is how sub-standard the houses are (aside from being expensive and small for what you pay for). It's not really that surprising considering how old they are, but the two houses that I lived in and the numerous houses I've seen, it seems sub-standard compared to where I used to live in Canada.

For one thing, none of the houses that I've been in has a dishwasher. I cannot believe that most people in this day and age and living in what I consider the greatest city in the world and one of the richest, still wash their dishes with their hands. I mean seriously, !!!!!!? And another thing that bugs me is that none of the houses that I've been in don't even have a dryer next to the washing machine (well looking at the bright side, at least they have washing machines). But wow, I never thought that I would actually have to hang my clothes for it to dry when I moved to the UK. That is so last century. I have seen people do it in the movies and in pictures (particularly in Italy or Naples in particular), but I never thought I'd have to do it here. From where I'm from, dishwashers and dryers come standard in all houses. The only people there who don't have them are those who are homeless (duh!) and really, really poor. On the other hand, it seems like most people don't even have them. Why is that?

And the insulation. My landlord hates it when I leave the heater on all day, saying that it is too expensive. Well duh, 10 minutes after turning the heater off, it gets cold again. None of the heat gets retained. Of course, London doesn't get cold as much as it does in Canada where it can get as cold as -30C, but still.... it would be great if the houses were well-insulated.

Despite all that, I do love London and I love the country. Given the wealth of things to see and do, the nightlife, and its close proximity to various tourist destinations, I feel very fortunate to be living here. It's just a pity about the houses.

chewmylegoff

if you want a dishwasher and a dryer the worst thing you can do is rent a room in a house that doesn't have a dishwasher or a dryer. i know this sounds obvious, but since you've done it twice it seems to me that you may not have realised the steps that you need to take to have access to a dishwasher and a dryer. i have therefore put together a quick guide to help you.

1) when viewing houses check to see that
a) there is a dishwasher
b) there is a dryer
c) the dishwasher and dryer work

2) if the house does not have a dishwasher and a dryer in it, do not rent the room

3) if the house does have a dishwasher and a dryer in it, rent the room.

hope that helps.

p.s. you forgot to mention that the british all have bad teeth.

CLAPTON

amazing

almost impossible to believe a rich canadian can't afford a dish washer (£250?) and/or a drier (£200?)

insulation? what sort of house do you live in ?

cpdc1030

I'm a Canadian landlord in London. The flat I've let out has a dishwasher and a washer dryer. And even cavity wall insulation :-) As does the one I live in.

Actually I can't claim to be fully Canadian as I also have British citizenship. However a lot of Brits seem to wrongly assume dishwashers are energy hogs. In fact if used properly both water and energy usage is lower compared to hand washing. Dryers aren't popular in flats because of space limitations, so I have bought washer dryers instead. They're only about £100 more than a simple washing machine. Why not offer to pay the difference and ask your LL to install one? Better than a mouldy flat due to hanging wet laundry inside for sure.

I couldn't imagine living without any of these things either. But they just aren't priority for your typical London tenant. For them it is all about location and original features.

suki1964

Are you seriously suggesting that Canadians are too bone idle to wash a dish?


But the answer might actually lie in the fact that London has the highest proportion of single person households in the uk

So why would a single person need a dishwasher? There's three in my household and downgraded a full size dishwasher to a slimline and even that will take two or three days to fill

Torry_Quine

It's much better to dry clothes outside when you can rather than using a tumble dryer, apart from anything else it's cheaper. If you can't see that then that's up to you. Obviously you can't do that in bad weather but as least you're in the South of England so not as bad as in the north. I could say something about Canadians being too lazy to wash dishes, but that would be stereotyping and we don't want that do we. :rotfl: :rotfl:

cpdc1030

That's another thing. Why is using a dishwasher considered lazy?

Why don't you wash your laundry by hand if you follow that logic? :-)

Loanranger

The houses you have been living in are not typical. You're renting at the bottom of the pile. That's why they don't have dishwashers (and dryers).
If you hadn't noticed, dryers are there so that you can burn money. Not necessary, hang it out on the washing line.We have already turned the corner on this one, maybe Canada will get there eventually.
Have you noticed we are less likely to drive gas guzzling cars?
We don't see the northern lights here either. All part of the rich difference between north america and europe.
Get used to it and welcome to the UK.
I love Canada, actually. Have been several times and love it but I don't expect it to be the same. It's because it's different that I love it. Maybe you could reflect on that.

cpdc1030

I come from a very boring part of Canada where there are no igloos, northern lights, or mountains. In fact Toronto is much further south than London.

True that energy costs per unit are much much higher in the UK. However in Canada there's a lot of fixed costs in electric and gas bills that make energy saving almost pointless. Whereas in the UK I pay no standing charge and every kilowatt hour saved makes a noticeable difference. I actually prefer it that way.

Of course there's nothing like MSE in Canada, frugality just isn't in the culture. People are set in their ways and just assume they can't afford things, like a holiday, and there's nothing they can do about it. Whereas in the UK if you put in bit of effort in MoneySaving, you really can live fairly well and take overseas holidays on a modest income. I'm certainly much happier here but I had to change my expectations for certain things.

I hesitate to say it, but I think part of the reason most English people at least don't see the need for a dishwasher is because they have different expectations for cleanliness. From what I've observed it is completely normal to rinse out a mug and use it again several times without properly washing it. Whereas this is just not done in Canada. Not passing judgement, but I've seen it from friends and relatives many times.

BTW...my combined Canadian and North London accent leads many people to think I'm from Bristol. Weird, eh? :-)

marleyboy

cpdc1030 wrote: »

That's another thing. Why is using a dishwasher considered lazy?

Why don't you wash your laundry by hand if you follow that logic? :-)

Its neither considered to be poor people who dont have dishwashers. Not least the majority of Kitchens in your standard British mid terrace would struggle to fit a dishwasher in. Some of us actually prefer to handwash our dishes. You might be shocked to learn that some of us even handwash our clothes in a bath. You cannot for example shove your vertical blinds in a washing machine.

I dont have a dishwasher, it has nothing whatsoever to do with poverty or lack of space, I prefer to wash them by hand as it does a far better job and is not too difficult for us Brits to do. I also prefer to sweep my floors than use a hoover, particularly on laminate flooring, where I may even occasionally use what we call a mop and bucket.

chewmylegoff

marleyboy wrote: »

You might be shocked to learn that some of us even handwash our clothes in a bath. You cannot for example shove your vertical blinds in a washing machine.

true, but most people don't wear vertical blinds.