16 Unexpected Differences Between The US & UK

George Bernard Shaw supposedly once said that England and America are two countries divided by a common language.

That’s not the only difference between the two nations. Everyone knows that the US and UK do things differently, such as driving on opposite sides of the road. There are all kinds of lesser-known differences though, many of which I was reminded about during our recent visit to the UK.

From no air conditioning to narrow letter boxes to peeing in troughs, here are 16 unexpected differences between the US and UK.

1) Coffee Makers Vs. Electric Kettles

In the US, every hotel room has a coffee maker with some kind of brewed coffee available. In the UK, you’ll find an electric kettle with tea and instant coffee.

Neither Shae nor I drink coffee, but based on comments from American friends and family, UK instant coffee is pretty terrible.

Another difference is that the UK has small tubs of milk rather than creamer.

2) Stick-Shift Rental Cars

I think every car we’ve ever driven in the US has been an automatic. You can get automatic rental cars in the UK, but they’re few and far between and usually cost far more.

As a result, you’re more likely to end up with a stick-shift. If you’re visiting from the US, that can make driving in the UK even more stressful as you’re driving on the right-hand side of the car, driving on the left-hand side of the road and shifting with your left hand!

And a bonus random fact – if you pass your driving test in an automatic car in the UK, you’re not allowed to drive a stick-shift.

3) Narrow Roads

As if driving a stick shift on the opposite side of the car on the opposite side of the road wasn’t enough, you also have to contend with narrow roads.

I lived in England for the first 29 years of my life, so I always knew are roads were fairly narrow, but I’d forgotten quite how bad it can be. It’s not helped by some roads that are only one lane wide, so you have to stop and pull to the side to allow the other car through.

4) Light Switches Outside Of Rooms

This difference is something I only noticed on our most recent trip. After living in the US for the last 10 years, I’ve gotten used to light switches being in the room with the lights it controls.

Homes in the UK are often designed differently though. Rather than being in the room, light switches are sometimes found by the entrance of the room you’re entering. For example, here’s where the kitchen light switch is located at my parents’ home.

This was frustrating initially as I’d keep going into a room, only to remember that I needed to go back out the room to turn the light on.

It does have its benefits though. Have you ever gone into a room and fumbled your hand over the wall looking for the light switch because the room is dark? You don’t tend to have that problem when the light switch is next to the door as you enter a room.

5) Room Key Needed For Hotel Lights

The location of light switches isn’t the only way the UK and US do lights differently. When checking in to a hotel room in the UK, there’s a good chance that none of your lights will be working.

To get them to work, you have to insert your room key into a slot by the door that looks something like this:

I think this is an energy-saving measure as it helps ensure the TV and lights are turned off when you leave the room. While I fully support that, it can unfortunately make it easier to forget your room key when leaving. If you’re used to leaving your room key in your pocket or wallet, this isn’t possible unless you ask for additional room keys.

I’m not sure if it’s always possible, but I’ve been able to use a business card rather than a room key before, so that’s an alternative option.

6) No Power Outlets In Bathrooms

UK building regulations specify that you’re not allowed regular power outlets in bathrooms unless they’re 3 meters (~10 feet) away from the bath or shower. Given how small houses are in the UK compared to the US, that usually means UK bathrooms don’t have regular power outlets in them at all.

The exception is an outlet for a shaver, but even that has to be far enough away from the bath or shower.

7) Peeing In Troughs

Continuing the bathroom theme, guys visiting the UK might need to be prepared to pee into troughs.

That’s because you’ll sometimes be greeted by communal urinals in a restroom. The one pictured below is actually relatively small; in some restrooms – especially in pubs – you’ll find one urinal spanning the length of the room.

8) Paying To Use The Toilet

Not only might you have to pee in a trough, but you may also have to pay for the privilege. Public restrooms in some tourist areas – as well as some train stations – charge a small fee of about £0.20. It’s therefore worth making sure you have some change on you if you think you might get caught short while out and about.

In addition to helping pay for someone to clean it, I suspect it’s to discourage homeless people from hanging out in the bathrooms.

9) Non-Mixer Taps

Once you’ve used the bathroom, be prepared to wash your hands in boiling hot or freezing cold water.

Although mixer taps are starting to become more common in the UK, you’re more likely to come across separate hot and cold water taps in bathrooms and kitchens.

10) Letterboxes Vs. Mailboxes

In the US, most houses have mailboxes at the end of the driveway. In the UK, most homes have letterboxes that their mail gets delivered through directly into the house.

11) No Air Conditioning In Homes & Cars

The UK is fairly temperate and has hardly ever gotten above 100°F (37.8°C) in its history. As a result, most homes and cars don’t have air conditioning. That’s not an issue for most of the year, but it can be miserable laying in bed on occasional hot summer nights when there’s no air circulation.

Instead of air conditioning, you’ll tend to find radiators or wall heaters.

12) Parking In The Opposite Direction

In the US, it’s illegal to park your car on the other side of the road facing the wrong direction. In the UK, it’s perfectly legal to do this during the day, although it’s apparently illegal to leave your car at night. I didn’t realize this latter point until writing this post, so I’m glad I didn’t get a ticket for parking our car like this one night:

13) Variable Speed Limits On The Highway

I’ve already mentioned a few driving-related differences and here’s another. On UK highways (known as motorways), the speed limit can vary depending on the time of day and traffic conditions.

This is controlled by the Highways Agency and is adjusted as “necessary” via adjustable signs that are lit up.

I put “necessary” in quotation marks as it often seemed like there was no reason for the decreased speed limit. It was especially frustrating when the 70 mph speed limit was reduced to 40 mph despite there being no accidents, no roadwork, etc.

14) No Drug Ads

This is one way the UK is infinitely better than the US – drug manufacturers aren’t allowed to advertise prescription drugs on the TV.

TV shows are therefore free from 10 minutes of side-effect warnings during ad breaks warning that taking some weirdly named pill could cause lethargy, baldness, liver disease, heart failure, constipation, restless leg syndrome and, in only 23% of cases, death.

15) Bacon & Bread

The UK gets a bad rap for its food, but there are some things it does better than the US. Two of those things are bacon and bread.

US bacon is what Brits call streaky bacon and, while tasty, is nothing compared to UK bacon. The bacon you get in the UK tends to be back bacon and is much more meaty and delicious.

The bread is much better as well. It’s softer and has far more flavor, so it makes for sandwiches that are much more delicious.

16) Pet-Friendliness

Last but not least, the UK is incredibly pet-friendly, much more so than the US. Dogs are allowed in all kinds of places, so it’s not unexpected to see dogs in pubs. We even went to Starbucks with our friend’s dog when we visited and he was allowed inside with us!

Your Differences?

Those are 16 differences I noticed/remembered on a recent visit to the UK, but how about you? What unexpected differences have you encountered when visiting the UK from the US or vice versa? Let us know in the comments below.