I dont know about anyone else but, I'd rather NOT have air conditioning. It absolutely murders my throat gives me a tickley cough. Sure it feels nice to be cool in the 2 weeks of summer we have, but I then sit there with a constant cough and sipping water all the time trying to get rid of the dry throat. When I DID have aircon in my hotel rooms the times I've gone abroad, It's been so damn annoying coughing all night and dying of thirst I've prefered the sweating.
Alana explains quite well why the carbon footprint of a North American is way beyond a UK citizen. Why should we cool our homes to stupidly low temperatures in the summer? If every quiet country road was doubled in width it would put hundreds of thousands of acres under tarmac and destroy the hedgerows too.
It’s difficult to be optimistic and cheerful when it pisses it down with rain 9 days out of 10. We try to cheer ourselves up by going shopping, but then we have to drive several miles on narrow roads just to get to a supermarket that’s open, only to struggle finding a space in the small car park. Then, when we eventually get in the store, we find out they don’t stock the crisp we like. When we get back home and the weather clears, some fucker opens a window because they’re too hot. The next thing you know, our boring crisps have flies all over them. Like your content because I’m a self deprecating British guy. Subscribed. 😀
As an American I would say that the great people of the UK shouldn't want to import anything from the US. The main thing I enjoy most about England is almost everyone has good manners. The lack of bugs is awesome too, NC has almost every species of insect known and it gets old.
There will always be areas where America outperforms England, and England outstrips America, due to their unique strengths and characteristics. Both countries have distinct qualities that contribute to their individual areas of expertise.
Don't know how densely populated it is where you are, but here in Scotland it's sparse enough that we see a lot of wildlife. Squirrels and deer (both of which you mentioned) for an example are a very common sight, saw loads of both yesterday when out for a bike ride. Could definitely do with the insect screens up here though, especially in midge season!
@@Dionysos640 the greys are reducing, pine martens have finally discovered they taste good, are on the ground more, are slower and fatter than the reds.
@@Dionysos640 I mean... Here in London we have deer lol. Also here in London... there are more foxes than dogs or cats, we have Hedgehogs, pigeons, doves, magpies, crows, ravens, sparrows, hawks, parrots, squirrels, sheep, goats, horses, every type of fish or crustacean... i mean... literately thousands of types of animals... and most of these can be seen daily in large numbers in the middle of London... lol.
In North America, there is more land used for parking than for housing. They have eight parking spaces for every single car and that is a waste. We do not need or want that in Europe.
Hi Allanna, the UK is less than 2.5 times the size of Texas and densely populated [67m], I know this is a bit of fun but is it fair to compare us to the whole of North America? You points can all be counterbalanced or even tipped off the scale if we were keeping it real. Sorry if I got too heavy but I love this country too.
Yes you said it, we are densely populated here. And that’s what I don’t like. Most countries of the size of U.K. have about 8 or 9 million people in. Not 67 million. It’s impossible to make somewhere densely populated and not have an adverse effect on quality of life. That’s common sense. Traffic becomes challenging and stressful, people get more stressed with everyone clamouring for the same outcome. And the heightened arousal causes for friction and unfriendliness. So Alanna described this very truthfully and accurately.
A recent report showed that between 1980 and 2020, of 900 species of Canadian animals and birds studied, 460 species declined in numbers. Those 460 species fell by an average of 83.3 percent. So I don't see how N America is doing any better than is the UK. Both sides of the Pond are doing badly.
Here is a quote I found online:- “UK wildlife is continuing to decline according to a new landmark study published today. Already classified as one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, nearly one in six of the more than ten thousand species assessed (16%) are at risk of being lost from Great Britain*.” Nature depleted is an accurate description of Britain. It’s already got three times the population it ought to have and as we speak more boats are arriving here while the government welcome them with open arms, but tell us a different story. The population density here has gone too far now. We aren’t the size of Russia or Canada, we don’t have the land mass for all these people
Fellow Kent resident here, but of the coast dwelling variety. I bought a portable air-con unit ten or more years ago, but I doubt it's been plugged in a dozen times. Open a window, close the curtains on the sunny side of the house, and turn on a fan.
Have you been to the U.S. in the middle of summer? That just wouldn't work in most of the country. It gets HOT and humid. And since you live on the coast, maybe its cooler there, or gets sea breezes?
@@CherylVogler That's why I mentioned it. I know that temperatures are generally less extreme on the coast, although the almost year round high humidity can make it feel hotter / colder than it actually is. Scandinavian and Alp dwelling friends have all said that British winters _feel_ colder than at home, although the temperatures here are way higher.
We didn't used to need Air-Con, but climate change has come along! When I was a kid in Southern England, the temperature almost never got to 80F/27C. These days it often gets well passed 30C/90F, and we had 40C the other year! Utterly unprecedented! So, yes, we do now need Air Con in houses. We never used to have it in our cars, but we do now mostly, thankfully!!
I too would like not to drip in high summer, but I wouldn't want it turned as cold as Americans have it. Its bad enough having to take a sweater to the supermarket or shivering past the chill cabinets.
American here - within two months of moving here, put screens on all my windows. We also have a portable air con unit and air circulator fans, the latter we use for 4-6 months out of the year cuz it just gets sticky and hot at night, and I like to sleep. We use the air con way more than a few days a year. Ohhh the narrow roads - especially in places like Wales and the Lake District. Especially with the number of larger 'American-size' cars and trucks that I definitely see more often in the UK now.
Oh i remember Hedgehog Flavoured crisps. My dad would buy them all the time. It's funny to think that the were withdrawn from sale due to an alleged a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act due to it containing no actual hedgehog
I lived near Welshpool (Wales) back in 1981 I was walking down the Main Street of the town & noticed a large gathering outside The Vaults Pub, out of the door pops…Billy Connelly, he was there to launch the new Hedgehog Flavoured Crisps 😜
The porch with a swing thing - we in the UK don't use the front of our houses to hang out. Places with a big enough back terrace or decking will often have a free standing swing seat. I can't imagine sitting on an open porch at the front, in full view of the neighbourhood - especially not in a swing seat.
@@carolineskipper6976 Not where I live , and what's wrong with seeing neighbors? If you really want privacy , you can sit on your lanai in the back. I really like the homes with big , cozy porches. They are fun to decorate at Halloween and Christmas too.
To hang about outside the front of your house here in England would be considered weird, uncouth, low-brow, trashy and unbecoming, even a little arrogant. Its not done, and you'd be talked about and looked at strangely. Remember, here in England, its a very close environment, we dont have a lot of room. Most of us grew up in extremely tight terrace suburban houses, tiny things a fraction of the footprint of even the smallest houses in the US. To then annoy and otherwise be a nuisance to your neighbors would be very rude, and not practical.
American here. Interesting. Always curious what non-Americans think of the US and I'm always pleasantly surprised by what people have to say because they say positive things. Though we are kind of taught by propaganda that the rest of the world hates/envies us because we're supposedly the best in the world - while I'm glad I was born and raised here I don't buy that we're the best in some things that other places have better. Health care & vacation days for example are horrible compared to most of Europe. I definitely don't take A/C (air conditioning) for granted but I think most of us in the US use it too much. I find it cheaper and comfortably effective for me to seal the windows or at least keep windows shut at all times to keep hot air out at all times unless it's a rare time where it's cooler than inside and otherwise I use fans. Enjoyed your video. All the best to you 🤗
And the food is fresher and better in the UK. Americans are eating more food additives, according to a new study that found about 60% of foods they purchase contain coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives and sweeteners. That's up by 10% from 2001.
I didn't really think you said anything that was better, it was just different. A huge percentage of the US is empty of people, so houses can be larger, roads can be wider etc. That doesn't necessarily mean better. Many US homes have walls that are basically made from paper. I would prefer a brick-built house in the UK over a US home. You raved about your crisps, but having watched many of your videos, I know that your taste is not to be trusted! 😂 I prefer having wildlife that is not going to kill me! People can have air-con if they want, but we don't really need it. I purchased a portable air-con unit years ago and only used it about once every 5 years!
Houses that are composed of brick or stone and mortar are not as safe as homes made of wood in high wind storms such as hurricanes or tornados. Look at traditional hones on the Atlantic in the UK vs homes in London. Bricks or stone held together with mortar are extremely rigid and therefore brittle. Unlike houses made of wood, which can naturally bend without compromising the strength of the wall and thus failing, a brick structure when it fails falls into itself crushing the occupants and anything else in their homes. It does seem contradictory, but when you think about it then it makes sense. I live an historic home in Corpus Christi, Texas that was built in 1920. My home is a wooden cypress pier and beam foundation two story home that has completely withstood countless Hurricanes and Tropical storms the last of which was Hurricane Harvey.
@@christianoliver3572 we don't get hurricanes very often! The storm of October 1987 would count as one. First thing to go in a brick built house is the roof anyway. Can't think of a time when a brick built house was blown over. Chimney breasts definitely.
@@hairyairey Yes but unfortunately with climate change there are now so many storms that start in the Sahara as all Hurricanes and Tropical Storms do that almost make to Florida or even southern Mexico, then curve north and now for some reason want to head back east towards y'all in the UK. Look I've in Coastal Texas now for 51 years so watching global weather patterns has always been something important and I've noticed a change at least since I was in my 30s of very dangerous storms heading for whatever reason towards my brothers and sisters in the UK. And to quote one of my favorite American comedians Ron White, it's not that the wind is blowing.... It's what the wind is blowing! A wooden fencepost or board from an American house is going to do nowhere near as much damage as a chunk of bricks or rocks when it blows into your neighborhood at 200 mph.
As a much older Canadian from the Hamilton area you may not be aware that air con wasn’t as ubiquitous when I grew up as it is now. Central air was quite rare and those that did have it in their home mostly had window shakers. We didn’t get it until I was an adult and then only in the bedroom for sleeping.
As an older American (age 75) who grew up in Georgia, it wasn't until I was in college that my parents had air conditioning installed. I couldn't imagine living without it today.
When I lived in South London certainly I would have liked air con. But living now on the coast I really honestly think last year it was never too hot to sleep, 2022 was different I guess
Ah, racoons. By far my favourite racoon I met was at a "British pub" in Toronto in what must have been 2005 or 2006. It was absurdly obese and we first saw it when it flopped over the gate to the pub's garden. It turned out it was obese because it would just waddle over to tables and beg for crisps and chips/chips and fries. It knew it was onto a good thing but, alas, didn't know it was also likely locked onto obesity and a heart attack. I suspect some people were also giving it a bit of beer in saucers, so I suspect it may have also had cirrhosis in its future. But at that point, that was a very happy, if obese, racoon.
Another excellent video! Here in Bristol we have a 400+ year old almshouse that's been a chapel, a courthouse, a bank , a pub and now a department store lol. Pickle chips sound tasty! Sometimes I treat myself to a big bag of plantain chips imported from Jamaica.
We may not have "trash pandas"/raccoons here, but foxes do pretty much the same thing and I find them quite cute (though I do keep a safe distance...).
Swinging in the rain would definitely have different connotations here. I used to send my wife dill pickle chips, but the ones we had in the u.s. at the time were made with Olestra, which was found to cause bowel leakage, so I stopped.
Nine things North America needs that Britain does not. New title. You’re welcome. Ps I had aircon in the house when I lived inAfrica and Mauritius. Each to their own you can buy it here if you want it.
We do need things like wider roads and larger car parks. My father often won’t even drive to cities r big towns out of fear of not finding anywhere he can park. And the size of the roads in Britain feel impending and unsafe. Not enough space between pedestrians and vehicles which is stressful and unpleasant
My husband and I would LOVE a porch with a swing seat! Insect screens are an amazing idea that I would love. It would mean we could open our windows without worrying that our cats will escape! Yeah, so many of our roads were built just for horse and carriages and so many of our car park spaces haven't been adjusted to cope with all the huge 4x4/SUV-type cars that are becoming more common.
Porch swings are overrated. Most of the people who have them, have only ever sat on them for a grand total of 3-5 minutes in their whole life. Granted, there are exceptions. There are a few people out there who sit on their porch swing for 3 hours every evening sipping sweet tea. But those people are outliers.
I've had my AC unit for 20+ years, yes I may use it one week in the year 😊 insect screens, I made my own. Love the terminology to describe the raccoons, trash bandits 😂
Netting (or net curtain) on the windows used to be a lot more common than it is now. And that was good at keeping insects out. It is a (usually) white nylon mesh fabric you hang up between the curtains and the window. It is not at all easy to keep it clean though, which is why I think people don't use it any more. Our windows usually open outwards, whereas I believe yours usually open inwards, which I guess is why we put the screen/net on the inside. There are places in the UK are designed to be more car-friendly, like Milton Keynes, Swindon, Basingstoke, Cumbernauld. None of them are places that people enjoy living in.
see the aircon thing to me never bothered me in the UK... being Aussie, we have it in many homes here and older homes tend to have it at least added to the living room or the master bedroom or both. But also, our summer temperatures are double or more the average summer temperature in the UK so when I lived over there, summer was only hot two or three days a year to me. So maybe that impacted me not really noticing the lack of it. I do remember one time stopping at a services on the way to London during a "heat wave" of 27 degrees lol! But inside that services it was bloody hot!!! And it was a new modern services, it just didn't have working AC for some reason.
I totally agree about air con in houses & shops. Our summers seem to be getting hotter & it gets so hot when you can only open windows or put fans on. A few years ago I had a wasps’ nest near my bedroom window & one night it was really hot, so I left the window open. Unfortunately, a wasp got in & stung me on the neck. I detest wasps. I also don’t get the thing in the UK about putting washing on the line in the summer & on clothing racks & radiators in winter. I use my tumble dryer all through the year & don’t find it all that expensive to run. I love how people in the US etc get excited about certain things, like Christmas cookies/biscuits etc.
I’m a British-American who grew up in Germany and now have lived in the US my whole adult life. I love my central air conditioning / central heating. Outside temperatures range from 0° (-18°C) in January to 100° (38°C) in July, but in my climate controlled house it’s always 71° (22°C). I don’t have to do anything and never have to deal with annoying bugs or noisy fans. I love my British family and I love my American family. I love watching BBC news, programmes and iPlayer without having to pay a licence and also love my American convenience and comfort. I know I’m spoiled and I’m OK with that.
Re Air Con. I can always remember when on a cruise with Royal Caribbean, an American owned company, that when we returned to the ship from a warm climate the ship seemed freezing cold from the A/C, enough to suspect I could get a chill. I suppose this must be the American inbred feeling that the A/C must be on full blast whether needed or not. Except for a few hot days (our short summer) we don't need it in the UK so the expense and energy usage is not warranted. Even in my 200 year old UK house it keeps cool in summer, even without cavity walls (solid brick).
There's a technique to keeping your house cool. It's a shame we don't use screens over our windows like the rest of Europe does. But basically use blinds to keep the heat out. Don't open windows on hot days it just makes the house hotter. Wait till it cools down outside.
We do need it in the UK. Between May and September my flat is too warm and when the temperature gets over 23c outside it's unbearable inside. That's the same for every other person I know who lives in a block of flats and it's the same in offices as well.
I was thinking about the expense, too. I think pretty much everyone is aware of rising energy costs (our smart meter's daily total is probably £1 a day more now than it was a year ago) so, unless the system was incredibly energy efficient, in practical terms, I think the average household would probably notice a big increase in their bills very quickly. (I wonder whether North America is just so used to having air conditioning that the cost is just considered to be part of running a household - or maybe they have cheaper rates?)
@@katehurstfamilyhistory electricity prices are getting up there in America too but at least in my experience with family and friends who live there they don’t run it all day and night except when it’s really hot (which is all year round in Nevada) but they don’t really have the heating costs we do in the hot states. Utilities have always been more expensive than for us because they have much bigger houses and things that need electricity. My experience is limited to a handful of family and friends over there though so I’m sure someone will come along and say it’s different for them. It’s a massive place so there’s going to be a lot of variables
@@katehurstfamilyhistory most of the big outdoor air conditioning units that they use in America are pulling around 3kw of electricity when the compressor is running but like your fridge it’s not running all the time. It cycles on and off and in a well insulated house where people keep doors and windows closed it will be running in fan only mode most of the time which is probably about 200 watts at most
Hi Alannah, I was watching a TV show on Sunday evening called Rich Holiday Poor Holiday, and for moment I thought you were on it. It wasn't but the girl from the 'poor' half going to Croatia was an absolute double of you, albeit from your glasses days. Uncanny. Love your stuff.😊
In my back garden in a suburb of a northern England city I have seen hedgehogs, squirrels, moles, mice and a fox. Among others the birds include sparrows, bluetits, robins, magpies, blackbirds, thrushes, woodpecker,seagulls. It’s a small garden. We are not short of wildlife,except perhaps the dangerous types.
TBF we do have wild cats and pumas, there's just really rare these days. We also have scorpions down in the Kent/London/Plymouth areas. So have fun with that. I'd like racoons, but I guess we have to have badgers instead. :P As for aircon... We didn't need it 20 years ago, we sure as hell need it now. Times change. The first two houses I grew up in both had room for a big porch, we just never had one. We've always lived away from the bigger areas so we aren't packed in like sardines, but even with plenty of land porches aren't that common. I can't say I have much issue up in Yorkshire with bugs flying in. But we have nice big gardens that are set away from windows so less likely to fly in I guess? Most homes in the UK have a combo washer-dryer so you can just set them to wash and dry without having to remember to swap over. Most issues seem to be Southern and Big City problems rather than UK problems as a whole. 😅
I've never heard of a raccoon being called a "trash pandas." Then I thought about it and I couldn't but laugh 😂 because that's exactly what they are. Thank you Alanna for starting my day with a smile and a laugh!
In Australia, their equivalent is the "bin chicken" - the Australian white ibis, a big bird that has an annoying habit of rummaging for food in bins and is utterly unafraid of people!
We bought an electric fan during a warm spell in 2022. We didn’t even bother getting it out of the loft last year as it was such a poor summer. I like having the bedroom window slightly open for fresh air nine months of the year( and the bedroom door open in winter to stop it feeling too stuffy). Unless I forget to close the curtains after dark we very rarely get insects inside. Certainly not often enough to merit reducing our light and view with screens.
old english homes are build to retain heat. yeh, you know what else they do really well? keep the heat out. if you learn how to keep windows and doors closed, you have a nice cool home for almost all of summer because the house doesnt get drenched in heat throughout. also, if you want air conditioning, just get some, you can easily get large portable units, and theres plenty of companies who install aircon in the uk. just get one installed xD EDIT: you also dont have the bugs comming in, personally. i open my windows at night time, closing them if i go to sleep or when i wake up if i wake up early. lets cool fresh air in, and all sealed up for the day.
Where I live I do notice a few hedgehogs From time to time but only at nighttime. They are so incredibly cute and sweet. I would be absolutely devastated if their population decreased even further. As a child I used to see them a lot more. As an animal lover, I love all animals( well maybe not rats)
I used to have hedgehogs in the garden, but now we have badgers. Badgers eat hedgehogs. Increased protection for one has had knock-on effects on the other. We meddle with nature at our peril.
Another great video.👍...back in South Africa every home is surrounded by high fencing and barbed wire. Every window has burglar bars bolted over to slow thieves. So I don't miss that
I’d imagine them pickle dill crisps you mentioned would be sort of like a flavour that’s either been discontinued or really rare here in the UK, called Pickled onion flavour in walkers we had. At least somewhat similar so I could sort of imagine what flavour you describe.
... this has made me realise that I saw hedgehogs all the time when I was a kid in the 90's and early 00's but now I genuinely cannot remember the last time I saw a hedgehog We definitely need AC in the UK these days. Again, as a kid it was totally different, it never got hot enough to require it. As a teen I think we had like 1 day up here within that decade where it got hotter than 30c, now we get multiple weeks higher 30c You kinda touched on it with convenience but I wish the UK had more 24 hour stuff that's not McDonalds. All I want is to sit in a diner at 2am drinking coffee and eat apple pie
I'm a bit late to this party, Alanna, for which I do apologise. (Blame it on the divorce I'm going through 😥) "Trash panda" for raccoon is a new one to me! For some reason, I want to think of that epithet being applied to the skunk, though I get the impression that they merely smell like trash, rather than trying to help themselves to it. 3:21 Who could forget that classic A&N short, How can you tell when it's summer in the UK? ("No air conditioning.") Ironically, my first experience of air conditioning was walking into a department store with one of my parents ... in the North West of England! I remember clearly the sign on the automatic door: "Air conditioned for your comfort." It wasn't especially hot outside, but the blast of cool air felt very refreshing all the same. It was on a visit to Las Vegas in the USA in the summer of 1998 that I truly realised why Americans are so much in love with their air-con devices. Stepping from the hotel into the Nevada desert air was rather like opening an oven door and sticking my head in.
8:06 I have to agree, as a British person who has a phobia of flies (don't judge me I saw a close-up of one and never got over it, they're horrible 😭😭) I seriously wish that we had screens like this to keep them out. Although maybe that lack of exposure would make my fear worse, idk 😂🤔
There's several companies who will sell you fly screens in the UK. However, since most houses in the UK don't have sash windows (they tend to have the type that swing open rather than slide up/down) they're hard to fit.
Raccoon’s are adorable, but whenever I see one, I run inside because of the one story of the woman getting her face torn up by one. But they are precious to look at, and have definitely gotten into the trash a few times.
Those pickles don't have much flavour, they mostly just taste of the vinegar used to pickle them. I can't see the crisps being much different to salt & vinegar.
Uk doesn't have fire flies....and as to front porches and swings I think that has to do with social norms. In the 1850 - 1950s the front porches were use in the US as gathering spaces to talk to visitors and neighbors and they just kept that architectural space going.
🇨🇦 What you say about A/C (Air Con in the UK) doesn’t automatically apply to the Pacific Coast of North America. Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, even Los Angeles, A/C is not in every home like it is in Ontario. It’s becoming more common with drier, hotter summers, especially after Vancouver’s heat dome in June 2021 when temps climbed to 110F/43C, and over a hundred died without A/C in their homes, but it is still not in every home, not even in cities like Los Angeles. Screens on windows we do have.
our older cities in Australia have squishy roads, but not as squishy as the UK roads. They were a shock to the system. That said, British drivers were far more polite, more likely to let you in or make space for you, and the worst I ever got from an angry brit was an exaggerated shoulder shrug... in australia, they'd give you the finger (flip the bird), pull up next to you to yell abuse, even throw things at you for a simple mistake that anyone and everyone can make. After driving in the UK for a few years, I'm definitely a better driver over all and MUCH better at driving to the size of my vehicle. It only takes a few mirror taps for you to learn how big your car actually is! lol!
You can have air-con in the UK, there are plenty of firms that will fit it. In theory you could have a heat pump that provides warm air in the winter and cold air in the summer but I don't know anyone who would fit it. Failing that, cinemas and shopping centres usually have air-con
National outlook, in fact often very much regional, outlook can vary a lot in different countries. I know from living in various places that - England has several regional outlooks, Scotland is different, so is Ireland, So is Denmark (my country) or Sweden. But that is part of the deal that shapes life in these places.
Good list! British homes used to have net curtains but that's not as good as insect screens. You have some interesting books and stuff on your shelves: 'Norwegian Wood'; 'Creative Whack Pack'.
Alanna... with all due respect... I have watched your videos for a couple of years now and always enjoy them...mostly. But...I've noticed lately that you seem to be running out of ideas? ...and repeating "themes" over and over again. We get it...the U.K and North America...are DIFFERENT. Its been said a thousand times now, by a thousand different RUclipsrs. Time to move on...I think? Maybe more days-out videos? Showing beautiful Kent.
Oh yes, the roads and parking spaces! Just too narrow here for some Americans if pondering moving to England, I've heard. The aircon is also a luxury, in the UK; thanks to the Gulf Stream, since it's not 35+ for very long, maybe.
Tip: When you have flies etc, create an air flow... Open a window on the other side of the room, building... The flies, insects, bees will eventually follow the flow. If you have flies remaining once it is nighttime, you won't be able to get them to fly out into the darkness, but you can move them using your house lights... Switch off the light where they are clustered, and switch on a light where you want them to go for the night, they will fly there with a little nudge... Open that window at dawn, and they will be gone very soon.
Everyone who says we don't need air conditioning everywhere in the UK should remember how nice it feels to get in their air conditioned car on a hot day. I'm going to rant here but air conditioning is so popular in cars that you can't even buy one without it these days and we take it for granted yet for some reason people think it's strange to want the same level of comfort everywhere. Nowt as strange as folk.
Hi Alanna, not picking an argument here, you know I live ya...BUT.. our biodiversity is a function of our diversity of habitats which is, of course, less than much larger countries. Also, more air-con; larger roads and the resulting increase in cars...both these things are environmentally threatening and will only reduce biodiversity further. Like I say, not arguing, just sayin'. Cheers x
@@steven54511It shouldn’t have a U in it that’s a waste of paper which is a waste of trees which is a threat to the climate which is a threat to survival which is a threat to life which is a threat to knowledge which is a threat to safety which mean’s APOCALYPSE!
Now we need 10 things the USA does way worse then the UK. Should be easy right, 1) To many chemicals in their foods for example 15 ingredients in McDonalds french fries where in the UK there is only 3 (Potato, Salt, Rapeseed oil. 2) Everyone carries firearms. 3) US health system is for those who can afford it. 4) Poverty scale. 5) Employment and Tax laws, Brits get 28 days of paid leave per year. 6) Better Education. 7) Better social services 8) Mass Transport 9) Better Pubs, Clubs and other Entertainment. 10) I can't seem to think of anything else except the UK has fair less Karens.
Another top video Alanna,also Beavers have been re introduced to build dams,to help stop floods.& I was expecting air conditioning,one of you favourite gripes.
I would like air conditioning here in Croatia but I never felt the need for it in UK. To be fair I never lived as far south as Kent though. Even here I would only use it for about 3 weeks a year. My answer to the insect problem is just keep the windows shut! I did have window screens when I lived in Hungary but found not much fresh air seemed to penetrate them.
As an American, I lived with my fiancé for six months up northwest UK, especially during the summer time, I will say this over and over; AC is honestly unbeatable. Having experienced the mugginess and humidity of UK summer (though summer last like two weeks and then here comes Dark Souls weather), I honestly hated having to open the damn windows and using constant fans, especially at night. Sorry but not sorry, AC needs to be a thing.
At 10:45 - decent roads in the USA. Well, we Brits are used to our roads, but one thing that really bugs me is the size of garage built onto a house in the UK (if there's a garage at all) - 8 feet wide inside if you're lucky. Cars built in the last 40 years have got wider and nowadays you need the talents of a Hebrew camel driver to get a car into a British single garage and be able to open the doors once inside, so nobody uses their garage for its intended purpose any more. I look at brand new housing developments to see if housebuilders have caught on and they still haven't. I'm fortunate in having a bespoke-built garage that is 10.5 feet wide inside, but this ought to be the standard minimum nowadays. THAT is the ONE thing I - as a Brit - wish we could import from America - usefully sized garages.
I think Australians are the most optimistic people on the planet. I had a chance to work with an Australian company. I found a common saying was "she'll be right". This was sometimes an expression of irrational optimise that a circuit on which we were working would function correctly, or be ready by a due date. This was sometimes in fusttrating conflrct with the British engineering pessimism that "if something can go wrong it will, and even if it can't possible go wrong, it still will". It is a philosophy that results in obsesive attention to detail and contingency planning, so its not all bad, just very stressful. In defence of British natural pessimism i offer the following: An optimist is always going to be disappointed, but a pessimist is occasionally pleasently surprised.
I like that our wildlife generally doesn’t try to kill us.
I was walking along a sheep trail in the hills and met a red deer stag coming the other way. I looked at him, he looked at me. I got off the path.
@@charlestaylor9424 definitely more scary in rutting season
You've obviously never been to Chatham. 🤣
@@sarkybugger5009 I've been to Aldershot.
Yes , especially in the north of the US and Canada there are many things that would like to eat you.
Re porches - we don’t tend to hang out in our front garden. Other people? Hell no!
I dont know about anyone else but, I'd rather NOT have air conditioning. It absolutely murders my throat gives me a tickley cough. Sure it feels nice to be cool in the 2 weeks of summer we have, but I then sit there with a constant cough and sipping water all the time trying to get rid of the dry throat. When I DID have aircon in my hotel rooms the times I've gone abroad, It's been so damn annoying coughing all night and dying of thirst I've prefered the sweating.
Totally agree. What's wrong with opening windows.
Alana explains quite well why the carbon footprint of a North American is way beyond a UK citizen. Why should we cool our homes to stupidly low temperatures in the summer? If every quiet country road was doubled in width it would put hundreds of thousands of acres under tarmac and destroy the hedgerows too.
It’s difficult to be optimistic and cheerful when it pisses it down with rain 9 days out of 10. We try to cheer ourselves up by going shopping, but then we have to drive several miles on narrow roads just to get to a supermarket that’s open, only to struggle finding a space in the small car park. Then, when we eventually get in the store, we find out they don’t stock the crisp we like. When we get back home and the weather clears, some fucker opens a window because they’re too hot. The next thing you know, our boring crisps have flies all over them.
Like your content because I’m a self deprecating British guy. Subscribed. 😀
😂😂😂
As an American I would say that the great people of the UK shouldn't want to import anything from the US. The main thing I enjoy most about England is almost everyone has good manners. The lack of bugs is awesome too, NC has almost every species of insect known and it gets old.
There will always be areas where America outperforms England, and England outstrips America, due to their unique strengths and characteristics. Both countries have distinct qualities that contribute to their individual areas of expertise.
And, being Canadian, we often get the best of both worlds!
Don't know how densely populated it is where you are, but here in Scotland it's sparse enough that we see a lot of wildlife. Squirrels and deer (both of which you mentioned) for an example are a very common sight, saw loads of both yesterday when out for a bike ride.
Could definitely do with the insect screens up here though, especially in midge season!
We don't suffer midges down in the West Midlands but we see a lot of foxes, squirrels and hedgehogs, including the odd dog walker and nocturnal kitty.
Yeah, I see (grey) squirrels and foxes on a regular basis in South Yorkshire, even deer sometimes, too.
@@Dionysos640 the greys are reducing, pine martens have finally discovered they taste good, are on the ground more, are slower and fatter than the reds.
@@davey1602 And Badgers digging the lawns up
@@Dionysos640 I mean... Here in London we have deer lol.
Also here in London... there are more foxes than dogs or cats, we have Hedgehogs, pigeons, doves, magpies, crows, ravens, sparrows, hawks, parrots, squirrels, sheep, goats, horses, every type of fish or crustacean... i mean... literately thousands of types of animals... and most of these can be seen daily in large numbers in the middle of London... lol.
In North America, there is more land used for parking than for housing. They have eight parking spaces for every single car and that is a waste. We do not need or want that in Europe.
How’s it a waste america has enormous stretches of uninhabited land? They can afford to waste space if they want to
Is that true? Sad thought.
It does seem that there was a period where we wanted to pave EVERYTHING. I haven’t visited England, but it looks beautiful.
@@d3gres170 we have our rough bits.
@@d3gres170 yes, its due to zoning laws forcing x parking per square foot/unit unlike euro where its got a lot of discression
Hi Allanna, the UK is less than 2.5 times the size of Texas and densely populated [67m], I know this is a bit of fun but is it fair to compare us to the whole of North America? You points can all be counterbalanced or even tipped off the scale if we were keeping it real. Sorry if I got too heavy but I love this country too.
Yes you said it, we are densely populated here. And that’s what I don’t like. Most countries of the size of U.K. have about 8 or 9 million people in. Not 67 million. It’s impossible to make somewhere densely populated and not have an adverse effect on quality of life. That’s common sense. Traffic becomes challenging and stressful, people get more stressed with everyone clamouring for the same outcome. And the heightened arousal causes for friction and unfriendliness. So Alanna described this very truthfully and accurately.
A recent report showed that between 1980 and 2020, of 900 species of Canadian animals and birds studied, 460 species declined in numbers. Those 460 species fell by an average of 83.3 percent. So I don't see how N America is doing any better than is the UK. Both sides of the Pond are doing badly.
Here is a quote I found online:-
“UK wildlife is continuing to decline according to a new landmark study published today. Already classified as one of the world's most nature-depleted countries, nearly one in six of the more than ten thousand species assessed (16%) are at risk of being lost from Great Britain*.”
Nature depleted is an accurate description of Britain. It’s already got three times the population it ought to have and as we speak more boats are arriving here while the government welcome them with open arms, but tell us a different story. The population density here has gone too far now. We aren’t the size of Russia or Canada, we don’t have the land mass for all these people
Fellow Kent resident here, but of the coast dwelling variety. I bought a portable air-con unit ten or more years ago, but I doubt it's been plugged in a dozen times.
Open a window, close the curtains on the sunny side of the house, and turn on a fan.
Have you been to the U.S. in the middle of summer? That just wouldn't work in most of the country. It gets HOT and humid. And since you live on the coast, maybe its cooler there, or gets sea breezes?
@@CherylVogler That's why I mentioned it. I know that temperatures are generally less extreme on the coast, although the almost year round high humidity can make it feel hotter / colder than it actually is. Scandinavian and Alp dwelling friends have all said that British winters _feel_ colder than at home, although the temperatures here are way higher.
@@CherylVoglerlol clearly you know nothing about Uk life !
America has room to spread out we are hemmed in
We didn't used to need Air-Con, but climate change has come along! When I was a kid in Southern England, the temperature almost never got to 80F/27C. These days it often gets well passed 30C/90F, and we had 40C the other year! Utterly unprecedented! So, yes, we do now need Air Con in houses. We never used to have it in our cars, but we do now mostly, thankfully!!
I too would like not to drip in high summer, but I wouldn't want it turned as cold as Americans have it. Its bad enough having to take a sweater to the supermarket or shivering past the chill cabinets.
It's a cycle...in a few hundred or thousand years it will freeze. Climate changes...fact
American here - within two months of moving here, put screens on all my windows. We also have a portable air con unit and air circulator fans, the latter we use for 4-6 months out of the year cuz it just gets sticky and hot at night, and I like to sleep. We use the air con way more than a few days a year.
Ohhh the narrow roads - especially in places like Wales and the Lake District. Especially with the number of larger 'American-size' cars and trucks that I definitely see more often in the UK now.
They are also starting to release Bison into Blean Woods in Kent as part of a re-wilding project.
Hedgehog Flavoured Crisps were quite good - could explain the huge drop off in the number of them. Battery farmed Hedgehogs just don't taste the same.
They taste just like giant panda.
Flamed grilled hedgehog cooked over oak chippings are very tasty if washed down with a bottle of Rebel Yell
Shame they only come out around bonfire night@@terrym3837
Oh i remember Hedgehog Flavoured crisps. My dad would buy them all the time. It's funny to think that the were withdrawn from sale due to an alleged a breach of the Trade Descriptions Act due to it containing no actual hedgehog
I lived near Welshpool (Wales) back in 1981 I was walking down the Main Street of the town & noticed a large gathering outside The Vaults Pub, out of the door pops…Billy Connelly, he was there to launch the new Hedgehog Flavoured Crisps 😜
To quote Basil Fawlty 'Well, I'm sorry it (the road) wasn't wide enough for you. A lot of the English cars have steering wheels.'
The porch with a swing thing - we in the UK don't use the front of our houses to hang out. Places with a big enough back terrace or decking will often have a free standing swing seat. I can't imagine sitting on an open porch at the front, in full view of the neighbourhood - especially not in a swing seat.
You are missing out ! There is nothing better than sitting on a nice porch.
@@tina-g4h But not at the front of the house being watched by the neighbours
@@carolineskipper6976 Not where I live , and what's wrong with seeing neighbors? If you really want privacy , you can sit on your lanai in the back. I really like the homes with big , cozy porches. They are fun to decorate at Halloween and Christmas too.
To hang about outside the front of your house here in England would be considered weird, uncouth, low-brow, trashy and unbecoming, even a little arrogant. Its not done, and you'd be talked about and looked at strangely. Remember, here in England, its a very close environment, we dont have a lot of room. Most of us grew up in extremely tight terrace suburban houses, tiny things a fraction of the footprint of even the smallest houses in the US. To then annoy and otherwise be a nuisance to your neighbors would be very rude, and not practical.
@@OoshgaarSo true, if you have a big enough back garden or one at all, that’s where you’d hang out. Never in the front garden.
American here. Interesting. Always curious what non-Americans think of the US and I'm always pleasantly surprised by what people have to say because they say positive things. Though we are kind of taught by propaganda that the rest of the world hates/envies us because we're supposedly the best in the world - while I'm glad I was born and raised here I don't buy that we're the best in some things that other places have better. Health care & vacation days for example are horrible compared to most of Europe. I definitely don't take A/C (air conditioning) for granted but I think most of us in the US use it too much. I find it cheaper and comfortably effective for me to seal the windows or at least keep windows shut at all times to keep hot air out at all times unless it's a rare time where it's cooler than inside and otherwise I use fans.
Enjoyed your video. All the best to you 🤗
And the food is fresher and better in the UK. Americans are eating more food additives, according to a new study that found about 60% of foods they purchase contain coloring or flavoring agents, preservatives and sweeteners. That's up by 10% from 2001.
I love our twisty turning small country roads, it's fun to drive them. I'd love to try your 'die on your hill' crisps - intriguing.
All Dressed was new to me when I moved to Canada - but I agree. Best. Flavour. Ever.
America doesn't 'Do' more space, it 'Has' more space - sorry we're so small Alanna!
I didn't really think you said anything that was better, it was just different. A huge percentage of the US is empty of people, so houses can be larger, roads can be wider etc. That doesn't necessarily mean better. Many US homes have walls that are basically made from paper. I would prefer a brick-built house in the UK over a US home. You raved about your crisps, but having watched many of your videos, I know that your taste is not to be trusted! 😂 I prefer having wildlife that is not going to kill me! People can have air-con if they want, but we don't really need it. I purchased a portable air-con unit years ago and only used it about once every 5 years!
There are plenty of areas of the UK that are sparsely populated. All the national parks for a start!
Yes, a lot of American houses are just big sheds.
Houses that are composed of brick or stone and mortar are not as safe as homes made of wood in high wind storms such as hurricanes or tornados.
Look at traditional hones on the Atlantic in the UK vs homes in London.
Bricks or stone held together with mortar are extremely rigid and therefore brittle.
Unlike houses made of wood, which can naturally bend without compromising the strength of the wall and thus failing, a brick structure when it fails falls into itself crushing the occupants and anything else in their homes.
It does seem contradictory, but when you think about it then it makes sense.
I live an historic home in Corpus Christi, Texas that was built in 1920.
My home is a wooden cypress pier and beam foundation two story home that has completely withstood countless Hurricanes and Tropical storms the last of which was Hurricane Harvey.
@@christianoliver3572 we don't get hurricanes very often! The storm of October 1987 would count as one. First thing to go in a brick built house is the roof anyway. Can't think of a time when a brick built house was blown over. Chimney breasts definitely.
@@hairyairey Yes but unfortunately with climate change there are now so many storms that start in the Sahara as all Hurricanes and Tropical Storms do that almost make to Florida or even southern Mexico, then curve north and now for some reason want to head back east towards y'all in the UK.
Look I've in Coastal Texas now for 51 years so watching global weather patterns has always been something important and I've noticed a change at least since I was in my 30s of very dangerous storms heading for whatever reason towards my brothers and sisters in the UK.
And to quote one of my favorite American comedians Ron White, it's not that the wind is blowing....
It's what the wind is blowing!
A wooden fencepost or board from an American house is going to do nowhere near as much damage as a chunk of bricks or rocks when it blows into your neighborhood at 200 mph.
As a much older Canadian from the Hamilton area you may not be aware that air con wasn’t as ubiquitous when I grew up as it is now. Central air was quite rare and those that did have it in their home mostly had window shakers. We didn’t get it until I was an adult and then only in the bedroom for sleeping.
As an older American (age 75) who grew up in Georgia, it wasn't until I was in college that my parents had air conditioning installed. I couldn't imagine living without it today.
I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion, since I've seen both sides. And your observations are correct.
How about the diversity of U.S. weather? From Hawaii to Alaska to California to Florida!… No other country can match that!
Good shout...I get jealous of that...they don't need to go abroad for snow or sun
When I lived in South London certainly I would have liked air con. But living now on the coast I really honestly think last year it was never too hot to sleep, 2022 was different I guess
We have moose in the UK, just go to a supermarket dairy section 😆😆
And moose juice
Do you mean 'moos'?
I like the chocolate ones.
We used to have 'Hippo Pota Mousse' in the UK in the 80s but it seems like they are extinct now. They originally came from Chambourcy i believe.
Ah, racoons. By far my favourite racoon I met was at a "British pub" in Toronto in what must have been 2005 or 2006. It was absurdly obese and we first saw it when it flopped over the gate to the pub's garden. It turned out it was obese because it would just waddle over to tables and beg for crisps and chips/chips and fries. It knew it was onto a good thing but, alas, didn't know it was also likely locked onto obesity and a heart attack.
I suspect some people were also giving it a bit of beer in saucers, so I suspect it may have also had cirrhosis in its future. But at that point, that was a very happy, if obese, racoon.
All dressed ruffles are the best crisps! I only lived in Canada for a year but I developed a life long addiction.
For optimism, I’d add the energy you pick up in North America. I feel it when I land there. But being British, I love coming home to a gentler world.
This is Britain... If it's not essential... it's just not happening lol.
Another excellent video! Here in Bristol we have a 400+ year old almshouse that's been a chapel, a courthouse, a bank , a pub and now a department store lol. Pickle chips sound tasty! Sometimes I treat myself to a big bag of plantain chips imported from Jamaica.
no.1 - U.S. has better landscape and climate, hands down! Arizona, Cali...
People that say ''IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT GO HOME!''
Please don't, you are having a winge just like a true British person!
We may not have "trash pandas"/raccoons here, but foxes do pretty much the same thing and I find them quite cute (though I do keep a safe distance...).
Swinging in the rain would definitely have different connotations here.
I used to send my wife dill pickle chips, but the ones we had in the u.s. at the time were made with Olestra, which was found to cause bowel leakage, so I stopped.
Nine things North America needs that Britain does not. New title. You’re welcome.
Ps I had aircon in the house when I lived inAfrica and Mauritius. Each to their own you can buy it here if you want it.
We do need things like wider roads and larger car parks. My father often won’t even drive to cities r big towns out of fear of not finding anywhere he can park. And the size of the roads in Britain feel impending and unsafe. Not enough space between pedestrians and vehicles which is stressful and unpleasant
My husband and I would LOVE a porch with a swing seat! Insect screens are an amazing idea that I would love. It would mean we could open our windows without worrying that our cats will escape!
Yeah, so many of our roads were built just for horse and carriages and so many of our car park spaces haven't been adjusted to cope with all the huge 4x4/SUV-type cars that are becoming more common.
Porch swings are overrated. Most of the people who have them, have only ever sat on them for a grand total of 3-5 minutes in their whole life. Granted, there are exceptions. There are a few people out there who sit on their porch swing for 3 hours every evening sipping sweet tea. But those people are outliers.
I am okay with less dangerous animals.
I find it puzzling that you've never seen a tumble dryer in the UK. I've never not had one.
aircon is becoming more popular in homes in the UK. I have it in my house. It can be used for heating and can be cheaper than using gas for heating.
Did you have it installed and moved in with it already set up? I'd love to get it installed, maybe if I can ever buy a home.
Homes in the US being bigger is definitely an advantage. My loo is so small I have to back in to use it!
I've had my AC unit for 20+ years, yes I may use it one week in the year 😊 insect screens, I made my own. Love the terminology to describe the raccoons, trash bandits 😂
Netting (or net curtain) on the windows used to be a lot more common than it is now. And that was good at keeping insects out.
It is a (usually) white nylon mesh fabric you hang up between the curtains and the window. It is not at all easy to keep it clean though, which is why I think people don't use it any more.
Our windows usually open outwards, whereas I believe yours usually open inwards, which I guess is why we put the screen/net on the inside.
There are places in the UK are designed to be more car-friendly, like Milton Keynes, Swindon, Basingstoke, Cumbernauld. None of them are places that people enjoy living in.
see the aircon thing to me never bothered me in the UK... being Aussie, we have it in many homes here and older homes tend to have it at least added to the living room or the master bedroom or both. But also, our summer temperatures are double or more the average summer temperature in the UK so when I lived over there, summer was only hot two or three days a year to me. So maybe that impacted me not really noticing the lack of it. I do remember one time stopping at a services on the way to London during a "heat wave" of 27 degrees lol! But inside that services it was bloody hot!!! And it was a new modern services, it just didn't have working AC for some reason.
Are our roads too small for modern cars, or are modern cars too big for our roads?... 🤷🏽♂️
I totally agree about air con in houses & shops. Our summers seem to be getting hotter & it gets so hot when you can only open windows or put fans on.
A few years ago I had a wasps’ nest near my bedroom window & one night it was really hot, so I left the window open. Unfortunately, a wasp got in & stung me on the neck. I detest wasps.
I also don’t get the thing in the UK about putting washing on the line in the summer & on clothing racks & radiators in winter. I use my tumble dryer all through the year & don’t find it all that expensive to run.
I love how people in the US etc get excited about certain things, like Christmas cookies/biscuits etc.
I’m a British-American who grew up in Germany and now have lived in the US my whole adult life. I love my central air conditioning / central heating. Outside temperatures range from 0° (-18°C) in January to 100° (38°C) in July, but in my climate controlled house it’s always 71° (22°C). I don’t have to do anything and never have to deal with annoying bugs or noisy fans. I love my British family and I love my American family. I love watching BBC news, programmes and iPlayer without having to pay a licence and also love my American convenience and comfort. I know I’m spoiled and I’m OK with that.
Re Air Con. I can always remember when on a cruise with Royal Caribbean, an American owned company, that when we returned to the ship from a warm climate the ship seemed freezing cold from the A/C, enough to suspect I could get a chill. I suppose this must be the American inbred feeling that the A/C must be on full blast whether needed or not. Except for a few hot days (our short summer) we don't need it in the UK so the expense and energy usage is not warranted. Even in my 200 year old UK house it keeps cool in summer, even without cavity walls (solid brick).
There's a technique to keeping your house cool. It's a shame we don't use screens over our windows like the rest of Europe does. But basically use blinds to keep the heat out. Don't open windows on hot days it just makes the house hotter. Wait till it cools down outside.
We do need it in the UK. Between May and September my flat is too warm and when the temperature gets over 23c outside it's unbearable inside. That's the same for every other person I know who lives in a block of flats and it's the same in offices as well.
I was thinking about the expense, too. I think pretty much everyone is aware of rising energy costs (our smart meter's daily total is probably £1 a day more now than it was a year ago) so, unless the system was incredibly energy efficient, in practical terms, I think the average household would probably notice a big increase in their bills very quickly. (I wonder whether North America is just so used to having air conditioning that the cost is just considered to be part of running a household - or maybe they have cheaper rates?)
@@katehurstfamilyhistory electricity prices are getting up there in America too but at least in my experience with family and friends who live there they don’t run it all day and night except when it’s really hot (which is all year round in Nevada) but they don’t really have the heating costs we do in the hot states. Utilities have always been more expensive than for us because they have much bigger houses and things that need electricity.
My experience is limited to a handful of family and friends over there though so I’m sure someone will come along and say it’s different for them. It’s a massive place so there’s going to be a lot of variables
@@katehurstfamilyhistory most of the big outdoor air conditioning units that they use in America are pulling around 3kw of electricity when the compressor is running but like your fridge it’s not running all the time. It cycles on and off and in a well insulated house where people keep doors and windows closed it will be running in fan only mode most of the time which is probably about 200 watts at most
Hi Alannah, I was watching a TV show on Sunday evening called Rich Holiday Poor Holiday, and for moment I thought you were on it. It wasn't but the girl from the 'poor' half going to Croatia was an absolute double of you, albeit from your glasses days. Uncanny.
Love your stuff.😊
😂 so funny!
I saw that and thought the same!
@Escapee5931
It was only when she spoke that made me realise it wasn't her, and when the tattoos appeared that sealed it.
Will you marrie me I m from India
In my back garden in a suburb of a northern England city I have seen hedgehogs, squirrels, moles, mice and a fox. Among others the birds include sparrows, bluetits, robins, magpies, blackbirds, thrushes, woodpecker,seagulls. It’s a small garden. We are not short of wildlife,except perhaps the dangerous types.
TBF we do have wild cats and pumas, there's just really rare these days. We also have scorpions down in the Kent/London/Plymouth areas. So have fun with that.
I'd like racoons, but I guess we have to have badgers instead. :P
As for aircon... We didn't need it 20 years ago, we sure as hell need it now. Times change.
The first two houses I grew up in both had room for a big porch, we just never had one. We've always lived away from the bigger areas so we aren't packed in like sardines, but even with plenty of land porches aren't that common.
I can't say I have much issue up in Yorkshire with bugs flying in. But we have nice big gardens that are set away from windows so less likely to fly in I guess?
Most homes in the UK have a combo washer-dryer so you can just set them to wash and dry without having to remember to swap over.
Most issues seem to be Southern and Big City problems rather than UK problems as a whole. 😅
I got snap window screens on magnets to keep flies away -- it works like a charm.
We tried something similar to keep the mosquitoes away (Peterborough has loads of lakes). Unfortunately the cat damaged some of them!
Made my own, use fibreglass insect mesh, staple to a wood frame, fix frame to window with magnets or Velcro.
The raccoon part of this video gave me a good laugh! 😂
London is not the england the further away you go from it the nicer the people
*further north. Don't go south of London!
I've never heard of a raccoon being called a "trash pandas." Then I thought about it and I couldn't but laugh 😂 because that's exactly what they are. Thank you Alanna for starting my day with a smile and a laugh!
😂 You are TOO KIND Brian, bless you! 🙏
In Australia, their equivalent is the "bin chicken" - the Australian white ibis, a big bird that has an annoying habit of rummaging for food in bins and is utterly unafraid of people!
Also cockatoos and any member of the corvid family.@@DaddyStoat
The UK has foxes in abundance that do that job, but they generally stay away from humans.
We bought an electric fan during a warm spell in 2022. We didn’t even bother getting it out of the loft last year as it was such a poor summer. I like having the bedroom window slightly open for fresh air nine months of the year( and the bedroom door open in winter to stop it feeling too stuffy). Unless I forget to close the curtains after dark we very rarely get insects inside. Certainly not often enough to merit reducing our light and view with screens.
Great video Alanna!
Glad you liked it!!
old english homes are build to retain heat.
yeh, you know what else they do really well? keep the heat out. if you learn how to keep windows and doors closed, you have a nice cool home for almost all of summer because the house doesnt get drenched in heat throughout.
also, if you want air conditioning, just get some, you can easily get large portable units, and theres plenty of companies who install aircon in the uk. just get one installed xD
EDIT: you also dont have the bugs comming in, personally. i open my windows at night time, closing them if i go to sleep or when i wake up if i wake up early. lets cool fresh air in, and all sealed up for the day.
Where I live I do notice a few hedgehogs From time to time but only at nighttime. They are so incredibly cute and sweet.
I would be absolutely devastated if their population decreased even further. As a child I used to see them a lot more.
As an animal lover, I love all animals( well maybe not rats)
I used to have hedgehogs in the garden, but now we have badgers. Badgers eat hedgehogs. Increased protection for one has had knock-on effects on the other. We meddle with nature at our peril.
We don't have the flipping space for big roads and car parks.
I used to see Racoons every weekend in England in the 80s and 90s, but I've not seen Burt, Lisa and Ralph since then.
Trash pandas😂 great name, but we have enough trouble with foxes digging through our bins.
Another great video.👍...back in South Africa every home is surrounded by high fencing and barbed wire. Every window has burglar bars bolted over to slow thieves. So I don't miss that
I’d imagine them pickle dill crisps you mentioned would be sort of like a flavour that’s either been discontinued or really rare here in the UK, called Pickled onion flavour in walkers we had. At least somewhat similar so I could sort of imagine what flavour you describe.
... this has made me realise that I saw hedgehogs all the time when I was a kid in the 90's and early 00's but now I genuinely cannot remember the last time I saw a hedgehog
We definitely need AC in the UK these days. Again, as a kid it was totally different, it never got hot enough to require it. As a teen I think we had like 1 day up here within that decade where it got hotter than 30c, now we get multiple weeks higher 30c
You kinda touched on it with convenience but I wish the UK had more 24 hour stuff that's not McDonalds. All I want is to sit in a diner at 2am drinking coffee and eat apple pie
Yes everything is bigger in North America - especially their waistlines and voices,
We don't often have window screens here because most homes traditionally have net curtains for privacy which fulfill much of the same job.
I'm a bit late to this party, Alanna, for which I do apologise. (Blame it on the divorce I'm going through 😥)
"Trash panda" for raccoon is a new one to me! For some reason, I want to think of that epithet being applied to the skunk, though I get the impression that they merely smell like trash, rather than trying to help themselves to it.
3:21 Who could forget that classic A&N short, How can you tell when it's summer in the UK? ("No air conditioning.") Ironically, my first experience of air conditioning was walking into a department store with one of my parents ... in the North West of England! I remember clearly the sign on the automatic door: "Air conditioned for your comfort." It wasn't especially hot outside, but the blast of cool air felt very refreshing all the same. It was on a visit to Las Vegas in the USA in the summer of 1998 that I truly realised why Americans are so much in love with their air-con devices. Stepping from the hotel into the Nevada desert air was rather like opening an oven door and sticking my head in.
8:06 I have to agree, as a British person who has a phobia of flies (don't judge me I saw a close-up of one and never got over it, they're horrible 😭😭) I seriously wish that we had screens like this to keep them out. Although maybe that lack of exposure would make my fear worse, idk 😂🤔
There's several companies who will sell you fly screens in the UK. However, since most houses in the UK don't have sash windows (they tend to have the type that swing open rather than slide up/down) they're hard to fit.
Raccoon’s are adorable, but whenever I see one, I run inside because of the one story of the woman getting her face torn up by one. But they are precious to look at, and have definitely gotten into the trash a few times.
"I will die on this hill" 😂
I want those crisps
😂 I hope you can find them someday, definitely worth trying!
@@AdventuresAndNaps Thanks for the entertainment 👍
Those pickles don't have much flavour, they mostly just taste of the vinegar used to pickle them. I can't see the crisps being much different to salt & vinegar.
Uk doesn't have fire flies....and as to front porches and swings I think that has to do with social norms. In the 1850 - 1950s the front porches were use in the US as gathering spaces to talk to visitors and neighbors and they just kept that architectural space going.
My grandparents had a Racoon they named chatty. They can be good pets too actually.
🇨🇦 What you say about A/C (Air Con in the UK) doesn’t automatically apply to the Pacific Coast of North America. Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, even Los Angeles, A/C is not in every home like it is in Ontario. It’s becoming more common with drier, hotter summers, especially after Vancouver’s heat dome in June 2021 when temps climbed to 110F/43C, and over a hundred died without A/C in their homes, but it is still not in every home, not even in cities like Los Angeles. Screens on windows we do have.
our older cities in Australia have squishy roads, but not as squishy as the UK roads. They were a shock to the system. That said, British drivers were far more polite, more likely to let you in or make space for you, and the worst I ever got from an angry brit was an exaggerated shoulder shrug... in australia, they'd give you the finger (flip the bird), pull up next to you to yell abuse, even throw things at you for a simple mistake that anyone and everyone can make. After driving in the UK for a few years, I'm definitely a better driver over all and MUCH better at driving to the size of my vehicle. It only takes a few mirror taps for you to learn how big your car actually is! lol!
You can have air-con in the UK, there are plenty of firms that will fit it. In theory you could have a heat pump that provides warm air in the winter and cold air in the summer but I don't know anyone who would fit it. Failing that, cinemas and shopping centres usually have air-con
National outlook, in fact often very much regional, outlook can vary a lot in different countries.
I know from living in various places that - England has several regional outlooks, Scotland is different, so is Ireland, So is Denmark (my country) or Sweden. But that is part of the deal that shapes life in these places.
Having watched your channel for several years now, there's a lot of hills that you will die on, Alana. 😂
Good list! British homes used to have net curtains but that's not as good as insect screens. You have some interesting books and stuff on your shelves: 'Norwegian Wood'; 'Creative Whack Pack'.
Wildlife? We have LOADS of wildlife: birds, foxes, er. ...LOADS. lol.
Alanna... with all due respect...
I have watched your videos for a couple of years now and always enjoy them...mostly.
But...I've noticed lately that you seem to be running out of ideas?
...and repeating "themes" over and over again.
We get it...the U.K and North America...are DIFFERENT.
Its been said a thousand times now, by a thousand different RUclipsrs.
Time to move on...I think?
Maybe more days-out videos?
Showing beautiful Kent.
Aircon is becoming more common. I had it fitted last year and OMG it was awesome. Roads are narrow but most weren’t built for modern life. 😅
Oh yes, the roads and parking spaces! Just too narrow here for some Americans if pondering moving to England, I've heard. The aircon is also a luxury, in the UK; thanks to the Gulf Stream, since it's not 35+ for very long, maybe.
Tip: When you have flies etc, create an air flow... Open a window on the other side of the room, building... The flies, insects, bees will eventually follow the flow. If you have flies remaining once it is nighttime, you won't be able to get them to fly out into the darkness, but you can move them using your house lights... Switch off the light where they are clustered, and switch on a light where you want them to go for the night, they will fly there with a little nudge... Open that window at dawn, and they will be gone very soon.
Have you put a hedgehog shelter in your garden Alanna? Somewhere for them to hibernate? I keep meaning to, never get around to it.
You do know you can make your own insects screens like we do lol
Everyone who says we don't need air conditioning everywhere in the UK should remember how nice it feels to get in their air conditioned car on a hot day.
I'm going to rant here but air conditioning is so popular in cars that you can't even buy one without it these days and we take it for granted yet for some reason people think it's strange to want the same level of comfort everywhere. Nowt as strange as folk.
Hi Alanna, not picking an argument here, you know I live ya...BUT.. our biodiversity is a function of our diversity of habitats which is, of course, less than much larger countries.
Also, more air-con; larger roads and the resulting increase in cars...both these things are environmentally threatening and will only reduce biodiversity further.
Like I say, not arguing, just sayin'.
Cheers x
Made my own window screens, 2cmx2cm wood, L brackets, fibreglass insect mesh stapled to wood. Velcro to window frames or magnets.
American "Have a nice day" Brit " No thanks" Love our humor. 🤣
Humour even....
Gottcha!👍@@steven54511
American: Have a nice day
Annoyed Winston Churchill: I've made other plans!
Gotcha! 🤣@@steven54511
@@steven54511It shouldn’t have a U in it that’s a waste of paper which is a waste of trees which is a threat to the climate which is a threat to survival which is a threat to life which is a threat to knowledge which is a threat to safety which mean’s APOCALYPSE!
I have just added Kettle Chips Dill Pickle & Jalapeno Sharing Crisps To my Supermarket shopping list, I hope they are good!
Now we need 10 things the USA does way worse then the UK. Should be easy right, 1) To many chemicals in their foods for example 15 ingredients in McDonalds french fries where in the UK there is only 3 (Potato, Salt, Rapeseed oil. 2) Everyone carries firearms. 3) US health system is for those who can afford it. 4) Poverty scale. 5) Employment and Tax laws, Brits get 28 days of paid leave per year. 6) Better Education. 7) Better social services 8) Mass Transport 9) Better Pubs, Clubs and other Entertainment. 10) I can't seem to think of anything else except the UK has fair less Karens.
Chill out...she knew you'd get triggered though didn't she!
Another top video Alanna,also Beavers have been re introduced to build dams,to help stop floods.& I was expecting air conditioning,one of you favourite gripes.
I would like air conditioning here in Croatia but I never felt the need for it in UK. To be fair I never lived as far south as Kent though. Even here I would only use it for about 3 weeks a year. My answer to the insect problem is just keep the windows shut! I did have window screens when I lived in Hungary but found not much fresh air seemed to penetrate them.
As an American, I lived with my fiancé for six months up northwest UK, especially during the summer time, I will say this over and over; AC is honestly unbeatable.
Having experienced the mugginess and humidity of UK summer (though summer last like two weeks and then here comes Dark Souls weather), I honestly hated having to open the damn windows and using constant fans, especially at night. Sorry but not sorry, AC needs to be a thing.
At 10:45 - decent roads in the USA. Well, we Brits are used to our roads, but one thing that really bugs me is the size of garage built onto a house in the UK (if there's a garage at all) - 8 feet wide inside if you're lucky. Cars built in the last 40 years have got wider and nowadays you need the talents of a Hebrew camel driver to get a car into a British single garage and be able to open the doors once inside, so nobody uses their garage for its intended purpose any more. I look at brand new housing developments to see if housebuilders have caught on and they still haven't. I'm fortunate in having a bespoke-built garage that is 10.5 feet wide inside, but this ought to be the standard minimum nowadays.
THAT is the ONE thing I - as a Brit - wish we could import from America - usefully sized garages.
I think Australians are the most optimistic people on the planet. I had a chance to work with an Australian company. I found a common saying was "she'll be right". This was sometimes an expression of irrational optimise that a circuit on which we were working would function correctly, or be ready by a due date. This was sometimes in fusttrating conflrct with the British engineering pessimism that "if something can go wrong it will, and even if it can't possible go wrong, it still will". It is a philosophy that results in obsesive attention to detail and contingency planning, so its not all bad, just very stressful.
In defence of British natural pessimism i offer the following: An optimist is always going to be disappointed, but a pessimist is occasionally pleasently surprised.