tonrob

Kettles are sold in many places. You can buy British tea in the small British (or "Irish") section of many supermarkets (high prices though) or do what most other people do any buy it from Amazon. When Amazon has occasional sales it's cheaper than Tescos.

Mallory

The separate hob, with the double oven in the wall, was popular 20 to 30 years ago, but things go in and out of fashion. My MIL's house had them separate (stainless steel), and it was built in the 1960s. The manufacturers change things up, so that things will become dated. Just like the colour of appliances, flooring, etc. That look you are talking about got old fashioned, here, and they moved to something else. It all goes in cycles - keeps people buying!

frrussre

Have not bothered to buy or bring tea bags from UK, for last 4 or 5 years, go to any super market, buy "Tetley British Blend", around $3 for 80. Very acceptable cup of tea. Problem is not just the tea bag, its the water & the milk.

Electric kettles, do a search, several threads on the subject.
Reg. Frank R.

frrussre

For anyone thinking of bringing, appliances, from UK:

Have you ever seen the size of the step up transformers 110v - 240v, some are as big as shoe boxes & weigh a ton. Cost can be in the 100's of $$$$$$$$$$$.
Voltage is not the only problem.

You will have to remove plugs & replace, with really crappy cheap & nasty USA 2 pin plugs or of course you could, buy plug converters. Converters might be ok for 2 week vacation, but not full time living.

Even clothes that are fashionable in UK are not the fashion here. Electronic's, a nightmare.

Reg. Frank R.

fsm

My electric kettle came from Target.

http://www.target.com/Proctor-Silex-...Akettle&page=1

Changed the look and the price is $5 dearer than when mine was bought.

Unless your item is rated as dual voltage, don't even consdier bringing it.

Hellopaul

Brat1 - We're thinking of Charleston, SC at the moment, but we're still undecided. The plan (so far) is to probably buy something around Charleston, see if we like the area, see where work takes us, then quite possibly move to another area/state if we need to and rent out the house. A bit vague, but it gets us out of this icy cold country! Looking for a bit more of this and a bit less of this !

Hellopaul

Yep, the joys of marketing. In UK, it's almost essential to have a HUGE stainless steel industrial 'range cooker' with at least six mammoth gas burners and an oven large enough to roast a small child. And you'll find these in poky little terraced houses up and down the country! Absolutely pointless unless you regularly entertain an entire football team .

Englishmum

http://www.tetleyusa.com/OurTeas_Products.php?tea=BB

(store finder in top right hand corner)

fatbrit

Simple answer:
4 wires can't be connected to 3!

Complicated answers:
You'll be able to deliver the same power from a US 220v socket. However, you have two separate phases and equipment must be designed for it. So if you are designing an element for a US dryer, you'll put two windings inside it instead on one. Ignoring earth, the connections to it will consist of: live (Americans always call this hot) 1, live 2, and a common return. On a UK 220v system, the winding would be a single one with just a live and neutral.

You're lucky even to get your full allocation of 110v here unless you live close to the transformer. Pains me to say it but the electrical supply system is decidedly third world and suffering from a major lack of investment. This is the land of brown outs, I'm afraid.
Be sure to call it in when the power goes out -- the electric company has no idea until you make that call!

On the 50 - 60 Hz difference, the main consequence if you use a transformer is that some electrical motors are designed to operate at only one frequency. The consequence of operating at the wrong frequency by using a transformer to change the voltage is greatly increased wear and less efficiency.

Conclusion:
Forget bringing appliances over! More pain than it's worth.

Mallory

Both my SIL's in UK have the Aga stoves. One never cooks, and the other spends half the year out of the country! Status symbol. LOL. High end ranges are popular here in expensive houses though.

In the UK, there is a lot of doing up old houses, and people are picking and choosing their appliances. In the US there have been more new houses built, and I think the (male) builders just stick in them what is most convenient for them.

BTW, temperature to be 70 deg F in Charleston today.

frrussre

Every Publix, Winn Dixie in Florida sells them.

Reg. Frank R.

wordfool

TEA! It's all about tea. Electric tea kettles are appearing in the US, but be prepared to wait... and wait... and wait for them to boil thanks to the feeble 110V supply. I'm amazed at how fast kettles boil when I go back to the UK!

For the record, good strong Indian, African, Sri Lankan and Chinese tea is easy to find at numerous online retailers. In fact I can buy better quality loose-leaf teas in the US than I can in the UK. If you're craving floor-sweepings tea, however, then PG Tips and other Brit brands are easy to find in shops. And beware... Americans will call any disgusting infusion of fruity herbal crap "tea" because they know no better.

Ceramic hob... don't bother bringing it IMO. In fact any appliance that requires rewiring or a step-up transformer is not worth bothering with, since it'll probably conk out without nice and pure UK leccy.

And yes, US electricity supply is a joke, from the fluctuating voltage to the old wooden poles with wires and transformers strapped to them. Some cities have started undergrounding supply lines, but most still string 'em up for the weather and occasional tree to mess with.

Jerseygirl

Forget the ceramic hob...it probably wouldn't be to code thus cancelling out your householder's insurance. With these tinder box houses it's just not worth the risk.

Hellopaul

Yeah, I do always have a good laugh at the sheer disgusting ugliness and ludicrous impracticality of all those wires just hanging around through the trees, with dodgy transformers just about hanging off bendy poles. Good job there are never any hurricanes or anything to blow them down though!!??!!

helwardman

I bought a bog-standard kettle from Target when I first moved here (over 2 years ago). It boils just as fast as any I ever owned in the UK.

Also, I've never found it difficult to buy good tea or tea bags here, even in the most basic of stores (e.g WalMart).