New survey shows how the British (mistakenly) think New Yorkers live

A new survey asked what the English think American homes in different regions look like, and what they think of New York real estate revealed an opinion formed more by Hollywood than in reality.

A new campaign called “This Just In” from real estate portal Homes.com asked Brits to describe what they thought were the unique characteristics of residences in different regions of the U.S., and while they were right about certain location-specific traits, much of what they thought of New York was exaggerated by media representation.

Repeatedly, survey respondents listed Carrie Bradshaw and the cast of “Friends” as their first thoughts when describing New York City residences, which were pictured with exposed brick work, steel beams and huge windows, Homes.com reported.

“As a former New York City resident, I can attest to the major disconnect between apartments as featured in ‘Friends’ and the reality of affordability and space in real life,” Grant Simmons, vice president of search marketing for Homes.com, stated.

When asked to describe the typical New York residence, respondents did get closer to the truth with some of their replies, as terms like “small” and “high rent” appeared frequently, according to Homes.com.

Regarding their opinion of the typical American home, terms like “American flag” and “4×4 parked outside” made regular appearances in the survey results, Homes.com stated, adding that while most Americans do fly the flag at home or at work, the bestselling car, as of 2016, was the midsize Toyota Camry.

When asked about other locations, the English had cliched opinions about what each region’s homes were like, according to the survey. Florida turned up results like “swamps” and “alligators” while Silicon Valley conjures images of “big houses” and “big pools.”

The English were correct with two of their opinions: Most American homes do indeed have a porch or patio, a feature that routinely appeared in the survey results, and most homes do contain at least one pet, the survey added.

“While white picket fences are popular in some U.S. suburbs, thanks to Hollywood they have become a defining characteristic of the ‘typical’ American residence featured onTVshows like ‘Desperate Housewives’and ‘Modern Family,’” Simmons was quoted.“For most of the population in America’s larger cities, though, the dream of a house in the suburbs isn’t quite practical.”