A traveling mum has revealed the four biggest culture shocks she has experienced since moving into a house for the first time.
Heidi McDongh Clee is an Irish traveler who is married to an English gypsy, and the couple moved into their first home a few years ago, after living in a caravan all their lives.
The mother of two posted a TikTok under her name. @h.mcccdescribing all the aspects of a house that you don’t like so much.
Heidi McDongh Clee is an Irish traveler who is married to an English gypsy, and the couple moved into their first home a few years ago, after living in a caravan all their lives.
His video has already been seen by more than 44,000 people, who have given him some advice in the comments.
Heidi told viewers: ‘Here are some things I hate about living in a house, while getting my eyebrows and eyelashes done.
‘Context, I am an Irish traveler and I am married to an English gypsy. For most of our married life we’ve lived in a trailer somewhere and stuff like that.
“This is the first time we’ve lived in a proper house and I’ve noticed some differences.”
Nobody knows their neighbors.
He revealed that the first shock to the system was that “no one seems to really know their neighbors or the people who live next door.”
The mother-of-two explained: “When we first moved into this house we made a point of chatting to the people next door and luckily they are lovely people.
“But in general, no one seems to really know who’s next if that makes sense.”
The mother of two posted a TikTok under her name @h.mccc, describing every aspect of a house she’s not so fond of.
“I haven’t seen anyone really talking to each other, everyone does their own thing and you see that regularly on the news about people who have died in their own homes and it seems standard.”
‘No one would have noticed. Someone has been dead in their own home for months, even years, and it’s normal for no one to notice.
‘We could get to a completely different end of the country and not know who is in that yard or place, but you go out and talk to people and you get to know everyone.
Then, over time, you all mingle and chat. “People can live here for years, next to each other, in houses, and not know who the person next door is.”
Get sick more easily
Moving on to the second point, Heidi added that her children have suffered much more minor illnesses since moving into a house.
She said: ‘Next here is the disease. So before we lived in a house, my kids never got sick, they never took antibiotics or anything like that.
‘But since we got here, the kids have been sick with silly things like coughs and colds and whatever, or they’ve needed to go to the doctor and get antibiotics.
“I swear it’s the central heating doing it because obviously in the trailer and stuff you don’t have central heating so it’s not a problem.”
‘Houses are not healthy for you, no joke, they are not healthy.’
Lack of freedom
Understandably, the traveler adds that she does not like the lack of freedom that having a house imposes, compared to living in a caravan.
He told his 52,000 followers: ‘Another thing that baffles me is that there is no freedom here.
‘Obviously when you’re in a trailer you can move much faster and get from one end of the country to the other if you want to.
“We still have the trailer and we can tow it anywhere, but we don’t do it as much now that we have the house; we don’t move as freely as we would have.” He just feels a lot less free, it’s hard to explain.”
Less sense of community and no children playing outside
Talking about her children’s experiences since moving into a house, she addresses another aspect of home life that has left her confused.
Heidi said: “I never see kids outside playing, that never happens.”
‘I don’t understand where everyone’s children are. Luckily, we are within walking distance of the sites, so my kids just go there and play all the time.
“They go out constantly down there, but here I don’t see anyone’s children playing.”
And he adds: “Also, if you are at a site or a camp, children are always entering and leaving the places, and adults too.”
‘So when you’re in a trailer, you’re at each other’s houses a lot for a cup of coffee. Every once in a while you just come up and chat like that.
‘But that doesn’t happen here, I don’t think there is much of a sense of community. “All the women would just walk into someone’s caravan, have a coffee and stay there for two hours.”
The TikToker concludes: ‘I will never see anyone visiting each other here and that is a very important thing. Nobody really visits each other’s houses. Those are the main things I really don’t like.’
Commenters were quick to chime in with their own experiences and advice.
Commenters were quick to share their own experiences and advice, with one writing: ‘Open the windows regardless of the temperature for five minutes a day, it helps! I do that and my children stopped getting so sick.’
However, Heidi responded: ‘We live with them open and the doors, but I’ve noticed how unhealthy it is.’
Another wrote: “My whole street knows who’s who.” I’m in Scotland,” and a third added: “Where I’m from, everyone knows each other and if they don’t, someone else will, so does Scotland!”
Meanwhile, someone else commented: “I’m from the United States and this is true for us too, but when I visit my family’s town in Mexico, everyone knows that everyone is very nice.”
Others chimed in: “I don’t know if it’s an Irish thing, but I always make the effort to get to know my neighbors.” It makes me feel safe’ and ‘I always need to know who my neighbors are.’ Luckily they have always been great.’
Another viewer added: ‘I live in a house. “I can’t understand how people don’t talk to each other, I always talk to my neighbors, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen them talking to each other.”
Someone else advised: “I agree, central heating is dry heat, I’m always coughing, always sick.”
It comes just after Heidi previously revealed some of the things she hated about living in a trailer.
He encountered problems mainly when the cold winter months arrived, explaining that they usually got their water supply from outside through taps or cans and that simple tasks became more complicated in the colder times.
Heidi admitted that even the simplest tasks, like making a cup of coffee, could be a challenge, especially if the water jug at home was empty, which meant going outdoors to fill it.