I haven't seen a single London or Edinburgh flat (which on average will be much smaller than the US ones - even Manhattan) that hasn't had a washing machine in.

I haven't seen a single London or Edinburgh flat (which on average will be much smaller than the US ones - even Manhattan) that hasn't had a washing machine in. One of my friends flat was incredibly small but still managed one. Definitely some weird cultural thing that people rent flats without them. You wouldn't be able to do that in the UK.