I have taken literally thousands of showers in America and that isn't consistent with my experience at all. If it takes more than ten seconds for my shower to heat up, it means that the water heater is dead and waiting any longer won't make a difference. The only place I've had to wait longer than that (but still not long enough that I'd go sit down to wait) is at some hotels, maybe because their plumbing is longer?
I grew up in a multi-story ~1700 sq ft home where I took daily showers on the second floor, traditional tanked hot water heater in the basement. Took < 20 seconds for water to turn hot.
You turn on the hot water, and you get cold water. Then you sit and wait for a few minutes until you start getting hot water.
Depends on where you are. In places I've lived in the southwest, you turn on the hot water and you immediately get hot water. You turn on the cold water, and you immediately get very warm water.
Because it's the desert. And the water comes from outside, so it assumes the ambient temperature. In the winter you might get "cold" water, but it's nothing like the cold water you get in places like Boston or Minneapolis.
Had similar experience in Beppu, Japan. Not only is it at the southern tip oj Kyushu, but also very vulcanic with hot springs everywhere - like, there is actual scolding steam comming out of pavement in some places, specially in the Kanawa district!
At first I wondered why they have those mini fridges in japanese hotel rooms and this is why - only way to get cold water in the summer is t put it into the fridge first! :)
A few minutes is an exaggeration. I would guess 15-30 seconds. Obviously it will depend on location. Some places it happens faster, some places slower. But I'm fairly certain I've never had to wait more than 60 seconds anywhere in the US.
In fact I just went and checked with my shower - 23 seconds. And I haven't used any hot water since last night.
No, it can take a few minutes. A big factor is the diameter of the pipes used to carry the hot water. See: This Old House videos on the topic. Bigger is NOT better here; a larger pipe may take several minutes to empty out of cold water before hot water starts reaching you.
In the rental house we just moved from a couple months ago, the last homeowner did several amateur projects (or hired a handyman who worked at that level). They fitted a larger, elevated water heater, but also "upgraded" the water pipes in the attic to a ridiculously large diameter. Between that and the rental property management fitting water-saving low-flow fixtures, you could turn on a hot water faucet and go boil tea on an electric kettle (or something) in the meantime. By the time you're done drinking the tea, the running water might be getting warm.
I believe you, but my hunch is you're an outlier. I've lived probably a dozen places in the US, not to mention the likely hundreds of places I've slept throughout my life. I don't recall every having to wait more than a minute for hot water.
Ultimately this is just my anecdata. Maybe your story is more common than I realize.
Anywhere can have plumbing issues and having wide hot water pipes is a problem as it waste energy when they cool down.
In such cases run the hot water in your sink it dramatically increases the flow rate. Alternatively, install a tankless water heater next to the shower.
Long waits are more common than you think. Suppose you have 100 feet of 3/4" pipe and a 1 gpm showerhead, it takes 2.3 minutes for water to move from your water heater to the showerhead. And you not only have to move the water, but heat up the pipe itself, so it takes even longer. I'm living in such a home now. I'll be installing a recirculation loop as I remodel. And probably some point-of-use heaters.
