> I find it fascinating that despite not having the house+back yard that many Americans strive for
As someone who spent the majority of their early childhood (ages 3 to 9) in such a house, then lived in an apartment in a city (without an elevator on top floor), I never understood why anyone would want a house.
What do you even do with that much space? I live in a very comfortable 52m^2 (560 ft^2) studio and I don't have enough stuff to fill even half the storage space. Sure the kitchen is a bit small, and I guess the bathroom could be slightly more comfortable, but you can solve those with a bigger apartment; a house adds whole extra rooms.
Seriously, what do people do with that much room? Granted if you have a kid and a spouse you'd want something more than a studio, but my mum's apartment is about the same size as my studio and was a 2-bedroom. The three of us (mum, sis, and me) lived there for 15 years together and we were perfectly fine.
Hell even when it was four of us (dad as well) and we lived in that giant house, we only really lived on ground floor, which was essentially a 2-bedroom apartment, and the attic and basement were pretty much empty and/or filled with a bunch of junk.
From the best of my observation, houses are expensive, take up a lot of time, and largely empty/useless.
I'd be happy in a flat or a house. The right space is more important. I live in a small 2 bedroom house and I wish I just had a tiny 2m square study, somewhere which was my own space where I could e.g. safely leave my soldering iron set up and my kids wouldn't mess with it. Also my kids share a room and they don't have enough space to play Lego without having to put it away at the end of the day. I would really like it if they could have thier own rooms or a small playroom. I'm pretty sure this is not good for them or me. Also a utility room for the washing.
>Also my kids share a room and they don't have enough space to play Lego without having to put it away at the end of the day
Having a safe spot for the soldering iron sounds like a good idea, but as far as putting away legos goes ... do you really want to teach your kids not to clean up after themselves? Those sorts of habits spill over.
Always putting things in their rightful place has been one of the most important lessons I've ever learned. That way your place is always tidy and you never have to explicitly do any tidying up.
There's no rightful place for a multiple-day build that hasn't been finished yet, though. You can't build complex stuff if you have to start from scratch every day.
The solution when I was a kid was a loft bed, it really saved a lot of space in my fairly small bedroom.
>I live in a very comfortable 52m^2 (560 ft^2) studio
I guess I've got you beat for efficient living then? I live with my wife and our 4 kids in a 3030 sq. ft. home, which then works out to 505 sq. ft. per person. Also it depends on where you live, but in some areas it is cheaper to buy than rent, because you are just cutting out the middle man known as a landlord. Or I guess you can think of yourself as your own landlord.
Well, yes. Cohabitation is always more efficient than living on your own. And the difference per head is essentially just 5m^2, I bet my balcony that's almost useless takes up about that much.
And renting or buying, I would always go for an apartment. I just do not understand houses. If I wanted more room, I'd go for a bigger apartment ... like those fancy 2400+ft^2 two-storey apartments.
As someone who spent the majority of their early childhood (ages 3 to 9) in such a house, then lived in an apartment in a city (without an elevator on top floor), I never understood why anyone would want a house.
What do you even do with that much space? I live in a very comfortable 52m^2 (560 ft^2) studio and I don't have enough stuff to fill even half the storage space. Sure the kitchen is a bit small, and I guess the bathroom could be slightly more comfortable, but you can solve those with a bigger apartment; a house adds whole extra rooms.
Seriously, what do people do with that much room? Granted if you have a kid and a spouse you'd want something more than a studio, but my mum's apartment is about the same size as my studio and was a 2-bedroom. The three of us (mum, sis, and me) lived there for 15 years together and we were perfectly fine.
Hell even when it was four of us (dad as well) and we lived in that giant house, we only really lived on ground floor, which was essentially a 2-bedroom apartment, and the attic and basement were pretty much empty and/or filled with a bunch of junk.
From the best of my observation, houses are expensive, take up a lot of time, and largely empty/useless.