What type of housing would you not want to live?

[WomenHour]

House , Flat Penthouse , Caravan etc

I would probably not want to live on the top floor of a massive block of flats, couldn't be bothered.

@lljkk

Quite warm! In a 60 ft narrowboat you are only hearing 45-50 foot max. Insulation is usually spray foam or can be wool or polystyrene. With wood over the top.
A log/coal burner or central heating will have the place warm quickly. I’ve spent more than one winters day sat in t shirt and shorts with windows open with a coal fire going and cooking a roast dinner !

My ideal would be a cosy cottage in a sleepy village with a medium sized garden. I've lived in lots of different places and could do almost anything, flat, bungalow, terrace, semi, new build, town, city and having my own garden isn't a deal breaker but I couldn't go back to sharing communal areas again and I need to be warm and safe so I think a boat or a caravan would probably be out. I also wouldn't want to live anywhere that was too big for me and my family and have loads of empty, cold rooms gathering dust.

Anywhere spooky with long narrow corridors.

I would LOVE to live in a caravan. I really like the minimalism and the cosiness.

Any thing where I have close neighbours is a no for me.

Otherwise not that bothered but the older the better

Somewhere with no neighbours within shouting distance.

re bungalows - thanks for the replies. Opening windows at night isn't really an option here due to the bugs. Most houses have air con to cope with the heat in summer.

A lot of houses have these small strained glass windows at the top which can allow air in but no chance anyone could get in them.

Feeling safer upstairs is really odd. If something happens you have no where to go.....except downstairs or out the window.

A high rise flat in an undesirable and rough area

I could live in a mobile home without worries but couldn't do a tower block even if it was super posh as I am scared of heights. I also wouldn't been keen on even the loveliest cottage in the middle of nowhere with no neighbours.

@Onestepup you're right, what a snobby thread this is.

Thurmanmurman
People having preferences about where they'd not want to live is snobby?
Surely if everything was equally desirable to everyone then the houses would cost the same amount to buy?

My friend lives in a beautiful flat in London. Based on my very limited knowledge of London it seems to be quite a nice area too. Her flat is worth quite a bit more than my house.

I'd still take my house over her flat any day because I don't want to live in a city, I don't want to live in a block of flats and j like my garden.

How is that snobby?

It would depend on the budget, family commitments and work access surely?
I prefer no noise from traffic or neighbours, so at least a few of hundred yards between houses, not on road so no need for ghastly net curtains, good walking off lead from the door with ready access to the sea. A strong sense of community and people with similar values to us as neighbours. A decent plot for growing fruit and veg, somewhere generally sleepy and safe enough to walk around at midnight on your own.

Where I would prefer not to live in full time is a flat (but nice for odd weekend in the city), a suburban executive detached new build house, an estate of any sort but particularly a gated estate, a very poor coastal town, on a main road, anywhere with neighbours with dismantled cars, caravans or motorbikes in the front garden, anywhere near anyone flying a St George’s flag, within sight of a ‘sports pub’, next door to a seriously unkempt garden or property.

I couldn’t live in a new build. I find them creepy- the developments always look so soulless and make me think of a toy town.

I think I’d struggle somewhere really isolated too as I’m pretty afraid of the dark and have a very overactive imagination!

I lived in lots of flats between 18-23 and although at the time I didn’t have any huge issues with it, I think the noise now would drive me mad. There always seems to be a heard of elephants living above you when you live in a ground floor flat!

As long as I've got thick stone walls and a bit of outside space, I'm fine.

Currently in a late 1800s mid terrace and it's the quietest house I've ever lived in. Grew up in a "naice" middle class new build semi and this terrace is so much warmer and quieter.

I think I could live quite happily in a nice spacious flat and it’s something I would definitely consider if I were to find myself single.

Any flat
New build
Somewhere with no garden
Caravan/park home
White and glass cubes

I have friend who lives in a beautiful house in a small valley in Devon, surrounded by fields, woodland & hills. It’s a good 5+ miles of winding narrow lanes to get there & the nearest neighbour is a farm in the next valley a couple of miles away. It’s a gorgeous setting but just so isolated, no one would hear you scream. I love visiting but to live there would be my idea of hell.

@Crispyturtle

I have friend who lives in a beautiful house in a small valley in Devon, surrounded by fields, woodland & hills. It’s a good 5+ miles of winding narrow lanes to get there & the nearest neighbour is a farm in the next valley a couple of miles away. It’s a gorgeous setting but just so isolated, no one would hear you scream. I love visiting but to live there would be my idea of hell.

And imagine how long an ambulance or fire engine would take to get there?

I like isolation in small doses. We’ve rented some pretty remote holiday cottages. But hell no I wouldn’t want to live in these places.

I couldn’t live in an isolated house either, they always look scary on their own.

I’d happily live in a caravan.

Crikey, some very entitled comments here. I get this is asking for ideals but the comments saying 'I couldn't live in anything but a detached with acres of land' are extremely snobbish. Really? If you lost all your money you couldn't lower yourself to live in a terrace or (shock horror) a council house?!
I loved my terrace, I had fantastic neighbours. I lived in a flat as a child without a garden, I've lived on council estates and in many different types of homes which all had their merits. I now live in a detached period home with a large garden but I could most definitely live in most homes happily.

Anything high up
Anything with glass walls, stairs or would be high maintenance to clean
Anything else I think I could make it work

anything too isolated or too big or with a large garden. spent large parts of my childhood abroad and got used to small and cosy but central flats so love those. Lots of people, life and not too much cleaning - lovely.

I wonder if most of this is basically dictated by where people grew up - if you grow up somewhere where flats/living centrally is the norm then you'll aspire to that, but if your childhood was somewhere remote in a detached house then this might be your ideal property.

am currently sitting with an open window overhearing a couple of emergency vehicles driving past, traffic and people chatting.....am a stone throws away from a royal london park, a couple of major museums a short walk away, kids playground just across the road and I couldn't be happier. I've got a lovely flat and life is going on just behind me -just how i like it. Feeling sad that we are going to leave it behind and move to the burbs in a couple of months....

Well for anyone going on about 'poor peoples houses' or 'snobbish' I couldn't live in 99% of what appears on grand designs or escape to the country if that helps?

Flat above 2nd floor. I hate lifts so would be awful needing to use one all the time. I know I could actually walk to 3rd, 4th,5th etc but would be knackered with shopping etc.