To find it hard to adjust to this kind of home?

[Firefumes]

I recently viewed some houses, where the front door/windows are right at pavement level. So people walking past the house can easily see in, if you were unlocking the front door, others would be directly behind you if they walk past. Aibu to feel this is a bit unsafe?

I’m sure many people manage okay. It’s just that I have had my own apartment for a few years. It’s a nice apartment complex with restricted access, gated entry, concierge so feels safe. I’m also on the 2nd floor. So I feel risk of theft or break ins are low.

Previously I lived with my friends at university, and before that I lived with my parents. My parent’s house has a long, steep driveway and a porch. Their front door isn’t accessible at street/pavement level to passers by, you’d have to take the stairs. As a result, they’ve never had any bother from strangers and their house feels safe. Was no bother leaving parcels in the porch as they were covered from street view.

But something about the houses I viewed recently, just felt unsafe. Like they were too accessible to members of the public, people just naturally end up in close proximity and able to see inside. Aibu to write these off for that reason?

The house we lived in London is like that. Door opened straight to the street. We used a curtain for the door which had glass. The windows had shutters on the bottom half and nothing on the top so there was alot of light still.

It was in Chelsea and I assume would have a value of over £3 million. So not too 'horrendous' to even contemplate.

It would put me off a house. I did live in one similar as a child until we moved. My own home is set back from the road and we have a front garden and large drive. People still look in if they are passing and the door is open.

You didn’t call the police?

You’d get used to it. It’s safe. I felt the same when i moved to a bigger house on a road. Previous cottage was surrounded by fields.

Agreed, these are hugely common.

To not want one, fine, but to be surprised by them?

This is a very common style of housing in my city, the vast majority of city centre based/near housing is terrace properties that open onto the street. It wouldn’t be my first choice if I had the ability to be choosey but it wouldn’t be a showstopper for me.

For those who are unfamiliar with the style I’ve attached some pictures (might take a while to show as all pics have to be approved)

Im thinking that there used to be many houses like that in villages and also in parts of London. They used to be called "workmens" cottages because thats what they were. On big country estates they were for the agricultural workers and the servants of the big house. In London they are called mews cottages and are very expensive and desirable. You step straight into the main living room from the street, Our house had a kind of corridor (lobby) with the rooms leading off it. We used to play there as kids.

As some PP have pointed out most of the houses in the working class parts of large cities were like that. This is a very normal way for older houses to be built. Its only in the later 20th century that new builds were made with spaces for cars and set back from the street. Most will have some private space at the back.

Another thing thing about such older houses is that they are difficult to insulate to a C standard. So there may be many of them going cheaply if the new regulations come in as they will be difficult to sell. But if Labour gets kicked out that may change.

There are millions of these types of houses in the North (and probably in many other regions). I lived in one years ago and never once had a problem with it (or ever invented problems that could happen).

Horrendous? I've never lived in a house like this, but there are millions of them. By all means say they're not to your taste, but to say they're horrendous is kind of an overreaction and insulting to those who live in them. They're not dreadful hovels, just normal houses for many areas.

I lived in a house which fronted straight onto the pavement, you're less likely to be broken into because the doors and windows are visible to everyone, unlike houses hidden up driveways with trees etc providing plenty of cover for the burglars.

You can get blinds to screen the windows so people can't peer in. It's fine, although maybe a little noisier if it's a route with lots of footfall

You don't have to buy one but I'm guessing that's what your budget can stretch to.

"There was only a living room & kitchen downstairs"

Oh dear, how ghastly. One cannot fathom how anyone could live like this. Sounds positively primitive.

There are millions of terraced houses exactly like that all over the country. If you’re on a restricted budget it might be the only type of house you can afford. It’s never occurred to me that they’re particularly unsafe.

Our last house was like this and actually I didn't think anything of it. It was our front door and kitchen next to the pavement and we just had blinds in the kitchen that I'd shut in the evenings. It was quite rural though so there was more car traffic than foot traffic. I never felt unsafe but it was quite a nice area.

If you'd avoid a ground floor apartment, then surely any house would also need to be avoided as they are all ground floor...

It's a very normal house - but I don't like it either - although not for your reasons, but was worried about a child bolting straight out into traffic.

Mind you, even set back, I don't like living in houses where the front door opens straight into the living room - I don't like the drafts, or anyone at the door seeing straight in. I much prefer a little hall or even just a little jag (this is what I have at my old house) so people have to come in to see into the room.

I’m not privileged but I have a decent enough income from work to live alone in London. Hence starting out by renting an apartment with concierge.

I bought my first home in the late nineties (a 3 bedroom house,Victorian terrace), front door opening right onto the street, with my lounge window right on the street. It cost me £41,000 and the deposit was approx £2000.

it was nothing like my childhood home or house shares & a bedsit I’d rented previously.

it was the best financial decision of my life. Admittedly not London, but a suburb of the city I live in, not necessity the best area, with a pub at the bottom of the road. I put heavy voile curtains up and yes I heard people talking/walking past but wasn’t a problem with safety - if anything very safe as it was in a well lit street.

all that said, OP, you need to feel safe in your home so don’t buy a house like that if it doesn’t feel comfortable but there are literally hundreds of thousands of houses like this in the UK

It’s a bit rude to describe how millions of people live as “horrendous”.

I hate to break ot to you OP bit if you are looking for a house in London, that is a very very common type of house. Even many expensive houses in desirable inner boroughs look like that (although yoi.may get steps up to the front door).

If you go out to the suburbs you will see more houses with small front gardens (and I mean often just enough space to stash your bins.)

If you wamt a big front garden and porch you need to go further our or have a lot of money.

To be clearer it’s a house without a driveway nor front garden, as in the doorstep is the pavement.
You mean like the old terraced houses, like the ones in Coronation Street. If so there's millions of them!

Im from a northern town and they are quite normal there! The first house I bought by myself was one of these. The front door went straight into the living room. I got a vestibule built to give a bit of distance from pavement to room, mainly to conserve heat if I had to open the door in winter.

I had diamond leded windows and a frilly met curtain so that gave privacy. These days there are more window dressing options that are more modern. I never felt unsafe
My house was like the one in the picture.

@MiniPantherOwner ha ha. Try living in a flat like I do! The sheer horror of gasp "only being able to afford a flat" that often gets expressed on these threads.

Exactly! Reading this thread makes me feel like I’m in some sort of parallel universe, with people who have no idea how millions of others live.

OP - it is very common and in many places will be the lower end of the market. I'd reframe things a bit - you live in London, have a good salary and want to buy. You're buying as a single woman - safety is a key consideration, that's perfectly sensible.

I'd see what your budget buys in various permutations - what does a house set further back cost, v this type? What about if you move out to the next zone/tube stop? What about a flat (not with a concierge, just a low rise block with manageable service charges)? How is street lighting, proximity to the tube and high street in each of the above? Safety isn't a one-size-fits-all.

I have to say, my personal fear w/housing is actually housing with a dark/dense front garden or something set back from the road - I think it would be easier for someone to hide there in wait (sorry). When we bought our house I installed a floodlight with a sensor, and a Ring.

Your description makes it seem like an oddity when in fact these are many people’s homes throughout UK. Having said all that, I understand your point. I think you need to get a bit more facts about perceived safety and actual safety. If someone was fallowing you, I’m not sure a front garden would necessarily save you, or that larger houses hidden from street view are less likely to get burgeled! I lived in a house direct on street and I knew my neighbours, there was always lots of lights on and a bit of bustle so it felt very safe to me. If you want a house in London I’d imagine any other options will be limited within a presumable budget. So perhaps better to acquiesce to the idea or ask agents if anything else available. (Gated new builds?)

I lived in a terraced street house for a few years. Northern town, full of them. It was never a problem. I had net curtains and nobody really looked in.
This was back in the late 80s/early 90s when their wasnt the same crime rates as nowadays .