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?

Don't like the sound of the back to back idea, with only one door, but I suppose no different to a flat or apartment in the end. It would suit certain budgets and lifestyles though.

We used to live in a terrace, albeit with a small front garden. One of my children’s young friends came round and looked with genuine curiosity and said, ‘is this a terraced house?’ His question was innocent of course. I would expect an adult to have more rounded knowledge of housing stock though!

It will take some getting used to but I doubt it's unsafe.
People staring in is an issue. I keep the front room tidy, no obvious valuables, and don't wander around naked in there. Also close the curtain at night, which is most of when I used it.
An upstairs flat in a good block is about as safe as you'll ever get, and feels that way too, so maybe consider that if you're nervous

All those posters telling the OP she doesn't know her own privilege are giving her exactly what she wants.

Faux naiveté is one of my absolute bugbears on places like this, there is absolutely zero way that the OP has never come across a perfectly standard form of housing, it may not be to her taste but there is nothing wrong with it. Some of the quaintest Victorian cottages I've been in have been terraced like this, and they're highly sought after due to their character and central location.

Sure, if the area you live in has the propensity to be a little rough then it may be different, but plenty aren't.

But don't feed this kind of bullshit. The OP knows perfectly well places like this exist, and just wants to be told how upper middle she is, how successful she must be in her 20ies etc etc. Otherwise what on earth is the point of the post?

This is the bizarrest thread - I grew up privileged but am of course aware that millions of people live very happily in bog standard terrace houses like this. When I landed in a northern city for uni this is exactly the type of house I lived in and even then didn’t give it a thought.

driveways and garages aren’t your usual first time purchase and in a city, many people will never own a house with these.

If they’ve never ventured into the cold, dark reaches of the kingdom of the north they’ll not be familiar with the rows and rows of normal housing stock

In my village the FB posts about opportunist break ins happen to the more isolated properties, and ones with outbuildings.
It would be a bold robber to bash the door or window in, in a row of houses where someone is very, very likely to see.

They have them in the south too!

They get parcels in the same way anyone else does.

ahh well I guess OP walks round with eyes shut then. Probably a rage bait post

id say the biggest concern is traipsing dog shit directly into your living room if you didn’t notice you stepped in it

I had that same experience years ago,
Had lived in various flats for about 8 years and then temporarily moved into a terrace right on the street. It used to really unnerve me when I saw people straight outside the window
I didn't stay long enough to get used to it, but definitely know what you mean.

Check for traffic issues as well. My friend lives in one where the front door opens onto the pavement and then the main road through the village is in front. It was ok when she moved in with a limited amount of traffic going past.

However due to major roadworks on the A road nearby, people have started using the village as a short cut to bypass the roadworks but the road can't cope with the amount of traffic.

From about 7-9am and 3-6pm, the traffic backs up in and stands in front of her house. The lounge and her bedroom is at the front and there's constant traffic noise outside which can be heard in her house. She can't open the front windows due to the exhaust fumes. The front windows and door are always filthy now.

They're fed up with the dirt and disruption and are looking to move.

We brought in standards for insulation in New Zealand some years age, but exceptions are made for houses where it is just not practical or possible.

So they will just leave them on the street, outside your front door? That would put me off. At least we have a porch away from foot traffic.

Usually there is an alleyway between terraces leading to the garden.

Surely this is not SO unheard of? About half the houses where I live are this style!

I have a flat facing semi myself. I actually feel very safe with everyone just out front walking by. It's a residential area so not crowds of people, but always enough that I think if anyone did try to break in they'd likely be spotted very quickly!

No? They knock and if you’re not home they leave them with a neighbour or redeliver another time, just as they do with other types of house 😬

All very common set ups all over the country.

Many houses like this have a yard at the back, and delivery men will put parcels there too.

I've lived in loads of these houses, totally the norm in South Wales mining towns, for example. It's fine, you get net curtains and people can't see inside.

Wish I'd not read this thread, as the house I've lived in for the last 10 years is like this, and I've never felt threatened! I live in quite a deprived area, too. Was all we could afford and still can't afford to move.

We have film on part of the windows, so no-one can see in and parcels get delivered next door or they come back another day. We take parcels in for our neighbours, too.

I'm in S Wales and every valley has thousands of houses like these. I'm in a city and there are many here, too.

Words like horrendous and awful are quite frustrating. We can't all afford to live in a nice leafy suburb with a driveway and large front garden.

I currently live in one! A small porch area has been added just inside the front door so it's not directly street to front room. I have one way film front and back of the house, so no loss of light and full privacy. Mine has an extension at the back though, so my living room is on the middle of the house. The front room is my office/at studio.

I live in an old mill town, so the majority of the houses are like this. Still expensive to rent. My landlord is selling up, and these little houses rent out at between £900-1200 per month, a 40% rise in just the past year. I'm having to throw myself at the mercy of the council for a new place, as they are now unaffordable for a single income household.

This is in the North West.

It's not just coronation st style, terraced houses in northern towns though is it?
Aren't million pound townhouses in parts of central London like that also? Front doors opening directly onto the pavement?

Absolutely. There are streets full of houses like my 1st image above near me (about as South as you can get), they're worth a small fortune.

No, they knock on the door, just like I'd expect them to do if I ever reached the dizzying heights of having a porch!

This. I live in a city where it's very common. I know people who live in them, it's not a problem - they're usually suitable for a lower budget/first time buyers. Get net curtains or blinds, keep your door locked. It's fine.

Exactly! It's perfectly normal