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?

You mean a terraced house, which are perfectly normal and safe over a great deal of the country.

Get a grip.

Give me a good old terraced house in any part of the country over a flat with concierge.

Neighbours walking past my front door? No problem.
Neighbours stomping about upstairs and having to share a front door? No thanks.

Op are you born and raised in the uk? These sort of houses exist in pretty much every city. In terms of safety, it’s entirely area dependant like with most houses check the crime stats. Some of these terraced houses at pavement level in a leafy area of London would be close to a million but then for example in a rundown part of Liverpool wouldn’t be anywhere near as expensive.

Houses with drives in a high crime rate area would probably encounter similar levels of issue to be fair.

People staring in with their noses pressed up against the window is rare I should think. I have lived in houses like these in a city several times without any problems. A Ring doorbell can help if you’re worried and a secure lockbox for parcels is another option. Otherwise you’ll have to move to a cheaper area to buy the house you feel secure in.

Honestly some of them are in lovely areas and so beautiful. For downsizing and retirement they’re ideal.

I am a superfan of this kind of house. When I lived in the netherlands, most houses went straight to the pavement, and had large windows in the front so you would regularly see into someone's room, usually with a big table/desk, flowers on it etc. It seemed normal to me. The last decade I've been a single mum of two girls in an inner city terrace and I've loved it. I know a lot of the neighbours and the kids know they could knock for anyone in an emergency. It feels really safe as it's so surrounded by people.

I'm now about to move to a bigger house with a front garden / side entry and am, opposite to you, worried about safety. I've had the front garden cut down and wish the door was on the front.

If I was a criminal / weirdo I'd certainly prefer houses that were more secluded.

I wonder if there's something going on OP with your feelings in general about not wanting to live alone. Craving the safety of your parents, worrying about access. Could you stretch to a 2 bed and have a lodger/housemate?

It isn't unsafe at all OP.

It does feel different.

Those things are not the same.

I have gone from living in an isolated place to a house of that kind, and it does take a bit of getting used to. No wandering around in the buff with curtains open.

There is also safety in having other people around. We once observed someone loading furniture into a van at our neighbours in the night when they were on vacation. (It was her sister, but could easily have been a burglar.)

DB and I lived in an old cottagey type terrace like this when I first moved out and it used to annoy me that people could tell from standing outside on the street whether we were in, lights, tv etc on, no avoiding the parents when they turned up unannounced.

I live in a house almost like this, front garden almost the width of my car, I'm two steps down as the road is on a slope which makes it feel better coming off the street but worse inside as you're slightly lower than the street. We have screening up on half the windows, they're Georgian style but it adds privacy. If I had sash windows I would have had shutters which I think would help too.

I am desperate to move but not because of the street, it's the light! The street is too cramped to really let the light in. View any like that in daylight.

My first house was like that, all the rest of the houses on the street were the same, it's very common where I live. I live in a very safe area though and only once had any issues at all. . (parcels were a pain but luckily I had lovely neighbours who took them in).

it was all I could afford, but I was very happy there, I rented it out after I moved out to live with DH and my tenant has been very happy there for 10 years.

We had a student house like that! What was worse was the front door opened into the sitting room... directly in. Every time someone popped round a gush of weed smoke would flood into the street!

Isn’t that what curtains are for?

Love all the posters referencing these as starter homes, a good way to get on the housing ladder, or for those of lesser means

Sorry, I may have said that but was referring to my own situation and of some people I know and not meaning anything else. I know people who have lived in terraces quite happily all of their lives, they can be surprisingly spacious and full of character. I'm not exactly in a mega mansion now! I'd actually like to go back to a cosy terraced house but would like a bit of front garden just to provide that 'buffer' which I suppose is what the OP doesn't like about them.

I don’t want to buy one like that either. I have a house very suited to introverts (not overlooked so I can be out the back or the front in total privacy. I’ve got so used to it I’d struggle to be so exposed.

Thousands of those round here. In general, people use the back door (or side door if there's one in the ginnel) if the front door opens straight into the living room.

My previous house (my current one sounds very similar to your parents) was a two up, two down terrace, but it had a small front garden with a gate. The gate had a squeak everytime you opened it, so I decided not to fix it so I would be alerted if someone was coming to my door. See if you can get a house like that (and add your own squeak 😁).

I know. I was merely saying they're massively common elsewhere.

I can't believe it's seen as standard to leave parcels outside 😱 I thought this was agreed beforehand or a really shit delivery person who does not care about your packages . I would lose my everlovingshit if they left stuff outside -i would even pretend I never received it, because fck em where's your proof that I did.

Lol my mum's gate has an almighty grindy squeak and her neighbour must have misophonia because he always complains about it - but she's an old lady by herself so she likes it for the reason you said 👍.

Neighbour might just be pissed off hearing a grindy squeak, it may not be impacting her ability to achieve life goals, and enjoy social situations (which is the impact of misophonia).

Yes it was reported at the time.

I also put blinds up after that and made sure my door was always locked. I had a habit of leaving it unlocked at the time. Just glad it was locked on that occasion.

So just a bog standard terraced house?

My house is similar. I just don't really use the front door, and go round the back instead. Only downside I've found is that some delivery drivers (despite instructions to the contrary) will leave parcels on your front door step. I'm lucky enough to live in a lovely little village, and have never had anyone take anything, but I don't like it anyway!

Look at this ‘bog standard’ terrace!!

www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/70760129/

OP have you never watched Coronation Street?