Soul Destroying House? Is this one?

[Lillipuddlian]

Hello, apologies in advance if this irritates anyone. My husband and I are dual Canadian/ British citizens. We currently live in Canada but are considered moving to the UK. The big push is climate and what my husband describes as "soul destroying houses with no character and no garden." Below is an example of the homes in our price range (350,000 UK)... this is very, very typical of housing near our jobs. Tell me your opinion, please! Are we picky, or is my husband right, these houses are soul destroying... (not an advertisement!)

premierottawa.ca/property/651-birchland-crescent/

I think when you get to the root of his objection though it is more the location - being miles away from anything, surrounded by similar houses and snowed in for six months of the year that is getting him down. A lot of it comes down to what other people are living in - if you lived in a house like that in London (or Slough!) you’d be feeling pretty well off as it would cost you millions, in that part of Canada where they are ten a penny less so. I don’t think you’d be complaining it was soulless if many of your friends and neighbours were in tiny terraces, poky new-builds and flat conversions, when everyone lives in a house like that you might well be longing for something to make you stand out from the crowd with a bit of individuality. It’s a First World problem.

I love the house!

It's very North American in its style. It's a typical 'American' tract home but it's very nice. I know you're in Canada, but it's a similar style to the States.
As for climate, you're pretty much swapping one crummy climate for another.
I think your DH has set the bar too high. If he's not happy with that house, I'm not sure what kind of house would make him happy.
If he wants character, renovate a massive old farmhouse in France. It could be a labour of love for you both.

The climate isn't crummy either in the UK or Canada! In the UK it is lovely and mild and the rain makes the flowers grow and everything so GREEN in this green and pleasant land! Canada has proper seasons—hot summers, winter wonderland Christmases, beautiful vibrant autumns. (Granted the winter can be too long and the spring is filthy...)

@Lillipuddlian

Now I suppose the schools would be full of heathens, drugs, crime

No the catch is that theres not much infrastructure so no big shops or entertainment. You'd still need to drive to supermarkets and hobbies etc. The schools are good but not brilliantly outstanding or anything. Just run of the mill type schools.

Yes there probably would be Heathens too because religion is incredibly varied and theres plenty of every variety everywhere in the uk. And those Pagans even influence local village festivities too. (Google the Abbotts Bromley horn dance)

OP, I think you mentioned a budget of £600k. What about near Penrith? Very pretty there.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-67046600.html

And if you want to test the waters, maybe rent for a year?

@BettyBooJustDoinTheDo

The great thing about the uk even if you don’t live in a historical house is that we are surrounded by history, historical buildings cities, towns, villages all so easily accessible to everyone, so very easy to get that historical/character fix wherever you are. One of the major reasons I could never live in Australia is I can’t imagine ever living somewhere where I can’t visit a country pub for lunch with old beams and a roaring log fire, or wandering round a Cotswolds village and having a cream tea in a ye olde tea shop!

Errr, yes, this is exactly his complaint. Canada a brilliant place to make money, live to work. He misses the sea, history, York, railroads, Cornwall, France, Roman roads, free museums, rose gardens, etc.

We have no boot sales, no village fetes, no English Heritage or National Trust. We have rocks, trees, lakes (repeat) and jobs, a booming economy but nothing to really do... geographically we are isolated, even in our own country... hours and hours to drive to the next city. My province alone... you can drive on the highway for 24 hours and still be in Ontario.... and see nothing.

Great place if you like to ski, camp, avoid bears, mosquitoses, etc. Not so great if you like European culture, history, vibrancy, old villages, architecture, cobblestones, fantastic literature, music, culture... opportunities to travel easily....

Big houses are not enough... a small house, a vibrant culture, community, travel... silly things like gardening, rambling, the WI, great books... first world problems, yes... but what a difference to living in an antiseptic, boring car and drive-through coffee culture.

@Chrys2017 your description of Canada very accurate... have you lived here?

Urgh that really sounds horrible. I love living in the uk (yes, even in London!) and being not that far from anything. I have lived in London practically my whole life and I could still walk a new street with a quirky building every day. And that’s without touching on the the beauty in the whole of the UK. In fact the USA and Canada really cannot touch Europe for culture and history, they are still the new world really.

I live in a Georgian house, I’m with your husband on this!

I moved from the US to the UK, if you're looking for that sort of perspective. No children so can't comment on that part though!

As an Aussie getting the feck out of London I can't believe all the comments about Canadian identikit house, just like the rows and rows of terraces or semis that are the same apart from a different coloured front door

After this long shit winter I am happy to lose ye olde pubs with roaring fire for 9 months of the year for actual sunshine 9 months of the year! But I've been in London 10 years and am slightly jaded by it all now.

If your dh is homesick then no amount of reasoning will make it better for him. If you're able to move to the UK and see how it works for you then I'd say go for it! It's a great place but it was never my forever home (no way do I want to be an OAP in this weather!)

GreenEyedGoose totally agree about the similar looking houses. When I first came here I felt like someone had made some sort of rectangular brick roll, shaped a roof on top, and then sliced it here and there. Of course there are houses in the US that look similar, but I always felt there was a wider variety of materials and colors. I suppose it's whatever you're used to!

Im not a McMansion fan. Especially row upon row of them, all with big windows to give you a much better view of the 10 billion other McMansions sitting on your doorstep.

But any move abroad is about much more than the house you live in. Which country offers the kind of lifestyle that suits you both best? Which climate?

Kismett are you talking about new build houses?

@Whatthefoxgoingon I am always pleasantly confused when people say they "love living where they do.." It's like a foreign concept (no pun)..

We would give up extreme job flexibility and higher salaries. SIGH. Much higher, extreme flexibility. Four little ones. Tough decision.

These houses are technically too small to be classed as McMansions, which I keep seeing references to. They are round about 2500 square feet, which is a bit above average. In America, they have massive homes 4000 square feet, which are "McMansions" proper.

That being said, it is more space than a family needs and those big, airy living rooms are not cosy at all. So the theory does still apply... but they aren't really big houses by NA standards..

@Chrys2017 your description of Canada very accurate... have you lived here?

Yes I did, for 15 years before coming back to the UK. I love both places but England is my home.

@GreenEyedGoose Good luck w/ your move back home! My husband was always interested in Australia and NZ. I hear NZ is silly prices, but beautiful.

I think w/ Australia being a newer (to European settlement) country, that our countries would have a lot in common. I live in the capital, for example, which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere, full of silly servants and quite dull. Not that there is any comparison, of course!

Your climate wins, hands down. I think it's fair to say we both have big cities well distributed, not too much in between. Canadian cities are clustered along the American border, Australian cities near the ocean (forgive my ignorance) and perhaps not a whole heck of a lot in between.

We both have a long non-European native history and culture. But being European, I feel like an interloper, an immigrant w/ a bit of seniority, but not much!

Best wishes with your move, yours is an interesting perspective!

We get LOADS of sun here... the summers are four or five months of sunny days (May to September) and it is sunny all winter, but the cold. Oh. The cold. Brutal. I work in hospitals and this place is no place to grow old. (unless you buy a winter condo in Florida)

@Chrys2017 ah ha. Your description of the housing was too good! Which part of the country were you in?

I think that house is bloody gorgeous OP! You’re right, it is completely lacking in soul because it’s being marketed; all the photos and stuff and quirky bits have been hidden on purpose. I’m sure you could make it lovely in no time.
It looks far more airy, spacious and featured than new build houses here for twice that price. Unless you are looking in remote areas of the UK, you will struggle to find a better house than that. And our weather is totally shit. I’d say it’s defo a win for Canada!

@Kismett, yes would love to hear your perspective.

We have rocks, trees, lakes (repeat) and jobs, a booming economy but nothing to really do... geographically we are isolated, even in our own country... hours and hours to drive to the next city. My province alone... you can drive on the highway for 24 hours and still be in Ontario.... and see nothing.
Great place if you like to ski, camp, avoid bears, mosquitoses, etc.

I think you've summed it up very well there. Canada's cities are nowhere near as interesting or diverse or cultured as European cities (although I always enjoy the cleanliness and cheap shopping when I go back to visit!).
To make the most out of living in Canada you really need to love the outdoors and the remoteness and the wild places (and I'm not talking about a perfectly-groomed National Trust park with an ice-cream stall at the end of the mapped path, which many of my UK friends consider to be getting out into nature!). :-)

The British economy is about to implode post-Brexit. Public sector spending is being squeezed ever tighter, reducing the quality of education and health services. Unless your jobs are recession resistant it’s a crazy time to move to the UK.

@Chrys2017 wrote "perfectly-groomed National Trust park with an ice-cream stall at the end of the mapped path, which many of my UK friends consider to be getting out into nature!"

Husband's idea of perfection, actually. Hates camping. "Too many trees."

@MedicinalGin I am just wrapping up six months indoors. It's still, what, zero degrees today? Four small children. Nightmare. I think the rain sounds romantic at this point. ((delusional)).

You almost have to get away from the winter here and go "down south" or you lose your mind. It's a very unhealthy climate to try to stay active in. No. I don't ski. lol.