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/

Lilli we've been looking for ages because (a) we're fussy, and (b) we've lived in the area for about 15 years and want to find a forever house. There've been umpteen houses including the one we sold that would have been perfectly lovely. Renting for a while until you get a feel for the area would be a great idea, though; it's a big leap from Ottawa to Tintern Abbey!

Downsides: it can be remote, so you need to factor in commuting where appropriate; the bigger houses with land are often near farms; getting to know people will require a dog, a child at school, a willingness to support local shops and rugby teams, etc (dog is easiest); mud; seasonal water (in form of rain, flooding, damp); the property market can be slower than other areas; you'll need a car if your children want any sort of social life.

Upsides: cider, lots of it; the views; orchards with cows grazing lazily among the apples; strong foodie scene; Waitrose deliver; plenty of genuinely unspoiled areas; crumbly old churches, castles, cathedrals, villages, etc; outdoorsy activity like canoeing, walking, spotting the SAS. And now even my local post office has an espresso machine so rural England is not the decaffeinated wasteland of yore.

I wouldn't say it's soul destroying, but it is soulless... which can be rectified with a bit of imagination, some colour and personality.

It's a damn site more house and a much better finish than you'd get in my area of the UK.

I like the house, but I do like American and Canadian houses in that style. I also love Victorian houses in the UK but obviously there's a lack of space and value for money. That house is out of my budget but I'd probably enjoying living in it if I personalized the inside. I'd love to be able to decorate the outside for Halloween and Xmas!

Great. Now I have a lifestyle crush on you, @DialMforMordor. I hope it stops snowing here soon. No crumbly church, certainly no Waitrose and no delivery from anybody.... sigh. Your future home plans sound absolutely wonderful.

@DialMforMordor my husband was probably meant to marry you, not faff off to the frozen tundra of Canada and marry me! What a mess! He would love to live where you do....

It's not so much the house but what is outside of it that would bother me. Overlooked by your neighbours in a bland estate.

I think you're bonkers for wanting to move to UK!

OP, when was the last time your DH went back to the UK? Does he go often? I go at least once a year and it just confirms to me that I'm happier where we are. Every single time I go back, I'm struck by a) the traffic getting worse than it was the year before and b) another estate has popped up, even in the smallest of villages that don't really have the infrastructure to cope with more homes.

I'm confused. Are winterdown and OP the same person?

And could you stop with all the @usernaming - you're all reading the same thread so no need to tag!