What is the appeal in 1960's ish houses?

[user1374384]

Hoping not to offend anyone, but I have fallen in love with a school, and the catchment area is in the middle of massess and masses of identical looking, 1960's? slate fronted houses, mostly in cul-di-sacs. I think this type of house was built until the 80's maybe. Pale or lighter grey bricks, double roof or flat slate fronted. Most are 3 bed semi's, but with the box room being too small to use as a bedroom.

Obvious appeal would be they all seem to have gardens (not huge though) and driveways. But they have low ceilings, small rooms, tiny kitchens, tiny bathrooms, no interesting features, ugly to look at, just seems a bit soulless. Every single one to buy or rent is just beige looking inside too, they don't seem to suit any styling I guess.

But I really want to learn to appreciate them so I don't have to cross this school off the top of my wishlist. Judging by the prices for the size, I must be missing why I should like them?

What has surprised me is how high the house prices are in comparison to many more interesting houses nearby. You can get a bigger Victorian terrace for less than half the price, so why are people paying more for these?

What am I missing?

Yes, our 1960s housing is on quiet estates. That 1930s house we went for is on a main road. Very different, though it doesn't seem to make much difference with parking - we can't really park on the road but all the estate roads are jam packed with parked cars on evenings and weekends, to the point that it's hard to drive through them.

You’ve just describes the house I rent

Can’t wait to get rid of the dull, 2 and a half bedroom, characterless entirety of it.

As soon as the market starts moving again that is

Like this?
www.alamy.com/stock-photo-1960s-semi-detached-houses-ipswich-suffolk-uk-33798577.html

60s and 70s houses are always pretty ugly boxes from the outside, but I have been into some that have benefitted from imaginative interior design and reconfiguration and actually look quite nice.

Hate them - it’s like a thousand years of British architectural history ended in the builders going “Whatevs” and plonking down the most unappealing facade they could manage...

Currently in a house built in '60 previous one in 65 fairly similar to the one you linked to.

We have gone Scandi retro and it works. I love how light it is and warm and cheap to heat tbh!!

The late '60s onwards are more ugly and boxy though

I'm in a 1960s house and I love. Three good sized bedrooms. Garage and drive for 3 cars. Quite big garden. Downstairs rooms quite big and light. Wide hall way with storage. Big family bathroom. Big kitchen diner. Easy to heat and repair. Nicely spaced out from neighbours. I'm never moving.

We have an early 60s house, it's great as the entrance hall is room sized so we have bags of extra space plus the bedrooms are large.

Have to say they were both the best of what we could afford 😂

We started off in a Victorian terrace (lovely house, nice looking street but very rough area). We moved to a new build which we extended and are now moving to a house built in 1966.

I fell in love with an Edwardian house but the money that would need spending on it to maintain, heat etc was beyond us. Most were on very busy main roads awkward to get on and off the drive. New builds now tend to have hardly any parking and small rooms.

I recall people sayimg similar things about 30s houses in the 1980s. Bought a trendy Vectwardian instead for a bit more. Fast forward 8 years and everyone had seen the merits of the 30s houses. Cost me £30k.

The big appeal also for us is the house is fairly tucked away in the nicest part of town within walking distance of a country park.

My mum and dad moved from a Victorian house in what's now considered a very nice area and prices reflect this. Into what at the time was a new build 70s house on a large estate. My mum says the Victorian was beautiful but, cold, draughty, issues with damp and parking. Apparently the relief of finally being warm sat in the house, having a garage, large garden, plus a family friendly area with lots of green space and kids parks was huge. Yes, from the outside not the best looking but inside the room configurations were so much better for family life.

The house was also in a cul-de-sac and all the families with children knew each other, as kids we'd all be allowed to call at other houses to play and learnt to ride our bikes in the street. It was very much 'yes, fine to play out so long as you stay away from the top of the road'. Everyone kept an eye on us and it felt very safe. By contrast at the victorian they knew the neighbours to say hello to on one side and that was it. Fashions change and the 60/70/80s it was all about 'modern living', up and coming families with two cars, holidays abroad, and buying into the lifestyle. Nobody wanted 'character features/Instagram worthy', they just didn't want to be sat with two jumpers and a hat on inside their house.