Do you like townhouses? Are they nice to live in?

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Hi, I'm just wondering what people think of townhouses.

I have been looking at different types of houses in the last few months. My dream home is a large Georgian properties with original features but this will probably never happen! More recently,I've started to look at more modern townhouses. I know they are both very different styles, but I like the height of townhouses and think the 3-4 floors is nice to have (examples below), but a con is that some of them might be a bit narrow with awkward layouts, or maybe the word "untraditional" best describes it.

Just wondering if anyone lives in a townhouse with a family? Recommended? Or do you feel you prefer a more traditional style house?

Sorry if it's a weird question! I just wonder if living in a townhouse feels very different from a traditional home and not sure if it's a style of house I might not like after I move into it.

Thank you!

p.s I'm not looking at these specific townhouses, just grabbed a few examples:

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134321660#/?channel=RES_BUY

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/134167046#/?channel=RES_BUY

I’m in a flat one one level so I think it would really annoy me to go up and down stairs all the time, just in my opinion.

Hate it and it’s terrible when you have people round. The constant up and down the stairs gets irritating too

i like them especially if they have designated parking.
i would be fussy regarding soundproofing and water drainage/irrigation as well as neighbors/neighborhoods.

My friends had one. The kitchen being on a different level to the rest of the communal spaces meant a lot of going up and down the stairs and it’s not mega family friendly - it took a long time to sell when they moved.

I think the second one is ok if you're desperate for bedrooms and can compromise on the tiny downstairs.

The extra stairs sounds annoy me though, and I hate the first layout with kitchen cut off from the rest and a random bedroom next to the living room.

I’m in a townhouse with teenagers and I love it.

It mirrors the layout of the Victorian townhouses here with a nod to the design. Handmade bricks, sash windows, stone pillared bays etc. I like the aesthetic.

Groundfloor - large dining kitchen with a sofa area, large hallway. Utility, loo and a 10 x 12ft reception room.

1st floor - large reception 25 x 25ft at the longest parts but L shaped. Good sized bedroom with a en-suite. This reception is ‘private’ for want of a better word, family and close friends.

2nd floor - three 10 x 12ft bedrooms and a bathroom.

Nice sized garden, garage and two parking spaces.

Works really well for us. I don’t mind the stairs at all.

We live in a relatively spacious townhouse with parking but I don’t like it and ideally we will move once the market settles. We made a mistake when decided going for a townhouse vs traditional 3 bed semi.. it is (I presume) is much better insulated as our heating bill isn’t too high but still. More cons than pros imo.

I love my 1970s townhouse. Our kitchen and lounge is on the first floor which makes it quieter and feel more peaceful. We have loads of reception space and I love the feel of the layout. It is easier to keep warm in winter and cooler in summer, due to smaller footprint. Also, have an amazing view from my bedroom window. We are very, very happy with it and been here years.

Downsides are trudging up and down when we have a bbq and it's a huge cost every time something goes wrong with roof, guttering etc as they won't go up a ladder and get scaffolding.

Townhouses can be really hard to re-sell.

Really disliked my 3 floor townhouse - felt narrow, and like half the house was stairs/landing.

Had no flow, was very annoying feeling like you're constantly up and down the stairs. I'm very fit and active and still found it bloody annoying.

But you might love them, don't know until you try!

We rented one for 18 months between selling old house and buying new. It looked lovely in photos and at the viewing but it was a nightmare to live in! It is a common house type where we now live but no way would I live in one again.

Everything seemed to be perpetually on the wrong floor. Doing bedtime on second floor, going down to the kitchen to clear up, then getting called back up again by child. AARRGGHH. Getting a cup of tea whilst watching TV when living room/kitchen are on different floors. We wanted child bedroom on same floor as parent's bedroom but several townhouses we viewed this wasn't possible. When I had Covid and was absolutely exhausted the stairs were awful - I ended up staying on the top floor so hard to get hot drinks as kitchen two floors below.

Look at use of space - ours felt light and roomy but the reality was the stairs took up a lot of room!

Will depend on the property but we had a garage space in a communal block with a parking space in front of it. This was really annoying and a nightmare compared to being able to park in front of your own front door. Couldn't do work in garage leaving child unsupervised in house, but garage effectively in communal parking lot so couldn't have her there either, had to get through multiple gates/doors to bring shopping in and out. We were past the baby/toddler phase but the thought of hoicking child in from car, then having to go back multiple times for luggage/shopping... It was so much more inconvenient than where we were living.

I've never lived in a modern townhouse but always quite liked the look of them. I don't mind the stairs at all. Loads of people these days (including me) have loft conversions so a minimum of 3 floors anyway.
Out of the two you've shared I prefer the first as it has more living space. The second one has a combined living dining room. We had that in our last house and I didn't like it. Often I'd be in the living room watching TV or whatever and someone would be at the table eating or working on the laptop. I prefer separate spaces for eating and relaxing. We now have a large kitchen with a separate area of the kitchen for dining. That works well.

My MIL lives in one, over 4 floors. The kitchen was on the 1st floor, but she had it moved a couple of years ago and she was struggling with getting shopping up the stairs. It’s better, but still a lot of stairs, esp for her.

DH and I lived in a pretty Georgian town house in London before we had kids, and I loved it. Would have been a pain w small kids, but would actually be fine now they are teens.

Secretly I loathe them as places to actually live, though I love the look. Nearly bought one with dp but pulled out just before final offer and am so glad I did. A relative lives in a 5 floor townhouse and I think it's awful - constant stairs and it means you end up living in whatever the ground floor is, however limited.

We eventually bought a traditional semi. Whilst it does have a loft conversion, so technically we have the same number of floors as the townhouse the reality is totally different - loft conversion is our spare room so I go in once a week or so, compared to being constantly up and down the stairs in the townhouse.

We've also found that having our kitchen, living and dining space all on the ground floor works much better for us with family life.

I quite like them but ones where the living areas are on the same floor are quite rare. Means a lot of going up and down stairs.

When we were looking to buy I did see one with a ground floor bedroom and bathroom and kitchen and lounge on the first floor, more bedrooms and a bathroom on the top floor. I quite liked that.

We didn't buy it in the end for other reasons but I think the layout in a townhouse has to work for your specific needs and therefore they can be quite niche in some ways and hard to sell.

We're in one. I love it. The kitchen and living areas are all on the same floor so we are mostly there and the DC have their own space upstairs. It is very spacious with high ceilings and large hallways. The stairs don't bother us. They probably keep us fit but i don't notice them.

I only like them if the living space is all on the ground floor and the top two floors are bedrooms and bathrooms. Otherwise it just seems like a lot of going up and downstairs just to have a cup of tea while watching tv.

I would dislike having the kitchen and living room on separate floors. I’d find it particularly hard if you had small kids. Obviously if it is a v large town house with a large living space on the same floor as the kitchen it is not an issue, but most I see have them separate. The only reason I would compromise and get one is if I needed an affordable way to get additional bedrooms, as town houses seem to be less cost for more bedrooms (eg if I had 3 teens and couldn’t afford a traditional 4 bed houses)

I think it depends on age of DC. We love ours now they are older but was more work when they are younger and needed to be close by. Moved here from a bungalow so stairs was always going to be a challenge wherever we moved

We've lived in two, the one we're in now we use the 3 bedrooms on the 1st floor and the top floor is the guest room and my office which works well as our families live away so they have a private space when they visit.

DD thinks she's moving upstairs when she starts secondary 🙄

Previous house the master was on the top floor and children's rooms on the floor below... it was awful as they were only little.

Both houses we've ended up with 'piles of doom' which either need to go up or down a flight of stairs!

We have close family living in one - been there over 20 years including after two knee replacements for one of them. They love it but their layout means it feels basically like a standard house. They have:
Ground floor= their offices, small toilet, garage turned into utility room
Middle= kitchen, dining and living rooms all linked but doors so can be own spaces
Top= three bedrooms and bathroom

So they don't spend too much time up Nd down and nor have we even when staying there with kids.
Also had a friend who grew up in a beautiful one with similar set up and she liked it so I think the layout/room choices really makes a difference in a townhouse

Where I live practically the only houses are Victorian townhouses. They're lovely, full of character and very practical for living if you are able bodied, and the different floors give an additional feeling of privacy. Not so good for people with disabilities.

Hated it when we lived in one. The up and down of the stairs bedrooms on the ground floor, living in the middle, and then more bedrooms on the top floor. No outside space to speak of and could here the neighbours. So glad we were only renting that one before we bought where we live now.

I live in a townhouse and love it.
There are 3 'main' floors but two additional half floors - 6 beds in total.

Best things for me:

• zero noise from neighbours as the walls are seriously thick. No noise from within the house too from other rooms.
• original features galore
• kids have space / independence. When friends are over they charge upstairs and get on with it.
• nooks and crannies

Yes there is a lot of stairs but I love that the house has different sections to it. Heating it however, is challenging. We've slowly getting it double glazed which is making all the difference. But the heat shoots up the entrance hall all the way to the top of the house. Keeping doors closed is a must in winter.