5 ms·

I think that there is a lot of "the grass is always greener" type of feeling in Eastern Europe. The panel houses are not fundamentally bad places to live, but t

I think that there is a lot of "the grass is always greener" type of feeling in Eastern Europe. The panel houses are not fundamentally bad places to live, but there is this default feeling, that it is somehow worse than the west. A lot of people in Prague have this feeling that the entire US looks like the New York that they know from the sitcoms. Those panel houses which have been renovated and their elevators replaced are really nice. All of the buildings are painted different collors and the whole place looks prety idilic. Only real problem for the residents, is that it is hard to rase kids when you have one and a half bedrooms... Now, Czech culture has become generational. For almost the majorty of my friends, the older generation lives in a panel house. Those are the grandmas and grandpas of my peers. The parents of my peers have bought a newer appartment somewhere else. And they have left the appartment in the panel house to their batchelor children, who like having cheep/free housing to live in till they get married. However, there are also some massive developments at the edge of the city, where there are 20-30 panel houses, all huge, and no good public transport. The green areas have been replaced with parking lots and anyone who comes close wants to kill themselves. It is shocking to me, how two buildings built from the same plans, 30 minutes appart, can give such a different impression. One seems like a dream and the other seems like dystopia.

smcl 10y ago
I agree - the panelaky seem to get a unfairly bad rep and I hope the guys here appreciate how good they are in the grand scheme of things. The Czech and Slovak panelaky seem to be better planned, designed and built than equivalent units in Scotland as far as I've seen, for example. Adam Curtis did a documentary on the UK mass-housing and how badly they were delivered (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4XgysYujXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4XgysYujXo) - as far as I know the CZ/SK units didn't have these sort of problems and as a bonus avoided the sort of planning problems we had in Scotland (where we built housing for 10,000s of people too far and too disconnected from retail/business/industry)
VeejayRampay 10y ago
Quick question: Is the New York of sitcoms supposed to present "good housing"? The two most famous New York sitcoms that come to mind (namely Seinfeld and Friends) present rather small and basic apartments, people using in-building shared washers and driers, doesn't look any better than the ridiculously small apartments we have in Paris.
- pm90 10y ago
  It should be pointed out that Friends was criticized a lot for showing larger apartments in NYC for what people like the protagonists could typically afford.
- gambiting 10y ago
  Some of us grew up in this sort of flat: https://www.gumtree.pl/a-mieszkania-i-domy-do-wynajecia/krakow/kawalerka-30m2-nowa-huta-1000pln-25min-do-centrum/1001927106570910968641609 https://www.gumtree.pl/a-mieszkania-i-domy-do-wynajecia/krak... So yeah, compared to that, the flat they had in "Friends" was incredibly spacious.
- stephancoral 10y ago
  Idk what Seinfeld you're watching, but all the apartments in it are massive
- elboru 10y ago
  Yeah I think New York was a bad example, but as someone outside the US I have always been fascinated by the US concept of suburbs (showed in a lot of movies and series), big yards, green gardens, big trees, family friendly environments were kids can play outside without any major worry.
- unprepare 10y ago
  Seinfelds apartment seems pretty huge to me, and i dont live anywhere near as expensive as New York http://img00.deviantart.net/15bd/i/2013/039/8/f/jerry_seinfeld_apartment_floorplan_by_nikneuk-d5h2sse.jpg http://img00.deviantart.net/15bd/i/2013/039/8/f/jerry_seinfe... similarly the main apartment in friends seems pretty large http://pre14.deviantart.net/3e01/th/pre/i/2016/036/8/8/friends_apartment_s_floorplans___version_2_by_nikneuk-d8flr3a.jpg http://pre14.deviantart.net/3e01/th/pre/i/2016/036/8/8/frien... - note that this diagram is for both the girls apartment and the guys apartment across the hall, so we are looking at two apartments here quick credit to the artist of these diagrams, they have a ton of other shows on their deviantart page[1] [1]http://nikneuk.deviantart.com/gallery/ http://nikneuk.deviantart.com/gallery/
  - 10y ago
asdfas4 10y ago
You only have a part of the picture. Some of these buildings need a lot of investment and some would need to be demolished in 30 years or so. New development is also a filer for social problems. Fewer crime, drugs and people with mental issues.

smcl 10y ago

I agree - the panelaky seem to get a unfairly bad rep and I hope the guys here appreciate how good they are in the grand scheme of things. The Czech and Slovak panelaky seem to be better planned, designed and built than equivalent units in Scotland as far as I've seen, for example. Adam Curtis did a documentary on the UK mass-housing and how badly they were delivered (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4XgysYujXo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4XgysYujXo) - as far as I know the CZ/SK units didn't have these sort of problems and as a bonus avoided the sort of planning problems we had in Scotland (where we built housing for 10,000s of people too far and too disconnected from retail/business/industry)

VeejayRampay 10y ago

Quick question: Is the New York of sitcoms supposed to present "good housing"? The two most famous New York sitcoms that come to mind (namely Seinfeld and Friends) present rather small and basic apartments, people using in-building shared washers and driers, doesn't look any better than the ridiculously small apartments we have in Paris.

pm90 10y ago
It should be pointed out that Friends was criticized a lot for showing larger apartments in NYC for what people like the protagonists could typically afford.
gambiting 10y ago
Some of us grew up in this sort of flat: https://www.gumtree.pl/a-mieszkania-i-domy-do-wynajecia/krakow/kawalerka-30m2-nowa-huta-1000pln-25min-do-centrum/1001927106570910968641609 https://www.gumtree.pl/a-mieszkania-i-domy-do-wynajecia/krak... So yeah, compared to that, the flat they had in "Friends" was incredibly spacious.
stephancoral 10y ago
Idk what Seinfeld you're watching, but all the apartments in it are massive
elboru 10y ago
Yeah I think New York was a bad example, but as someone outside the US I have always been fascinated by the US concept of suburbs (showed in a lot of movies and series), big yards, green gardens, big trees, family friendly environments were kids can play outside without any major worry.
unprepare 10y ago
Seinfelds apartment seems pretty huge to me, and i dont live anywhere near as expensive as New York http://img00.deviantart.net/15bd/i/2013/039/8/f/jerry_seinfeld_apartment_floorplan_by_nikneuk-d5h2sse.jpg http://img00.deviantart.net/15bd/i/2013/039/8/f/jerry_seinfe... similarly the main apartment in friends seems pretty large http://pre14.deviantart.net/3e01/th/pre/i/2016/036/8/8/friends_apartment_s_floorplans___version_2_by_nikneuk-d8flr3a.jpg http://pre14.deviantart.net/3e01/th/pre/i/2016/036/8/8/frien... - note that this diagram is for both the girls apartment and the guys apartment across the hall, so we are looking at two apartments here quick credit to the artist of these diagrams, they have a ton of other shows on their deviantart page[1] [1]http://nikneuk.deviantart.com/gallery/ http://nikneuk.deviantart.com/gallery/
- 10y ago

asdfas4 10y ago

You only have a part of the picture. Some of these buildings need a lot of investment and some would need to be demolished in 30 years or so. New development is also a filer for social problems. Fewer crime, drugs and people with mental issues.