4 ms·

I think you're getting downvoted here or at least misunderstood because in America, suburban apartments are usually very nice in their own regard. So people don

I think you're getting downvoted here or at least misunderstood because in America, suburban apartments are usually very nice in their own regard. So people don't see them as downgrades unless you actually need the space of a full house (eg. For raising a family)

virmundi 8y ago
There is also a cultural difference. While at Oxford, the family that I stayed with had a garden. British people love their gardens. It wasn't much of a garden, but it was in Oxford, and it was their little piece of barely green soil. Americans have their land of course. I have my own equivalent garden. The difference is scarcity. I can travel a continent and still buy a garden relatively cheap. The UK? Not so much.
- coldtea 8y ago
  >It wasn't much of a garden, but it was in Oxford, and it was their little piece of barely green soil. I'm not sure about this "barely green" thing. Haven't been to Oxford, but I've visited Cambridge, and the gardens there are magnificently green.
  - virmundi 8y ago
    Green is relative. Florida has much more greenery that Oxford. Plus, these owners ran a house of protection for Africans that survived their village being slaughtered. They had a bit more pressing things to worry about than making a great garden.
esotericn 8y ago
Possibly. I think the misunderstanding comes from making a comparison that I obviously haven't attempted to, and that no reasonable person would (basically, a strawman). I can't see how a suburban apartment can be as nice as a suburban house unless you're making a cost argument. Yes, perhaps an apartment at price X is better than a house at price X. (Perhaps at price X a house doesn't even exist). The point is that someone who already owns a decent home doesn't have to make that decision, and that describes huge swathes of the city. The financial decision is for newcomers who are attempting to push these people out (or push them in to inferior conditions). If you have a 4 bedroom semi in Zone 4 London then I cannot see an equivalent apartment. It doesn't even make sense to me. No apartment block on the same street could be nicer. Only if you compared it with, say, some skyscraper in the City does it make sense to even talk about it, and that's a complete lifestyle change.
- Aeolun 8y ago
  As he said, some suburban appartments in the US look more like hotels (and $500/month HOA on top of your rent). In the UK (and most of Europe) the suburban apartment is most akin to a concrete box.
- Retric 8y ago
  Saying it’s suburban housing, or detached homes is a pure straw man argument as people can move from a suburban home to an apartment in the city very easily. If you can sell a house, move to an apartment and net X00,000 $ that’s very attractive. So price difference are really part of the equation. Also, people might prefer a detached home for ~30 years when having kids, but their is a constant stream of people exiting that life stage. How and where to downsize is a real question people deal with daily.

virmundi 8y ago

There is also a cultural difference. While at Oxford, the family that I stayed with had a garden. British people love their gardens. It wasn't much of a garden, but it was in Oxford, and it was their little piece of barely green soil. Americans have their land of course. I have my own equivalent garden. The difference is scarcity. I can travel a continent and still buy a garden relatively cheap. The UK? Not so much.

coldtea 8y ago
>It wasn't much of a garden, but it was in Oxford, and it was their little piece of barely green soil. I'm not sure about this "barely green" thing. Haven't been to Oxford, but I've visited Cambridge, and the gardens there are magnificently green.
- virmundi 8y ago
  Green is relative. Florida has much more greenery that Oxford. Plus, these owners ran a house of protection for Africans that survived their village being slaughtered. They had a bit more pressing things to worry about than making a great garden.

esotericn 8y ago

Possibly. I think the misunderstanding comes from making a comparison that I obviously haven't attempted to, and that no reasonable person would (basically, a strawman). I can't see how a suburban apartment can be as nice as a suburban house unless you're making a cost argument. Yes, perhaps an apartment at price X is better than a house at price X. (Perhaps at price X a house doesn't even exist). The point is that someone who already owns a decent home doesn't have to make that decision, and that describes huge swathes of the city. The financial decision is for newcomers who are attempting to push these people out (or push them in to inferior conditions). If you have a 4 bedroom semi in Zone 4 London then I cannot see an equivalent apartment. It doesn't even make sense to me. No apartment block on the same street could be nicer. Only if you compared it with, say, some skyscraper in the City does it make sense to even talk about it, and that's a complete lifestyle change.

Aeolun 8y ago
As he said, some suburban appartments in the US look more like hotels (and $500/month HOA on top of your rent). In the UK (and most of Europe) the suburban apartment is most akin to a concrete box.
Retric 8y ago
Saying it’s suburban housing, or detached homes is a pure straw man argument as people can move from a suburban home to an apartment in the city very easily. If you can sell a house, move to an apartment and net X00,000 $ that’s very attractive. So price difference are really part of the equation. Also, people might prefer a detached home for ~30 years when having kids, but their is a constant stream of people exiting that life stage. How and where to downsize is a real question people deal with daily.