Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Oct 18th 2006, 8:30 am
#31
Scottish Canuck
Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Auld Scotia > Nova Scotia > Calgary
Posts: 3,703
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by Chops
UK: 1,100 sq ft detached house, built 1996
Canada: 3,000 sq ft, detached, built 2002
The "Yard" (aka "Garden") in Canada 4 times the size of the UK house but the real space comes from the surrounding area; 1 minute's walk from the house and you're in the woods at the base of a mountain. Go the opposite direction and you're in the town within a 5 minute walk. Nice...
Canada: 3,000 sq ft, detached, built 2002
The "Yard" (aka "Garden") in Canada 4 times the size of the UK house but the real space comes from the surrounding area; 1 minute's walk from the house and you're in the woods at the base of a mountain. Go the opposite direction and you're in the town within a 5 minute walk. Nice...
Last edited by Cookie; Oct 18th 2006 at 9:27 am.
Oct 18th 2006, 8:30 am
#32
Banned
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Brighton
Posts: 341
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Where i live at the moment i am sorrounded by the south downs and love it there.
Wether i go north, east, south or west I will be in a natural field/woods.
In the near future i will be moving to a house which has nothing but houses around it. The house in terms of size is at least 2 times that of my british home.
In terms of natural landscape i am losing out by going but this is still only a relatively short drive away and it enables me to be able to choose what goes in my house I.E. if I wanted a bar or an office i have the space to be able to achieve that.
No matter where you live it all has ups and downs. But I think in terms of house space no where in the UK (unless you have a mansion) compares to those houses in Canada.
Wether i go north, east, south or west I will be in a natural field/woods.
In the near future i will be moving to a house which has nothing but houses around it. The house in terms of size is at least 2 times that of my british home.
In terms of natural landscape i am losing out by going but this is still only a relatively short drive away and it enables me to be able to choose what goes in my house I.E. if I wanted a bar or an office i have the space to be able to achieve that.
No matter where you live it all has ups and downs. But I think in terms of house space no where in the UK (unless you have a mansion) compares to those houses in Canada.
Oct 18th 2006, 10:59 am
#33
Dismember
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 0
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by Lees147
In the near future i will be moving to a house which has nothing but houses around it. The house in terms of size is at least 2 times that of my british home.
Oct 18th 2006, 11:05 am
#34
Banned
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Brighton
Posts: 341
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by ziggy8080
Why are you giving up the scenery? Why not live out of town a little wherever you move to?
After getting settled down I may look to move elsewhere but i thought it would be better to start in a city house as you can then find jobs easier and also there are more people to meet etc...
Just thought it would be easier to climatise this way.
Oct 18th 2006, 11:11 am
#35
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Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by Lees147
Well I might in the future but the house that I have lined up is your average city house.
After getting settled down I may look to move elsewhere but i thought it would be better to start in a city house as you can then find jobs easier and also there are more people to meet etc...
Just thought it would be easier to climatise this way.
After getting settled down I may look to move elsewhere but i thought it would be better to start in a city house as you can then find jobs easier and also there are more people to meet etc...
Just thought it would be easier to climatise this way.
I used to live in Brighton too... was there last week briefly.
Oct 18th 2006, 11:18 am
#36
Banned
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Brighton
Posts: 341
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by ziggy8080
Hmm, on reflection just what we did - rent for six months then move out - where are you going?
I used to live in Brighton too... was there last week briefly.
I used to live in Brighton too... was there last week briefly.
My wife (born in Winnipeg) doesn't want to live in there for too long anyway but for us it was an ideal place to start in 3 or 4 years who knows where we will decide upon but for her Winnipeg is not the place, but it just had more security than going to anywhere else.
We could have also ended up in Calgary for much the same reasons but Neither of us fell in love with it and at the prices they charge for houses we decided taking the cheaper option meant that we wern't stuck.
Oct 18th 2006, 11:50 am
#37
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 9,606
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
The last house in the UK was a 1960s 3-storey, 4-bed terraced house about 2 minutes from Sloane Square. It had a lock-up garage that is probably worth more than my current house. I don't know how much the house was worth but we didn't own it anyway (although an identical place on the same block went for £630,000 in 2000).
The current house is a late 1980s detached house bought two years ago for $171,000. The plot is roughly 35' wide by 80' deep. I'm guessing the footprint to be 25' square, which comes out at about 1300sq ft on the two main levels, so not huge by Canadian standards. When we bought the place the basement was fully finished but open-plan. I have since converted it into a 25' x 12' adults' TV room, a laundry room and a 12' x 12' bedroom. If effect we have a 4-bed, 2-recep house.
We're very much in the burbs but only 15 minutes from downtown Ottawa. We're also very close to trfiic scenery.
The current house is a late 1980s detached house bought two years ago for $171,000. The plot is roughly 35' wide by 80' deep. I'm guessing the footprint to be 25' square, which comes out at about 1300sq ft on the two main levels, so not huge by Canadian standards. When we bought the place the basement was fully finished but open-plan. I have since converted it into a 25' x 12' adults' TV room, a laundry room and a 12' x 12' bedroom. If effect we have a 4-bed, 2-recep house.
We're very much in the burbs but only 15 minutes from downtown Ottawa. We're also very close to trfiic scenery.
Last edited by Souvenir; Oct 18th 2006 at 12:03 pm.
Oct 18th 2006, 1:38 pm
#38
Forum Regular
Joined: Mar 2006
Location: Newmarket Ontario
Posts: 194
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
house in uk 1800 sq ft 4 bed 3 reception 2 bath reasonable garden 1970,s in quiet cal-de-sac 300,000 gbp
here we have a 2500 sq ft , 4 bed , 3 reception ( uk term i know ) 4 bathrooms , laundry room 4 rooms in basement , reasonable garden , mature road , 1970's 150,000 gbp
here we have a 2500 sq ft , 4 bed , 3 reception ( uk term i know ) 4 bathrooms , laundry room 4 rooms in basement , reasonable garden , mature road , 1970's 150,000 gbp
Last edited by dentaltech; Oct 18th 2006 at 1:40 pm.
Oct 18th 2006, 2:15 pm
#39
Assimilated Pauper
Joined: Mar 2005
Location: Ontario
Posts: 40,018
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
An awful lot of houses above seem to have four bathrooms. I wonder why; is dysentery an issue in Canada?
Oct 18th 2006, 2:26 pm
#40
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 9,606
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by dbd33
An awful lot of houses above seem to have four bathrooms. I wonder why; is dysentery an issue in Canada?
There was a house for sale near me last year. It was a biggy, very nice to look at and in great location. It was on the market for ages, which surprised me until I found out that it only has one bathroom. That's a major turn-off, particularly in a house that size.
Oct 18th 2006, 2:38 pm
#41
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Location: Colorado Springs
Posts: 1,214
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
You have a hedge? My neighbour has his vinyl siding when he can't make it inside the house. Anyways...
The reality check on big Canadian houses. Well you have to heat them which people seem to forget, costs an absolute fortune for a big house, particularly if it is oil heated. The other thing is city services... some of these grand houses are out in the middle of nowhere, it cost them a fortune to get the electricity connected, water comes from a well and city-sewer service is non-existent. Outside of the cities, Canadian houses aren't priced on size so much, they are certainly priced on location. Location is everything here.
The reality check on big Canadian houses. Well you have to heat them which people seem to forget, costs an absolute fortune for a big house, particularly if it is oil heated. The other thing is city services... some of these grand houses are out in the middle of nowhere, it cost them a fortune to get the electricity connected, water comes from a well and city-sewer service is non-existent. Outside of the cities, Canadian houses aren't priced on size so much, they are certainly priced on location. Location is everything here.
Originally Posted by Souvenir
Bathrooms do seem to be an obsession here. We have one full, one half and a hedge.
There was a house for sale near me last year. It was a biggy, very nice to look at and in great location. It was on the market for ages, which surprised me until I found out that it only has one bathroom. That's a major turn-off, particularly in a house that size.
There was a house for sale near me last year. It was a biggy, very nice to look at and in great location. It was on the market for ages, which surprised me until I found out that it only has one bathroom. That's a major turn-off, particularly in a house that size.
Oct 18th 2006, 2:41 pm
#42
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 9,606
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by neill
You have a hedge? My neighbour has his vinyl siding when he can't make it inside the house. Anyways...
Oct 18th 2006, 3:03 pm
#43
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jul 2006
Location: Cochrane, Alberta
Posts: 7,861
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Eeyeewww !! And one must always be careful of little prickles !!
Oct 18th 2006, 3:14 pm
#44
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Location: Eastern Ontario, Canada
Posts: 2,062
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by Tangram
Isn't this thread a little obvious.... doesn't everyone know that generally Canadian houses and plots are much larger than in the UK.
It's definately a plus to give yourself more room to live and the sense of 'breathing space' - totally different ( but not necessarily 'better' than our 16th century home ). Having visited my cousin in New Brunswick I did ask how much time she actually spent at the end of her 1 acre front garden to which the answer was her hubby travels down to it with the motorised mower occasionally. So if that's the case, what's the point in having it just for the sake of saying " I have a 1 acre front garden " LoL.
Anyway, it did look good looking out of the front window and the back garden had an out of ground pool in it which was nice.
It's definately a plus to give yourself more room to live and the sense of 'breathing space' - totally different ( but not necessarily 'better' than our 16th century home ). Having visited my cousin in New Brunswick I did ask how much time she actually spent at the end of her 1 acre front garden to which the answer was her hubby travels down to it with the motorised mower occasionally. So if that's the case, what's the point in having it just for the sake of saying " I have a 1 acre front garden " LoL.
Anyway, it did look good looking out of the front window and the back garden had an out of ground pool in it which was nice.
My lot is big enough so I don't hear my neighbours or look out of my window into their window and also have enough space to park two cars. I also have a nice porch where I can sit and have a drink in the summertime. A big change from growing up in a terraced house in Lancashire where I could overhear the next door's conversations & their television, have to park my car on the street and being able to lie in bed and kick the bedroom door closed.
On my last visit to the UK I felt very claustrophobic.
Oct 18th 2006, 3:15 pm
#45
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Joined: Aug 2006
Location: Wabamun , Alberta
Posts: 527
Re: Bigger house - more land: The Reality Checck
Originally Posted by Chops
UK: 1,100 sq ft detached house, built 1996
Canada: 3,000 sq ft, detached, built 2002
The "Yard" (aka "Garden") in Canada 4 times the size of the UK house but the real space comes from the surrounding area; 1 minute's walk from the house and you're in the woods at the base of a mountain. Go the opposite direction and you're in the town within a 5 minute walk. Nice...
Canada: 3,000 sq ft, detached, built 2002
The "Yard" (aka "Garden") in Canada 4 times the size of the UK house but the real space comes from the surrounding area; 1 minute's walk from the house and you're in the woods at the base of a mountain. Go the opposite direction and you're in the town within a 5 minute walk. Nice...
Wow !