Re: Re: the importance of house design

For what it’s worth, I moved from a house (18 yrs+) to an apartment (I prefer ‘flat’) in 2000; it was in a good area in a poorly-regarded town, built in the garden of an old mansion-house itself divided into 4 flats and retained. My block had 5 flats and I had the whole top floor in the roofspace. There were issues, but on the whole it worked and ‘neighbour contact’ was generally excellent; floorspace was c.1000 sq ft, with 2 bedrooms and very adequate storage because of the roofspace and eaves (and it had very mature communal gardens). It cost c.£100,000 9 yrs ago.
In late 2005 I was itchy to get back to the big smoke and bought another flat in Glasgow’s West End (having made a serious ‘profit’ on the other one) for c.£230,000. This one has c.1200 sq ft, 3 beds and is on a high 4th floor with extensive views. There are 78 flats in the development; it’s had its problems, but there is now an active residents’ group dealing with them and we’ve sacked our factor (manager) and got another one. The flat has bags of room but virtually no storage (that’s common here), although we do have a dedicated secure parking space.
So, in the space of the last ten years I’ve done house-with-garden, suburban flat in a small development and now city flat in a larger development. I miss the garden*, I want more storage space and I want some of my neighbours to develop smaller feet and better hearing. But these are universal problems and it’s all a trade-off anyway. Flats are not scary and houses are not superior.
Personally, I’d opt for gunter’s tower-house anytime, but marooned in the middle of a city, of course. (If it’s any consolation, the housing market here’s pish as well.)
* (But I’ve discovered the Botanic Gardens.)