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Enough with the snarky comments. The lady that lives alone on the other side of the stairwell from me is 90 years old. If she asked me for help with something, I would be glad to help.
I didn't mean to be snarky. I have autism so I often can't tell. Seriously, are you close friend or even best friends with the ones, 60 years old, who you frequently socialize with out front on the shared private lawn? I have a hard time telling how the normal average American and German person defines friendship.
Nearly apartment building in Germany has a basement under the ground floor level. In the basement, there is a room for the (awesome) hot water heating system, a bike parking room, a laundry hang-dry area, and one storage unit per apartment. It is a fantastic set-up, far superior to over 4 decades of apartment living in the USA.
My apartment building of 40 units consists of private owner-occupants. It is not a co-op or private company-owned building. I lease my apartment from a private owner, who also owns their own apartment a couple of levels above me and their son's apartment in the unit below me. I know many of my neighbors by first and last name. Many are my age (60s) or older and retired (like me). On nice days like today, we often sit out front in the afternoon and chat for a while, maybe drink a beer or other beverage. There is a large green lawn and tree area in front where once a month or so, we get together and grill and have a picnic.
That sounds so nice!
I'm convinced there is no quality of life (NOT standard of living) anywhere in the world like that in Europe.
This is why I love the US! Just a car needed and everything is great!
Yes, but what about people who can't afford a car? What about families who can't buy a car for every person in that family? Paying for multiple cars (car note, insurance, gas, maintenance, repairs) is incredibly expensive.
What about senior citizens or other people who, due to health concerns, can no longer drive?
No, without little/no public transit, and with so much sprawl, everything isn't great for lots of people.
Yes, but what about people who can't afford a car? What about families who can't buy a car for every person in that family? Paying for multiple cars (car note, insurance, gas, maintenance, repairs) is incredibly expensive.
What about senior citizens or other people who, due to health concerns, can no longer drive?
No, without little/no public transit, and with so much sprawl, everything isn't great for lots of people.
Yes, suburbs aren't for everyone, just like dense apartment living isn't, but suburbs are paradise for those who can afford a car and can drive.
Then why don't they collectively decide to tell the government to stop immigration and have fewer children to cause a population decline so they can all have a single-family house with a garden? Or is it that they don't care about living in a detached house so much and would much rather have more children, socialize, hang out, and be lifelong best friends with their neighbors who will share the same building with them for basically the rest of their life?
Huh? Not sure how familiar you are with Europe but birth rates are already pretty damn low in Europe. And populations are already stagnating. They're already having very few children compared to most of the rest of the world.
The factors that make housing expensive in American real estate hot spots also are at work in Europe. It's easier to have your own house in Europe in some small town in the middle of nowhere than in and around Hamburg or Zurich or Amsterdam. And indeed in the countryside it's pretty common to own a house as well in Europe. But the small town in Europe may well face the same challenges as a small town in West Virginia or Missouri. Where's the economic opportunities? They tend to cluster in the big cities, so that's where you want to go as a 25-30 year old to make it. Demand drives pricing.
But of course unlike say DFW or Chicago or Atlanta...those European cities and the areas around them have been developing for a millennium or more rather than a 100-150 years, so there's less open space for development. So you have a situation more similar to coastal American cities hemmed in by natural factors - like NYC or San Francisco. In addition, the regulatory environment in Northern Europe is quite rigid and the cost of services and materials for building tend to be quite high. So the actual cost of development itself is considerably higher as well, which translates into higher house prices. And then add far more conservative approaches to lending in general which make it harder to finance SFHs.
Another factor is that "apartment living" in Europe is desired by the governments and incentivized as such. Officials and 'development experts' consider SFH development inefficient and harmful to the environment and thus they are trying to make it more difficult for people to own SFHs (especially near big cities).
Huh? Not sure how familiar you are with Europe but birth rates are already pretty damn low in Europe. And populations are already stagnating. They're already having very few children compared to most of the rest of the world.
The factors that make housing expensive in American real estate hot spots also are at work in Europe. It's easier to have your own house in Europe in some small town in the middle of nowhere than in and around Hamburg or Zurich or Amsterdam. And indeed in the countryside it's pretty common to own a house as well in Europe. But the small town in Europe may well face the same challenges as a small town in West Virginia or Missouri. Where's the economic opportunities? They tend to cluster in the big cities, so that's where you want to go as a 25-30 year old to make it. Demand drives pricing.
But of course unlike say DFW or Chicago or Atlanta...those European cities and the areas around them have been developing for a millennium or more rather than a 100-150 years, so there's less open space for development. So you have a situation more similar to coastal American cities hemmed in by natural factors - like NYC or San Francisco. In addition, the regulatory environment in Northern Europe is quite rigid and the cost of services and materials for building tend to be quite high. So the actual cost of development itself is considerably higher as well, which translates into higher house prices. And then add far more conservative approaches to lending in general which make it harder to finance SFHs.
Another factor is that "apartment living" in Europe is desired by the governments and incentivized as such. Officials and 'development experts' consider SFH development inefficient and harmful to the environment and thus they are trying to make it more difficult for people to own SFHs (especially near big cities).
Then why don't they petition en masse the officials to incentivize SFHs instead or do they not really care about having their own SFH in general and would prefer to be more ecological by living in a condo?
That's great then! Apartment living in Germany actually sounds so nice and enjoyable, aided by the culture of socialization! Do you help each other to pack and return the laundry to each other since you sound like you're close if not best friends with your neighbors? Do you actually consider each other as close lifelong friends if not besties?
It's better than in America primarily because it is set up for long-term arrangements and more socially acceptable. In America it seems like apartments are occupied by young people, transients and trash. And when I say transients that includes young professionals who will move on after a couple of years to either a different metro or a townhouse or a SFH in the suburbs. That means you have a constant in and out, you have a lot of 'problem tenants', you have apathetic management companies, cheaply and poorly made and maintained buildings etc.
It's going to be different in a place where middle-class people stick around to raise their family in an apartment. They're going to expect better, they're going to put work into the apartment, they're going to keep an eye on what happens in the street outside the building, they're going to try to get 'problem tenants' removed.
And of course if the same 6-7 parties in a building stay there for 10-15 years plus then they get to know each other. Friendships form, but also of course rivalries form as well. Familiarity breeds contempt as the saying goes. You have your building BBQs and parties...and your building feuds. It's like a village, except more close quarters. And people hear a lot of things. The building construction is better than in America but when you share walls, you hear things. If your neighbors are 70 year old ladies that's not going to be an issue, but if there's a 25 year old fresh out of college living above you, yeah, you'll hear the music blasting at 2 am, his bedroom escapades and so forth. If the person above you has small children, you'll hear them running around at all hours etc. which also causes friction.
Now when Recycled is talking about a building of owner occupants...he's essentially talking about the German equivalent of a condominium. Condo living and apartment living can be highly similar, but are not quite the same. Most people don't own their apartments, and life is going to be less quaint and genteel in a building where people rent rather than own. There's of course also a social class element to that.
It's better than in America primarily because it is set up for long-term arrangements and more socially acceptable. In America it seems like apartments are occupied by young people, transients and trash. And when I say transients that includes young professionals who will move on after a couple of years to either a different metro or a townhouse or a SFH in the suburbs. That means you have a constant in and out, you have a lot of 'problem tenants', you have apathetic management companies, cheaply and poorly made and maintained buildings etc.
It's going to be different in a place where middle-class people stick around to raise their family in an apartment. They're going to expect better, they're going to put work into the apartment, they're going to keep an eye on what happens in the street outside the building, they're going to try to get 'problem tenants' removed.
And of course if the same 6-7 parties in a building stay there for 10-15 years plus then they get to know each other. Friendships form, but also of course rivalries form as well. Familiarity breeds contempt as the saying goes. You have your building BBQs and parties...and your building feuds. It's like a village, except more close quarters. And people hear a lot of things. The building construction is better than in America but when you share walls, you hear things. If your neighbors are 70 year old ladies that's not going to be an issue, but if there's a 25 year old fresh out of college living above you, yeah, you'll hear the music blasting at 2 am, his bedroom escapades and so forth. If the person above you has small children, you'll hear them running around at all hours etc. which also causes friction.
Now when Recycled is talking about a building of owner occupants...he's essentially talking about the German equivalent of a condominium. Condo living and apartment living can be highly similar, but are not quite the same. Most people don't own their apartments, and life is going to be less quaint and genteel in a building where people rent rather than own. There's of course also a social class element to that.
Of course there will be feuds. However, are there more feuds between occupants owners of apartments in the same building in Germany compared to owners of single-family houses, or is there no statistical correlation, or is at actually the reverse and the German apartment owners feud each other less because they grew caring to each other and treat each other as family from living so close to each other long-term?
Of course there will be feuds. However, are there more feuds between occupants owners of apartments in the same building in Germany compared to owners of single-family houses, or is there no statistical correlation, or is at actually the reverse and the German apartment owners feud each other less because they grew caring to each other and treat each other as family from living so close to each other long-term?
I can give you my opinion, not a statistical analysis. In my personal experience, you're far more likely to have feuds in an apartment building than in a SFH neighborhood. Why? Noise, smells and common spaces.
and why should anyone complain if they have fat savings accounts in the bank from living in apartments?
I personally like having a single family house AND a fat savings account!
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