Why are houses in America so...ugly? (real estate, to buy)
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Keep in mind also that in the USA there is smomething like 830 cars for every thousand people. Comparatively China has about 25 per 1000. The U.K. has something like 300. We love our cars so our lifestyle is constructed around driving rather than walking or bicycling.
Take a look at this site and you will see what i mean. http://keycanadablog.ca/2008/03/25/home-and-away-for-under-500000/ (broken link)
These are average priced houses in different countries, u.s.a and greece included. Notice how nicely the greek house is built. There is a garage on the far left that doesn't take up the whole space in the front, you could also make the garage bigger if that was your taste right next to it where the 2 doors are. See how there's a lot of design going on and how beautifully it's constructed. There's a walkway, patio, balconies, stairs, lots of windows. I'm guessing that a model house since there's no drive way but you see what i mean. Take a look at the american house. There is a huge garage door and everything else seems to be built after as an add on to the garage. There is nothing wrong with having a garage but sacrificing the entire house to have a garage makes it ugly. Also notice how small the greek house is, its less than 1/3 the size of the american yet it's a beautiful house and we are talking about an average house in greece. I understand that it would cost a lot more to build it in america but i'm just trying to prove my point on the design
and something i still don't understand. Why pay so much money to build the garage out of the same materials the house is made? Why not add a more discrete garage to the side or make a driveway that goes around the house and park in the back (cement is not that expensive) and make the garage out of aluminum construction?
Last edited by hellaslover; 11-18-2008 at 03:39 PM..
Why pay so much money to build the garage out of the same materials the house is made? Why not add a more discrete garage to the side or make a driveway that goes around the house and park in the back (cement is not that expensive) and make the garage out of aluminum construction?
You assume that folks are willing to give up a lot of their backyard space. You need to have the room for the garage itself, and sufficient room to manuever your vehicle(s) around the house and into the garage. Many newer homes don't have back yards that are all that large, so placing the garage in the rear of the house can pretty much use up all of the yard.
oh please those are excuses. Even houses with huge yard have the garage built in the front. We were looking to buy a spanish villa and it was a wonderful house with 1/2 acre yard and the garage was right there in the front. It's just that americans love their cars too much they are willing to share their house with their 3-4 cars, when they only need 1-2. In my opinion the garage shouldn't be the top priority
Americans love big space and being comfortable, and that's fine, it's just that they don't construct things to accommodate space and style. Look at american cars for example, they are nice and large and the interior is cheap made with plastic where it should be leather
hellaslover: You are wrong about a great many things regarding the Greek house in the blog post you reference. The building in that photograph is not a single-family home. The house is supposedly 926 square feet--the building in that photo is far larger than 926 square feet! So it's a condo in a shared building, not a single free-standing house.
The door on the left is NOT a garage. There isn't a driveway! Even on model homes, garages have driveways. It looks like a large window or sliding glass door, with a covering over it similar to the two openings to the right. It isn't a garage door, that much is certain.
The house in West Palm Beach is three times as large, with more bathrooms. West Palm Beach is also a fairly desirable spot--similar houses could be had in, say, Lincoln for probably not much more than half that price. I don't think it's very good looking, personally, but then I prefer older homes.
Aluminum is a lot more expensive than wood, hellaslover, so there is no savings in building a detached garage from aluminum. Also, in many parts of the United States, it gets really, really cold, and people have to keep their cars inside when not in use so they don't get frozen in blocks of ice, and so they can work on them in winter. Often, in the northern United States, garages are insulated. Another reason for attached garages is to allow entry to the house without being exposed to the weather: you can go directly from the house to the garage without going outdoors. That's not much of a problem in balmy Greece, but in Minnesota it can be kind of a pain in January.
Aluminum is a lot more expensive than wood, hellaslover, so there is no savings in building a detached garage from aluminum. Also, in many parts of the United States, it gets really, really cold, and people have to keep their cars inside when not in use so they don't get frozen in blocks of ice, and so they can work on them in winter. Often, in the northern United States, garages are insulated. Another reason for attached garages is to allow entry to the house without being exposed to the weather: you can go directly from the house to the garage without going outdoors. That's not much of a problem in balmy Greece, but in Minnesota it can be kind of a pain in January.
True, also a garage attached to a house tends to be a little warmer, so a vehicle is easier to start in the dead of winter (lived in Cleveland for a few winters).
Sandpointian,
I usually try to be nice to people but i will talk to you the way you talk to me. You guessed right that i'm young and my guess is that you are one of those ignorant, stupid americans, you know, the kind that voted for Bush twice? First of all let me tell you why being a Greek is better than being an American (in most cases anyway). You are talking about architecture and how badly the houses are built in Greece, let me remind you that great architecture comes from ancient Greece. When ancient greeks were building the parthenon, americans were living in caves, or no wait..america didn't even exist back then did it? As greeks we are proud of what Greece is known for worldwide, we came up with democracy, mathematics, language, architecture, philosophy, art, the olympic games and a lot lot lot more the rest of the world is enjoying today. Take a look at the ancient greek temples and tell me how that's not phenomenal architecture even in todays standards, and keep in mind those were built in the B.C years without the use of any kind of techonology. It was all built with great greek minds and geometry WE came up with. When americans invented meat, greeks already had cholesterol. I will let you figure out the meaning of that yourself
So think before you say Greek architecture sucks and America's is the best. As an american what are you proud of? what is america's national food? hot dogs and beer? are you kidding me? America won't even know what fashion and style means if it wasn't for the europeans. Take a look at fashion, all the brand name clothing is european (mostly italian), the best cars are made in europe and japan, the best cuisine is everything BUT american (unless you consider mcdonalds american cuisine).
Let me tell you something you probably know but don't want to believe: The way america works is a big joke to the rest of the world and that's the reason everyone hates America (for example the war in iraq, let me guess you believe America went to iraq to free the people right? Out of all the countries in need America chose to "help" Iraq that happens to have the oil, what a coincidence). I will admit that America is succesfull and wealthy but that's because America consists of people from all over the world who contribute to this country, you walk down the street and you are not sure if you are in china, mexico or america, how proud does that make you feel? America is a big business country with no history, culture and no society. People come to america to take advantage of the opportunities, without immigrants america would be a big nothing.
Now back on the topic
I don't think the reason houses are made out of wood is to resist earthquakes. 90% of the houses are made of wood so that can't be the reason. Its simply because building with wood is faster and cheaper, construction companies put no effort into designing nice houses, they build houses in mass production for a quick profit, they use plastic pipes (i have friends who work in construction so i know) and roofs that need to be fixed every 20-30 years, but they do put some nice touches inside the house such as granite counters so it will look nice and dumb people like you will buy em.
And the fact that they put the huge garage door in the front and no windows on the house to save space is BS. I can make tens of designs on the same foot print and make the house look nicer using the same materials. In Greece even middle class people hire professionals to design the house of their dreams and make it last for hundreds of years without the stairs squeacking after 20 years you know why? because we use real building materials and not make it out of wood and then put a tree in the front because we love trees, ironic huh?
As far as Greece's economy i will agree that it sucks. We have the wrong people in important government positions and that's why we don't move forward. Greece is not letting it's own people progress and become rich and as a result Greece as a country remains poor. But that doesn't mean greeks are stupid. Most greeks that come to America succeed and those who stay in Greece have the potential to have a better future but can't.
And you said europeans are the most ignorant, uneducated and racist? no comment to that...i will just laugh
but let me tell you why americans are the way you describe europeans. Americans kick their children out once they turn 18, and sue them over a couple hundred dollars. Who is ignorant and heartless now? America had slavery until the 19th century and even today blue collared people would never live in a neighborhood with blacks, who is the racist now? If americans were not racist then why all this fuss for a black president?
You don't know what you are talking about. You are the joke that the rest of the world is talking about.
p.s you guys are right, i don't have to buy a house here. But i do have the right to criticize the ways homes are built (and i didn't say anything bad either) and open a thread to discuss it. If you get offended by me criticizing your building techniques then get over it
This post is so breathtakingly stupid it is entertaining. Thanks for the laugh I needed it today.
oh please those are excuses. Even houses with huge yard have the garage built in the front. We were looking to buy a spanish villa and it was a wonderful house with 1/2 acre yard and the garage was right there in the front. It's just that americans love their cars too much they are willing to share their house with their 3-4 cars, when they only need 1-2. In my opinion the garage shouldn't be the top priority
Americans love big space and being comfortable, and that's fine, it's just that they don't construct things to accommodate space and style. Look at american cars for example, they are nice and large and the interior is cheap made with plastic where it should be leather
Depends, if you live in an area that doesn't have basements under the homes, then a garage is very good for secured storage too.
If designed correctly, the garage can look fine within the context of a house design. You don't like it, so it won't appeal to you (yet).
I don't understand why houses are so ugly and cheap made? I mean, in Europe we use brick and stones to build a house, here they are made out of wood. I was told once it's because it's cheaper to make them out of wood + we have lots of trees. But it seems to me that houses here are more expensive compared to Greece (where i'm from), for example a million dollar home here is not worth that much in Greece. And why not use clay tile roofs? And another thing that bugs me the most, why do they put the garage door in the front? Shouldn't there be the entrance or a large window in the front of the house? Why do they build the houses with entrance on the side and a huge garage door (sometimes 2) in the front? And not only that, a lot of houses that i see have a tree right in front of the entrance, it's like they are doing it on purpose to not show any house other than the garage! Is it a privacy issue? Seems like million dollar homes are built this way, is it that hard to make cheaper homes look nice? And what's the deal with tiny doors? In my country most entrance doors are double, made out of nice wood with glass, here's it's just a wooden door. Is there a reason homes are built this way or do americans have no sense of style?
Why does the entire country of greece look like something out of the stone age? I mean, they all live in rocks and caves and they're all fat. ugh
Sandpointian,
I usually try to be nice to people but i will talk to you the way you talk to me. You guessed right that i'm young and my guess is that you are one of those ignorant, stupid americans, you know, the kind that voted for Bush twice? First of all let me tell you why being a Greek is better than being an American (in most cases anyway). You are talking about architecture and how badly the houses are built in Greece, let me remind you that great architecture comes from ancient Greece. When ancient greeks were building the parthenon, americans were living in caves, or no wait..america didn't even exist back then did it? As greeks we are proud of what Greece is known for worldwide, we came up with democracy, mathematics, language, architecture, philosophy, art, the olympic games and a lot lot lot more the rest of the world is enjoying today. Take a look at the ancient greek temples and tell me how that's not phenomenal architecture even in todays standards, and keep in mind those were built in the B.C years without the use of any kind of techonology. It was all built with great greek minds and geometry WE came up with. When americans invented meat, greeks already had cholesterol. I will let you figure out the meaning of that yourself
So think before you say Greek architecture sucks and America's is the best. As an american what are you proud of? what is america's national food? hot dogs and beer? are you kidding me? America won't even know what fashion and style means if it wasn't for the europeans. Take a look at fashion, all the brand name clothing is european (mostly italian), the best cars are made in europe and japan, the best cuisine is everything BUT american (unless you consider mcdonalds american cuisine).
Let me tell you something you probably know but don't want to believe: The way america works is a big joke to the rest of the world and that's the reason everyone hates America (for example the war in iraq, let me guess you believe America went to iraq to free the people right? Out of all the countries in need America chose to "help" Iraq that happens to have the oil, what a coincidence). I will admit that America is succesfull and wealthy but that's because America consists of people from all over the world who contribute to this country, you walk down the street and you are not sure if you are in china, mexico or america, how proud does that make you feel? America is a big business country with no history, culture and no society. People come to america to take advantage of the opportunities, without immigrants america would be a big nothing.
Now back on the topic
I don't think the reason houses are made out of wood is to resist earthquakes. 90% of the houses are made of wood so that can't be the reason. Its simply because building with wood is faster and cheaper, construction companies put no effort into designing nice houses, they build houses in mass production for a quick profit, they use plastic pipes (i have friends who work in construction so i know) and roofs that need to be fixed every 20-30 years, but they do put some nice touches inside the house such as granite counters so it will look nice and dumb people like you will buy em.
And the fact that they put the huge garage door in the front and no windows on the house to save space is BS. I can make tens of designs on the same foot print and make the house look nicer using the same materials. In Greece even middle class people hire professionals to design the house of their dreams and make it last for hundreds of years without the stairs squeacking after 20 years you know why? because we use real building materials and not make it out of wood and then put a tree in the front because we love trees, ironic huh?
As far as Greece's economy i will agree that it sucks. We have the wrong people in important government positions and that's why we don't move forward. Greece is not letting it's own people progress and become rich and as a result Greece as a country remains poor. But that doesn't mean greeks are stupid. Most greeks that come to America succeed and those who stay in Greece have the potential to have a better future but can't.
And you said europeans are the most ignorant, uneducated and racist? no comment to that...i will just laugh
but let me tell you why americans are the way you describe europeans. Americans kick their children out once they turn 18, and sue them over a couple hundred dollars. Who is ignorant and heartless now? America had slavery until the 19th century and even today blue collared people would never live in a neighborhood with blacks, who is the racist now? If americans were not racist then why all this fuss for a black president?
You don't know what you are talking about. You are the joke that the rest of the world is talking about.
p.s you guys are right, i don't have to buy a house here. But i do have the right to criticize the ways homes are built (and i didn't say anything bad either) and open a thread to discuss it. If you get offended by me criticizing your building techniques then get over it
Your posts sound incredibly self-righteous, contemptous and just downright hostile. Maybe if you asked your questions about architecture without sounding elitist and nasty you'd get better responses. And - I agree - you start off by asking questions about houses and end-up insulting America and Americans(?) What's the deal with you?
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