Housing and Home
· Home is more than four walls with a roof. It is the cooking, eating, talking, playing, arguing and family living. For me home is my birthplace; my parents, siblings, grandparents; it is the place where I feel safe and relaxed.
· Houses look different in different countries. In cold countries, there is often a fireplace in the living room with a comfortable armchair next to it for warmth. In southern countries people prefer cool stone floors and no carpets. Homes are different because people’s attitudes and needs differ so much.
· Most Slovak families own the houses or flats in which they live. If you want to buy a houses or a flat you don’t need to have all the money. There are many special banks from which it is possible to borrow money. Of course, not everyone wishes to buy a house and renting is very common, too.
· There are several types of houses a terraced houses, a semi-detached houses, a detached house, a bungalow and a cottage. Terraced houses are built in a row and are joined one to another to form a street. Two houses joined together by one common wall are called semi-detached houses. A detached house stands by itself and is not joined to another house. A bungalow is a one-storey house. A cottage is a small village house.
·
Some people live in flats not
houses. A flat is situated on one floor and is designed for one family. A flat
forms a part of blocks of flats. It may be very large with nearly as much space
as the house, or it may also by one room with a kitchen and bathroom.
A typical British house is situated in a small garden and has two storeys. It
is usually designed for a family of four or five people. There is a hall, a
front room, a back room, a kitchen, a pantry and a storage space downstairs. A
garage is attached to the house. Upstairs, there is one big bedroom and two
smaller ones, a bathroom and lavatory. British houses have central heating
installed.
·
The front room is a sitting
room with a fireplace, settee and the armchairs, the wall unit with the
hi-fi system, television and DVD, bookcase and a coffee table. There is a
carpet on the floor to make the room warm and cosy. The back room is a dining
room containing a table, four or more chairs, and a sideboard. The kitchen
furniture includes the kitchen cupboards, sink, cooker and
fridge-freezer. They are all built in. There is also a table with stools. The
floor in the kitchen is tiled. The big room upstairs is the parents bedroom. It
has a double-bed, built-in wardrobes, dressing table with a mirror on the wall
and a taburet in front of the table. The small rooms are bedrooms for children.
·
A typical British house has a
garden as the British people are fond of gardening. A beautiful well-kept lawn
is a pride of every British family. The British like to spend their free time
in their houses. Everyone in the family helps around the house to make it
comfortable and nice.
Living condition of American people depend much on the amount of money they
have. Many wealthy people have very large houses with many rooms, tennis courts
and swimming pools. On the other hand, there are also people who are homeless.
Homelessness is a big social problem. Many homeless people are alcoholics and
mentally-ill or just unemployed people.
How do people choose a flat or house which they want
to live in.
The most important criterion according to which
people chose their dwelling is the distance from their relatives, the distance
from their work, then good schools, the low cost of living, good health care,
good shopping facilities, and good infrastructure. People usually try out
several different places till they find the one that suits them best.