55% of Americans say they would prefer to live in a community where houses are larger and farther away from amenities – compared to 44% who say the opposite.
I live in a smallish house in the center of a small but densely populated city in England. The house is half the size of the house I lived in when I was in the US. I drive about once a week. The rest of the time, I walk or ride a Dutch city bike. I’m healthier than I was in the US, where for some jobs, I had commutes that took 2 hours each way. I know my neighbors. I know the shopkeepers on the small pedestrianized commercial street in our neighborhood, as well as on the main street (high street) in the city center, which is a 15 minute walk from my front door. I can ride my bike at a leisurely pace for half an hour and be in beautiful countryside or on the English Channel.
I’m not saying everyone should live this way, but it definitely suits me better than owning a house twice as big and having to drive everywhere.
What is better for the environment, healthier or is your personal preference is not per sé what most people consider.
Where I live (most densely populated area of Europe, 3rd in the world!) people live in or near the city in small houses or flats.
Mostly rented, until they get settled and can buy a (bigger) house in the ‘countryside’ and commute.
That is the cliché standard here.
And totally understandable, who wants to live in a stacked box without a garden and people living left and right, above and under you?
AmericanspeopleSome people.
I live in a smallish house in the center of a small but densely populated city in England. The house is half the size of the house I lived in when I was in the US. I drive about once a week. The rest of the time, I walk or ride a Dutch city bike. I’m healthier than I was in the US, where for some jobs, I had commutes that took 2 hours each way. I know my neighbors. I know the shopkeepers on the small pedestrianized commercial street in our neighborhood, as well as on the main street (high street) in the city center, which is a 15 minute walk from my front door. I can ride my bike at a leisurely pace for half an hour and be in beautiful countryside or on the English Channel.
I’m not saying everyone should live this way, but it definitely suits me better than owning a house twice as big and having to drive everywhere.
What is better for the environment, healthier or is your personal preference is not per sé what most people consider.
Where I live (most densely populated area of Europe, 3rd in the world!) people live in or near the city in small houses or flats.
Mostly rented, until they get settled and can buy a (bigger) house in the ‘countryside’ and commute.
That is the cliché standard here.
And totally understandable, who wants to live in a stacked box without a garden and people living left and right, above and under you?