Am I the only one fed up with houses being so small? do others feel the same way?

user1168934

I live in a small 2 bed flat which I bought after saving for years and years .... and I mean serious hardcore saving as in literally no holidays, no going out, virtually no social life (I have friends but you know what I mean), not buying anything I like, no fancy phone, just spending the bare minimum .... no life in short in the hope to have a decent accomodation one day.

Now after a few more years of saving I was hoping to buy a house with decent space but honestly when I look at the houses I think the houses are generally very very small. The rooms are so tiny there is hardly space to put any furniture and move around. There is no storage space for anything either.
I know there are huge mansions but they cost millions of pounds which I dont have .... I am talking about houses in general.

I was wondering if I am the only one bothered by houses being so small here in the UK. I have lived here for around 15 years now and I love it here ..... except that accomodations are letter-box size and every morning I wake up feeling claustrophobic.

Is it just my perception or do you all feel the same way? If yes how do you deal with it?

WorldTraveller_2

Yes most houses are quite small. I suppose it depends what you're used to - I've always lived in the UK (though have travelled to many other countries) so it's normal to me. Also depends on how much stuff you've got - I'm a bit of a minimalist and don't keep much so we personally don't need a lot of storage space, which makes things easier.

hazyjo

You will always need small houses for people with small budgets.


Do you have the potential to increase your income?


If you're looking at newer properties, these are likely to be smaller than those built before the 1970s.


Some housing in the Far East is far worse than ours. Still a huge demand for it.

elsien

New build houses tend to have smaller room sizes as well. What sort of house have you been looking at? My terrace is a bit like a Tardis - bigger on the inside than it appears from outside.

[Deleted User]

You might find that houses get a bit bigger as they get older and further out of city centre/urban areas. Living somewhere unpopular but where you can make a compromise like that is going to give you more bang for your buck as well.

user1168934

WorldTraveller wrote: »

Yes most houses are quite small. I suppose it depends what you're used to - I've always lived in the UK (though have travelled to many other countries) so it's normal to me. Also depends on how much stuff you've got - I'm a bit of a minimalist and don't keep much so we personally don't need a lot of storage space, which makes things easier.

Thanks for the reply.
I haven't got much stuff but you do need some space to move around after say putting a double bed and a wardrobe in a room which at the moment you cannot.

Aylesbury_Duck

I think it's your perception. When I look at the houses my grandparents and their parents grew up in, and more importantly the number of people who lived in those houses, even some of the modern estate houses seem generously proportioned.

Expectations have changed. Lots of people "need" two bedrooms for a family of three, lots "need" three for a family of four and so on. There have been lots of threads on here over the years where people "need" to move to a bigger house because their children "won't share a bedroom". I have three siblings and from the age of seven to fifteen I shared a room with my brother and my sisters shared a room. We weren't a rich family, nor was money tight, it was just a normal way of living. My school friends all had similar set-ups.

Back in those days, we bought TVs that fitted in our living rooms. We didn't expect different tables for breakfast and dinner, had fewer appliances and fewer clothes. Basically, with the advent of relatively cheap consumer goods, we buy and own a lot more stuff now so houses feel more cramped.

user1168934

hazyjo wrote: »

You will always need small houses for people with small budgets.


Do you have the potential to increase your income?


If you're looking at newer properties, these are likely to be smaller than those built before the 1970s.


Some housing in the Far East is far worse than ours. Still a huge demand for it.

Thanks for the reply. I think I have decent income it's about twice the average income in the UK. Of course the taxes are high so take home is not exactly twice.

What I am finding generally is that difference is prices is not really realted to the house size. They are generally small and about the same size everywhere. There ones which are expensive are because they are in a nicer area.

Kathy535

Apparently, we build the smallest houses in Europe and Yorkshire has the smallest homes of all.

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/building-control-news/uk-smallest-homes-europe/32902/

Comments about looking for older houses (i.e. Pre 1970s) feel right. I had a small 1980s two bed as my first house and then moved into a Victorian terrace, now in a 50s semi. Both the latter have larger rooms and feel more spacious. Careful decorating and use of clever storage can make spaces feel larger - I've always loved these stair drawers and plinth drawers

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/208221182741467872/
https://www.howdens.com/kitchen-collection/kitchen-accessories/drawer-storage/plinth-drawer/

user1168934

elsien wrote: »

New build houses tend to have smaller room sizes as well. What sort of house have you been looking at? My terrace is a bit like a Tardis - bigger on the inside than it appears from outside.

I live way outisde the M25 boundry and looking even further out for the house but like I said the houses are genrally the same size in pretty much all areas, the difference is price is do with how nice the area feels. I am not looking at new builds, they are way outside my range.

need_an_answer

Houses have got smaller over the years,when we purchased our first house it was a starter home,a few decades later and its very much classed as a family home if we were to sell.

somewhere over the years developers have taken away space and even gardens to the front and rear of properties,so those with them do seem to command a higher price.

Its not a new thing though a 1930s house does come with space nowadays but historically when they were built they were your typical family home.

Bit like chocolate really that's decreased in size over the years!