Past GT essay - Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in a house and living in an apartment and give your opinion

Many people nowadays face a difficult decision when they buy their own home. The question is whether they should buy a house or an apartment. This essay shall discuss the advantages and disadvantages of both options before forming an opinion.

Perhaps the major advantage of living in a house is the issue of privacy. Typically, there is more opportunity for peace and quiet, if you live in a house. This is particularly the case if it is a detached house. Other significant advantages are that houses are generally more spacious and on the whole have gardens. This is especially important if there is a family so that the children can have a safe environment to play in.

There are, of course, negative aspects to living in houses. The greatest of these is that they tend to be more expensive to purchase and to maintain. Indeed, a large majority of people choose to live in apartments because they cannot afford the mortgage to buy a house. Another possible problem is that there are fewer houses in cities than the countryside. So the facilities of urban life may be far away.

On the other hand, in an apartment there is always somebody near to help you in an emergency or watch your flat when you are away. As well as this, flats have very low maintenance costs. For example, with only a balcony, there are no bushes to trim, no lawn to mow and no leaves to rake. Finally, flats are usually located closer to city centre and so public transport is easy to get.

The downside of apartment life is that the neighbours may be noisy and bothersome. This can be extremely unpleasant, particularly if your sleep is constantly interrupted. Also, living in a neighbourhood crowded with blocks of flats means that parking is limited and finding a space for your car could take a considerable amount of your time.

To conclude, it can be seen that there are probably an equal number of pros and cons to making either choice. Ultimately, whether you decide to live in a house or a flat depends on a person’s family and financial circumstances.