Why are houses in America so...ugly? (Sacramento, Davis: HOA, crime)

[jeweloflight]

I just have one question? Why in the world are here?

[NewToCA]

I'd like to keep this thread oriented towards house design discussions.

[Kid Quake]

Originally Posted by hellaslover

Take a look at this site and you will see what i mean. Home and Away - For under $500,000 « Canadian Real Estate Blog | Real Estate News | KeyCanada.ca Blog (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?

Give us time. We've only recently advanced from the tepee.

But the garage in front serves many purposes. It blocks noise. It blocks wind. It makes shovelling snow less work. It's cheaper than paving a driveway all the way to the back. It's attached to the house so you don't need to leave the house to reach the garage/car, especially in winter climates.

The backyard is meant for the pool, tennis court, BBQ, spa and partying.

[youngmoney]

Originally Posted by hellaslover

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?

That's not right. You are narrow minded and ignorant troll for saying people are stupid because they republican values.

Someone please ban this poster.

[Kid Quake]

Um, that was the only solid valid point it made.

[hellaslover]

youngmoney, listen
there's stupid people everywhere and even in my country we elect the wrong president, but americans did it twice. and by reading you status i'm guessing you voted for mccain? can you explain the logic behind that? it has nothing to do with being a republican or democrat, i was pro bush 8 years ago so i was stupid too but i won't vote for him again after how he destroyed this economy. Mccain agreed on most bush's policies, he favors big corporations and not only that, he is old so if something happened to him guess who would be the next president? Palin, the dumbest person in politics. She doesn't even know that Africa is a continent...do some research before you say stuff like this. I don't like politics in general and i'm not republican or democrat i just vote for whoever i think will be the best president and in this case it was obama, by far

[NewToCA]

OK, no more politics here. This thread is about home design in the USA vs the rest of the (selective) world.

This site has a P&OC Forum, if you want to discuss politics.

[Coldjensens]

Did you think that the greek house shown in the link is a nice looking house?

All of those houses are hideous except maybe the French one. You can find ugly houses anywhere. You can also find nice houses anywhere. I could find dozens of american houses that would put that ugly greek house to shame, but then youcould probably find some greek houses that are better. It is silly to look at one area and generalize to a country of over 100 million housholds. Look at at least a million houses (1 100th) before you try to make some gross generalization. the only greek peron that I have known was a woman who was short, fat and had facial hair. Should I then post a thread asking why all greek women are short fat and hairy? That is an absurd generalizaiton. Just like it is an absurd generalization to attmept to apply your limited experience to all american architecture and all american people. Modern mass prodcution type architecture is ugly. It is probably ugly in every country. That does not mean that all houses in the country are ugly.

If you are not being shown houses that you find aesthetically appealing, then you need to find a new realtor. Get someone who will show you what you like rather than what they hope to sell. Virtually every style of architecture is available someplace

[hellaslover]

And you don't think it's a nice looking house? are you kidding me..? i like the french one too but you must be crazy to call all those houses hideous (except the irish, which is). And i didn't pick those houses to compare it's a canadian website that compares what you can get with that amount of money. I've lived in America for 9 years and i've seen plenty of houses in different areas of the state, it's not like i got off the plane and judged the first house i saw. It's not the area that i live in (which is pretty upscale) it's the majority of the average houses that are built this way. Ever wonder why they don't built million dollar homes with a huge garage in the front taking up half the space? Because rich people have the money and pay for style, the average joe who cannot afford them has to buy a house that's hiding behind the garage. how about you find me a house that's not built this way? i'm looking to buy in the sacramento area (including lincoln, roseville, elk grove) up to 350k (which buys you a pretty nice house these days) you are not gonna find none. And i'm talking about areas that have plenty of space to build the garage. If 95% of the greek women you met were short fat and hairy you would be right to make the generalization

[moovin]

This is an incredibly subjective point about and it's written by a MOD CUT.

One of the wonderful things about America is that we re-evaluate ourselves all the time. We build structures that are able to be torn down and rebuilt. That's just the way we are. You don't have to like it. If you don't like your house with a garage in front of it you can build it otherwise. In Europe you wouldn't be allowed to build a house with a garage in front because you don't have the freedom to do that (bldg codes) if you so happen to want that. In most of Western Europe you wouldn't be able to even afford a home like you can in the US.

And finally, if you don't like it here move to Europe. It's a free world. Then you can talk to your European neighbors how great you all are.