The best place to live (housing)

For my whole life I live in Prague and I can?t imagine living anywhere else. I love this city ? its atmosphere. I?ve got here everything what is important for life. My family, friends, hobbies, boyfriend. I don?t think I?ll be ever able to live in a country. Of course that during the summer holiday I like to be out of Prague ? out of the terrible heat and millions of tourists. But after the holiday I?m happy that I?m back.
Comparing living in a city and in the country we can see lot of pros and cons on both sides. I think that in the case of city the number of pros is bigger. I live in the centre, so getting to Wenceslas or Old Town Square is, for me, question of 20 minutes by walk. And really near to my home are cinemas, cafés, pubs, music clubs, gyms, and swimming pools ? every kind of entertainment. And when I decide going somewhere it?s no problem.
Criminality and crime is the biggest disadvantage of living in the city. Big city is much more anonymous and ?safe? for thieves, robbers or rapists. At night the city isn?t safe and rely on the police isn?t solution.
Next good thing on living in the city are shops. When you need something you have nearly 100% chance get it the same day you realized you need it. People living in villages have to go to some bigger city to buy majority of things they need (except food and drugstore?s assortment).
You can live in different types of houses. In a private house, in a block of flats or in the prefab house. The prefab house is very typical for Czech housing estates
The most typical kind of living in cities is living in a flat, in the town or in the village it?s very usual to have own not very big private house. But of course, it varies from family to family.
Now the difference between living in a house and in a flat. When you live in a house you pay for gas, electricity, water, TV, radio and telephone. When you live in a flat you pay all of these plus the hire. When you live in a house, you probably have the garden, where you can relax, sunbathe or have a lunch or dinner in the summer. It sounds perfectly, doesn?t it? But house also brings lot of duties. All repairing you do on your own or you have to pay them. In the winter it?s very expensive (and sometimes very problematic) to heat up the house adequately.
Both of these types of living have their pros and cons. I t depends on you what you?ll prefer. I and my family live in a flat. I live there my whole life, I never moved. Our flat is quite big ? 120 square metres, my room has got 30 square metres. The flat is large, sunny and comfortable but there is one big disadvantage: terrible noise. We live next to railway station and, as I said, in the centre. So I can hear trains, buses and cars which is not the best surroundings for learning to my final exam. 😉

Vocabulary
block of flats ? činžovní dům
prefab house ? panelák
private house ? soukromý dům
housing estate – sídliště