HOUSING

I live with my parents and my brother in a small village K*** near N***.

PLUSES AND MINUSES. I’d rather live in a city, because there are a lot of disadvantages when you live in the countryside. First of all, our village is so small, that there are no shops, no pubs and no cultural activities. Furthermore, we have to commute to school and the bus connection isn’t very good. Especially in winter is it very difficult. And, of course, everyone knows everything about everybody. But there are also many positives to living in a village. The best thing on living in the countryside is the nature. Moreover, you have the possibility of growing your own vegetables and fruit and having pets or raising farm animals.

OUR FLAT. Although most of people live in detached houses, we live in a four-room flat in a block of flats. Our house isn’t very nice from the outside but our flat is comfortable and nice. Our flat is located on the second floor. If you visit our family, you will come first to the entrance hall. It is small and there are a coat hanger, a case with shoes and a large mirror. From here we can get to almost every room.

LIVING ROOM. If you turn right, you get to the living room. It is the biggest room in our flat and we spend our evenings here. In this room we watch TV, read books and have a rest. Our living room is furnished with a couch, a large table with 4 chairs, a cofee table, two armchairs and two big bookcases. In the living room you can find a TV, a stereo and a lot of plants. The walls are decorated with many pictures and the floor is covered woth a brown carpet.

KITCHEN. Other door leads into the kichen. There is everything we need for cooking. It is equipped with an electric oven, a fridge, a freezer, a microwave and a dishwasher. There are cups, glasses, plates, bowls, pots, pans, knives, forks, spoons, etc. in the kitchen cabinets. From the kitchen, you can enter the dining room. It is very small room, actually there is only a table with four chairs.

MY ROOM. From the hall you can go to my room. I share the room with my brother, but he studies in Prag at the moment, that’s why I live there mostly alone. The room is neither big nor small, there are two beds, two tables and two cases. There is a large window opposite the door, that’s why is the room very sunny. The walls are painted in light yellow and they are decorated with many pictures. My favourite place in this room is my bed, I have a lot of small pillows on it. I try to keep my room in order, but sometimes it is a little messy.

MY PARENT’S BEDROOM. Next to my and my brother’s room is my parent’s bedroom. It is the second biggest room. There is a large twin bed and three wardrobes in which all our clothes are stored.

From the hall we can go to the toilet and the bathroom with a large bath, a basin and a washing machine.

MY FUTURE HOUSE. I like our flat because it’s my home. But in the future I would like to have my own flat or house. In the beginning a small flat will be good enough, maybe somewhere in the centre of the city. But later when I establish a family, I would like to have a nice house with a large garden and a fireplace.

There are some differences in housing in our country and housing in the Great Britain or USA.

CZECH REPUBLIC. The Czechs mostly live in a small house for one family or in ablock of flats. Many people living in town have a cottage in the countryside and they like spending their weekends there. The garden is for Czechs an important place, it is designed for growing vegetable.

GREAT BRITAIN. I would like to say something about housing in Britain. Most of the houses in Britain are owned by people who live in them. Buildings are usually made of red bricks or stone. British house has 2 floors and 4 to 6 rooms. On the ground floor there are a living room, a dining room, a kitchen and a hall. Upstairs there are a bathroom, a toilet and bedrooms for parents and children. There can also be a guestroom. British have 2 gardens – one of them is in front of the house, it’s quite small and actually only for decoration, that’s why there are a lot of flowers. Back gardens are much bigger, there are trees and it’s good for having parties or barbecue.

USA. In the US, they count the floors differently. The floor you enter from the outside is the first floor and then you go up to the second floor. In Great Britain it’s called the ground floor and then you go up to the first floor. The apartments in the US are always rented, you don’t own them like you can own the house. Not many Americans own a summer cottage – they would think that Czechs who do must be very rich. However, almost every American can own his own home – it is a symbol of freedom for them. Two-thirds of population have a single family house and they have bigger houses than the British. The Americans use to live at the suburbs. The houses are usually made of stone or wood.