Until I was 7, our family lived in a block-of-flats. It was situated on the outskirts of our town. There were five and seven-storey houses. We lived in a three-roomed flat.

Living in a block-of-flats wasn´t very interesting and we didn´t enjoy our life there very much. Visitors could come to stay with us only for a short time because we couldn´t accomodate them.

Our living situation changed when I was 7. My parents bought the ground and began building the house. After 2 years the house was finished and we could move to it.

The housing situation in Great Britain and in Slovakia.

Almost half of all British families own the houses which they live in. When you want to buy a house in Britain, you don´t need to have all the money. There are lots of bank institutions which will lend you the money, we call it mortgage.
Young people who can´t afford to buy a house or a flat, rent it. Such renting is very common. Sometimes 3 or more young people live in a rented flat and share the costs.

In Slovakia lots of people live in blocks-of-flats. Flats are either small or large. You can have a one-roomed flat or two or three-roomed flat or even a four-roomed flat which has almost as much space as the house.
To own a house or flat in Slovakia isn´t easy at all. It´s very expensive. That´s why a lot of young people leave Slovakia to earn more money abroad.

Types of houses in Britain

• terraced houses are built in a row and are joined one to another to form a street
• 2 houses joined together by one wall are called semi-detached houses
• a detached house stands by itself, it´s not joined to another house
• a bungalow is a one-storey house
• a cottage is a small village house or a holiday cottage in the countryside

Typical British house
A typical British house has a front garden and a back garden and usually it has two storeys. A well-kept lawn is a pride of every British family as the British are fond of gardening.
The British like to spend their free time in their houses. Everyone in the family helps around the house. British people say “my house-my castle“ which means that´s my ownership, my wealth and my certainty.

Ideal house/Dream house
My dream house is situated at the edge of a small city district. Right behind the house is a forest and meadow. So that it takes only a few steps to get to nature.
About 200 metres from my house there is a lake. That´s good because I can swim there during summer. The house has a big red roof and there is a small painted chimney on the roof.
In front of the house there is a small flower garden and behind the house there is a swimming pool. I hope that one day my dream will come true.

My children bedroom
My children room is not very large but sunny. Walls are light orange, covered with pictures. There is a big table near the window where you can find many kinds of papers, books, pencils, pens, photos and so on. Sometimes it looks very chaotic but I can find there everything I want. My mum can´t understand it and often says: “It´s like a volcano after several erruptions!“ Then I have to tidy my room for her satisfaction. Behind my messy table there is a bed where I spend most of my time when I read a book, listen music, study or sleep. I love sleeping very much.
Past x Nowadays x Future

Past :
didn´t have an electricity, vaccum cleaner, washing machine,
had wooden or mud floor,
didn´t have water, toilet, television, computer,
cleaned clothes by hand,
ate from one bowl/plate,
had small rooms, usually three-roomed houses,
had one or two big beds where slept all of them,
fireplace made warm,
knew neighbours, talk to them more often than us,
didn´t have many schools,usually there was one school in a town,
had to shop every week

Nowadays:
have a refrigerator, preprepared meals, washing machine, vaccum cleaner, water, electricity, toilet, television, computer,
housing estates were built,
go shopping once a month,
don´t need to eat from one bowl or one plate,
have larger rooms, more space,
can listen to mp3 players everywhere we are,
every person has their own bed and often bedroom too,
communication between us and our neighbours is very neglected

Future:
everything will be done by robots,
more spacious houses will be built,
computers will lead our society,
everyone will have their own room and bathroom

Village x Town
Village:
cleaner air,
more space = bigger houses and gardens,
less population,
far from work = have to commute to work and school = buses can be late, uncomfortable = have to get up early,
less facilities to lead cultural life,
one elementary school,
one village shop

Town:
full of offices, housing estates, schools,
heavy traffic,
job solutions,
lots of people everywhere,
opportunities to spend Saturday evening - cinema, theatre, restaurants,...
more free time activities,
shopping network,
parks,
people face dangerous situations every day,
dirty air from car fumes,
more expensive cost of living