Almost half of all British families own the houses in which they live. Of course, not everyone wishes to buy a house and renting is very common, too.
There are several types of houses in Britain: terraced, back-to-back, town houses, semi-detached, detached, bungalows and cottages.
Some people line in flats instead of houses. A flat is situated in the same building as other flats, often forming part of a block of flats or town house.
A typical British house is set in a small garden and has two storeys. A garage is normally attached to the house. Most British houses have carpets throughout, although wooden floors are also quite popular.

The front room is a sitting room with a fireplace, settee and armchairs, a wall unit with the hi-fi system, television and video, bookcase and a coffee table. The back room is dining room containing a table, four chairs, and a sideboard. They are usually all build in. The big room upstairs id the parents bedroom with a double bed.
A typical British house has a garden as the British people are fond of gardening. Everyone in the family helps around the house to make it comfortable and nice.
Many wealthy American people have very large houses with many rooms, tennis courts and swimming pools.
In the centre of big American cities, many people live in apartments (flats) situated in large apartment buildings. The majority of Americans live in detached houses with a front and back gardens.

Like the British, Americans do not usually stay in the same house for their whole lives. Some families like to move to other parts of the country and change houses more than once in a decade.