(no subject)

[lucifermourning]

last night at the pub i had an intriguing discussion about american v. british attitudes toward living space. americans tend to have much bigger houses, particular middle class americans, than their british equivalants.
it was suggested that this is, in a great part, due to relative population densities, which i believe is probably roughly true. according to wikipedia, the UK has a population density of 243/square km, v. the US 30 /square km, albeit greatly varying by area.
but it also must have something to do with attitudes. those i spoke to may remember my description of the house i grew up--much square footage, large rooms, etc.--and not a particularly big house for my area. such living space are not at all atypical in new jersey--actually, it's quite challenging to find a small house.
but new jersey has a population density of 438/square km.
we just seem to think we need more space to live in.
(not that any of my conclusions are scientific, i'm just intrigued.)

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I used to assume the houses shown in films of the US were all rich people. It was only comparitively recently that I really grasped that these huge houses were normal homes. What a comparism with other parts of the world!