What matters for you when you choose a home ?

[Maciamo]

After 4 years in Japan, I realised that one of the things I constantly complain about is the architecture of houses and apartement blocks. Apparently Japanese people don't really care about it as I have never heard anyone complain about it, nor feel empathy when I raised the issue (contrarily to other subjects where some people do agree that it could be better). So I came to wonder "How important is it for people around the world to have a beautiful house, live in a beautiful neighbourhood or just a beautiful city or region ?"

Here are a few questions to rank everyone's opinion on the importance of a few basic criteria to select a home. Please rank them in order of importance for you like this :

1) Essential
2) Very important
3) Important
4) A bit important
5) Not so important

A) Proximity of shops and conveniences (supermarket, post office, bank, pharmacy, etc.)

B) Good public transports (numerous, practical, reliable, good quality...)

C) Weather of that region (= how sensitive are you too rain, cold, low pressure, heat, humidity...)

D) Beauty of your own house

E) Beauty of the neighbourhood

F) Beauty of the whole city or region

G) Size of the house/apartment (= can you live in limited space or do you need a villa ?)

H) Greenery (= do you need a garden/backyard in your house or a park, fields or forest around ?)

I) Scenery (= do you need a house on top of a hill, or with a view on the sea, a river or a park ?)

J) Luminosity of the house (= do you mind having taller building stealing your light ?)

K) Safety of the area (= do you mind gangs, thiefs, drunkards, etc. in your area ?)

L) Quality of the neighbours (= do you mind noisy, inquisitive or "difficult" neighbours ?)

A) 2
B) 2
C) 2
D) 2
E) 2
F) 3
G) 4
H) 4
I) 5
J) 5
K) 1
L) 3

[Kinsao]

Interesting... I had to think hard... I'm very easy to please, lol, I can be happy pretty well anywhere. (I'm guessing you mean "not important" as 5, yeah?)

A) 2 (because I don't have a car. From experience I've also found it's useful socially!)
B) 1 (ditto)
C) 4
D) 5
E) 4
F) 5
G) 4 (I always want more space than I've got, even when I have plenty of room. But I'm quite philosophical so will make the best of anything. The only issue being art work, which can take up a lot of room, but I could always rent a studio if I was living in one room.)
H) 3
I) 3 (I guess these also link with the Q about "beauty of the environment". I'd like to be able to block out a less "beautiful" environment, but in reality it's surprising how much effect this kind of thing can have on your mood if you're not careful. On the up side, I also find fire escapes visually pleasing, for some strange reason...)
J) 2 (Because of the art work... but not a 1, because I can always use daylight simulation._
K) 4 (Although this would go up to a 1 if I had poor security on my home - getting broken into really sucks.)
L) 5

[lastmagi]

Hm... I haven't had any experience with home searching, still being in college, but here goes.

A) Proximity of shops and conveniences - 2

Well, I need to get the groceries. While I won't be going out every day to get to those conveniences, I'd still like to be able to get these things done easily. However, if there is some amenity in the scenery (ie it's pleasant to walk to the nearest store even though it's a bit far), I might be a little more flexible.

B) Good public transports - 2

I've lived in a suburb for most of my life, so I know how important public transports are. Still, even if it's something simple like a single bus route, I'll probably be happy.

C) Weather of that region - 2

I need the weather to be cool. I can't stand hot weather.

D) Beauty of your own house - 3

Hm.

E) Beauty of the neighbourhood - 2

It's not my own house's beauty that necessarily raises my land value, but that of my neighbors. Suckers! Anyway, as long as the neighborhood is clean and the building styles don't mesh horribly, I'll be happy

F) Beauty of the whole city or region - 2

If my neighborhood is beautiful and the rest of the area is a slum-infested wasteland, I'll still think of the slum-infested wasteland. I'm just that pessimistic.

G) Size of the house/apartment - 2/4

2 - if living in a rural area, I'd like some space to pace around as I mutter distractedly about the house.
4 - if living in a (thriving) city, the cultural and recreational amenities would balance out the small apartment.

H) Greenery - 1

I'm a nature lover.

I) Scenery - 2

Ooh, nice. Related to above.

J) Luminosity of the house - 4

Nah.

K) Safety of the area - 1

I don't want me or my family to have to worry about getting shot or mugged every single day, simple as that.

L) Quality of the neighbours - 1

Having lived next to annoying neighbors in my dorm most of my college career, I have to say that I absolutely hate inconsiderate neighbors.


Looks like I'm a little hard to please...

[Pararousia]

One factor you left out is an area with a higher rate of appreciation; here in America we call that the location factor and the 3 most important things in buying a home here is location, location, location (old joke). Location would have a combination of those other qualities you listed.

From a personal stand point, privacy, a view, and lots of light are the most important things to me. That means lack of a close neighbor, lots of trees and acreage if possible, and lots of windows.

[Maciamo]

One factor you left out is an area with a higher rate of appreciation; here in America we call that the location factor and the 3 most important things in buying a home here is location, location, location (old joke). Location would have a combination of those other qualities you listed.

Well, I didn't leave it out. Almost all the criteria listed are about location. Or did you have anything else in mind that the beauty of the neighbourhood, quality of neighbours, greenery, scenery and convenience ?

[Kara_Nari]

[B]A) Proximity of shops and conveniences (supermarket, post office, bank, pharmacy, etc.)[B/]

Well, I dont mind so much, as long as they are accessible by bus, or not too expensive by taxi. Since I was 16 I have always lived in close proximity to all amenities.

B) Good public transports (numerous, practical, reliable, good quality...)

I hate having to have to walk more than 10 minutes to get to public transport, basically because when its raining, and you're in a hurry to get somewhere its just not nice.

C) Weather of that region (= how sensitive are you too rain, cold, low pressure, heat, humidity...)

Well, I did move to Busan because there was a beach for the summer, but generally I havent lived anywhere with horrendous weather, I do prefer cooler normal temperatures opposed to stifling hot. Dont mind the cold so much, but as yet, havent experienced anything other than New Zealands not so cold winter climate.

D) Beauty of your own house

Ok, if it's my own house, I want it to be nice, with a nice garden. Lovely matching colour scheme, modern, with traditional ornaments and paintings. The outside I would prefer if it wasnt brick. Im not such a big fan of brick.

E) Beauty of the neighbourhood

Dont really care about the neighbourhood.... after all im living in Korea now, you'd be surprised at what you find down the alleyways you have to walk down to get to your house.

F) Beauty of the whole city or region

See above. However Busan appealed to me because of the mountains and the ocean. WHEN I own my own home, I would like to be near the sea.

G) Size of the house/apartment (= can you live in limited space or do you need a villa ?)

I have grown accustomed to limited space, I can live anywhere as long as there are no 'uninvited' rodents, or bugs. Once again, I would like a big house when I build one.

H) Greenery (= do you need a garden/backyard in your house or a park, fields or forest around ?)

Definately need some kind of greenery, I have mountains close by, so Im happy if I can see green outside of my window. Reminds me of when I was living in an apartment building that looked out onto a construction site... I would find myself staring at grass at any opportunity.

I) Scenery (= do you need a house on top of a hill, or with a view on the sea, a river or a park ?)

Oh, I mentioned the sea before. Of course if I couldnt have the sea, I would like to have a kick ass view.

J) Luminosity of the house (= do you mind having taller building stealing your light ?)

I've had it before, and if I was to pay mega bucks, I dont think I would like to have total obtrusion from neighbouring buildings.

K) Safety of the area (= do you mind gangs, thiefs, drunkards, etc. in your area ?)

Well, just finished living with a gangster... im one of the drunkards and havent had any problems with theft as yet in Korea, so no, I dont mind at the moment. When I have children, I would like them to be in a safe environment.

L) Quality of the neighbours (= do you mind noisy, inquisitive or "difficult" neighbours ?)

What IS the 'perfect' neighbour? Im pretty lenient, I can handle a bit of noise, I play dumb with inquistive neighbours here... difficult neighbours I havent had since New Zealand.

[Frank D. White]

interest rates were at 15% and inexpensive homes were few & far between. It took 2 years to find a house we could afford. The only thing that decided where I now live was the monthly mortgage payment. If I ever get the chance to move to a new home, all the above factors will be of interest to me.

Frank

[jovial_jon]

A) Proximity of shops and conveniences (supermarket, post office, bank, pharmacy, etc.)
2 - It's pretty important...sucks if you need to get some food or whatever and there's nowhere nearby.

B) Good public transports (numerous, practical, reliable, good quality...)
2 - I don't drive so I rely on public transport quite heavily, so for me that would be an important point.

C) Weather of that region (= how sensitive are you too rain, cold, low pressure, heat, humidity...)
4 - I'm not too fussed about weather either way, so it isn't something I would consider.

D) Beauty of your own house
3 - As long as it's not butt-ugly, it's all good.

E) Beauty of the neighbourhood
3 - As above

F) Beauty of the whole city or region
3 - Same again

G) Size of the house/apartment (= can you live in limited space or do you need a villa ?)
2 - I wouldn't need a massive space, but don't want to be cramped. I could live in a small space, but anything more would be a nice bonus.

H) Greenery (= do you need a garden/backyard in your house or a park, fields or forest around ?)
4 - Not fussed. Once again, a nice garden would be a plus, but it isn't something that would sway me.

I) Scenery (= do you need a house on top of a hill, or with a view on the sea, a river or a park ?)
4 - As long as no darn kids can climb over the fence I don't care.

J) Luminosity of the house (= do you mind having taller building stealing your light ?)
5 - Probably wouldn't even enter my mind.

K) Safety of the area (= do you mind gangs, thiefs, drunkards, etc. in your area ?)
1 - Bingo. That's the important one. There's nothing worse than constantly feeling uneasy around your own home.

L) Quality of the neighbours (= do you mind noisy, inquisitive or "difficult" neighbours ?)
2/3 - Yeah, it's important, but I wouldn't investigate the neighbours too much. Just find out if there were any particular problems.

[Pararousia]

Well, I didn't leave it out. Almost all the criteria listed are about location. Or did you have anything else in mind that the beauty of the neighbourhood, quality of neighbours, greenery, scenery and convenience ?

A neighborhood can have beauty of the neighborhood, quality neighbors, greenry,scenery and convenience and still lack a high appreciation rate. Maybe status quo would be a better word for it, but "location" is what we refer to it as.

[Maciamo]

A neighborhood can have beauty of the neighborhood, quality neighbors, greenry,scenery and convenience and still lack a high appreciation rate. Maybe status quo would be a better word for it, but "location" is what we refer to it as.

So, do you mean the "name" or "standing" of the place ? For instance "Beverly Hills" or "Malibu" have this standing in LA, but that's mostly because they have what I described above.

[Tsuyoiko]

The only thing that is important to me on your list is the last one, neighbours. I like quiet neighbours who don't interfere, but who will take in parcels if I am out! When we bought our house 7 years ago the only considerations we had were cost and general location - we wanted to be in the same village as my family, and had a budget. Next time we buy a house I think size will be an important factor, as we don't intend to move until we run out of space (i.e. if we end up with more than two kids!)

[Maciamo]

Funny, I wrote this 4 years ago. I have since moved out of Japan and back to Europe. I realise that my priorities have changed a bit. I have become more exigent. In Tokyo greenery and scenery did not matter much because there isn't much of either anywhere (yeah, okay, some people pay a lot for a harbour view on top of a skyscraper, but I don't consider it worth paying twice or three time the price). I also didn't realise how luminosity could be important for the mood. Now these things have become priorities because I actually have the choice.

I also care for about the my neighbours because society here isn't as homogeneous as in Japan and there can be a huge difference between how friendly or like-minded people are from one neighbourhood to another. I care less about the proximity of public transports and shops because everything is made for people who have a car (so I don't have the choice any more).