Imagine your ideal house in the country

Well, if I lived in the country I would make my house as cozy as possible. It would be light and attractive and it would have all modern conveniences. There would be a green grass-plot with beautiful flowers, trees, bushes and hedges near the house. There’d also be some fountains to water these plants. The rooms in my house would be of unusual design. It would be a mixture of classical and vulgar, silly and quite serious. There would be a lot of flowers inside the house. I’d like to have a house somewhere not far from a city, so that if I got bored I could go to the city and enjoy the pleasures of civilization

Types of houses.

In towns in Britain there are three main types of houses: detached, semidetached and terraced. A detached house, standing in its own plot of land, is usually more expensive than the others. A semi-detached house (also called a ‘semi’) is similar, but shares one wall with its neighbor. It is normally smaller than a detached house. Most of these houses have two stores, with two rooms and a kitchen downstairs and a bedroom and bathroom upstairs. A terraced house is one of a row of houses, often built in blocks of four or more and sometimes extending the entire length of the street. Bungalows (single-storey detached houses) are popular especially with elderly people because there are no stairs to climb. They are often found in seaside towns on the south coast, where many retired people live. the traditional country dwelling is the cottage. This is usually a small, old, detached or semi-detached house, often picturesque with old wooden beams inside, and perhaps a thatched roof and an attractive flower garden. Flats are found mainly in towns, although they can also be self-contained units in converted country houses or hotels. Modern flats are often built in the form of large blocks of flats. Flats may be owned by the people who live in them, or rented from a private landlord or local authority. House are usually bought and sold in Britain through an estate agent. When people move into a new house or flat they usually have a housewarming party.

City and country

Lots of people prefer living in cities rather than in the countryside because it is often easier to get good education and find a well-paid job. Besides there is usually a wide choice of public transport, so you don’t need to own a car, which is necessary when you live in the countryside. What is more there are a lot of interesting things to do and places to see. If you live in the village, you have almost nowhere to go, but if you live in the city, you can eat in good restaurants, visit museums and go to the theatre and concerts. All in all, city life is full of bustle and variety, and you will never feel bored.

However, some people choose to live in the countryside because living in the city is often very expensive. It is particularly difficult to find good cheap accommodation. What is more, public transport is sometimes crowded and dirty, particularly in the rush hour, and even parks can become very crowded, especially on Sundays when it seems that very city-dweller is looking for some open space or green grass. On the contrary, the air in the countryside is very clean and there are no noisy crowds, so living in the country can be useful for your health. Last of all, despite all the crowds, it is still possible to feel very lonely in a city because people often don’t know their neighbors’

whereas in the countryside people know each other and you have lots of friends

In my opinion it’s possible to solve most of the problems of big cities, for example, the problem of pollution. Cutting down on emissions from large combustion plants and exhaust fumes from vehicles would help solve the problem. I think we should try and use alternative energy such as solar energy and wind energy and design plants and cars that run on electricity, a much cleaner fuel than petrol. In addition, I think the government should ban cars from city centers. We can also improve the situation if the government encourages people to use the underground more. I would argue that if the underground was made cheaper, many people would elide to leave their cars at home.

As for me, I would prefer city life because I am keen on visiting theatres, cinemas, museums and galleries and don’t mind noise and pollution. Besides, my city offers me good opportunities to continue my education and I hope to find a prestigious job in the future. However, I enjoy the peace and fresh air of the countryside and in summer I usually go to my country house where I have a good time with my friends.

What questions will you ask your parents about the flat your family is going to move into?

1. Is the flat spacious enough? 2. How many rooms are there in the flat? 3. What modern conveniences are there in the flat? 4. What floor is the flat on? 5. How many balconies does the flat have? 6. Where is the balcony look out on? 7. Is it far from the city centre?

Do you find your town a comfortable place for living?

I personally like my native town and think it’s a nice place for living. First of all it is situated in a very picturesque place. There is a wonderful pine forest near the town where you can gather mushrooms and berries in summer and enjoy the beauty of nature or you can have a rest on the bank of the Dvina River….

Belarus.