Styles of Living

I found an interesting way to compare living styles - Google Map. Consider the section of Staunton, VA. This is a suburb that those of you in Virginia may well recognize.



Next have a look at Lynnwood, near the area of Seattle where Seth's parents live. I've tried to keep the scale roughly the same for all the screenshots so you can make a visual comparison of house and lot size as well as the style of homes.

The houses in Lynnwood are larger and take up a large portion of the land. Yet, there is still lots of trees and grass around the houses. In the USA, houses tend to have sizeable front yards to add perspective and appeal to prospective buyers.

Now, let's consider a couple places in Australia. Here's a neighborhood just outside Melbourne. I did not pick Sesame Street on purpose.

Notice how the lots are smaller. There are still trees around these larger houses, but things are getting a bit more compressed. The land in front and back of the house is more symmetric.

Now consider the suburb of Perth we are staying in, Pearsall. Here, the lots are only slightly larger than the houses. The houses are all about the same size and separated by walls/fences.

Even though Seattle is much more expensive than Staunton, the style of the houses, the size of the lots and the general feel of the place is similar. Even in Melbourne, where the lots are smaller, there is still room to have a BBQ in your yard.

However, in Perth, things are really tight. This maybe a reflection of lower salaries or that things are more expensive to build being farther from the rest of the world where (at least some of) the supplies come from.