Why are some people sniffy about living in a semi detached house?

Never lived in a detached, always a terrace or semi. If people are sniffy then tough. My house.

Having lived in terraced, semi-detached and detached, my preference would always be detached. The reasons being that there are no walls that are shared so you have no problems doing anything to them, no neighbours to complain. Also, you don't hear what is going on next door, people going up and down stairs, using the bathroom, even having a romantic evening in the bedroom. I have experienced all when is an semi and terraced. So, it is a detached for me with all the privacy it entails.

Never heard such nonsense. Our home is a semi-detaced, with large grdens, been here for 52 years, near the sea, mountains and within 1 1/4 hour of Liverpool and Manchster, love it.

I have a similar experience! We bought our house when our children were small and still live here now that we are retired have grandchildren! It's a large rowhouse, build in 1922. We have a garden about 7m. x 30m., 350 sq.m. living surface, a large cellar too. We live in a very nice university town in Belgium. Some people think we would want to move to a newbuild villa in the countryside, but we don't. We love it here, we have our terrasse and our garden, enough space for family gatherings and sleepovers of the grandchildren. I don't want a big villa far away from everything and everybody, I love it here and I want to stay here ❣️@mantaray We only have the one house, but still, we're not too poor to move to the countryside, it's just a personal choice!

I've never come across this issue. Our friends, family and acquaintances live in a mixture of detached and semis and flats. Never come across any snobbery. Maybe it's within certain counties.

Goidness knows what those kind of folk will think of people living in a rerraced property or a flat. In tthe south east a terraced can cost a fortune, never mind a semi or detached. If you are happy where you are, ignore the snobs.

I would never live in a semi. We were nearly made ill when we lived in a flat
with a totally inconsiderate neighbour. We couldn't take the chancee of bad neighbours again.

I don't know it it still applies, but in the Glasgow area in the 1960s some people did feel the need to look down on those who lived in semi-detached houses.

A sort of, "are they so poor they can't afford a proper house and too snobbish to apply for a council house?"

Perhaps something similar is going on in your neck of the woods?

We live in a road of Victorian, 1930's and 1980's houses, detached and semi detached. It has never been discussed but I suspect none of us would want to live in the others houses, there is very little movement so I presume everyone is reasonably happy. I only look down on the people opposite because we all live on a hill!

mokryna

I think British people in general tend to look down on flat dwellers.

I agree, we moved to a flat a couple of years ago, after 45 years in houses of various types. The last was a Georgian town house and I have had people ask me how I could bear to live in a flat?
Very easy: no maintenance, less than a third of the price, heating provided centrally, perfect view of the Thames, lovely neighbours etc. etc.
I feel I have nothing to prove and will live where I am most comfortable.

People are very competitive, which explains some rude comments. I live in a semi by the sea as I couldn’t afford a detached house in this area. My last neighbour rented the conjoined house: I had 3 dreadful leaks from her bathroom into my spare bedroom as her landlady never did any maintenance. The wall between the bedroom so thin I had to listen to her having sex with her boyfriend. I had to cure her of playing loud music by turning my radio up loud. She cut the hedge so that there was no privacy between our gardens.That can be the reality of living in a semi- detached house.

I was born and raised in a semi detached council house in a coastal town in the North East. It was lovely street growing up and all the kids played together in the wide (very quiet in those days as hardly anyone had a car). The street had expanses of grass in the middle and that was our playground. When I was married the 1st time my ex was a worker going to work in an area that needed skilled men and we were allocated a very small terraced house. in the Northants area. However he was made redundant and we moved back to our native North East and lived with my mother for a while. He then decided to get out of engineering and joined the police force where we allocated a 3 bed semidetached in Luton which we later bought. I often wished I could pick that house up and move it else where. It had very large rooms and a huge garden which was great for the kids growing up.
Then we got divorced and I got the house in the divorce (or I should say the mortgage payments).
A few years later I met my husband now. However he lived in Reading. After about 5 years or I sold my house to be with him and he sold his property and we bought a 3 bed semi in Reading. It was on a beautiful housing estate and we had lovely neighbours. It was a 60's throw back and we did a lot of work on it. Then came the news of redundancies where he worked and we decided that he should take enhanced redundancy and early retirement. I wanted to move near to where my eldest son and his wife were and we bought a 4 bedroom detached with all the extras, an en suite, utility room , conservatory etc.
Apart from the space (more to clean) I love this house too and I can play my music as loud as I like. Nice neighbours, high fences out the back so very private but being detached doesn't stop the strains of Celine Dion on repeat coming over the garden fence from the lady who live diagonally! I think it doesn't matter where you live so long as you are happy

I love in a mobile home and I'm loving it. Don't care if people think we are not good enough and act snobby.
You can't take material things with you.
They'r only on loan while you're living.

I always lived in a flat/ apartment and then lived in a barn conversion which was in a block of 4. I loved all of these and had great neighbours. I now live in a house with 2.5 acres of land bordering on to woodlands and open space. A couple of years ago a house was built that I can only see when the leaves come off the trees in the winter and I was upset about it 😂🤣. I think it’s just what you get used to. I have no doubt if we moved back to a flat in the city centre I would be very happy once more

Never been asked and never heard anyone comment re whether someone else's house is detached or semi.

We never want to be detached we live in a semi attached to my sister and her husband - we share a large patio and garden and have brought five children up between us. I wouldn’t change a thing we have had a very happy 38 years so far.

Since I married I've lived in detached houses, or link detached. Before my ex H left I was aware that it made life easier as he had a penchant for loud music so I didn't have t worry about disturbing the neighbours. I know people in semis who are disturbed by the neighbours as their walls are so thin. My first home of my own was a 1st floor flat and my downstairs neighbour was very noisy. Thankfully he just hadn't realised and when I mentioned it he quietened down immediately, but not everyone has such an experience. I don't object to the occasional party but regular noise late at night would really stress me out.

The advantage of being in an end of terrace (with nice neighbours) is - the bills are lower.

People do ask me when I'm going to downsize and I say that I'm working towards it (well, I am, just slowly). It's as if it's somehow 'not allowed' to rattle around in a large place, especially when you're elderly!

grandtanteJE65

I don't know it it still applies, but in the Glasgow area in the 1960s some people did feel the need to look down on those who lived in semi-detached houses.

A sort of, "are they so poor they can't afford a proper house and too snobbish to apply for a council house?"

Perhaps something similar is going on in your neck of the woods?

Never heard that and I live in Glasgow.

We moved from a tenement flat in Glasgow to a semi in Troon in the Late 70s and everyone thought we were very posh, especially because it had a fitted kitchen.

I too have a husband with a penchant for loud music who denies he needs hearing aids, and having lived in this detached house for over thirty years, I intend to leave in my coffin. I am going nowhere, I love it!

One is at the mercy of neighbours. If they are nice, quiet people then it does not matter whether you are in a detached, semi or terraced property. If they are not then being detached is no consolation.

I have a neighbour who is a very pleasant man but he frequently lends his house as a favour to those who are poorer than himself. Unfortunately, from our point of view they are less considerate than the neighbour and often ruin our peace, especially when we are all in the garden.

I think there are snobs about but some of us who have been happy in terraces, flats and semis only need ONE trily horrendous (and or scary) experience (which is what happened to us) and you vow you will never let it happen again.

When we move we will have a detached home with lots of privacy. I cannot risk the harm the last episode did to us. We have had great neighbours for 45 years and about 7 years of Hell.
I don't just mean noise either.

I grew up in semi, you could hear the neighbors talking, hear their TV and radio, even the toilet flushing.
They had a very odd son, and as a child I always worried he could go from their attic into ours, and come and get me while I slept.
It hasn’t put me off all semis, just post war council semi’s

I have lived in both types but preferred detached. It is a noise and privacy issue. All the same we felt very lucky to have every home we've ever had.

Too many generalisations. We have lived in semi-detached houses for the last 40 years.

The first was a large Victorian one with 13 inch brick walls and the houses joined along the hall and landing walls. We had absolutely no sound transferance at all. In 14 years, we never once heard our neighbours, nor did they hear us.

We now live in a 550 year old house and the party wall consists of out study and bedroom above joined to their dining room and bedroom above, for each of us the rest of the house trails away up and down the street with no more rooms on a shared wall, again, in 25 years we have had no noise transference problems.

Some semi's do have sound transference problems, but not all, by a long way. Our experience shows you should never dismiss a semi out of hand, you can end up with a very nice quiet house for considerably less than it sdetached equivalent.

I don't care if I live in a semi-detached but it matters to my husband. He had an awful experience with neighbours in his terraced house and never wants to go there again.