The Canadian housing market in perspective
When you come into my home, you need to walk up some stairs to get to my foyer. This foyer is about 3 metres by 2.5 metres and has no furniture in it - aside from a bookcase in a space built into the wall specifically for that purpose. Our foyer has a closet, stairs up to the next level and five doorways leading to other rooms. This space often has books, backpacks, lunch packs, gym bags and an assortment of similar items here and there. It also has the family calendar and a large white board for writing notes to ourselves and other family members.
We moved here last August because we all wanted more space. We have lots of places to sit, bookcases full of books, closets with plenty of space for clothing. A dining room with a table and chairs to enjoy a meal. Nothing is shiny and new (the house itself is about 100 years old) and no magazine would come knocking asking to showcase our home, but it is comfortable and we feel safe and warm and happy here. Does this sound something like your home?
Take a trip in your mind to a typical home in a developing nation. It is 3 metres by 3 metres. Wait. That’s the size of my foyer. That place with no furniture where we tend to dump things as we come and go. For some families that is their entire living space. I wonder what it would be like if my family had to live in our foyer? No bathroom, no fridge, no stove, no privacy, no beds.
Our homes are expensive, but then we tend to put a lot of money into making them big as well as showcase beautiful. We are all so lucky and spoiled, living in such big comfortable homes with more space than we really need. It is easy to forget and lose perspective and a reality check is a useful now and then. Maybe we need to change our perspective.
Build Direct posted a great blog today that will help us all gain a better perspective.
Tags: developing nations, housing, north america
