Creatures of Comfort
Americans, and especially Idahoans, are creatures of comfort. The West is all about wide open spaces, lots of elbow room, and comfortable living. Compared to much of the world there is a premium placed on space and comfort here.
Peggy and I love to travel. As our kids have grown and moved on to pursue their educations, we have taken the opportunity to gradually see the world. It is fascinating to see how people live in other countries. Since we make our living with real estate, one of the things we enjoy most is going into homes, looking at construction methods and materials, and experiencing a different lifestyle. This year our daughter took advantage of the opportunity to study abroad in Heidelberg, Germany. We made the trek to visit her this fall and while we were there we took in some of the sites in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
If you haven't visited Europe I highly recommend it. It is a great opportunity to experience other cultures and at the same time appreciate what we have in the US. One of the striking differences is the concept of space. In America, and in particular Idaho, we love our space. We live in big houses, have big yards, and drive big trucks. In Europe, space seems to come at a premium. Houses are small, yards are tiny, and forget about finding a truck of any size!
Why the disparity in the sizes of homes, cars, streets, etc. between Europe and the US? There are a number of reasons/theories (and my opinions):
History. Most European cities were developed more than 100 years ago, long before the advent of motor vehicles. Consequently, cities developed in a more compact manner. The necessity of walking to get everywhere made for narrow streets and close neighbors. Compare that to the US, where most of our cities have grown up over the course of the past 100 years, and much of our development has been directly linked to our dependence on our automobiles.
Go back even further in time and note that only the wealthiest (royalty, upper class) owned land. Everyone else leased from (were taxed by) rich land owners. While that has changed over time, land is still relatively expensive in much of Europe. On the other hand, our immigrant ancestors came to America and were encouraged to gobble up large tracts of land. Western expansion was a giant "land grab", with large parcels of land given freely to those brave enough to settle it.
Culture. Europeans seem to embrace a more simplistic style of living. Homes are small but functional, cars are small and economical, and the people seem to have a different attitude toward space. However, it may not all be by choice. Recent surveys in the UK indicate that residents there want larger homes, more space, and newer construction. However, Great Britain is one of the only countries without national minimum space standards for new homes. Thus, builders continue to build what is "traditional" and more importantly, more profitable, which translates into smaller homes. In the US, we crave space. Average home prices have grown from an average of 800 square feet in the 40's to over 2000 square feet today. A typical wish list today includes large kitchens, open concepts, great rooms, and large master suites. Space, space and more space. Americans want comfort and are willing to pay up for it. In Idaho, we also crave outdoor space with large front yards, back yards, patios, decks, greenbelts, and other "open spaces" in our subdivisions.
Economics. Another key factor to home sizes is financial. In the US we are blessed with more discretionary income than much of the world. Tax rates Europe are significantly higher than in the US. Therefore, the average European has less to spend on building, buying, heating and maintaining a larger house. In addition, new construction in some European countries is limited and new home construction is highly regulated, making the development of single family homes substantially more expensive. Also, fuel prices in Europe are much higher than in America, resulting in higher construction and heating costs -- thus encouraging smaller homes to heat (and also resulting in smaller, more fuel efficient cars).
Whatever the reason, it is apparent that we put more of a premium on space in the US. But what about within the US? It seems the further west you look, the more space we have and want. Of the ten states with the largest average home sizes, six are in the West -- Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, and Washington. Note that Idaho, Utah, Washington, and Colorado are all at the top of the list of fastest growing states as well. Coincidence? I think not.
While we were travelling this fall we fantasized about retiring or buying a second home in some foreign land. But after a couple of weeks of small, spartan rooms with two single beds pushed together and phone-booth-sized showers, along with tiny econo-box rental cars, we welcomed driving home from the airport in our big truck to our comfortable home on a big chunk of land. Yes, we love our space, and that is the very reason we call Idaho home.