When my grandmother came to America, her older siblings were here already, and had a drygoods store in NYC .. where the younger siblings worked. She said that when her sister wanted to talk to her in Yiddish or Polish in the store, she would tell her, "We're Americans now, we have to speak English! You don't want customers to think we're greenhorns, do you?" At home, they spoke a mixture of languages, especially after they all had families, depending on whether they wanted the children to understand or not (LOL). Bobbi - There's a discussion in my AARP singles group, about becoming an Ex-Pat to save money. I said I wouldn't want to live in a "compound" with Americans & other English-speakers, not feeling totally connected to everything going on around me.

Many good personal and future-minded reasons for adding an elevator here to agree with. I am building a 3-storey townhouse, and for me there are also other reasons: layout will have kind of an upside-down design where kitchen and living areas are on top, with bedrooms on middle floor. While an elevator's practical usefulness speaks for itself, there is also a psychological reason for it. Not just knowing I will be OK if my mobility fails but also, for example, having to let guests in on the ground floor and making them walk 2 flights up would not be a source of pride. So even if the stairs are still mostly used it will always be of comfort knowing the elevator is there. Also, since there will be an elevator I am OK not putting a powder room on top floor, because nobody will be forced to use stairs to reach a bathroom. But most no-brainer of all is elevators typically provide a positive return on investment if/when the house is sold. Which makes for good 'bidness sense.

2 years later - is it OK to hijack this thread with my "counter vs regular" dilemma? If no, stop reading. (Since the OP was 2 years ago, I figure she's solved it and - seems more efficient to have the same dilemmas in the same place!) The difference in my situation is that I have the smallest apartment in the known universe - a 236 sqf pre-war. Like a tiny hotel room. Yes, this is NYC. The tiny 6' kitchen alcove use to have a ridiculous and ugly BAR HEIGHT island in front of it which was way too tall, so I got rid of it. However, it did create that "separation" I think only women studio dwellers who cook understand - the fantasy that you have more than one room... I'm mid-renovation - the kitchen counter and backsplash are slab marble (yes I know all the cons, long story) and I got the stone guy to cut a 2'x4' marble table top from the leftover slab to make a multifunctional desk/prep/dining piece to go where the bar use to be, using a custom Room & Board table base. Dilemma - regular height or counter height? Beau says regular height dining table so it won't overwhelm the room. I envisaged counter height as I 90% like to stand up when I work at the laptop (standing desk), I like to cook, and I read that contrary to what you'd think, a counter height table can give the illusion of space to a small space. I'm also super short though, 5' nothing. Some pix: before: The fridge is being replaced by an undercounter. The tabletop awaiting a base. Kitchen in progress Appreciate any thoughts!

To me, ranch is the only style id ever want. same square footage feels so much larger when its one story and not two. Easier to move between private and public areas of the home. ours spans almost our entire lot and gives a lot of space for landscaping out front, outdoor living out back. Stairs are challenging when your very old or very young! here, most have full basements not counted in the listed square footage = bonus whole other house underneath (ours is over half finished, the other part is nice but concrete floor and walls and used for utilities/laundry/storage). Of all the home types, split levels dont make sense to me