📘 Part 3: Houses

This episode's vocabulary

Long-lasting (adj.) - continuing for a long period of time.

To cater to someone/something (phrasal verb) - to provide what someone or something needs or wants.

Long-term (adj.) - continuing a long time into the future.

Advent (noun) - the fact of an event happening, an invention being made, or a person arriving.

Remote (adj.) - used to refer to an activity that is done away from the place where it usually happens, especially by means of technology.

Asbestos (noun) - a soft, greyish-white material that does not burn, used especially in the past in buildings, clothing, etc. as a protection against fire and as a form of insulation (= a way of stopping heat from escaping).

Confines (plural noun) - the outer limits of something.

To sanction (verb) - to formally give permission for something.

Inspector (noun) - someone whose job is to officially inspect something.

Directive (noun) - an official instruction.

To assemble (verb) - to come together in a single place or bring parts together in a single group.

Flatpack (noun) - a piece of furniture that is sold in pieces inside a flat box, ready for the buyer to put them together.

Spacious (adj.) - large and with a lot of space.

On short notice (idiom) - only a short time before something happens.

Extension (noun) - the fact of reaching, stretching, or continuing; the act of adding to something in order to make it bigger or longer.

Modification (noun) - a change to something, usually to improve it.

Prefabricated (adj.) - prefabricated buildings or objects are built from parts that have been made in a factory and can be put together quickly.

Palette (noun) - the range of colours used in the decoration of a house, etc.

Samey (adj.) - not interesting because of being very similar.

Uniformity (noun) - the quality or fact of being the same, or of not changing or being different in any way.

Building code (noun) - in the US, a set of local laws relating to how buildings should be designed or built, especially so that they are safe and of acceptable quality.

Universally (adverb) - in a way that exists everywhere, or involves everyone.

Standardization (noun) - the process of making things of the same type all have the same basic features.

Insulate (verb) - to cover and surround something with a material or substance in order to stop heat, sound, or electricity from escaping or entering.

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Questions and Answers

M: What are the differences between houses or buildings in the city and in the countryside?

R: Well, I'm not an architectural specialist. But I imagine places in the countryside are generally larger and older since they were built to be long-lasting and cater to the long-term needs of the people living there. If we take farms, for example, they have to support people living, well, living on the farm, as well as have storage space for all the livestock or whatever is harvested. And then in the countryside space is less of a premium because there's just more of it.

M: Why do some people prefer to live in the city and some in the countryside?

R: One would imagine it's to do with access to resources one way or the other. I mean, prior to the advent of the Internet and remote working people needed to live closer to their workplaces and ports to ship products from so the cities developed there. In the same way, people move to the countryside for access to space to grow crops and raise livestock, in modern times people have greater access to more of some forms of novelty in cities, compared to the countryside, which offers greater stability, by contrast, I suppose.

M: What are the safety risks in residential buildings in cities?

R: Oh, well, that's like asking how long a piece of string is, they could collapse or burst into flames or give you asbestos poisoning, or a lot of other things could go wrong. There's no reason these things wouldn't also happen in the countryside, of course, but because there are more buildings in cities, the number of incidents would probably also be higher. Some things are unique to the confines of cities, though, like high blue-collar crime rates and societal collapse, just because of the vast numbers of people and the population diversity.

M: Who should be responsible for building safety?

R: Well, ideally, everyone should be, shouldn't they? No one wants to have a building collapse on them. So we should all try and look out for each other. In an official capacity, however, I suppose in most countries there are government-sanctioned inspectors to enforce building codes and whoever controls the building is responsible for carrying out their directives.

M: Is it expensive to decorate a house or an apartment in the place where you live?

R: Well, not as far as I'm aware, since decorations are easy to come by, and it's relatively cheap to have things delivered. It might be expensive in terms of the time investment, since it's always a hassle to put things up or assemble flatpack items. Delivery charges for things might be slightly higher too since in the countryside, you have to travel farther to get things.

M: What are the most important things to consider when buying a house?

R: Well, what, other than the cost? It likely also depends on what people's long-term plans are. If you plan to start a family, you will probably want some, well, quite a spacious family home, rather than a caravan or a one-bedroom apartment.

M: What are the advantages of owning accommodation over renting it?

R: Well, apparently, the cost of living in your home or living in your own home are supposed to be lower in the long terms and you have security that no one else can just throw you out of your house on short notice. You also have some say over any extensions or modifications you might make and have to answer to fewer people about any smaller changes you might want to, well, any changes you might want to make also.

M: How will houses be different in the future?

R: Oh, it's difficult to say really. Though there are trends towards smaller houses which are prefabricated and made of materials which are environmentally friendly. Oh, and the incorporate digital technologies more readily than older homes. Of course, they don't last as long since they're put up with lower-quality materials. And I would say they lack character. I see no reason for either of those trends to be reversed either. We're just going to see more of them.

M: What are the differences between houses now and in the past?

R: Aside from the lack of character, the colour palettes are often more neutral or samey, especially in housing estates. There's greater uniformity and building codes are more universally applied now compared to the past due to drive for standardization. However, they're better insulated and more readily produced than before, which is helpful in terms of, well, just having more housing available.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your cozy answers!

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Discussion

M: Yeah, so our favourite strategy, I'm not an expert, but this time, I'm not an architectural specialist.

R: Yes, I'm not an architectural specialist. I'm not.

M: Nice. But I imagine that blah, blah, blah. And then you give some sort of an answer.

R: Some sort of an answer. Thanks.

M: Yeah, but Rory gave us a good answer.

R: Thank you.

M: Houses in the countryside are generally larger, older, they're built to be long lasting. Right? So long-lasting, they last for a long time. And houses in the countryside cater to the long-term needs of people. Right? So they cater, they are built to do that. Right? So they, it's their mission, right? It's their function. And also Rory told us about storage places for livestock. Houses in the countryside have storage places for all the livestock or whatever is harvested. So when people harvest things, they collect things, and they need some storage spaces to keep everything. And our favourite word, the advent of.

R: That's become our favourite recently. Yeah.

M: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Prior to the advent of the internet, so to the invention of the internet, and remote working, remote working when people work from home. So people needed to live close to their workplaces, but not anymore. Yeah? And people moved to the countryside for access to space to grow crops, or raise livestock. Right? So we grow plants, we grow crops, and we raise livestock, we kind of like raise children, raise livestock, livestock like animals, cows, pigs, chickens.

R: But that just means to help grow. It's funny how it applies to the only animals that we eat and children. But there you go.

M: And we have novelty in cities. So different new things, and perhaps greater stability in the countryside.

R: In the countryside, yeah. These things are more stable in the countryside because they're less susceptible to change. They're further away.

M: If the examiner asks you a crazy question that you can't answer, then you say, how long is a piece of string?

R: That's like asking how long a piece of string is.

M: Yeah. So what can happen to residential buildings? Residential buildings - buildings where people live in. Yeah? Just for living. So these buildings could collapse. Collapse just like, just fall to pieces, burst into flames, catch fire. Right? Or Rory couldn't help himself. But he told us something like give you... Poisoning. Asbestos. Is it asbestos?

R: Asbestos. Yeah. I think it was used as a building material for a long time in the UK. But then they discovered that the dust gives you cancer if you are removing it. I don't know if you have this in Russia also.

M: I have no idea. And these incidents, we call them incidents, could happen in any residential building. And everybody should be responsible for building safety. And then there are government-sanctioned inspectors. So specific inspectors who enforce building codes. Right? So building codes about these like building safety. Rory is not into decorations. Right, Rory?

R: Well, no, not really. But I at least know that they're not difficult to find.

M: But it's such a hassle to put things up. It's a hassle to decorate a house or an apartment. But do your parents decorate their house for Christmas?

R: Oh yes, they do. They go overboard on the Christmas decorations for sure.

M: Oh, really? Wow. What do they do?

R: Everything. Anything that you could possibly do to a house they do. It's not garish, but it's just, it's a lot and I feel like tidying up is also a hassle. I wouldn't do that.

M: Wow. And what's outside? Do you have like deer outside? And I don't know...

R: No, we have a house along the road that does that though and it's, it just looks awful. But it's their property. That's what they wanted to do. So...

M: Yeah, so it's a hassle to put things up, assemble certain things decorating your house. When you buy a house you consider the cost. So you should consider, you should think about the cost. And it's likely also depends on what people's long-term plans are. So it depends on people's long-term plans. And then if, if structure, if a person plans to start a family then this. Rather than a caravan or a one-bedroom apartment, yeah? So specific examples. Or rather than a tree house or a cave. So you can have some fun with different houses. A hobbit house. And then like a classic question is owning accommodation or renting it?

R: Yeah.

M: And then like the costs of living in your own home are supposed to be lower in the long term. Yeah.

R: They are. But I don't know about that now. I mean, with the amount that everything costs these days, I'm not terribly sure. What do you think?

M: Oh, I have no idea. Kind of seems lower in the long term, right? But who knows, who knows? And then if you live in your own home, they will not throw you out of your house on short notice. Yeah? On short notice. So if people do something on short notice, what do they do?

R: They just don't give you much time to consider what to do.

M: Yeah, like, oh, tomorrow new people need to move in, so you should get out. Tomorrow? What? So you have to leave your house on short notice. And then a very nice phrasal verb you've used, answer to people. So if I have to answer to people, for example, at work, I kind of I report to these people who are senior than me, right? So I report to my boss, I answer to my boss.

R: But it can also mean to just explain yourself to somebody.

M: And in terms of houses?

R: Well, you might have to answer to the... Oh, what's it called? Whoever does planning permission. I don't think this is a thing in Russia. But it's certainly a thing in the UK where you have to request authorization from the local government to do something to your house.

M: Oh, no, no, we also have some restrictions. Yeah, you can't just remove a wall in your flat, because maybe it's an important wall. You know. Yeah, yeah. There are restrictions. But if you rent a flat, then you should answer to the landlord. Because it's not your flat, right? Maybe like, oh, I want to change the colour of the walls. I want everything to be red. No, you should answer to some people before you do that, yeah?

R: Yes.

M: The houses of the future. Yeah. Rory talked about environmentally friendly houses. Yeah, with digital technologies, smart homes.

R: That's another thing that comes up as well, though, how is one thing more expensive than the other? Is it preferable to do one thing over the other? And how will something be different in the future?

M: Yeah, feel free to talk about digital technologies with smart houses. And then you can talk about quality materials, for example, the houses will be built off in the future, or lower-quality materials. Houses now and houses in the past? Well, the colour palettes are different. So the colour, just the colours, or the color palettes, if you want to be super fancy, yeah?

R: Yes, but the colour palettes is just the range of colours that you can say or use for something.

M: Today they are more neutral. Also, we have a greater uniformity. Uniformity, yeah?

R: Uniformity, just like everything looks the same.

M: Everything looks the same, dear listener, yeah?

R: We've played that song before. Age of ticky tacky little boxes on the hillside and they all look just the same.

M: Oh, look at him. He's singing. Yay.

R: But it's a good song. I like that song. It's a song about conformity.

M: Maybe it's due to a drive for standardization. But again, if it's not about your country, it's not about how you feel about houses now, in the past, it's fine. You can say they're all different. Today it's about different genres in architecture. Glass, skyscrapers. Houses are better insulated today. So insulated, Rory, switch on your nerd. Come on.

R: Insulation is just something that keeps the heat in your house.

M: So houses are better insulated today than before. And today houses are much more expensive, I say. Yeah?

R: Well, they're definitely more expensive than they used... Well, I don't know. What do you think?

M: Yeah, I think now the prices are just much higher than I, don't know, like 10 years ago, for example. Real estate prices. Dear listener, how are you doing? Thank you very much for listening! We hope you have a nice house or you will have a nice house. And if you don't, if you feel your house is not really nice. It is nice because even in any house, there shouldn't be something, well, there is something nice.

R: And if there's not something nice you at least have something nice to listen to on your phone. Our podcast.

M: And our voices. Our warm, cuddly, cosy voices. Buy!

R: Buy!

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