Family

1. Definition: as a social unit consisting of people, who share certain goals, values and
commodity (living together) / as an institution is provides its members protection,
education, socialization, care for sick or disabled and it supplies basic physical,
economic & emotional security
2. Function: biological, sociological, educational, economical, emotional
Biological function: to have children... sociological function: family belongs to
society, family creates society and it is its part....

Emotional function: members of the family share their feelings, parents teach children
how to love, and they give them love and of course support their emotions..... Children
are sometimes angry, happy, and moody, when they show their emotions...

Economical function: both parents should work and make money for the family to
satisfy needs. Family is not only part of society, but family is also economical unit.
Earning money and spending money are processes connected with economy....

Educational function: family teaches children and parents many different things like:
how to walk, how to talk, how to do the shopping, how to get to school, how to read,
how to keep promises, how to achieve something in your life, how to help one another
and so on......

3. Classification of family structures:

nuclear family: consists of a parent and their children living together, a same-sex
family structure is similar to the nuclear family type. However, kids are raised by
same-gender parents who are typically married or in a committed partnership, with
children either adopted or biologically related to one parent.
extended family: includes additional relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and
cousins who live near or far from the nuclear family.
stepfamily/ blended family: involve two separate families merging into one new
unit. When divorced or widowed parents remarry someone new—sometimes with
children of their own—the result is a blended stepfamily.
foster family: adopted children.
single parent family: one parent raising one or more children. The family unit often
consists of a mother and her kids, a father and his kids, or a person and their kids,
though they may also get support from extended family.
childless family: often consist of couples in committed relationships. Simply put,
some couples either can’t have kids or choose not to have them—but that doesn’t
mean they aren’t a family.
distant family

4. Difficulties withing family life: source of conflict: strict approach, change of

environment/ values/ opinions, advances in technology.
Minor = conflicts or squabbles: clashes of opinion/disagreements, anxiety/ stress,
labelling – black sheep, dislike/ hatred
Major: feuds over inheritance, divorce, abuse, addiction<gambling, alcohol, drugs>,
underaged pregnancy, unemployment
 5. Rising trends:
Polyamory: having many lovers at once
LGBTQ+ couples: a ‘’trend’’ in the past -> becoming as common as nuclear family
International adoption: fusion in cultures, raising children with varied perspectives
Interracial couples: same as International adoption
Men as househusbands: women focusing on working bc. of higher wage, changing
traditional roles
Foster care: infertility, same-sex couples….
Childless families: not/ by choice – infertility, genetics, social pressure -> work,
education
Cohabitation: ,,the modern couple’’, living together without commitment
Late marriage: waiting for the ,, right moment’’
6. Roles of family members: providing basic needs (money, food, shelter), maintaining
discipline & harmony (love, support, peace), problem solving, being a role model,
taking care of others – special needs, emotional needs, sickness
7. Generational gap: closed-minded prejudices: it refers to the differences in attitudes,
beliefs, and values between different generations. This gap is often caused by the
rapid pace of societal and technological changes that occur from one generation to the
next. It can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts, and a lack of understanding between
generations. Generation gap is a broad difference in values and attitudes between one
generation and another, especially between parents and their children. For example:
there is a real generation gap in their choice of music, clothes, habits, hair style.......
different connotation of words: spinster, bachelor

One of the biggest sources of the generation gap is the rapid pace of technological
change. Younger generations are often more skilled at using new technologies, while older
generations may struggle to keep up. This can create a sense of frustration between the two
groups. Additionally, different generations may have different perspectives on social and
political issues, which can also contribute to the generation gap.

8. Parenting styles: over-caring, liberal parents, democratic parents, authoritarian parents

 Over-caring: are those who are anxious about their children’s next move, hover
and control their children’s actions and environment, often overreact
 liberal parents: ,,Freedom is over everything’’, equality -> no pressure &
manifestation of power, lack of control, adults do not place any hopes on their
child
 democratic parents: a parenting style characterized by joint decision-making,
mutual respect, autonomy & responsibility
 authoritarian parents: strict style of parenting that places high expectations on
children

Housing/ Places to live

“For the two of us, home isn't a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.”
― Stephanie Perkins

Throughout history, housing has played an important role in shaping communities and providing a
sense of stability and comfort to individuals and families. As civilizations have evolved, so have the
types of housing available, offering a diverse range of options to suit different needs, tastes, and
budgets. A home serves several essential functions in a person's life. Firstly, it provides shelter and
security. Home is a reflection of one's identity, culture, and values, strong relationships with
family and friends. Home is where individuals can retreat from the stresses of everyday life and find
comfort.

1. living in the countryside:

Living in a house has many advantages: there is more privacy. there is more space - more rooms –
houses usually have a ground floor and the first floor. Houses usually have a garden and a garage. you
can listen to loud music. You can keep bigger pets: dogs, cats, horses. But it can also have some
disadvantages: It is more expensive. You have to work in the garden – you must cut the grass, look
after the trees. You have to tidy up more rooms and clean more windows.....

The countryside is usually quiet and comfortable. In summer you can go out for a walk to the forest or
you can just sit in the garden, read a book or relax. People in the village usually know each other and
they can help you if you need help. But living in the countryside has also some disadvantages. Some
people think that it is boring because there is no cinema, swimming pool or fitness centre and you
sometimes have to travel by train or by bus if you work or go to school in the town.

2. living in the city:

Living in a town also has some advantages and disadvantages. People in towns usually live in a block
of flats. The advantages of living in the block of flats are: It is cheaper. It is comfortable. You don’t
have to clean a lot because you don’t have many rooms and windows.
But it has disadvantages, too. For example: There is less privacy. There is less space. Flat usually
doesn’t have a garden. You can’t listen to loud music. If the lift doesn’t work, you have to go up by
foot. If anything brakes in your flat, you can cause damage to other people – for example, if the water
tap breaks in your flat, the water will damage your neighbour’s flat below.
Living in the town or a city is exciting. If you live in a town, you can enjoy the cultural life – you can
go to the cinema, to the theatre, for a concert, to the fitness centre or a swimming pool. You can go
out and have a dinner in a restaurant, if you want to. There are usually supermarkets which are opened
for longer than the shops in villages. The disadvantages of living in the city are: city is usually dirty,
noisy, it is more dangerous than the countryside......

3. types of accommodation (dis/advantages, description):

1. Terraced houses
2. Semi-Detached houses
3. Detached houses
4. Bungalows
5. Cottages
6. Flats: Block of flats
7. End of Terrace house
8. Maisonette
9. Mansion
The pros and cons of living in different houses:
1. Terraced house:
Advantages:
1. Generally speaking, a terraced home is the cheapest type of housing you can purchase
in the UK.
2. They require less maintenance overall because of their smaller square footage.
3. It is potentially safer and more secure because you have two sets of neighbors close
by.

Disadvantages:
1. Terraced houses are smaller than their semi-detached and equivalents, so they
inevitably come with less space.
2. They come with little to no garden space.
3. You have two sets of neighbours, so you can expect to hear them from time to time,
which means less privacy.

2. Detached and semi-detached house:

Advantages:
1. You get an increased amount of privacy compared to terraced homes.
2. There is more garden space and square footage available than a terraced home.
3. Semi-detached homes are more affordable than detached homes.
Pro 1: Detached homes come with more land, which you can pretty much use as you please.
Pro 2: Because your house is on its own plot, you have complete privacy.
Pro 3: Extending or renovating your home with new specs is easier as you require less approval.
Disadvantages:
1. If you plan to extend your home, you have to take your neighbours’ concerns into
consideration.
2. As one side of the building is joined, you can still be disturbed by neighbours, so there
is less privacy.
3. increased maintenance compared to a terraced home.
Con 1: There is a lot more maintenance and upkeep involved compared to semi-detached and terraced
property types.
Con 2: Detached homes are generally the most expensive type of home of the seven in our list.
Con 3: Some people may experience a feeling of isolation as there are no neighbours close by.

3.Bungalows:
Advantages:
Pro 1: Bungalows, for the most part, are cheaper than storied homes.
Pro 2: They are easier to clean and maintain as there is only one floor and no stairs.
Pro 3: They hold their value quite well as fewer bungalows are being built every year.
Disadvantages:
Con 1: Being only a one-story house, breaking in through bungalow windows and getting access to
key rooms like the bedroom is easier.
Con 2: Bungalows have the highest cost per square foot as they are built across more land.
Con 3: Larger living areas in bungalows usually mean smaller bedroom sizes.

4. Cottage:
Advantages:
Pro 1: Cottages have a lower environmental impact.
They are quite private and usually come with additional land
Disadvantages:
Con 1: Cottages come with less space than storied homes as there are fewer rooms.
Con 2: Cottages in rural or suburban areas can be quite expensive.
5. Blocks of flats:
Advantages:
Pro 1: There are usually several layers of security in flats, making them quite safe and secure to live
in.
Pro 2: Considering the size of a flat compared to any type of home, you will likely have to pay fewer
utility bills and there is less maintenance in general.
In many cases, blocks of flats are usually located within or close to city centres, allowing people quick
access to amenities.
Disadvantages:
Con 1: Less privacy due to thin walls separating neighbours.
Con 2: You cannot extend the flat, and even remodelling can be difficult as there isn’t much space and
many restrictions.
Con 3: Current property law in England and Wales requires flats (for the most part) to be leasehold.
6. End-of-the-terrace house:
Advantages :
Pro 1: Generally speaking, a terraced home is the cheapest type of housing you can purchase in the
UK.
Pro 2: They require less maintenance overall because of their smaller square footage.
Pro 3: You may be safer and more secure because you have two sets of neighbours near you.
Disadvantages:
Con 1: Terraced houses are small, so they inevitably come with less space.
Con 2: There is less garden space compared to semi-detached and detached homes.
7. Next-gen houses:
Communal living
The growth of charitable housing from the 1700s offers some interesting solutions to the networked
living question. Our museum's almshouses would have housed up to 50 pensioners at one time in
accommodation similar to the modern bedsit: space for sleeping, eating and limited cooking, with
communal spaces for washing, laundry, gardening and recreation.
These weren't work/home environments, as the inhabitants were predominantly retired, but the model
for living was based on a wider economy that supported more pared-down design and provision.
Communal bakehouses allowed you to either bake your own or pay a small fee to the baker, and a
lively street trade with itinerant food sellers meant the pensioners did not need to go far to find a meal.
Bay windows
With opportunities for everyday interaction at risk from remote working, the Victorian bay window is
also worth another look. Some of the Davidson Prize submissions explore the area that extends out
from the building as space that is underused and easily segregated to create either privacy or
connectivity, depending on need.
Bays were the perfect location for the nineteenth-century houseplant mania and terrarium-based
biophilia. The Victorians knew the calming effects of birdsong in their urban homes – elaborate bird
cages were often proudly mounted in the window. Bays brought the outside in but also projected
domestic identity from the inside out.
Cosy corners
Contrasting and complementing the opening-up afforded by the bay window, the cosy corner was
another fascinating Victorian craze – foretelling some modern-day rooms-within-rooms solutions.
Cosy corners were usually semi-permanent, built, padded and draped spaces designed to create
privacy in shared homes. They typically were used for activities like reading or quiet conversation.
The corners could be purchased pre-fabricated from catalogues, and are such an intriguing trend in the
history of the home that we've recreated one in our new galleries.
Pod living
All of this is not even to touch on the recurring retro-futurism of the pod: the perennial, modernist,
modular solution to our home/work crisis. From 1960s bubble domes to the multitude of uses found
for shipping containers, the pod promises us stripped-back flexibility, but, aside from the garden shed
and the caravan, they always remained out of reach as a mainstream domestic option and almost more
important as an idea than a reality.
A re-examination of the potential of pod living or working is surely due serious consideration, as an
urban evolution towards something more mobile and miniaturised, aided by digital smart technologies
and a cloud-based existence.

8. Eco-friendly houses:
 Proximity to infrastructure: Installing new infrastructure and utilities systems will
inevitably have a huge impact on the local environment, so try to look for a site that takes
advantage of existing infrastructure, unless you’re planning to go off-grid.

 Proximity to transportation: Sustainable house design has wider considerations than the
house itself. For example, living close to public transport can help you to pursue a much more
eco-friendly lifestyle compared to driving your car everywhere. So consider how close your
potential new home is to public transport routes, and look for a site within walking distance if
possible. Walkscore is a great resource to check how walkable your new neighbourhood is.

 Vulnerability to natural disasters – Many regions are prone to natural disasters of one kind
or another, so it’s not always possible to avoid this. However, if you build your house in an
area vulnerable to flooding, earthquakes, or hurricanes, for example, make sure it is built to
withstand such disasters so that it is sustainable over the long term.

Using recycled materials not only avoids many of these issues, but it also stops these items
from ending up in landfill. There are a large range of such building materials available these
days, from those which were originally used for the same purpose, such as recycled tiles, to
materials that have been completely repurposed, such as composite decking made from
recycled plastic.
 Recycled glass countertops
 Doors, floors, and other elements made from wood reclaimed from demolished or remodelled
buildings
 Bricks and masonry that has also been reclaimed from old buildings
 Roof shingles made from recycled car tires
 Landscaping soil from excavations

Your landscaping can also make your home more energy-efficient. Plant a deciduous tree in front of
south facing windows to provide shade in summer but let light through in winter.
An eco-friendly home goes far beyond the design, location, and building materials you use – you also
need to consider the appliances you use. Sustainable house design is also about filling your home with
appliances that consume lower energy is not only better for the environment, but it will also greatly
reduce your energy bills, or let you run your home on renewable energy.
One fantastic example of sustainable heating is geothermal heating, sometimes also called geocaching,
earth-coupled, or earth energy systems. Residential geothermal heating systems take advantage of the
sun’s radiant energy that has been absorbed by and stored in the ground near your house.
To maximize the energy efficiency of your sustainable house design, it’s important to consider not
only how much energy you use, but also where that energy comes from. Therefore, being more
energy-efficient while relying on renewable energy is a win-win for sustainability!

One of the most popular (and best) ways to power your home with renewable energy is using solar
panels. It is relatively easy to install a solar system in your home to give you free, eco-friendly energy,
while adding value to your home.
  Moss beds
 Sedum plants
 Ground covers like creeping thyme, Corsican mint, chamomile, and soleirolia soleirolii
 Eco-lawn (a mix of grass seeds and ground covers like micro leaf clover and moss)
 Wood chippings or bark
 Gravel
9. Mobile homes: trailers, trailer camps

Student Accommodation: What are the Options? Moving in, doing up a place, flat-hunting,
fully-furnished, putting down a deposit, flat share
1. Halls of Residence – Dormitory
2. Studio flats
3. Shared student houses/flats = squatter (no-payers), tenant (a person who rents a place),
landlord/lady
4. Renting a room as a lodger (paying to live with someone who owns the place)
5. Host families
6. Alternative living situations
Alternative living situations:
Homestay is a charity that places students, or professionals, in the homes of elderly people
(ground rules: stay for a minimum of 6 months, not allowed any guests, you are not family nor a
lodger, so you have to work out where the lines are drawn – disagreements, it is quieter and very
comfortable)
Speed Flat sharing - property hunt -> social event where people with available rooms and those
looking meet (everyone is in the same boat, it beats trawling through online ads and traveling all
over the city - fast, meeting a lot of people).
Property guardian – short time rental(4 weeks' notice before you move in) – some companies lease
with the property owners and look for guardians of their properties, so that the property is
protected from squatters or derelict/occupied (some need funds while some are just waiting for new
owners; you must be handy with DIY, it’s worth the hassle)
Uncommon accommodations: live on a barge – buying a boat – it costs the same as rent over three
years and at the end of the day you still own the boat. You must refurbish it, but it has all the
essential mod cons. It’s better than living in a pokey studio flat(tiny – size of a jail cell) or a
dodgy area(dishonest or shady). Additional costs: mooring costs -Kotvenie
4. living alone: finances, isolation
5. living together: roommates -> conflict, sharing, relationships, problem solving
6. living in the SK/UK/USA:
How do Slovaks live?
Many Slovaks live in flats. A flat is situated in the same building as other flats, often forming part
of the block of flats or town house. During the communist period a lot huge housing estates were
built in our country. These days, a lot of them are being reconstructed and new ones are being
built but not as many as before. A flat may be large with nearly as much space as a house, or it
may be just one room with kitchen and bathroom. Most of the flats in Slovakia are two-, three- or
four - room flats. Slovak houses are usually quite bigger and the older ones are often shared by
two families- grandparents, their children and grandchildren.....

British people.
Terraced houses are built in a row. Your house is in a terrace of houses.
Back to back houses share a back wall.
Semidetached houses are joined together by one common wall.
Detached house stands by itself.
Bungalow is a house with only one floor.
 A cottage is usually a small house with only one floor.
A typical British house is set in a small garden and has two storeys. It is usually designed for a
family of four or five people. There is a hall, a front room, a back room, a kitchen and a storage
space downstairs. A garage is normally attached to the house. Upstairs there is one big bedroom
and two smaller ones, a bathroom and lavatory.....

Comparison between Slovaks and British.

Slovaks and British are people love gardening. Slovaks tend to have bigger gardens behind their
houses and they spend quite a lot of time growing vegetables and fruits. There is a lot of work
around the house throughout the whole year. British people have garden for pleasure. They relax,
drink tea or coffee, they do not work like slaves in the garden. They have gardener who takes care
of plants, trees, flowers and grass.
The furniture in Slovak and British rooms is not very different nowadays. The sitting room has a
settee and armchair, a wall unit with Hi-Fi system, television and video, a bookcase and coffee
table. There is a carpet on the floor to make the room warm and comfortable. Most of British
houses have a fireplace because of cold weather. The kitchen furniture includes the cupboards,
sink, cooker, and fridge-freezer. They are usually built in. There is also a table and chairs. The
floor is often tiled. Slovak families usually have the washing machine in the bathroom, the British
in the kitchen or so called utility. The bedrooms are the same.....

Americans.
As the standard of living is generally very high in the USA, the average American family can live
comfortably and well. Many wealthy people have large apartments or houses with many rooms,
tennis courts and swimming pool. In the centre of American cities people live in apartments
situated in large apartment buildings.
In the United States, the housing market is diverse, with a range of options available depending
on location and personal preference. For example, large cities such as New York and San
Francisco have a mix of high-rise apartments, skyscrapers, townhouses, and single-family homes.
In other areas, such as the suburbs, single-family homes are more common. These homes are often
larger than those in UK and feature spacious yards and driveways. American homes tend to be
more spacious, with large rooms and an emphasis on open-plan living spaces.

7. problems regarding living: urban decay, lack of investment, crime, poverty, disaster zones:
ghettos, slums, shanty towns, eradication and shifting poverty
Issues Relating to the Housing Crisis
 Global Warming Global temperatures have risen by an average of. 17 degrees Fahrenheit
every decade since 1990. ...
 Natural Disasters Natural disasters have significantly impacted housing markets in recent
years. ...
 Rising Sea Levels Sea levels rise by about .14 inches every year on average, which adds up
to an increase of about 3.5 inches in the last 30 years. ...

8. gentrification: poor areas being transformed into higher class/ trendier areas
9. population density: ,, hustota zaľudnenia’’ is a measurement of population per unit land
area
10. Dream home: My dream home is a place where I can balance work and relaxation. For
that reason, having a home office is essential. I imagine a spacious room with natural light,
comfortable furniture, and all the necessary equipment to be productive.