What's with Walter White raising his family in a house with no upstairs?
I get that he is supposed to be an underpaid teacher.
I'm from Britain, I always thought of Americans as living in bigger houses than we do and just being better off than us.
The only people here who live in a one-storey place are old ladies and we call those houses "bungalows". It's like, only your aunt or your grandma lives in one of those.
A house doesn't need an upstairs to be large in America. We have lots of room. Things can spread out.
My house is 4 bedrooms and two large living spaces, with a two car garage. I have no upstairs. I'd rather not need to use stairs if I don't have to.
I would like to have stairs as a way to stay in a little better shape. Good exercise walking up stairs.
shareRegion can also be part of it, some types of land just aren't as suited for basements, or multiple levels.
shareit depends on area. most of my childhood i living in small condo or bungalow like houses until my dad got rich and got a big mansion and even that was technically single story with finished basement. i own a bungalow right now but it has a walkin basement so it feels elevated.
shareThere are a lot of different styles of houses. My grandparents lived in a ranch style home (1 story with basement) that had more square footage than my parents two story (with basement) home. People like different things and you can find the full range of homes in most areas. Basements a slightly more regional because of ground conditions. Florida, for instance, tends to not have homes with basements because the water table is high. Nebraska (where I live) has very few homes without basements. Higher water table and being in tornado alley, most people want basements.
shareLots of different style of houses in the U.S. I used to live in a one-story house in Miami with 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a massive kitchen and dining room, living room, 10 foot deep in ground swimming pool, huge patio area with a bar area, and an additional room that was simply a bar that was cozy enough for about 7 stools, with a washer/dryer room right next to it. It was a half acre of land with a tool shed in the backyard.
Just about every house in my neighborhood seemed comparable, although I did have friends that lived in two-story houses in the area. However, I’d say that kind of house is unusual in Manhattan where the population is more dense.
Cue Monthy Python Yorkshire sketch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ue7wM0QC5LE
Most of the USA:
332 000 - 1 storey
405 000 - Multi-storey
1 150 000 - Any number of stories
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Casper_WY/sby-2/with_singlestory?view=map&pos=51.397272,-109.183054,21.409278,-66.995554,5&qdm=true
Albuquerque:
1 056 - 1 storey
524 - Multi-storey
1 876 - Any number of stories
https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-search/Casper_WY/sby-2?view=map&pos=35.231568,-106.761363,34.989754,-106.431773,12&qdm=true
I don't know the actual numbers but there remain a lot of ranch houses in the US. I know many older people don't want to deal with steps so they would be more comfortable in a single-story home. I wouldn't believe what you see on television shows since they often don't provide an accurate picture of life in the US.
Most families outgrow single-level homes so they might decide to add a level or tear down the home. In my area, people would buy old bungalows for the land, tear down the house and build a new McMansion. There would be a bunch of old bungalows on the street and a few big McMansions. It's just important to avoid building a big McMansion in a gang area.