Shadowing Practice: Talking About Apartment vs House in English | Easy English Podcast - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy, where we make English simple and enjoyable.
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Hello everyone, and welcome back to Everyday English Academy, where we make English simple and enjoyable.
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I'm Sarah.
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And I'm Mike.
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Hello to all of our wonderful listeners, wherever you are in the world right now.
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Mike, I saw something online yesterday, and I need to show you.
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Okay, what is it?
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A beautiful house with a big garden.
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Three bedrooms, a garage, and it's in the countryside.
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Okay, and?
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Isn't it perfect?
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Sarah, that house is in the middle of nowhere.
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The nearest shop is probably 30 minutes away.
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So, at least you have space to breathe, and you wake up to fresh air instead of traffic noise.
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You also have nothing else.
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Give me a city apartment any day.
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Everything is close.
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Restaurants, shops, the gym.
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A tiny apartment with thin walls and no garden?
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A convenient apartment with everything I need within walking distance.
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Okay, I think we need to talk about this properly.
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because I know our listeners probably have strong opinions too.
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Oh, definitely.
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And this is actually a really fun topic, because everyone lives somewhere, right?
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And everyone has something they love and something they complain about.
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Exactly.
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So today we're going to talk about apartments versus houses, the good, the bad, and everything in between.
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And while we talk, you'll learn some really useful words and phrases for describing where you live or where you want to live.
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And we want to hear from you.
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Do you live in an apartment or a house?
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Tell us in the comments.
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Even one sentence is great English practice.
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Yes, like, I live in a small apartment in the city.
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Or I live in a house with my family.
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Simple and real.
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Okay, Mike, since you love apartments so much, let's start there.
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Tell me the good things.
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All right.
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First, the best thing about an apartment is the location.
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Most apartments are in the city or close to the center, so everything is nearby.
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Like what?
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Like shops, restaurants, public transit, hospitals.
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I can walk to the supermarket in five minutes.
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Five minutes, Sarah.
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Okay, I'll give you that.
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That is convenient.
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And apartments are usually more affordable than houses.
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Affordable means not too expensive.
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It fits your budget.
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So for younger people or people just starting their life, an apartment makes more sense.
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That's true.
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Houses can be very expensive, especially in big cities.
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Some house prices make me want to cry.
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Same.
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And here's another thing.
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In an apartment, you don't have to worry about big repairs.
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If something breaks, the roof, the heating, the pipes, that's usually the landlord's problem.
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Ah, yes, the landlord.
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That's the person who owns the apartment or the building.
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You pay rent to the landlord every month.
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Exactly.
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And if my shower stops working, I call the landlord and say, please fix this.
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Not my problem.
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Ha!
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Must be nice.
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When my shower broke, I had to fix it myself and pay for it and clean up the water on the floor by myself.
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See?
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Apartment life.
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Someone else worries about the big stuff.
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Okay, but let's be honest, Mike.
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Apartments are not perfect.
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Tell me the bad parts.
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Do I have to?
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Yes.
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You can't just say good things and pretend the bad things don't exist.
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Fine.
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The biggest problem is space.
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Or actually the lack of space.
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My apartment is, let's just say, not spacious.
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Spacious means big with a lot of room, right?
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Yes.
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And my apartment is the opposite of spacious.
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It's cramped.
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Cramped means too small, not enough space for your things or your life.
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Like, my kitchen and my living room are basically the same room.
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Oh no. And my bedroom?
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If I open my arms wide, I can almost touch both walls.
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Mike, that's not a bedroom.
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That's a closet.
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Don't say that.
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It has a window.
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A closet with a view.
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Okay, okay.
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And then there's the noise.
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Ugh, the noise.
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My upstairs neighbor walks like a dinosaur.
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I hear everything.
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A dinosaur?
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I'm serious.
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Every evening.
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And the walls are so thin.
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I can hear my other neighbor's TV, their phone calls, their arguments.
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Their arguments?
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Yes, I know more about their relationship than they do.
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And I didn't ask for this information.
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Free entertainment, Mike.
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Entertainment I don't want.
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And you know what?
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Sometimes I put on headphones just to hear nothing.
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Sweet, beautiful nothing.
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That's sad, Mike.
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Okay, but I want to come back to something later about why a house is not always the dream people think it is.
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But first, tell me about your landlord.
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You said you call the landlord when things break.
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Is your landlord actually good?
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I was hoping you wouldn't ask that.
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I knew it.
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My landlord is slow.
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Very slow.
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A few weeks ago, my hot water stopped working completely.
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No hot water at all.
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In your whole apartment?
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In my whole apartment.
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So I called my landlord, and he said, I'll send someone on Monday.
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Okay, Monday's not too bad.
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Monday came.
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Nobody came.
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Oh, no. So I called again.
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He said, okay, tomorrow for sure.
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Tomorrow became Friday.
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Five days with no hot water.
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So what did you do?
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Cold showers for five days?
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The first day, yes.
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After that, I started boiling water in a pot on the stove, like I was living a hundred years ago.
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Boiling water in a pot?
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Mike, that's terrible.
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It really was.
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And that's the thing about apartment life.
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When you're a tenant, A tenant is the person who rents and lives in a place.
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You depend on the landlord.
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If the landlord is great, life is easy.
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If the landlord is slow, you're just standing in your kitchen boiling water like it's 1920.
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Okay, I think it's my turn now.
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Let me tell you about house life.
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The real house life, not just the dream.
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Go ahead.
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Okay, first of all, the best thing about a house is space.
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My house is spacious.
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I have a living room, a separate kitchen, two bedrooms, and a garden.
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A garden?
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I don't even have a balcony.
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I have a window.
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That's my outdoor space.
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A window is not outdoor space.
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And my garden is amazing in summer.
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I drink my coffee outside, I read, I sit in the sun.
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It's my favorite place in the world.
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Okay, that does sound nice.
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I'll give you that.
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And in a house, you feel free.
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You can make changes, paint the walls any color, put pictures everywhere.
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Make it your space.
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In an apartment, you have to ask the landlord for everything.
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That is true.
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I wanted to paint one wall blue once, just one wall.
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My landlord said no. He said, But keep it white.
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Boring.
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Very boring.
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My whole apartment is white.
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I feel like I live inside a refrigerator.
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Okay, a refrigerator with a closet bedroom.
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But yes, in my house, I can paint every wall a different color if I want.
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And nobody can stop me.
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Okay, but come on, Sarah.
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You're only telling me the good stuff.
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What's the bad part?
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The maintenance.
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Aha, there it is.
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Maintenance is all the work you need to do to keep a house in good condition.
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Repairs, fixing things, cleaning the garden, checking the roof, the pipes.
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Sounds like a second job.
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It is a second job sometimes.
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Last month, there was a problem with my bathroom pipes.
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Guess who paid for it?
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Me.
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Guess who organized the repair?
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Me.
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Guess who cleaned the water off the floor at 11 p.m.?
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Also me.
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And you can't call a landlord because you are the landlord, and you're responsible for everything.
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Exactly.
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When you own a house, everything is your responsibility.
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and that costs time and money.
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How much do you spend on maintenance every year?
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I don't want to talk about it.
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That bad?
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Let's just say my house is beautiful, but my bank account is very, very nervous.
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And what about the location?
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Your house is outside the city, right?
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Yes, it's in the suburbs.
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The suburbs are the quieter areas around a city, not the center, not the countryside, somewhere in between.
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So how far are you from the city center?
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About 30 minutes by car or 45 minutes by bus.
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See, that would be a problem for me.
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I like being close to everything.
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If I want pizza at 9 p.m., there are five places I can walk to.
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If I want pizza at 9 p.m., I make it myself.
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That's not the same, Sarah.
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It's actually better because my pizza is amazing.
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But, okay, yes, the location is not as convenient.
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The suburbs are quieter, greener, and usually more affordable.
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And honestly, after a long day, coming home to a quiet street with trees and birds, I love that.
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Hmm, okay.
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But what about winter, when it's dark at 4 p.m.
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and cold and you're far from everything?
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Okay, winter is not my favorite time in the suburbs.
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I'll be honest.
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Sometimes in winter, I feel a bit isolated, like the world is very far away.
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Isolated means you feel alone and separated from everything, right?
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Yes.
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But then spring comes and my garden is beautiful again and I forget all about winter.
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Convenient memory.
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I'm still not convinced, but I respect your choice.
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Thank you very much.
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But you know what's interesting?
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A lot of families start in apartments and then move to houses when they have children because children need space to play, run around.
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That's true.
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An apartment with two kids?
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That would be cramped.
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Very cramped.
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And loud.
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For you and for the neighbors.
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Oh, no. I would be the noisy neighbor.
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The dinosaur.
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Exactly.
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Okay, let me ask you something.
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Have you ever thought about buying a place?
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Like, actually buying?
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Honestly, yes.
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But houses are so expensive.
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Most people need a mortgage.
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A mortgage is when you borrow money from a bank to buy a house or apartment.
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And then you pay it back every month for a long time, sometimes 20 or 30 years.
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30 years?
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That's a very long time.
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It is.
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But you know what's also a long time?
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Paying rent forever and owning nothing at the end.
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That's exactly my point.
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A mortgage is expensive, yes, but after 30 years, the house is yours.
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When you rent, that money just disappears, every single month gone.
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Like throwing money out the window of my very small apartment window.
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But here's the scary part about buying.
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Some houses look nice on the outside, but they need a lot of work.
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Like what?
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Like renovating.
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Renovate means to fix up and improve a home.
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New floors, new kitchen, new bathroom, maybe new walls.
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Some people buy a house and then discover they need to spend thousands more to renovate it.
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That sounds stressful.
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You buy a house, you're happy for one day, and then you see the kitchen and cry.
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It happens.
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But when the renovation is done, the house is exactly how you want it.
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Every detail is your choice.
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Okay, okay.
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I can see the appeal.
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But I still think for me, right now, an apartment is the better choice.
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I like the city life.
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And that's perfectly fine, because honestly, the real question is not which is better.
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It's which is better for you.
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It depends on your life, your job, your budget, your personality.
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If you love the city, everything close and easy, an apartment is great.
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And if you want space, quiet, a garden, and you don't mind the extra work, a house is wonderful.
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And some people choose something in between.
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They live on the outskirts of the city.
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The outskirts are the very edge of the city, where the city meets the countryside.
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Yes, not the center, not far away, just at the border.
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You get some space, but you're still connected to the city.
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That's actually smart.
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Maybe I should look there.
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Mike moving to the outskirts?
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I need to hear this.
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Don't get excited.
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I said maybe.
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Okay, I want to ask our listeners something before we finish.
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What is more important to you, location or space?
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Tell us in the comments, and tell us why.
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We want to know.
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Now, let's go through some useful phrases you can use to describe your home.
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If someone asks, where do you live?
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You can say, I live in an apartment in the city center, or I live in a house in the suburbs.
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And to describe your place, my apartment is small but cozy, or my house is spacious but it needs a lot of maintenance.
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You can say what you like.
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I love my apartment because it's close to everything, or I love my house because it's quiet and I have a garden.
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And if you want to complain, my apartment is too cramped, or my landlord never fixes anything.
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Or, for houses, the maintenance costs too much.
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Or, I wish I lived closer to the city.
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These are all very natural sentences.
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Just change the details and they become your sentences.
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Okay, Sarah, final question.
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If you could live anywhere, what would you choose?
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Mmm, a spacious house in the suburbs with a big garden.
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Close enough to the city for restaurants, but far enough for peace and quiet.
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You?
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A modern, spacious apartment with thick walls on a high floor so I can see the whole city and zero dinosaur neighbors.
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Thick walls.
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That's your number one requirement.
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Number one, always.
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All right, everyone.
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We had so much fun today.
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We really did.
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And we want to hear from you.
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Write in the comments what's one thing you love and one thing you don't like about where you live right now.
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For example, I love my apartment because it's affordable, but I don't like the noise.
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Or I love my house because it's spacious, but the maintenance is hard.
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We read every single comment.
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It's always so interesting to hear about your lives around the world.
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And if you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe to Everyday English Academy and give us a like.
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Share this with a friend who is learning English.
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Maybe someone who just moved to a new place.
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Thank you so much for spending time with us today.
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Keep practicing.
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Keep speaking.
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And remember, your English gets better every time you listen.
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Stay cozy, whether you're in a tiny apartment or a big house.
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And we'll see you in the next episode.
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Bye, everyone.
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Goodbye.
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About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will practice discussing living situations, primarily focusing on the differences between apartments and houses. By exploring the dialogue between Sarah and Mike, you will gain useful vocabulary and phrases to describe your own living experiences. This content is designed to enhance your speaking skills and encourage you to express your opinions, making it an excellent opportunity for IELTS speaking practice as well.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Apartment: A small living space within a building, usually in a city.
- House: A standalone building providing more space and often a garden.
- Affordable: Something that is reasonably priced and within one's budget.
- Convenient: Something that is easily accessible, making life simpler.
- Location: The geographical area where a place is situated, which can affect accessibility.
- Gardens: Outdoor spaces typically found with houses, offering greenery and open air.
- Public transit: Transportation services that are available for public use, such as buses and trains.
- Commute: The journey made to get to work or school from your home.
Practice Tips
To effectively practice your English speaking skills, try using the shadowing technique. Listen closely to the conversation in this video and repeat what you hear in real-time. This shadow speech method will help you mimic the pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm of native speakers. Given the engaging and conversational tone of Sarah and Mike, their dialogue is a great model for your practice.
You can also use a shadowing app to record yourself as you practice. This way, you can compare your pronunciation with the original audio. Aim for clarity and natural flow, especially with phrases such as "I live in a small apartment in the city" or "I love my house with a big garden." Repeating these sentences helps solidify your speaking capabilities.
Integrating shadowspeak into your regular practice can boost your confidence and readiness for speaking tests. The more you practice using these essential phrases in variations, the more fluent and comfortable you will become in discussing your living space and your preferences.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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