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Bob: Where do you live?
Lisa: We live in Oakville, a suburban town West of Toronto.
Bob: It’s an upscale area. There are only mansions with huge lots there.
Lisa: That’s what people think, and it may be true along the lakeshore, but we only own a small bungalow. There are also many multi- story houses, single-family dwellings, detached or semi-detached, townhouses, condominiums and apartment buildings.
Bob: Why did you pick Oakville?
Lisa: It’s a nice area, not far from downtown Toronto, so it’s not too long to commute. On the other hand, it has a small town atmosphere, not the crazy hustle and bustle of Toronto.
Bob: Are you in a new subdivision?
Lisa: Yes, it’s relatively new. It’s close to a school, a children’s playground and a shopping mall. It’s a nice neighborhood.
Bob: It sounds like an ideal location for a young family. City houses are not ideal homes for kids.
Lisa: Yes. Beside, the real estate market is quite stable here.
ADDITIONAL READINGS:
MacClean’s magazine : Why Oakville, Ont. is Canada’s best place to live in 2018
Real estate: Real: Actually, physically exists. Estate: Land. [by extension] Everything a person owns. The word real estate was coined around 1660
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HOUSING IDIOMS
A house of cards
Meaning: A flimsy or fragile arrangement or scheme.
Example: The entire project was based on a house of cards, which was sure to collapse.
A house divided cannot stand
Meaning: Internal strifes seriously undermine a company or organization, rendering it incapable of sustaining external pressures.
Example: We must immediately recognize that a divided house cannot stand, so we must enhance our communications.
Chickens will/have come home to roost
Meaning: Things that a person has done previously have returned to haunt them or torment them.
Example: His deceptive activity will never go completely unnoticed, and he should prepare to bear the consequences one day since the chicken will come home to roost.
Close to home
Meaning: Having a personal effect on someone, particularly in a fashion that makes them feel uncomfortable or disturbed.
Example: We had no idea the jokes were hitting close to home for him since he never responded in that manner and just carried on as usual.
Get on like a house on fire
Meaning: Fast or ferociously.
Example: It was a little alarming how he was going about his business, like a house on fire.
Get your own house in order.
Meaning: Before advising someone else how to handle their difficulties, they must first address their own.
Example: Please get your own house in order before participating in my internal affairs.
More idioms at English Grammar Notes
JOKES & PUNS
How much does a roof cost?
Nothing, it’s on the house.
VOCABULARY SELF-TEST
SUBURB
an area on the edge of a large town or city where people who work in the town or city often live
UPSCALE
very high quality and intended to be bought by people who are quite rich
MANSION
a very large, expensive house
LOT
An area of land.
BUNGALOW
A one-story house
TWO STORY HOUSE
A house having two floors
DWELLING
A place to live: House, apartment, etc.
DETACHED HOUSE
A house that is not connected to any other building
SEMI DETACHED HOUSE
A house that is joined to another similar house on only one side
TOWNHOUSE
A house that is joined to adjacent houses in a row of several houses
CONDOMINIUM
an apartment building in which each apartment is owned separately by the people living in it, but also containing shared areas
COMMUTE
to make the same journey regularly between work and home
HUSTLE AND BUSTLE
Noise and activity:
Example: I love the hustle and bustle of the marketplace
SUBDIVISION
an area containing a large number of houses or apartments built close together at the same time
PLAYGROUND
an area designed for children to play in outside, especially at a school or in a park
SHOPPING MALL
a very large building or buildings containing a lot of stores and restaurants
LOCATION
Position, place
CITY HOUSES
Houses in the city
