Speaking Test Part 3:

1. What are the advantages of living in a house compared to a flat?

In my opinion, living in a house is much better than living in a flat because they are much more spacious and you have more privacy. Flats are usually quite small and cramped, and you have neighbours on every side, so you can easily be disturbed. What’s more, with a house you usually have a little garden too, and I love to be able to sit on the patio during the summer or have a barbecue.

2. Do you think everyone will live in cities in the future?

If you had asked me a few years ago I would have answered yes, but now I’m not so sure. There are obviously more opportunities in big cities, and in many countries it’s much more attractive to move to a big city because of the better job prospects. But, in the last few years it’s become much easier to work remotely from home, and you’ve seen many people relocating out of cities and into the countryside.

3. Do most people in your country rent or buy their house/ flat?

I’d say that the vast majority of people in my country aspire to own a property, but it’s getting harder and harder to get on the property ladder. House and flat prices just keep going up and up. As a result, for most young people in their late twenties or thirties renting is the best option.

4. Do you think houses are too expensive these days?

To be honest, I think they’re far too expensive . It seems like house prices never stop going up, and they are always increasing more quickly than salaries do. When my parents were in their early thirties, homeownership was much more affordable, but these days you can only buy a property if you take out a huge mortgage, and then it’s really difficult to pay back all the money.

5. Do you think it’s important to live near to relatives?

Well, there are definitely advantages to living near your family. It’s great to be able to meet up regularly and you can help and support your relatives more easily if you live locally. But these days, it’s super common to relocate to a different city or even country for work or other reasons. Fortunately though, it’s not hard or expensive to stay in touch with family members thanks to a plethora of modern communication tools. So, because of this, I’d say that it’s not as important to live nearby as it used to be.

6. How could you improve your house or flat?

In fact, there are a few things that I’d like to do in my house to make it my own. For starters, it would be great to do up the bathroom. I’d also like to redecorate the living room. I want to repaint the walls and then put up some new shelves, and some decorations like pictures and paintings. I think we could do with some new furniture there too. I’d like a new sofa in particular. As well as that, I wouldn’t mind improving the guest room and making it into a home office where I could work from home.