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What is the difference between a flat and an apartment?

What is the difference between a flat and an apartment?  

21 members have voted

  1. 1. What is the difference between a flat and an apartment?

    • The apartment is the symbol of modern cosmopolitan city living, the flat where antisocial chav scum exist
      0
    • An apartment is a flat, full stop!
      14
    • This is so not important, who cares?
      7


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Until a few years ago, people lived in either houses or flats. Now, however, there seems to be a new habitation unit: the "apartment". Our US cousins of course have either houses or apartments, apartment being the US English equivalent of flat. Yet in the UK now there is evidently a difference. Having read all the relevant literature on the subject, it would seem to me that "apartments" are what I was brought up to refer to as "flats", a living space that is not free standing and shares a common entrance from the street with other living spaces.

The general differentation would appear therefore to be fatuous and boils down to the following: "flats" are naff, "apartments" are "in".

 

Is this the case? Is there no difference between a flat and an apartment? Or is the lifestyle suggested by modern apartments such a distinguishing feature to merit the seperate term?

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An apartment is a flat but i think the use of the word 'apartment' suggests something a little more luxurious.

 

'Flat' would be more representitve of a council property.

 

... but i may be wrong.

 

We own a luxury apartment and i hate it when people say "your flat" :gag:

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About £300 if Blundells have anything to do with it :hihi:

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Originally posted by Unisol

We own a luxury apartment and i hate it when people say "your flat" :gag:

 

...but it is a flat.

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Snobbery

 

It depends on the way people see the word "flat", i have always used flat rather than apartment, with friends who live in both council and large owned flats.

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apartment is the word you use if you want to try and be posh.

But like spyro says, its still a flat...:hihi:

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Guest

The difference is cosmetic and to do with estate agent superficiality and people's snobbery. A flat is a flat. An apartment is an American version of a flat.

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This PR execise began with the naming of the different areas of the city centre.

 

Cathederal Quarter.

Devonshire Quarter.

Cultural Industries Quarter.

etc (sorry can't think of any others).

 

These names didn't exist 10 years ago.

 

They have been made up by a PR company.

 

This allowed Sheffield S'hity Council to start making all sorts of claims and attaching values where none had been perceived before.

 

For example: There is a block of Council Flats near campo lane (Hawley Street).

 

These are now considered by the Council to have an historic value and context according to them because they are within the Cathederal quarter and so Sheffeild s'hity Council can extort more money from the tenants who live there and wish to purchase, make modification to them etc..

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Originally posted by bladeslass

apartment is the word you use if you want to try and be posh.

But like spyro says, its still a flat...:hihi:

 

Where I live was described by the estate agent as an appartment, but I call it a flat. Or sometimes a house.

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it is largely explained by the stigma associated with the word 'flat', which (apart from perhaps in central London) is still redolent of the kind of properties provided by Councils up and down the country.

 

The word 'apartment' may conjure up an image of spacious living quarters occupied by young urban professionals.

 

Of course, in New York, if you really want to boast, you can say you live in a loft (which is a type of apartment).

 

Don't though, say you live in a duplex (which is what they call a semi-detached property), although a condo (for condominium) can conjure up a nice positive image in the right location.

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