@Dutchess_III Good point about tornadoes. In TN I had an underground shelter.
@Earthbound_Misfit No servants in these houses. Some are very modest, as small as 1200 sq ft (I’m not sure of the metric, maybe that is about 110 sq meters?) relatively inexpensive with additional basement below. I’m not looking at houses that small, but there are many that are less than 2000 sq ft.
You’re right about servants preparing the food back in the day at the basement level. Some of the 100 year old mansions in the northeast of my country have extensive basements with full kitchens, and dumbwaiters to bring the food up to the main level.
Some of these houses have no easy escape out of the basement. If a fire starts near the stairs you’re trapped. That bothers me. Also, too many houses have 7–8 foot ceilings down there. That’s one thing in an apartment, in a building, on the 2–30th floor when you can see out for a mile. Below ground it’s a lot better to have a 9 or 10 foot ceiling, but a lot of people don’t bother adding the foot. I don’t want my basement to feel so subterranean if it’s actually finished. I’ve been in homes that are 4,000 sq ft above ground, $650,000, an additional 2,000 sq ft basement, and they have a low ceiling in the basement.
Just to add insult to injury, a lot of the houses built in the last 20 years have two story foyers and great rooms (informal living rooms) so all the heat can drift up way above your head in the winter time. It makes no sense to me. I like a high ceiling, but 12ft would be my max for practical reasons. 10 ft really is plenty in such a cold climate.
I’m trying to get used to the style of houses.