somehow, houses haven't changed that much.. (well the dweller of the 300+ year old house complain about the damp..

Just recalled seeing my sister in law recently. She lives (along with her family - hubby, 5 kids & a dog) in a huge, lovely old farmhouse (17thC/18thC I think) - but it came at a big price, and continues to cost a fortune in maintenance.

I suppose in some ways people used to build better, with nice thick walls, etc, but in many ways building techniques have improved hugely, and modern buildings are much more economical to run and maintain. Think about thatching, for instance. Delightful stuff, as picturesque as you can get, but expensive.

There are also often problems with renovating this kind of property in the UK. "Listed buildings" or buildings in "conservation areas" are quite rightly protected, but this will tend to mean even more expense if you want to introduce modern features whilst retaining the original character.

We've had a couple of excellent home improvements recently - double-glazing and replacing the kitchen (which involved moving a boiler and taking down a flue/chimney). I'd hate to be in a situation where I couldn't do that kind of stuff; and it would really rankle to be unable to make my home more environmentally friendly.

So personally, I'm going to stick with 1920ish onwards houses even when I do make my million

Sorry, this is all a bit unromantic of me, but sadly it is also true!