Whatever name we give it, all it takes is basically four walls and a door to make up a home. Depending on its design and location, homes are increasingly being given new types of names. We can have attached home, detached homes and independent homes and to make it spicier, there are homes that are part of buildings or a whole complete building. Still, want more? Ok, there are also homes depending on their location and purposes.these include lodges, cottages, villas, bungalows and apartments – or flats as they are more commonly known in the UK!

And when it comes to buying your own home, you have to sort out through all this chaff to get to the wheat of the matter which is whether you want to live independently or live as part of a community. To cut to the chase of the matter, let’s first get to understand what villas and independent houses are.

According to the colonial days in India, independent houses or bungalows were single-family homes built in the Bengal style with wide verandahs and sloping roofs; they were built with boundary walls in their own individual plots that belonged to the owner, just like the house built on it. This style was adopted by the British for their summer retreats and later spread to the West. Villas, on the other hand, can be loosely described as semi-detached or luxurious homes or mansions that are more than one story high. They were originally used as country estates by the elite Romans and were designed to be self-sufficient with their own farms, warehouses, outhouses, and gardens.

The modern concept of a villa is quite different; even though it’s an independent single-family home, it’s usually built by a property developer and is part of a gated community where numerous other similar villas exist. Depending on the luxury quotient of the villa, they may be free-standing or have one side attached to the neighboring villa. You can also have Row villas, similar to the old concept of Townhouses that shared walls on both sides of the house.

Villas in gated communities come with shared luxurious amenities like clubhouses, swimming pools, gyms, manicured gardens, fountains, parks, paved walkways, security, concierge and a maintenance team. Of course, it goes without saying that you end up doling out a fixed amount every month for the maintenance of these amenities, but then who said anything good ever came for free!

Most people who opt for villa life choose it because it increases their social status by living in a luxurious gated community. It also affords privacy as well as addresses the all-important issue of security.

Living in independent homes won’t get you all these amenities unless you pay for the full deal yourself, and that could cost you a neat packet! Installing swimming pools, fully-equipped gyms and caring for large manicured gardens is no small task. Aside from this, every time something goes wrong in the house, you have to go through the hassle of hunting down the increasingly elusive electricians and plumbers yourself.

So going from all of the above, villas appear to be better options, if you are someone who treasures your creature comforts!