Definitely a house. I owned what was sort of a condo in the US and wished it wasn't because I wanted more room between our home and neighbors. Also, the homeowners association management company acted like mafiosos. They wanted to put the screws to everyone and even made threats. Hubby had to even take them to court once. We weren't in low cost housing, but they also managed some in NJ. I imagine they abused the residents in them even worse. Horrible! As for location, I like the best of both worlds. Being near a city, but living in our near the country. I would rather live in a country where English is the official language.