Cultural Background and Housing Satisfaction

Abstract

Diversity of culture is a major issue in many societies; however, it has been neglected in housing research. Few studies have been conducted to explore relationships between cultural differences and housing satisfaction, preferences, or needs. This research was an exploratory study to examine the relationship between residents’ cultural background and housing satisfaction. National origin was assumed to be an indicator of cultural background. An on-line survey was administered to Virginia Tech graduate students living in apartment communities. Respondents were grouped according to their national origin. There were 169 useable questionnaires from students who were originally from the U.S., Korea, India, China, and Europe. Respondents were asked to rate their satisfaction with 22 housing features related to size, layout, interior, and other features as well as overall housing satisfaction. Findings were as follows: (a) national origin was significantly correlated with satisfaction with 11 different housing features and overall housing satisfaction, (b) differences were found among the satisfaction of respondents of the various national groups with 16 of the features and overall housing satisfaction, and (c) Koreans were significantly less satisfied with most housing features.