No, I’m claustrophobic but it’s actually more of a “fear of being trapped” than of small spaces so it would cover both examples.
I work underground so i wouldn’t want to live there too. Not sure about underwater either as i would worry about leaks and unexpected drownings. I think i’ll just take one of the nice surface houses which the other posters are abandoning.
Underground definitely. Deep water freaks me out. I can barely watch it on TV.
I’ve always had a strange attraction to underground living. It’s dead quiet, you can’t disturb your neighbors with the crazy Rock N’ Roll, It’s a natural 68 degrees winter and summer, and it sure maximizes the above-ground space. In a way it’s almost like leaving the planet - cutting yourself off completely from the environment. Like living in a spaceship.
For light, you could always bring down bundles of fiber optics and array them all over the place, so that when it’s light outside it’s light inside. I would also have a battery of high-definition cameras pointing at the best views, and some large LCD monitors on the walls designed to look like windows, showing exactly what I would see if there really was a window there and I was above ground.
And some of those abandoned silos are huge. I’d have room for all my hobbies.
But you’d drown.
Maybe you could live in an Oxygenarium inside it.
The only problem with Bag End is lack of bookshelves. Most hobbits aren’t big readers, apparently. But I could just live with (more) stacks of books…
I agree that a mostly-underground home, situated on a hill so I had some views, would be just fine.
No underwater, thanks. Things get wet enough here in Houston.
No underwater living. I prefer to live in a climate where a roof leak won’t put my life in imminent peril. Or a wall leak.
This sounds good to me. I tend to get seasonal depression (which is caused by lack of sunlight), so a totally underground dwelling wouldn’t be to my liking. Partially underground would probably work, however. Also, I’d want to own the hillside above my house, so I wouldn’t have to worry about some idiot digging down into my bathroom.
Either would be cool with me. My preference would be under water though. I once spent a weekend in an underwater facility and it was WAY cool. It wasn’t in deep water, so had lots of windows and such, and you could basically put on SCUBA and go out the bottom to swim about. I spent literally hours just watching the fish swim by the window. Very peaceful and relaxing. I’d need to have a kick ass internet connection though (to do work and play WoW :)), as well as cable/satelite TV. Oh, and some kind of grocery service as well of course. Maybe some nice underwater toys…full SCUBA, some kind of sub craft to tool around in, etc.
I think the risk of drowning unexpectedly, or getting your stuff wet even is vastly overstated. People are really bad at risk assessment. 
You are much more likely to have your home wiped out in a flood or hurricane or something like that then to have your underwater house implode unexpectedly…
-XT
Maybe underground; I’ve been in underground caves and it wasn’t too bad. But the mere thought of visiting an aquarium that’s partly underwater (kind of like in Calm Kiwi’s link) horrifies me. What if the glass breaks? No way would I ever live underwater. I don’t like the thought of a lot of water at all, never mind being under it…
Dang. I think a friend of mine spent part of her childhood living there. It sounded pretty cool - when she was bored she’d go digging for opals in her bedroom wall with a bottle opener. Must ask next time I see her.
years ago, there was an underground house on Cape Cod. It was a central courtyard, open to the sky. Around the couryard were glassed -in rooms, opening into the yard. i always liked that concept-minimal heating/cooling bills, and plent of light. plus, vey close to the surface.
Either.
And after having checked with her, I got the following response
[QUOTE=my aussie friend]
Dude Cooberpedy is where I lived, but that was in the late 70’s. There are now buildings above ground apparently. Here’s a lovely grave in Cooberpedy[li]. This place is up market compared to where I was born Mt Isa. How did you stumble on the hick towns I am from? Now you know why I live this far away. All I can say is there is no reason everrrrrr to go there. Middle America has more to give than where I’m from. Can’t explain just how crappy the place is. People don’t even bother taking more than one wife. They don’t know how to sign marriage certificates twice.[/li][/QUOTE]
- Included was top picture on this page
Bwah! I have an uncle who’s an opal miner and who’s spent a lot of time at Coober Pedy, and was about to say.