Would you rather your house have a basement...or an upstairs?  

i agree with the downstairs. its way cooler. but having an upstairs makes your house look bigger. so probably both.lol!!

Well, if we're talking finished basement that can be used as an additional room, I'd go for the basement. But if we're talking a basement that's not suitable for anything but storage, I'd go for a second floor.

My wife is such a big collector of things of all sorts, I need a 2 or 3 room in the basement and on the ground level, kitchen, living, drawing, guest room, bathrooms, and another 2 or 3 rooms upstairs with balcony. In the present house, I have 6 bed rooms, there is not a single room where I can sit peacefully. Full of cupboards, cots, stands, tables etc. etc - a sort of junk yard.

I agree about a basement. The house I'm living in now is that way, no upstairs. My other half has problems with his knees so every thing needs to be on the first floor. Going up and down stairs is a real killer for him. So the basement for me is going to be a workshop for my painting projects I have planned for this winter.

I'd like to have both. Since I live in Florida we don't have houses with basements. The ground is mostly sand and building a basement might cause a sinkhole.

I agree that I'd rather have a basement. It's great for storage, parties, tornadoes, it's cool in the summer. I also use it for archery practice so I don't have to go outside and shoot and possibly scare my neighbors.

After our basement was flooded last weekend I would sure prefer and upstairs to this, as you can imagine. You can make an upstairs into cozy surroundings as well and store your stuff too when you want. The only thing that would be a problem there might be loud parties as everyone in the house hears that then, too. But as I am no party person I wouldnt mind.