'Old world charm'

In 21st century Europe, they're beginning to appreciate new fangled ways;

In England, a 3,747-square-foot house in Winchester has three bedrooms, all with en-suite bathrooms, as well as a gym, a wine cellar and gardens on about a third of an acre. Initially, the house was built on a factory floor in Westerwald, Germany, by a company called Huf Haus. Its owner, Vaughan Price, had seen a TV show about prefabricated homes and in 2005 decided to spend about $2 million, including cost of the land, for one of his own.

“It’s like Lego,” says Mr. Price, a 52-year-old businessman. “The neighbors were fascinated.”

But they maintain some of the traditions. As the Matthews family found when they;

...were about to knock down a 1970s bungalow on 1.34 acres in West Sussex, England, with plans to assemble a 3,500-square-foot prefab home. But before demolition began, surveyors discovered bat droppings on the roof of the house.

Which meant they had to wait 7 months for the bats (a protected species) to finish their mating season, before erecting their manufactured home. And then;

...the council required the couple to put out six bat boxes—costing about $75 apiece. “The stupid things have never been used for bats,” says Mr. Matthews. “Instead they’ve turned into expensive nests for birds.”

Or even more expensive nests for bureaucrats.