I'm an ABC addict (UK digital, channel 15) and I've noticed 2 programmes have similar setups. 'Hope & Faith', about a married woman with 2 daughters, 1 son, whose sister moves in with them but lives in an appartment over the garage; and '8 Simple Rules' - a widowed woman (was married but John Ritter played her husband and when he died, they wrote it into the show) with 2 daughters, 1 son, her father and her nephew who live in the basement. The daughters on both shows share a room.

Here's the thing. The external shots of the house show at least 3 floors on each, with at least 4 windows on each floor and the internals show two staircases both opening out into the same room..... so why are these extra relatives living in converted garages and sharing basements?

Do ALL Americans have huge houses with only 3 bedrooms and a staircase each? I'm very confused.

LTS