Living conditions in Rome were far from satisfactory. In saying this, one must remember that the Romans did not have the technology that we today have, and so many things that we take for granted such as sewerage and waste disposal can become quite an issue when analysing the living conditions of the ancient Romans. Housing was also very different, mostly due to materials available.
In ancient Rome it is easy to see how high child mortality and a low life expectancy is related to that of their living conditions. The city people, usually poor, lived in conditions that would aid the spread of diseases among the community. The variety of diseases was also great, with no real detection, prevention or cure, as well as overcrowded living areas in which disease likes to roam.
The first issue to look into is the type of housing the Roman people had to live in. The rural areas of Rome were very different to that of the city. The poorer class of people who lived in the rural districts of Rome would have lived a healthier life compared to city folk. Hygiene in rural areas was much better than that of the city, mainly because of fewer people. There is little evidence of poorer rural dwellings mainly because the building materials used were perishable, such as wood. The wealthier class of people who lived in the rural areas owned large estates, with large villas erected on them. These estates, which often reflected their owner's status, were built on the most splendid land surrounding Rome. Its not hard to picture why the wealthier class who lived in rural areas faired the best as far as living conditions and hygiene is concerned. .
Slaves, like most slaves, did not share the same lifestyle in the country areas as their owners did and it could be said accurately that Slaves also depended on their owners status as to whether they lived a healthy life or not. Slaves of wealthy people often lived in farmhouses, which for a slave can be seen as them fairing pretty well.