Census reveals 'new poor' in many Twin Cities suburbs

[audadvnc]

Originally Posted by QuantumIguana

Cities tend to age better than suburbs.

Perhaps it's due to differing construction materials. Old brick, stone, or wood acquire character as they age. But plastic materials used in new construction, even if they look great upon installation, seem to age badly; they certainly don't improve with time.

I was in Menards over the weekend and was comparing different kinds of outdoor fencing materials. We bought some cedar picket sections, partly because of the nice way that cedar ages and wears over the years. Next to the cedar was a section of picket fences made of PVC, or vinyl, or some plastic; it looked really nice in the showroom, from 20 feet away. But it felt "funny" when I touched it - I was reminded of a waiting line at Disney World. Then the weather does its work, and that nice new PVC fence,engineered wood product deck, or faux stone wall tends to look more tawdry as the years go by. Imagine 50 or 70 years of wear on vinyl siding - it's a scary prospect for those burgs full of 2005 era homes covered in the stuff.

One curious aspect about the market for construction materials is that the plastic materials used nowadays are oftentimes just as pricey as the original materials they emulate. I can buy 1" thick Carerra Marble stripped from some old library for about $10 / sq foot (at Historic Stone in Minneapolis), which is surprisingly affordable considering it's the real thing.

[QuantumIguana]

There's a house in south Minneapolis, it had once been a gorgeous house, but had sat empty for years. The windows weren't even boarded up, it was exposed to the elements for years. A few years ago, someone bought it and fixed it up. They've been working on it a bit at a time. With newer construction, it would have been impossible to fix up a house that was so neglected - it would have rotted. But these older houses, they were built well and built of good materials. They can take a beating, and when they are fixed up, they are fantastic.