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I love older homes. But up north they can be prohibitively expensive. The oil heat is also an issue. (re-doing all windows, insulation, etc- ugh)
I have a 3 story house now and love it. This is the kind of house that would cost 900k in NY suburbs (but they would have no land) I dont mind doing extra work if I know I will be staying in a house for 10-30 years.
In Florida you will need a brand new house, however, due to the transient housing market.
sunny
Many of the newer houses I saw when I was traveling in northern New England were fairly small. I agree with you, I think a lot of it has to do with the very high costs of home heating oil in northern New England. People generally supplement their heating oil with wood stoves or baseboard heat too cut down heating costs a little. Also, a lot of the older homes in the region were larger and more energy inefficient requiring more costs to maintain overall. The costs of replacing those old leaky windows can be quite a cost as well on some of those older homes. Therefore, many have figured out that it is better to buy a smaller well insulated "newer" house than an old Victorian style house. Energy efficiency matters in that part of the country when winter can last 5-6 months out of the year!
Honestly I hate cities as they are unreasonably expensive and have way too many regulations. Yet I see so many "planned communities" with HOA's far from the cities! The older homes on those narrow city lots actually have some character, and they are in a better location with relation to the city center. If it came down to a choice between McMansion with HOA or old city home with two floors and basement and the nice brick or stone walls,with real plaster inside, I would pick the city home. But my real "dream home" is a true rural location, where I own a business on the same property as the house. Farm, junkyard, drive-in, bowling alley, equipment rental,etc. No commuting for me, and business comes from the internet or those passing by on the highway. As for my home I would have a 50's style ranch house, only one floor and not excessive in size. If I had my way there would never be Mc Mansion low quality homes, ever!
I hate the way the brand new houses look- here they call some of them ""patio homes""-lol- all garage- no curb appeal. Give me a garden, a big yard with mature trees.
I hate the way the brand new houses look- here they call some of them ""patio homes""-lol- all garage- no curb appeal. Give me a garden, a big yard with mature trees.
s.
I agree. Those garage forward houses point their ugly face out at the street. Some of them look like huge garage buildings with a small living quarters attached as an afterthought.
I agree. Those garage forward houses point their ugly face out at the street. Some of them look like huge garage buildings with a small living quarters attached as an afterthought.
Many of the newer cookie cutter style houses in Overland Park Kansas have these huge 2-3 car garages that seem to dominate the exterior of the house. The stucco look is really taking over everything as well. In these new neighborhoods it is almost against the rules to park a car on the street or in the driveway. They are definitely concerned about not getting any oil spots on the driveway.
Many of the newer cookie cutter style houses in Overland Park Kansas have these huge 2-3 car garages that seem to dominate the exterior of the house. The stucco look is really taking over everything as well. In these new neighborhoods it is almost against the rules to park a car on the street or in the driveway. They are definitely concerned about not getting any oil spots on the driveway.
I dislike the look of cars parked in driveways in front of houses whether the garage dominates or not. In fact, I don't like driveways at all in front of houses! The solution? Alleys behind the houses with garages off the alleys. This also keeps garbage cans and recycling bins out of sight too!
I dislike the look of cars parked in driveways in front of houses whether the garage dominates or not. In fact, I don't like driveways at all in front of houses! The solution? Alleys behind the houses with garages off the alleys. This also keeps garbage cans and recycling bins out of sight too!
Alleys = city beautiful.
I definitely agree with this. If not garages accessed from alleys, at least set-back garages so that the front of houses aren't dominated by car-and-garage.
Alleys, however, have been known to invite problems like illegal dumping, graffiti, break-ins and hangouts for hoodlums, druggies and homeless. This might explain why some cities shun alleys.
Last edited by Winston Smith; 05-03-2007 at 01:06 PM..
I dislike the look of cars parked in driveways in front of houses whether the garage dominates or not. In fact, I don't like driveways at all in front of houses! The solution? Alleys behind the houses with garages off the alleys. This also keeps garbage cans and recycling bins out of sight too!
Alleys = city beautiful.
or- if you have a private driveway which circles behind the house (thats what we have) I like to see houses- not some ugly vehicle- I dont care if its a Rolls Royce!-
IMO the suburbs should = privacy and some aesthetics. Nature- and trees.
I love lush, cool shade in the summer. I dont want to see a neighbours SUV!
sunny
Last edited by dreamofmonterey; 05-03-2007 at 01:30 PM..
Reason: add
Well, a big reason city neighborhoods like those pictured were left hanging in the wind was the social tinkering by the do-gooders with busing. I remember Minneapolis in the 70s. Thriving neighborhoods. Neighborhood schools. Safe. Great place to live. Then busing reared its ugly head. Goodbye neighborhood schools. Pack the kids in buses to be used as pawns. Move the white kids there. Move the black kids here. Lets play board games with peoples lives...
For sale signs all over the place. Falling prices. White flight. Gone. Then the social tinkerers said: "We don't have enough white kids to bus anymore. Lets include the inner ring suburbs..."
So the rings of suburbs expanded farther and farther out. Price and distance was the buzzword to avoid having your kids go to school with the expanding welfare underclass.
So now many move FAR out. They see the pattern. The fact is, people in the middle and upper middle class of all colors don't want their kids going to school with the Culture of the Slums or the Culture of Mexico. Period.
Weren't the so-called "Great Society" welfare programs of the 60s and 70s a smashing success??? PAY people to do all the wrong things and then wonder why there is more of it....
So, I agree about the lament of wasted resources with the sprawl. I agree about the SUV culture and the ugly monster homes. But until we FIX what's wrong with the UNDERCLASS CULTURE, this land wasting escape pattern will continue....
We can dream of a different world where we all march arm in arm into the sunset. That's all it is...A PIPE DREAM. World wide, the same thing goes on. Hard working people of all stripes do not want their kids going to school with a bunch of misbehaving, violent thugs. It's not racism. It's not wrong. It's the way things REALLY ARE. So until we move beyond the lies of political correctness, nothing will change.
Well, a big reason city neighborhoods like those pictured were left hanging in the wind was the social tinkering by the do-gooders with busing. I remember Minneapolis in the 70s. Thriving neighborhoods. Neighborhood schools. Safe. Great place to live. Then busing reared its ugly head. Goodbye neighborhood schools. Pack the kids in buses to be used as pawns. Move the white kids there. Move the black kids here. Lets play board games with peoples lives...
For sale signs all over the place. Falling prices. White flight. Gone. Then the social tinkerers said: "We don't have enough white kids to bus anymore. Lets include the inner ring suburbs..."
So the rings of suburbs expanded farther and farther out. Price and distance was the buzzword to avoid having your kids go to school with the expanding welfare underclass.
So now many move FAR out. They see the pattern. The fact is, people in the middle and upper middle class of all colors don't want their kids going to school with the Culture of the Slums or the Culture of Mexico. Period.
Weren't the so-called "Great Society" welfare programs of the 60s and 70s a smashing success??? PAY people to do all the wrong things and then wonder why there is more of it....
So, I agree about the lament of wasted resources with the sprawl. I agree about the SUV culture and the ugly monster homes. But until we FIX what's wrong with the UNDERCLASS CULTURE, this land wasting escape pattern will continue....
We can dream of a different world where we all march arm in arm into the sunset. That's all it is...A PIPE DREAM. World wide, the same thing goes on. Hard working people of all stripes do not want their kids going to school with a bunch of misbehaving, violent thugs. It's not racism. It's not wrong. It's the way things REALLY ARE. So until we move beyond the lies of political correctness, nothing will change.
Sadly, this is very true. How dare you challenge political correctness with the truth? Very well put Kingsnkali.
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Ugly Houses
yes!
