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By house, I mean a detached house with a yard and a driveway and what not.
All cost issues aside, and with ideal circumstances, would you want to own a house?
Or would you rather live in the city still?
Extra: WHERE would your ideal house be located? What kind of house would it be?
By house, I mean a detached house with a yard and a driveway and what not.
All cost issues aside, and with ideal circumstances, would you want to own a house?
Or would you rather live in the city still?
Extra: WHERE would your ideal house be located? What kind of house would it be?
I own an single-family detached home in Silver Spring, Maryland just north of DC. It's close to a metrorail station, so I have easy access to DC and many of the close-in suburbs of Maryland and Virginia.
I prefer a detached house with a yard for kids and such, unless there's a large park to play in nearby. I also prefer being close to urban amenities and things that a city like DC offers. When you have kids, schools also become a major concern. The biggest factor here though is cost of living. You just have to find the right balance to meet your needs.
Last edited by BigCityDreamer; 12-01-2011 at 09:46 AM..
By house, I mean a detached house with a yard and a driveway and what not.
All cost issues aside, and with ideal circumstances, would you want to own a house?
Or would you rather live in the city still?
Extra: WHERE would your ideal house be located? What kind of house would it be?
You do realize that detached houses with yards exist in big cities right? I live in one within Chicago city limits, yes a single family detached house with a yard and I have a detached garage facing an alley, not quite a driveway but across the street from me (still in the city) the houses have driveways instead of alleys. Even New York City has detached houses. Where do people even get the idea that there are zero houses with yards in cities with millions of people?
You do realize that detached houses with yards exist in big cities right? I live in one within Chicago city limits, yes a single family detached house with a yard and I have a detached garage facing an alley, not quite a driveway but across the street from me (still in the city) the houses have driveways instead of alleys. Even New York City has detached houses. Where do people even get the idea that there are zero houses with yards in cities with millions of people?
I realize that.
I should have been clearer. I meant the traditional idea of owning a house, most likely in the suburbs for most people. Kind of like the "American Dream".
It's tough to own a house in the city. A "standard" 2000 sq. foot house in the desirable parts of NYC is very expensive. Unless you can pay close to $1 million, it's not likely to happen. That's the case even in NJ right across the Hudson. Plus, schools are often not that good in the less expensive neighborhoods.
I did own a house, and by the end, I hated it. But selling it allowed me to move, so I suppose it was worth it. And it would have been a lot more pleasant if I had been wealthy enough to pay professionals any time something need repair, instead of being forced to do it myself. I HATED having to do home repairs of any kind. I might do it again, though, as long as I could afford to pay others to do everything besides cleaning. But there's no way I'd live in the suburbs, unless it was a very atypical suburb. I enjoy not owning a car far too much to ever make that move. Even the house I owned was in a neighborhood that was built right after WWII, so it was still reasonably close to most necessities.
I wouldn't want to own a detached house, if anything I would make it two flat, something that will at least bring income for when I retire. I think detached houses like that are great when you have like 3 little kids, 2 dogs, and what not. After the kids grow up and leave the house it's going to be a pain in the ass to maintain the house.
If my mother's house didn't bring in income (she owns a 3 flat) she would of sold it a looooong time ago. Dealing with crap like replacing the roof, fixing the yard, getting a new back and front porch, new central air, etc, has put her in heavy debt.
Simplest way to put it, if you want live debt free a house might not be the best option.
If you are talking about a single family detached home in your average post-WWII auto-centric suburb, no.
If you are talking about a single family detached home in the city, which is a small house that is in walkable distance like those you'd find in some parts of Brooklyn or Queens I may want to have a house like that. Maybe it can even be converted to have some rentals so I get some money on the side. It depends.
Location: Cleveland bound with MPLS in the rear-view
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Yes.
Inner-ring suburb with corner stores and mass transit, preferred.
However, we may end up renting indefinitely if I am ever able to begin a career in real estate investing/refurbishing/developing.....need that capital elsewhere!
Whoops, read it wrong and voted yes. I thought it just meant owning housing. I prefer having a condo in a multi-unit building. Less hassle, normally more going on in the immediate area as far as being in the middle of the city.
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