Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:03 AM
 
16 posts, read 24,119 times
Reputation: 19

Advertisements

I've spent a lot of time reading through this forum because of our impending move to McLean and I can't tell you how many times I've heard people on here hating on, making fun of, or just complaining about "tacky McMansions" being built. I've looked at a lot of the older, or what some might call "charming", homes and they leave a lot to be desired! They just dont work well with today's lifestyle when there are much better options available? An original older home has typically lower ceilings, narrow hallways, closed off floor plans, inconvenient outdated kitchen layouts, small kitchens, claustrophobic family rooms, and just an all around old depressing feel. Newly built homes will have high ceilings, large halls, open airy floor plans, large kitchen put together nicely to be a central gathering place for the family, spacious family rooms and master bedrooms, I could go on and on. Who wouldn't want that?? Yes some can go overboard but many are very beautiful and tasteful and follow the current industry design trends and colors. They look nice when you drive by and give the areas they are in an "affluent" feel. Are people just secretly jealous or what??
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:13 AM
 
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
26,687 posts, read 41,580,902 times
Reputation: 41312
Trust me, I'm in no way jealous of a McMansion, as someone who lives in an old studio condo. Me personally, I appreciate character and provided I don't hit my head on the ceiling, I'm 6'5, I don't mind sacrificing newness or size for character. I just have a different taste than other people. I'd move into a row house with street parking on T St in DC before I would move into a McMansion in a subdivision in McLean.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:18 AM
 
9,864 posts, read 14,025,892 times
Reputation: 21673
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novamom3 View Post
I've spent a lot of time reading through this forum because of our impending move to McLean and I can't tell you how many times I've heard people on here hating on, making fun of, or just complaining about "tacky McMansions" being built. I've looked at a lot of the older, or what some might call "charming", homes and they leave a lot to be desired! They just dont work well with today's lifestyle when there are much better options available? An original older home has typically lower ceilings, narrow hallways, closed off floor plans, inconvenient outdated kitchen layouts, small kitchens, claustrophobic family rooms, and just an all around old depressing feel. Newly built homes will have high ceilings, large halls, open airy floor plans, large kitchen put together nicely to be a central gathering place for the family, spacious family rooms and master bedrooms, I could go on and on. Who wouldn't want that?? Yes some can go overboard but many are very beautiful and tasteful and follow the current industry design trends and colors. They look nice when you drive by and give the areas they are in an "affluent" feel. Are people just secretly jealous or what??

Not everyone likes the same thing. Is that hard to understand? Not everyone wants their house to look exactly like their neighbors. Not everyone wants more than 2K SF to maintain and clean. Not everyone likes the cheap construction methods used.

Not everyone has your lifestyle. Not everyone is wowed by the current industry design trends and colors. Most importantly not everyone picks their home based on getting an "affluent" feel from the neighborhood.

Hey, I'm glad you like them. I do not, and am in no way, secretly jealous. I wouldn't buy a home made after 1940, and would prefer much older. I love the charm and unique details that come with an older home. I don't mind narrower hallways and actually like separate rooms. My kitchen is small, but I can easily expand and make it bigger.

To each his own.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:21 AM
 
1,167 posts, read 2,163,949 times
Reputation: 804
McMansion's are to homes, what strip malls are to places to shop. Big, generic, void of any character with a lot of wasted space. Might as well be anywhere. Convenient sure, but plain and boring. To me they don't look affluent, so much as they look generic. Just a blur of houses on streets that all look the same. If you ripped up all the signs and tried to give someone directions, there would be no landmarks, nothing to differentiate one block from the other.

Make a left that generic house and pass by generic strip mall with applebee's and McDonalds.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:36 AM
 
Location: Falls Church, VA
540 posts, read 787,258 times
Reputation: 471
There are a few things that stick out in my mind about "McMansions" that are negatives:

1) They look completely out of place in established neighborhoods. In almost all cases, there is no effort to blend in and they end up taking up much of the lot size and dwarfing the next-door houses.

2) They are most prevalent in cookie-cutter planned neighborhoods that some people like, but many hate. They are a symbol of both excess and waste.

3) Aesthetically, I despise the majority of them that have the brick front and then siding around the sides and back. Completely tacky.

4) I don't know how much this is still the case, but in the mid-2000s they had a very bad reputation for being cheaply built.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:38 AM
 
16 posts, read 24,119 times
Reputation: 19
My point is made. So much hate! The folks who put them down talk about "well I don't like this and I don't like that" why can't they understand the same about people who tear down an old home to put up a new modern one? The ones that do that just don't like small kitchens, low ceilings, etc. To each his own right? You don't see those homeowners complaining about the older homes, making fun of the owners tastes, wishing they would all get torn down.

Also, my post was very general and I didn't say anything about what I personally like or want or don't like. It was saying that I understand why people would want a modern home to match their modern lifestyle. It's the ones that do the hating that don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be in a smaller older home. AND there are as many old homes with no charm and cheap fixings as there are new ones.

About the jealous part, I do know there are some who truly aren't jealous as much as I know there are some who are.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:45 AM
 
9,864 posts, read 14,025,892 times
Reputation: 21673
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novamom3 View Post

Also, my post was very general and I didn't say anything about what I personally like or want or don't like.
Really?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Novamom3 View Post
An original older home has typically lower ceilings, narrow hallways, closed off floor plans, inconvenient outdated kitchen layouts, small kitchens, claustrophobic family rooms, and just an all around old depressing feel. Newly built homes will have high ceilings, large halls, open airy floor plans, large kitchen put together nicely to be a central gathering place for the family, spacious family rooms and master bedrooms, I could go on and on. Who wouldn't want that??
You seemed pretty clear to me what you want/ don't want.

You asked why people hate McMansions and then you complain about the answers. Hmm.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 09:54 AM
 
1,167 posts, read 2,163,949 times
Reputation: 804
Quote:
Originally Posted by Novamom3 View Post
My point is made. So much hate! The folks who put them down talk about "well I don't like this and I don't like that" why can't they understand the same about people who tear down an old home to put up a new modern one? The ones that do that just don't like small kitchens, low ceilings, etc. To each his own right? You don't see those homeowners complaining about the older homes, making fun of the owners tastes, wishing they would all get torn down.

Also, my post was very general and I didn't say anything about what I personally like or want or don't like. It was saying that I understand why people would want a modern home to match their modern lifestyle. It's the ones that do the hating that don't understand why anyone wouldn't want to be in a smaller older home. AND there are as many old homes with no charm and cheap fixings as there are new ones.

About the jealous part, I do know there are some who truly aren't jealous as much as I know there are some who are.
You made a thread essentially asking what people's opinions of the houses are. And so far I feel like everyone has made valid points expressing why they don't like them.

How exactly did you expect this thread to develop? What is the point of this thread? Did you sign up for this forum to express your love of McMansions? Not large houses. McMansions.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 10:03 AM
 
2,254 posts, read 2,373,475 times
Reputation: 2716
I think the fact that they're pretty much everywhere in NoVa creates an interesting dynamic. In most places they're seen as a commodity, it's like a rare sighting and everyone wants to point and stare at and not that it doesn't happen here but they're a dime a dozen here, I could probably walk out of my office right now and see at least 10 within a 15 mile radius.

I'm guessing it's that? Who knows.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-22-2015, 10:05 AM
 
Location: Central Virginia
6,520 posts, read 8,318,685 times
Reputation: 18594
So you ask folks why they don't like "McMansions" and they give their opinions. Then you state "My point is made! So much hate!". It's common for people to have differing opinions on their favorite style of house/decor. So yes, to each his own.

Are you looking at "McMansions" and concerned about resale value? I'm not sure what the agenda is here.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Novamom3 View Post
About the jealous part, I do know there are some who truly aren't jealous as much as I know there are some who are.
The "jealousy" issue is somewhat strange. I may think "Oh, their house is so lovely. I'd love to live in one just like it." I have feelings of admiration, not so much envy.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Virginia > Northern Virginia
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top