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When I read posts like this, I always wonder if the poster has ever really taken time to "smell the roses" in a suburb. Our first house was in a subdivision with four basic styles, but there were so many options that I doubt that there are two houses in the whole place that were exactly the same. 30+ years later, lots of people have built additions, done remodels, changed the paint colors, etc and it's even more diverse. In re: no lawn/landscaping, there was some requirement that the front yards be sodded, and the city gave all the original owners coupons for trees. My suburban city was named #1 in the US by Money Magazine a last year.
This isn't referring to ALL suburbs, b/c again, there are some that incorporate new and old and it turns out great, but others, eh not so much. You'd be quite amazed at what Oaks and some flowers can do to the dullest neighborhood. Anyway beside to point, If you have ever taken a ride in the suburbs of Orlando(atleast Kissimmee and the other nearby suburban dwellings anyway) You'd see what I mean. I mean, (repeat from an old posts), I had no idea that there were that many different shades of beige.
Last edited by pandorafan5687; 08-13-2010 at 08:46 PM..
This isn't referring to ALL suburbs, b/c again, there are some that incorporate new and old and it turns out great, but others, eh not so much. You'd be quite amazed at what Oaks and some flowers can do to the dullest neighborhood. Anyway beside to point, If you have ever taken a ride in the suburbs of Orlando(atleast Kissimmee and the other nearby suburban dwellings anyway) You'd see what I mean. I mean, (repeat from an old posts), I had no idea that there were that many different shades of beige.
The subdivision where I lived that I referred to did not combine old and new. The houses were all built within about a year or so. I really don't need a smarmy remark about Oaks and flowers. I frankly have never seen a subdivision ANYWHERE where the houses did not have trees, flowers, bushes, etc. in the yard. It's called "pride of ownership".
Maybe suburban dwellings in your area are nicer than the ones that I'm used to seeing. B/c the average suburb in the south(where I'm from) is of the generic(dull cookie cutter, lifeless, beige, shadeless identical neighborhood) quality and the worst of the worst is Florida. It wasn't an attack, It was simply stating that trees and flowers can give just about any neighborhood more life than what it would have had. It just makes a residential area so much more colorful, that's all I was implying. I simply prefer older more established areas OR the New Urbanism styles (or TND) and the custom homes.
Maybe suburban dwellings in your area are nice than the ones that I'm used to seeing. B/c the average suburb in the south is of the generic quality and the worst of the worst is Florida.
That's possible. However, I've seen very few homes w/o landscaping, at least in the front yard.
Back then, when you could see 40 houses at a glance, it was easy to see that the development had used a set of plans and repeated the designs over and over.
You can tell it's the same builder from the rooflines. There's something up by the soffits that's similar and distinctive about them all.
As for landscape, one of the selling points of my 1980s Florida neighborhood was that the original developer was big on tree preservation. We've got a couple of nice live oaks in our yard, and there are parts of our street where it's hard to see the houses because of the mature trees.
You can tell it's the same builder from the rooflines. There's something up by the soffits that's similar and distinctive about them all.
It's funny how you barely notice a roof when you're driving down a street, but when you're passing by a community the roofline is what you see more than anything else. I agree with the poster who said identical roofs are what make a development look cookie cutter (although I'm not sure I think that's a bad thing. A field full of homes with identical rooves is somewhat like driving by a large field of the same type of flowers. A mass grouping of things that look similar can be attractive, IMO.)
For example, here are some more photos from the same development as the others. These happen to be shots of townhomes, not SFRs, so that does contribute a little bit more to the cookie cutter look, but if you were to look at the SFRs from a distance you'd see the same thing.
Because you mostly see the rooves (and because this set of townhomes was built just 3 years ago and the trees haven't grown in) you hardly see the architectural differences. What you focus on is the sameness in the roofline and roofing materials.
In the second photo, the trees on the left in front of the townhomes were planted in 2003-2005. The trees on the right are part of a common area that was planted in 1996.
Now, if you want an example of the difference time and trees make, contrast the first photo (of a 3-year-old set of townhomes) with this one, taken 4 blocks away. These are similar townhomes... the big difference is these were built in 1996 and the trees have had time to grow. What a difference trees make!
By the way, if you would like to see more on this particular development, here's a photo tour. When you see the tour it becomes more clear that this definitely is a cookie cutter development... but one, that with the passage of time, is developing character (IMO). The "summer" photos are on the first page. Then there are four pages of commentary. Fall and winter shots are on pages 4-6.
I love those photos! That neighborhood looks like it would be quaint. Which is what I just don't feel in most of todays overnight pop up communities. This area looks cozy and I'd feel "at home".
I like the TND and New Urbanism thing that's going on, b/c these areas are usually more pedestrian oriented and this site provides links to some of the ones that have been build and some under construction. But normie, can I ask how the hell did you get such good photos? What kind of camera is that? Those are some of the best quality photos for a neighborhood that I've seen in a long time, the neighborhoods own website(if there is one) probably would not even get that good of photos.
One thing I've noticed in addition to roof line uniformity is the 2 car garage doors on the front. That feature so prominently displayed makes everything feel the same even when there are great differences otherwise.
Another thing I personally prefer about older additions is the grid pattern to the streets whereas it seems nearly all the modern ones have these curvy streets. Sometimes I feel totally disoriented about where I am in the area.
Great discussion.
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