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They have plenty of them out here. Houses were built so close together they have practically no yards, or in some cases absolutely no yards.
And let's not forget no trees. Nothing makes a cookie-cutter subdivision more appealing to some (why???) than lots of asphalt/concrete cul-de-sacs and not a tree in sight.
And let's not forget no trees. Nothing makes a cookie-cutter subdivision more appealing to some (why???) than lots of asphalt/concrete cul-de-sacs and not a tree in sight.
I remember watching an episode of House Hunters in Albuquerque, on HGTV a while back. I was hoping to see something interesting about the city/area. But, they started out in the cookie-cutter suburbs. The first house they looked at was at the end of a cul-de-sac. So, there was this football field sized area of asphalt. I was amused that the wife seemed to think this was a good thing. I changed the channel after that. It seemed obvious where the rest of the show was going.
[quote=kyle19125;15586945]And let's not forget no trees. Nothing makes a cookie-cutter subdivision more appealing to some (why???) than lots of asphalt/concrete cul-de-sacs and not a tree in sight.[/QUOTE]
That's a problem that I have w/ so many neighborhoods today, now If you plant some of your own, and give them time to grow(a few years), that includes taking care of them. YOUR yard may be nice. You'd be amazed at what even medium sized trees, can do to the dullest neighborhood.
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.
Why thank you, what a nice thing to say. To be honest, for years I was shy about posting photos because I didn't think mine were so great. I envy the people in my fourum who take shots worthy of being a postcard, but there's also a lot to be said for a photo that shows things the way they are. Anyway, you just made my day.
Speaking about cookie cutter houses... here are some houses from the Victorian era. We don't think of that as a cookie cutter era, but back then developers built homes that were so alike they really did appear to be stamped by a cookie cutter. Every single detail on these houses are the same, from the windows, the porch, the roof, and all the way down to the gingerbread ornamentation.
And let's not forget no trees. Nothing makes a cookie-cutter subdivision more appealing to some (why???) than lots of asphalt/concrete cul-de-sacs and not a tree in sight.
Trees grow fairly quickly (at least they do here in Virginia). So, while developments look barren at first, ina few years they'll look a lot better.
Another thing about trees that I didn't appreciate until last winter: The trees that were planted in front of the homes turned out to be healthier than the older beech and sourgum trees in the common areas that were not cut down.
Last winter we had a severe blizzard. Several trees went down, and branches were everywhere. Interestingly, the damage was almost entirely from the older native trees falling down. Only one of the trees that had been planted in my neighborhood was hurt at all. The native trees here were mostly beech and pine, and it turns out those are weak trees. The new trees that were planted were oak, cherry, maples, and other stronger trees.
As for cul-de-sacs, I can see good points and bad points about them. I think cul-de-sacs become more appreciated after you have children.
A grid pattern is great for traffic management. Cars flow through quickly. That's ideal for people passing through, but when you have kids you don't really want to live on a street with traffic zipping by.
In my community, the ends of a cul-de-sac are where the kids gather to play, and where parents gather to drink beer and have BBQs. It's where the fireworks are set off in the summer and where the Halloween party is held. It's where the kids create giant chalk drawings, and where they play kickball. It's what brings the neighbors together and gives our street a community spirit.
So, I can take them or leave them. But, one funny thing has happened lately that makes me appreciate my cul-de-sac: In my county they are no longer allowed to be built. I appreciate the reason, which is cul-de-sacs are tricky for emergency vehicles. But what I appreciate even more is that ever since this ban went into effect, the value of my house went up. Believe it or not, the cul-de-sac is now "rare" and a real selling point for our neighborhood.
To echo normie, some trees grow fairly quickly even here in Colorado. I honestly don't know where you guys have seen these neighborhoods with no trees. Every neighborhood I've lived in has had lots of trees, planted of course, as this is the Great Plains. I live on top of a hill, and looking east (towards Kansas), you can tell when a town ends b/c the landscape changes from trees to grass.
Re: culs-de-sac (sic?), I don't live on one, but there are several in my 'hood, and they are gathering places. We are having a neighborhood party this weekend on one of the culs.
Though a lot of times, the fast-growing trees are also the week trees. I live in hurricane bait territory in a mega-development that was once a turpentine plantation. The trees they planted for turpentine were fast growing shortleaf pine that are utterly and awfully not wind-tolerant. Huge, huge number of those non-native shortleaf pines down in both Opal and Ivan, and they'll even go down in moderate tropical storm force winds.
We actually had all our shortleaf pines cut down after Ivan put one of them on our garage roof. (Fortunately, the pines lean really far before they let go so our only damage was a dented ridge vent) In their place, we've got more lawn, a couple citrus trees, and some slow-growing but wind-tolerant live oaks coming in.
Why thank you, what a nice thing to say. To be honest, for years I was shy about posting photos because I didn't think mine were so great. I envy the people in my fourum who take shots worthy of being a postcard, but there's also a lot to be said for a photo that shows things the way they are. Anyway, you just made my day.
Speaking about cookie cutter houses... here are some houses from the Victorian era. We don't think of that as a cookie cutter era, but back then developers built homes that were so alike they really did appear to be stamped by a cookie cutter. Every single detail on these houses are the same, from the windows, the porch, the roof, and all the way down to the gingerbread ornamentation.
I like the homes in the pic at the top, but I don't like that dollhouse ornamentation in the bottom pic.
To echo normie, some trees grow fairly quickly even here in Colorado. I honestly don't know where you guys have seen these neighborhoods with no trees. Every neighborhood I've lived in has had lots of trees, planted of course, as this is the Great Plains. I live on top of a hill, and looking east (towards Kansas), you can tell when a town ends b/c the landscape changes from trees to grass.
Re: culs-de-sac (sic?), I don't live on one, but there are several in my 'hood, and they are gathering places. We are having a neighborhood party this weekend on one of the culs.
Apparently you aint never been to florida(BLAH) or the Houston Metro area(though there are some exceptions). I'd imagine suburbs in colorado would be quite nice. I've never been but would love to make a trip out there.
Apparently you aint never been to florida(BLAH) or the Houston Metro area(though there are some exceptions). I'd imagine suburbs in colorado would be quite nice. I've never been but would love to make a trip out there.
I've been to Florida. I was just there last week. I didn't find it treeless. I've been through Houston, but not spent much time there.
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