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.
Whatever makes people happy. I have a friend who just bought one and she's thrilled about it. I'm happy for her.
Personally, I love old established neighborhoods where all of the houses are different from each other and have big private back yards. (This is why I like ramblers, if you have a privacy fence, no-one is looking at you from the 2nd floor of the next door house.)
I also love older houses because they have a history. In one of my bedroom closets, there is some crazy far-out, 3-D wallpaper on the ceiling that I KNOW someone must have put there in the 60's. I never took it down. It's still there. I like all of the old fixtures. I just like old stuff, in general. I'm not a fan of shiny new things.
My house was built before I was born. That's kind of cool. This house has been here longer than I have. It's kind of comforting in an odd way. Maybe I'm weird.
I like the older homes, too. It's a tradeoff, though. They also have older electrical and plumbing, which is a pain. But I admit that the old homes and neighbors, if properly maintained, make my heart flutter. I NEVER get that feeling in the new areas, no matter how nice the homes.
IMHO youre right on!! Thats how I feel about newer subdivisions. what is it about wooded lots, front and back that people love. I saw a 30 yr old neighborhood with wooded front lots and large front yards but they looked so unkempt as the trees were not too huge and it doesnt help that the leaves were all over the place and the houses themslelves, looked like they were over their prime ( theyre all brick facade but were starting to fade). it IS a prestigious neighborhood though. and the realtor was telling me to build a NEW custom build on a corner lot that old street. But all the other house were too damn old for my tastes. they might be awesome inside, but anyone pulling up to my new neighborhood would wonder why i would put up a brand new house on that past it prime but prestigiuous neighborood?
I like leaves all over the place.
There is a thing that started with homes being built in burbs after WWII...no more leaves, no more this or that. Manicured lawns to the extreme. Nothing to indicate that there was ever any nature around.
I love the trees and the leaves. And squirrels and critters. We ARE part of the earth. It's fruitless to try to keep one little square devoid of nature, and not very appealing.
The old homes show their age, no doubt about it. But it's interesting they're still around to show their age. You have new construction that isn't aging well...sheetrock from China that causes black mold, foundation problems, broken things.
I like the older homes, too. It's a tradeoff, though. They also have older electrical and plumbing, which is a pain. But I admit that the old homes and neighbors, if properly maintained, make my heart flutter. I NEVER get that feeling in the new areas, no matter how nice the homes.
true. My one bathroom...wow. yeah. I do kind of wish I could squish one of those mcmansion bathrooms in here, somehow. heehee.
My 90-year-old, cookie-cutter house would have been considered a McMansion back in 1925. LOL
Many of them are very nice houses, but they're just too big for me. Some of the features - dining room when you walk in the front door (if there's one at all), kitchen open to the living room, vaulted everything, master bathroom bigger than most of the bedrooms - are not my speed. Other features - more than one bathroom, first floor laundry room, big garages - I'd love to have!
A McMansion is a garish, tawdry and ultimately low-quality facsimile of genuine luxury. It is mass-produced. It is based on borrowed and derivative style, and tends towards the vulgar. It's positively dripping with the phony and the aspirational. It's rampant example of upper-middle-class consumers trying to reach beyond their station in life.
A real mansion is lovingly designed by an eminent architect, is built by the finest craftsmen, and goes on to be maintained by a full-time crew. A real mansion carries historical significance, being passed on from generation to generation. It is rarely sold, and is never "flipped".
^^^This. if you're worried about re-sale, you need to get to know your buyer. Here in Southern California, McMansions are popular in the 909.
Most of the residents of the 909 moved there because they can't afford to live in L.A. or Orange County. Many of them are lower middle class, not college educated, and not well-traveled; so for them, a McMansion would most likely feel luxe.
HOWEVER, where I live (Pasadena, CA) a McMansion would NEVER fly. We value good bones, design integrity and architectural pedigree. It's not uncommon to see even modest houses in my neighborhood on the historical registry.
Location: In a little house on the prairie - literally
10,202 posts, read 7,928,903 times
Reputation: 4561
Quote:
Originally Posted by johngolf
Most that belittle them cannot afford them. Same with ZIP Code envy.
I think cookie cutter developments are the worst invention ever, and then along came the McMansions. Horrible... all flash, no quality, one like the other.
Never would I own one ever.
Oh, and affordability? I have a house, and two different vacation condos. But no McMansion. They constrain you.
Design is everything. The nicest house I've ever been in a friend built at 2350 sq. ft.: four bathrooms, two bedrooms. Best layout I've ever seen, and people/lifestyle comfortable. \
BUT McMansions are for extended family cultures around here: Chinese, East Indian. Usually the design is pretty bad on the inside (I've seen many) to where an 8,000 sq. ft.'er looks and acts like a 2350 sq. ft. Layout is wrong; and NO ELEVATOR and you have FIVE elderly relatives living with you?, with your dining area on one floor and your kitchen on another? What were you thinking????
Back when I was living with five Japanese ladies a McMansion would have been appreciated, but they would have left me if the design wasn't smart. !!!
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.
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.
I never took it down. It's still there. I like all of the old fixtures. I just like old stuff, in general. I'm not a fan of shiny new things.
