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I'm so serious about this that I don't seriously date women who can't see themselves living in the (or at least a) city long-term. Philly schools are better than what they were when I was growing up in the 2000s. I could easily move to Spruce Hill, Queen Village, Fishtown, etc. and send my future kid to a quality school such as Penn Alexander, Meredith, Adaire, etc. Also, for those who know about Philly, the crime is HIGHLY concentrated to certain neighborhoods, and more so to certain blocks. Being the victim of a crime is literally the last thing on my mind, and I've been to all Philly neighborhoods at all hours (I was walking along Kensington Ave to get to Somerset late last night). Even so, my West Philly neighborhood is quiet and relatively crime-free. There are plenty of neighborhoods where one could raise a kid worry-free.
LOL,
Young men would live in a cardboard box if women would let them.
Well, right off the bat I would strongly challenge your assumption that a house built in 1991-95 "likely needs updating". I grant you that several mechanical items may be nearing the end of life (HVAC components, dishwasher, roof) but there is no reason on earth (except out of control consumptionism and HGTV) that a 28 year old house cannot serve any REASONABLE person's needs perfectly well, simply by replacing things that wear out with similar items, as needed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Piney Creek
Can't rep you again, but wish I could. I definitely agree. HGTV has really harmed people in this way, IMO. I used to like HGTV, but as time has passed I see it's harmful side more and more.
I was trying to verbalize the above but you guys did it better than I could have. I've noticed that many of those who insist that this or that in a house looks " dated" and has to be replaced are also in that group that maintains that people who buy new cars are just keeping up with their friends/neighbors.
I'm so serious about this that I don't seriously date women who can't see themselves living in the (or at least a) city long-term. Philly schools are better than what they were when I was growing up in the 2000s. I could easily move to Spruce Hill, Queen Village, Fishtown, etc. and send my future kid to a quality school such as Penn Alexander, Meredith, Adaire, etc. Also, for those who know about Philly, the crime is HIGHLY concentrated to certain neighborhoods, and more so to certain blocks. Being the victim of a crime is literally the last thing on my mind, and I've been to all Philly neighborhoods at all hours (I was walking along Kensington Ave to get to Somerset late last night). Even so, my West Philly neighborhood is quiet and relatively crime-free. There are plenty of neighborhoods where one could raise a kid worry-free.
I lived in Philly in our 20s. The very wealthy can have a great life in Philly, like the folks in those big townhouses on Delancey and stuff. All the money in the world to renovate, and lake/shore houses to escape to in the summer. Private schools. Yeah, that's a nice way to live, but we could have never afforded that, so off to the suburbs we went once kids came along.
I always laugh at cathedral ceilings. All that wasted heat 20 ft up there, benefiting nobody. Wasteful and expensive.
I have one with 18 ft ceilings like that... a very dated Y2K design and it wastes cubic footage. But the design works well in Houston, where you'd want to keep the heat away from you 11 months of the year.
I've had my license since I was 16 (I'm 23 now). To this day, I still rent cars when it comes time to visit my best friends in rural Northeast PA. Why is not liking/wanting a car such a foreign concept to some people? Motorists always try to present cars as a symbol of freedom when they really symbolize entrapment to me. When I'm on SEPTA, I can relax, sleep, listen to music, read a book, and many other things. When I'm walking or riding my bike/skateboard, I also feel the same sense of freedom and serenity. Cars are also a pain to own and operate in an urban area. I don't want to have to drive in traffic, look for parking, and potentially pay for it when transit will get me there faster, cheaper, and without the hassle of parking.
I'm so serious about this that I don't seriously date women who can't see themselves living in the (or at least a) city long-term. Philly schools are better than what they were when I was growing up in the 2000s. I could easily move to Spruce Hill, Queen Village, Fishtown, etc. and send my future kid to a quality school such as Penn Alexander, Meredith, Adaire, etc. Also, for those who know about Philly, the crime is HIGHLY concentrated to certain neighborhoods, and more so to certain blocks. Being the victim of a crime is literally the last thing on my mind, and I've been to all Philly neighborhoods at all hours (I was walking along Kensington Ave to get to Somerset late last night). Even so, my West Philly neighborhood is quiet and relatively crime-free. There are plenty of neighborhoods where one could raise a kid worry-free.
I hear you. I live in the DC area and here, a house/townhouse over 1500+ sq ft is almost a million dollars in the city or border cities (Arlington, Alexandria, Bethesda, etc). I think if I could stay in the city, I would, but there's no way I'm paying $1 million for a 1400 sq ft 3 bedroom townhouse.
But 20-year-old kitchens and bathrooms around me are considered a gut job.
Even finishes from the early 2000s are considered dated now and are taking a big hit on price.
Not by everyone, I hope. It really makes me sad to see a whole generation of first time buyers so manipulated into thinking that way.
So many first time buyers complain because they feel they can't buy a home. And they whine that we "were privileged" to buy our starter home when we did.
But do they realize why we were able to do it? Because we didn't insist on a house having the latest "style". We bought a house that was 25 years old and had the original kitchen, bathroom, finishes, etc. OMG it even had wallpaper that we had to take down ourselves, perish the thought! And we didn't feel like we needed to remodel right away, either, because having the latest style sanctioned by a tv station hadn't been drummed into our brains as being an important thing. Thank god for that.
This whole idea that completely functional features "need a gut job because it's dated" is wasteful thinking. Manipulative marketing at it's finest; it must be true because they keep hearing it repeated on HGTV.
Last edited by Piney Creek; 02-06-2019 at 09:12 AM..
So many first time buyers complain because they feel they can't buy a home. And they whine that we "were privileged" to buy our starter home when we did.
But do they realize why we were able to do it? Because we didn't insist on a house having the latest "style". We bought a house that was 25 years old and had the original kitchen, bathroom, finishes, etc. OMG it even had wallpaper that we had to take down ourselves, perish the thought! And we didn't feel like we needed to remodel right away, either, because having the latest style sanctioned by a tv station hadn't been drummed into our brains as being an important thing. Thank god for that.
This whole idea that completely functional features "need a gut job because it's dated" is wasteful thinking.
It makes me so sad to see people spout this as if it's truth, when really it's nonsense. Manipulative marketing at it's finest; it must be true because they keep hearing it repeated on HGTV.
Can't rep you again. I'll have to go out and rep a bunch of other people and then come back to you.
But do they realize why we were able to do it? Because we didn't insist on a house having the latest "style". We bought a house that was 25 years old and had the original kitchen, bathroom, finishes, etc. OMG it even had wallpaper that we had to take down ourselves, perish the thought! And we didn't feel like we needed to remodel right away, either, because having the latest style sanctioned by a TV station hadn't been drummed into our brains as being an important thing. Thank god for that.
I didn't read the whole thread but totally agree with this. When DH and I downsized from our McMansion, we had taken down the ugly wallpaper, gotten rid of the wretched popcorn ceilings, beefed up the insulation, and installed granite countertops in the kitchen and bamboo flooring in the kitchen (replacing linoleum) and master bath (replacing carpeting). Most of the feedback was whiny and superficial. The light fixtures were dated. The appliances weren't stainless steel. Like, who cares? A similar house down the street sold almost immediately- they'd painted the entire 2-story family room mustard-yellow, then the "hot" color, including the stone fireplace. Ick! And they still had the popcorn ceilings.
I was glad to get out of that house. Too many bathrooms to clean, too much $$ to keep it heated and air-conditioned. I figured we'd better be at the head of the crowd of aging baby boomers who decided they didn't need that much house.
This whole idea that completely functional features "need a gut job because it's dated" is wasteful thinking. Manipulative marketing at it's finest; it must be true because they keep hearing it repeated on HGTV.
LOL I forgot about the popcorn ceilings! Yes, our first house had those, too. We kept them for years. Somehow we managed to have a wonderful time in that house, even with (OMG!!!!) popcorn ceilings!
ps. We finally did scrape it off, maybe ten years into living in that house. And FWIW, I kind of regretted it after we did. That stuff might not have been stylish but it did function well to keep noise down.
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). Most of the feedback was whiny and superficial. The light fixtures were dated. The appliances weren't stainless steel. Like, who cares? A similar house down the street sold almost immediately- they'd painted the entire 2-story family room mustard-yellow, then the "hot" color, including the stone fireplace. Ick! And they still had the popcorn ceilings.
