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Mossfern

(4,857 posts)

40. My husband and I are ratteling around our five bedroom house

Reply to Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin (Original post)

Fri Dec 25, 2020, 07:14 PM

Dec 2020

Our four kids are long gone and now it's just the two of us and the three cats. The original house was a small Victorian cottage , built around 1890 and had three bedrooms and a "sewing room" that could fit only a twin bed - only one bath measuring about 5'X 8' . One of the kid's bedroom was a sleeping porch with siding as walls.We added on an extension about the size of the original house to make room for a lively family (we had 'high spirited' kids) and there's about an acre of property. It's a funky house that we love, and I'm a Master Gardener. I could never live anywhere where I couldn't have some sort of garden; gardening is my spiritual connection. I look at apartments and condos in our area, and they just don't make it for me.

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It's time to rethink the single-family home as the American dream, author says [View all] Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Dec 2020 OP

I've lived in a town house, apartment and single family home jimfields33 Dec 2020 #1

My condo has concrete insulation on all sides. Silent as a tomb. Irish_Dem Dec 2020 #5

My condo was made of cast concrete, but there were a lot of buildings and we got echoes Hekate Dec 2020 #13

I am sorry to hear about your condo. Mine is so dead quite it is almost eerie. Irish_Dem Dec 2020 #15

See my post #74 to Baine for more about that condo Hekate Dec 2020 #76

After the pandemic hit last spring, condo prices dropped quite a bit. Irish_Dem Dec 2020 #84

My townhouse.had echos from the back where we parked Demovictory9 Dec 2020 #69

That is great. I wish when they find success they'd implement it nation wide. jimfields33 Dec 2020 #50

Basically 6 inches of concrete on all sides. Probably not that expensive. Irish_Dem Dec 2020 #51

Same for me -- praise be for hurricane building standards and codes! obamanut2012 Dec 2020 #86

Nice Demovictory9 Dec 2020 #67

I lived in every type of housing including townhose so no the disadvantage 9f each Demovictory9 Dec 2020 #6

The last apartment I lived in was not a happy place. The Genealogist Dec 2020 #22

1st floor folks experience the lives of the 2nd floor people Demovictory9 Dec 2020 #68

home ownership is the number one means BainsBane Dec 2020 #2

I'm skeptical of that idea now Buckeyeblue Dec 2020 #41

As opposed to rent? Happy Hoosier Dec 2020 #48

I've owned two houses and if I had it to do over I would rent/lease Buckeyeblue Dec 2020 #54

Mine certainly has BainsBane Dec 2020 #63

But that's my point. Those expenses detract from any overall profit you might realize. Buckeyeblue Dec 2020 #64

You pay for repairs and property taxes when you rent too BainsBane Dec 2020 #65

Then you must've had your house a long time Buckeyeblue Dec 2020 #66

When you rent BainsBane Dec 2020 #71

Agree with your points, BB, *especially* about taking equity out. ,,, Hekate Dec 2020 #74

Good God, this would be way too much excitement for me. Irish_Dem Dec 2020 #82

My renting experience wasn't quite as colorful BainsBane Dec 2020 #90

Experiences differ. But home ownership created much of our wealth. GulfCoast66 Dec 2020 #72

I live in a detached condo. llmart Dec 2020 #58

I Grew up in, and Currently Live in, a 900 Sq. Foot House. MineralMan Dec 2020 #3

Mine was the same. Built in 1948. Phoenix61 Dec 2020 #8

That's true. Not so many clothes, and not so many toys. MineralMan Dec 2020 #9

Nature abhors a vacuum. nt Phoenix61 Dec 2020 #10

You are so right! MineralMan Dec 2020 #12

Me too! When I got married, I bought a small house on the same street as my childhood home liberal_mama Dec 2020 #14

About a third of my neighborhood is the 900 sq. ft. housing built in the 1950s. GoCubsGo Dec 2020 #23

Our first house was 1000 sq ft LeftInTX Dec 2020 #29

This was our house exactly, minus the basement. Same exact layout. Parents and Nay Dec 2020 #45

I grew up in one that I even doubt was 900 sq. ft. llmart Dec 2020 #59

We bought a 1000 sq ft 1952 build... EarthFirst Dec 2020 #4

Yup. Our current 900 sq. ft. house has 3/4" oak floors and MineralMan Dec 2020 #11

I am still irritated with my mother in law exboyfil Dec 2020 #7

Nothing wrong with a 1950's 900 sq footer. Wellstone ruled Dec 2020 #16

I wouldn't give up my 1961 Cape Cod. NutmegYankee Dec 2020 #17

I need my own house cause I'm crazy friggin' loud ... or rather, devices that I own are ... mr_lebowski Dec 2020 #18

Lol..you would get warning letter from my hoa Demovictory9 Dec 2020 #70

If developers refused to build low-cost AFFORDABLE housing FakeNoose Dec 2020 #19

Where are you at that homes are sitting empty? Here in AZ there aren't Vivienne235729 Dec 2020 #57

It's a seller's market here in the Triangle area of NC. mnhtnbb Dec 2020 #83

This message was self-deleted by its author Hortensis Dec 2020 #97

Indeed. And just where do developers refuse to build houses Hortensis Dec 2020 #98

The big McMansions aren't selling very well where I live, either. Mariana Dec 2020 #111

Our house is our dream house Johnny2X2X Dec 2020 #20

My house has two bedrooms and one bath 960 sq. ft. built in 1943. I bought it doc03 Dec 2020 #21

Yeah otherwise they might have to raise wages. Voltaire2 Dec 2020 #24

+1 Bingo appalachiablue Dec 2020 #46

Exactly!!!! SlogginThroughIt Dec 2020 #56

That's the winner Bettie Dec 2020 #60

Well-spotted Hekate Dec 2020 #75

I love my single family home MissB Dec 2020 #25

My son's home was built in 1928...craftsman bungalow LeftInTX Dec 2020 #30

Yours was a pretty standard size for a middle class family home Hortensis Dec 2020 #100

Every residential project being built in my area Mariana Dec 2020 #26

I'm surprised. Advances in construction materials, techniques Hortensis Dec 2020 #35

I'm sure they're structurally just fine. Mariana Dec 2020 #39

I've see houses where the only real solid piece of lumber was a header supporting the stairs. Klaralven Dec 2020 #52

Actually, building codes have become stronger and stronger, Hortensis Dec 2020 #96

I wouldn't live in an apartment or town house as I have dogs and need a yard. Demsrule86 Dec 2020 #27

Multiple dwelling unit living would be OK if - Klaralven Dec 2020 #28

Attached housing in Texas roaches & often rats LeftInTX Dec 2020 #31

Yes, owning condos was the "starter home" of the late 70s and early 80s...no one can sell them... LeftInTX Dec 2020 #32

There's also the HOA fees. Flaleftist Dec 2020 #37

That's what keeps me away from condos TexasBushwhacker Dec 2020 #42

All true, but nothing new, just another iteration of a very long discussion. Hortensis Dec 2020 #33

I've never related to that part of American life... I am an immigrant who grew up in NYC Blasphemer Dec 2020 #34

I feel sorry for people who need oversized houses to be happy Skittles Dec 2020 #61

Books Hekate Dec 2020 #77

Define oversized please? Bettie Dec 2020 #92

You read a whole thread by people who love their homes and Hortensis Dec 2020 #101

I seem to read the death knell of the single family home Sinistrous Dec 2020 #36

My single family home is a 1520 sqft 1970's double wide... haele Dec 2020 #38

My husband and I are ratteling around our five bedroom house Mossfern Dec 2020 #40

Same here, though now UV and heat will kill me if they can. Hortensis Dec 2020 #102

The downside of living close together is bad neighbors. Dawson Leery Dec 2020 #43

Yes, and sadly you can expect a larger proportion of people to be jerks Nay Dec 2020 #47

I think part of the problem is people buy more house ... Xolodno Dec 2020 #44

I think some of it depends on where in the country you live MustLoveBeagles Dec 2020 #49

I couldn't stomach living packed in with a lot of other people. Happy Hoosier Dec 2020 #53

I'm like you. I need my space. MustLoveBeagles Dec 2020 #55

It's partly what we've always been used to. People who've always Hortensis Dec 2020 #103

I grew up in small house... Happy Hoosier Dec 2020 #105

When the researchers defined "smaller," they didn't Hortensis Dec 2020 #106

It also depends on personal space needs. Happy Hoosier Dec 2020 #107

:) Absolutely. Sounds like a well-used home. Hortensis Dec 2020 #108

We live in an 1890 Victorian Bettie Dec 2020 #62

It's fun to read the responses in this thread to see how many DUers "need their space" Ron Green Dec 2020 #73

We hold onto our house and oil is anything but cheap here DFW Dec 2020 #79

Thanks for that contrast with what we've done in the United States. Ron Green Dec 2020 #80

Our town flourished due to the consumer economy, too DFW Dec 2020 #87

$5 a gallon deterred almost nobody in the States a few years ago. Ron Green Dec 2020 #99

Has remote working and the many other revolutionary changes Hortensis Dec 2020 #104

When the suburban development experiment began to flourish, Ron Green Dec 2020 #112

Well, that doesn't really fit my observations. Hortensis Dec 2020 #114

Yeah nah Thyla Dec 2020 #78

I gave up single family house living in 2017 mnhtnbb Dec 2020 #81

What a fucked up country the US has turned into ansible Dec 2020 #85

Do you realize that the oldest people around when you Hortensis Dec 2020 #109

Should you buy or rent. It depends where you live. marie999 Dec 2020 #88

I was raised in Piney Green. Tommymac Dec 2020 #110

Our house was built just before WW2 started... CTyankee Dec 2020 #89

If it still had a fuse box an electrical upgrade was probably way overdue. Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Dec 2020 #91

Yes. That family was probably living very simply. It was unimaginable to me. CTyankee Dec 2020 #93

The article is about living more as extended family treestar Dec 2020 #94

We should pay people to experiment with lifestyles having very small environmental footprints. hunter Dec 2020 #95

I like living in the suburbs in my own home 🏠 Raine Dec 2020 #113

Suburbia is like an amoeba devouring 'the commons" pfitz59 Dec 2020 #115

I agree with the premise Rstrstx Dec 2020 #116