lifestyle thoughts

[mb]

I've lived in six places since leaving home and getting married.

By far my favorite was a 2-bed, 1-bath condo on the Berkeley/N Oakland border. It was walking distance to a dozen restaurants, half dozen movie theaters, three book stores, bakeries, the library. Downtown Berkeley was a mile or two north, downtown Oakland was a mile or two south, the parks and open space preserves in the east bay hills were a couple miles east, and it was a short walk to Bart to go to San Francisco. There were many weeks when the only time I got in the car was to go to the grocery store. It didn't have central heat or air-conditioning but because the weather was mild in both summer and winter it didn't need either. It was in a four-plex that was originally built around 1900 and had a lot of "character." It shared a small yard that was landscaped in such a way that it required little maintenance but if you had the urge you could have a garden. All the units were owner occupied and everyone took an interest in maintaining it and we never had any problems with noise, etc. It was a great place for both work and play.

The next place was a 2-story+basement colonial mcmansion in the suburbs on the east coast, i.e. the "american dream." It was a great house, a great neighborhood and a great community but the life-style just wasn't comparable to Berkeley.

But during that time kids appeared and a lot of things changed (not that I'm complaining). With two teen-agers we would now have a tough time going back to a 2-bedroom, 1-bath condo but someday they'll be off to college and then . . .

MB

 

[Meadbh]

My 85 year old home (1250 sq ft) has one bathroom with the original cast iron tub, swan neck handbasin, and black and white hexagon tiled floor. The character of the bathroom was one reason I was attracted to the house. I upgraded the faucets and put in a new toilet. The basement remains unfinished. I did plan a basement reno some years ago but deferred it as I was considering a move, which never happened.

The house was built as a wedding present for the builder's daughter. She and her husband raised five children and kept a live in maid. I figure if one bathroom was enough for eight people, I should be able to manage!

 

[Zoocat]

I watch HGTV a lot and is surprises me that no matter what price bracket houses are selling for the expectation seems to be granite benchtops are the standard.

quote]

Sorry to be so fashion conscious but I must tell you all that granite is totally OUT and almost tacky. The new durable, nontoxic, and sustainable countertop is lightweight cast concrete. Comes in a variety of colors! Also, recycled glass too.
If you don't care about "sustainability" then formica laminate is the economical and surprisingly fashion forward choice.

 

[Goonie]

If you don't care about "sustainability" then formica laminate is the economical and surprisingly fashion forward choice.

Hot d*mn! My old kitchen is in fashion again! I always knew that 1960's Formica countertop would come back into fashion. Yippee!

And to think, I was gonna rip it out in the spring and put in some fancy new-fangled thing! I guess I'll go dump the money from the 'remodeling' jar, into the 'vacation' jar tonight.

 

[ladelfina]

My old (1920s) house had an un-renovated pantry that still sported a linoleum countertop, the kind with metal edging. Can't get much more environmentally-friendly than that.

I thought cement/concrete was a 'green' no-no.

In my dream reno here, I'd like to have a combination of wood and marble (recycled from an existing table) for countertops. Maybe a small tile or Formica section around the sink. I like the idea of different surfaces for different tasks, but that's not the current aesthetic fashion.

Martha, take a look at some of the posts here:
How Many Miles from Babylon, esp. this one:
Unlike Coin
(I linked here also on Voltaire's thread about 'trends'.)

"Unlike Coin" is an interesting treatment of the 'coinage' used by two different value systems: one cash-based and one intrinsic-value-based. Your beaded purses have a lot of intrinsic value to you and your friends. Someone looking only at a cash value (either of your time, or of a monetarily-cheap Chinese-made beaded purse) can't quite grasp it. To use a phrase from George Costanza, "the worlds can't collide"!

The cheap Chinese purse is the only one that 'makes sense' to them, where it may make no sense to you. And vice versa. Similarly, they can't see the value of your clearing snow on your own, whether by hand/shovel or by machine.

I think the solution is to turn off the HGTV and steer clear of people who have some interest in having you live your life THEIR way, instead of YOUR way! The value lies in being able to express your own creativity and in not being beholden to external forces.

 

[Moemg]

And I always thought it a bit odd to hire out yard work and then go pay a gym to get the same workout, but without accomplishment.

Different strokes I guess.

What I can not understand is people who will give control of their hard earned money to someone else ? I was at a party last night with educated people .Several of the couples had lost a good percentage of their retirement savings thru unscrupulous brokers .They then turned around and gave their savings again to someone else to handle because they knew nothing about investments . I asked them why they did not learn about investments .They all said "It was too hard to learn ". I just want to shake these people silly .

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

i'm a little confused here. i'm not sure if this thread is about purses, laminates, toilets or snowblowers. so i'm just adding a quote i think i've posted before:

"nothing is precious save what is yourself in others and others in yourself"~~pierre teilhard de chardin

 

[Zoocat]

i'm a little confused here. i'm not sure if this thread is about purses, laminates, toilets or snowblowers.

But I thought this thread was about cast concrete and unscrupulous brokers!

 

[Moemg]

Tonight I watched House Hunters .The buyers were a young couple looking for their first house in Tampa ,FL..They were looking at million dollar houses and talking about changing the kitchen cabinets and maybe the bathrooms were too small . What is wrong with this picture ?

 

[Gumby]

Tonight I watched House Hunters .The buyers were a young couple looking for their first house in Tampa ,FL..They were looking at million dollar houses and talking about changing the kitchen cabinets and maybe the bathrooms were too small . What is wrong with this picture ?

What was their income? Maybe they can easily afford it.

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

Tonight I watched House Hunters .The buyers were a young couple looking for their first house in Tampa ,FL..They were looking at million dollar houses and talking about changing the kitchen cabinets and maybe the bathrooms were too small . What is wrong with this picture ?

Didn't happen to catch their name, did you?

We could do a lot better than $1mm, and the kitchen cabinets are new...

 

[Nords]

What is wrong with this picture ?

Nothing-- people like that make great subjects for TV...

 

[Linney]

The comment about the purses sounds more rude than I think he meant it to be. I truly think that efficiency is very important to him: Why go to stores, look at furniture, pick out paint, etc, when you can have a decorator do it? Isn't that what the big bucks are for? And he does rather enjoy his work. But he has no hobbies other than exercise. So, he hires someone to shovel his walks while he goes to the gym and spins and lifts weights.

Thanks for starting this topic, Martha, I've enjoyed thinking about this topic over the past week.

I do yard work manually and my husband thinks I'm nuts. I'll sweep instead of using a leaf blower. I'll use loppers instead of a hedge trimmer. And when I spend a couple hours in the garden working like this, I don't bother to go to the gym that day! I did 1 hour of raking the lawn today and my abs/core muscles are definitely exercised. And when I go to the gym, I focus on 'functional fitness' -- exercises which improve my ability to do the activities I enjoy, such as hiking and cycling.

Your beaded purses sound lovely. I appreciate hand-made gifts from friends and relatives and I make sure to tell them that. When I finally retire, I want to spend time making jams. It is something I enjoy and right now I chafe at having to buy them at the grocery store.... but making them just doesn't hit high enough on my priority list when I'm working 55-60 hours per week and my free time is so constrained.

i'm a little confused here. i'm not sure if this thread is about purses, laminates, toilets or snowblowers.

Yes, it is about beaded purses, snowblowers, brooms and loppers vs. leaf blowers, homemade jams, and much more! It is a quintessential "Other topics" post!

--Linney

 

[Hillbilly]

We are in the middle of a winter storm that is supposed to last the weekend. Yesterday afternoon the grocery stores were packed. I ran into a former co-worker. I told him that I was dreading having to run our monster snow blower to clean up after the storm was done. He said hire someone.

Different lifestyles. I'm not dreading it that much.

When my old coworker asked what I was doing to keep busy I mentioned that I have been working on a winter project, beading some purses that I am making for my women friends and relatives. He told me that it sure would be more efficient to work, bill $250 an hour, and buy some nice presents.

Different lifestyles. I imagine he or his wife wouldn't much like my beaded purses, but my friends will.

While working on my beading project, I have been watching some HGTV and have seen several times a show where a real estate agent goes in and tells people what there house is worth and what they could do to make it sell. Apparently, granite countertops are a necessity no matter what the price point. And one bathroom is simply not acceptable. Same with the show, Househunters. No matter if you are starting out, and even if you are single, three bedrooms and two baths are the minimum requirement.

Well lets see. This guy sounds like a few I've met at work. Can I sense a little envy here working? I think so. Pay no attention since we need these people to fund our SS, etc. Even a little pep talk may help .

Don't even get me started on the house stuff. My house is 1280 sq ft built in 1952, two bedroom with one single bath. The original owner raised 3 children in this house. When I get the house fever looking at the 4000 sq ft homes (yes envy gets me sometimes), I remind myself of this little fact. Guess we are DINKS with envy!

PS there was a "monster" house build here on the H&G Channel that is still empty one year later. The show made out that this young couple was going to marry and move right in! Don't know the total story however these TV shows are not very practical for most folks I know.....I'll stick to the Yankee workshop.

 

[Maurice]

Sounds like your "pay someone to do it" judges life solely in terms of dollars earned per hour ...

I'm glad you have other friends than them.

My thats a harsh judgment. Perhaps the guy just doesn't like snow removal. Or maybe Martha just sounded particularly sincere when she said she was dreading going home and doing it.

 

[Maurice]

i'm a little confused here. i'm not sure if this thread is about purses, laminates, toilets or snowblowers.

Don't be silly, its about looking down on people who make different choices than we do. Hence the universal appeal.

 

[Moemg]

What was their income? Maybe they can easily afford it.

She was a probation officer and he was a new lawyer.Salaries are just not that high in Tampa,Fl..

 

[Rich_by_the_Bay]

My thats a harsh judgment. Perhaps the guy just doesn't like snow removal. Or maybe Martha just sounded particularly sincere when she said she was dreading going home and doing it.

Uh.. talking about the beaded purse, $250/hour, etc.

 

[Martha]

My thats a harsh judgment. Perhaps the guy just doesn't like snow removal. Or maybe Martha just sounded particularly sincere when she said she was dreading going home and doing it.

My old work friend does see things in terms of dollars per hour. If it is a chore, then it makes the most sense to hire someone to do it because it is more efficient for him to work his job and earn more per hour. So, someone does his snow removal, gardening, decorating, car repairs, etc. Not really anything wrong with that, just different. It works fine for him because he likes his work more than he likes chores and he is very very good at his job.


And, some things that are not chores for some people would be chores to him. Beading purses is not a chore to me, it is fun and relaxing. I can't imagine he or his wife ever doing any "crafts" and they would prefer a more professional result than my amateur beading projects, i.e., Coach vs. Martha. Maybe that is a bit snooty and I don't think I would even want to show him my projects.

Fun for him is a Mediterranean cruise. That would be fun for me too. But I also can have fun camping in a woods somewhere, where he would not find that enjoyable.

He is urban, likes fine restaurants, has a beautiful home with a well landscaped yard and wears a tux to the opera. I am rural, like beans and rice, live in an apartment, love to garden and maybe you can get me into a pantsuit for the symphony.

 

[two4theroad]

I think it is about balance and choices. Are you willing to trade money for time? Do you choose to work longer and earn more money in order to pay for someone to do chores you prefer not to do? Or maybe you really can afford to pay for these services because you have more money than time. I chose to pay a housekeeper for 25 years when I was working 50-60 hours a week because I had to have a clean house to live in and did not have the time to do it myself. It was worth every penny.
The best thing about ER is the ability to make these choices without having to worry about running off to W**K to spend 10-14 hours a day. That in itself is so freeing. We now get to choose if we want to spend the time to bead a purse, rake a yard or whatever floats your boat.
2fer

 

[FinanceDude]

My "big house" has 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms..............amd I need all the space I have...............")

 

[happy2bretired]

Sometimes I wonder if the popularity of HGTV helped create the credit mess this country is in right now. Everyone thinks "I gotta have it NOW 'cause everyone else has it since I saw it on HGTV".

 

[tangomonster]

I was amazed to see homes that were 2,000 to 5,000+ sf in 55+ communities where the homeowners would supposedly be downsizing!
And of course, the all-important granite counterparts...in "professional" gourmet kitchens of people who hate to cook!
And special rooms for "home theatres!"
And garden tubs, even though people 55+ might be better off thinking about walk-in showers...
The funniest "amenity" was in a smallish home of one level---it was a kitchenette in the master bedroom...less than a dozen steps from the kitchen. But the idea was not to have to "hike" to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee.

 

[Hillbilly]

I was amazed to see homes that were 2,000 to 5,000+ sf in 55+ communities where the homeowners would supposedly be downsizing!

Yeap, got an Uncle who downsized from 5000 sq ft to 4000 sq ft on the golf course. Said he was "downsizing" for the two of them. While DW and I are in our little 1280 sq ft house. Guess they wonder how we do it .

 

[Dawg52]

Don't know the total story however these TV shows are not very practical for most folks I know.....I'll stick to the Yankee workshop.

Does PBS still run 'This Old House?' That was a good show. Wonder what old Bob Villa is up to these days?