mountainsoft
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Yesterday a house under construction about a 1/2 mile up the road from us burned down.
www.camaspostrecord.com
Another large home nearby burned down last year also.
www.camaspostrecord.com
Obviously these are terrible situations for both owners, and any fire up here brings back worries from the Nakia Creek forest fire a few years ago.
However, I couldn't help but notice the size of these homes. This one was 12,000 square feet, and the one last year was 8840 square feet. While many homes in our area are 4000-5000 sq/ft or so, even those look small compared to the ones that burned down.
By comparison, our little home is under 1500 sq/ft and it feels massive to us compared to the 750 sq/ft homes we lived in previously. Which makes me wonder just what DO you do with that kind of space? For a family of three, our 1500 sq/ft house worked out to about 500 sq/ft per person. That 12,000 sq/ft house could accommodate 24 people using the same space ratio. That's a big family.
Indoor pool, spa, home gym, home theater, music room, massive closets, possibly a home business? I have no idea. I'm betting there are lots of hallways and other dead space that serves no real function. Every "street of dreams" home we toured always had wasted space like that.
Considering all the people who are homeless or even those just struggling to pay rent for a 1 bedroom apartment, I just don't understand the justification for a massive home like that. They take up large plots of land, cost a fortune to build, use up lots of lumber and other materials, and require a great deal of energy to heat and cool. Not to mention the furniture that would be needed to fill the house, and probably require hired help to clean and maintain a place like that.
Obviously it's their money to do what they want with, but to me it screams selfish excess. While 1500 sq/ft suits us perfectly, 2000 to 3000 sq/ft seems reasonable to me for an average family. How big is too big for you?

Fire destroys Livingston Mountain home under construction, threatens nearby properties
Camas-Washougal Post-Record
Another large home nearby burned down last year also.

Camas-area home destroyed by ‘fast moving’ fire
A home in a gated community north of Camas was destroyed last week by what fire officials said was “a fast moving fire” in an…
Obviously these are terrible situations for both owners, and any fire up here brings back worries from the Nakia Creek forest fire a few years ago.
However, I couldn't help but notice the size of these homes. This one was 12,000 square feet, and the one last year was 8840 square feet. While many homes in our area are 4000-5000 sq/ft or so, even those look small compared to the ones that burned down.
By comparison, our little home is under 1500 sq/ft and it feels massive to us compared to the 750 sq/ft homes we lived in previously. Which makes me wonder just what DO you do with that kind of space? For a family of three, our 1500 sq/ft house worked out to about 500 sq/ft per person. That 12,000 sq/ft house could accommodate 24 people using the same space ratio. That's a big family.
Indoor pool, spa, home gym, home theater, music room, massive closets, possibly a home business? I have no idea. I'm betting there are lots of hallways and other dead space that serves no real function. Every "street of dreams" home we toured always had wasted space like that.
Considering all the people who are homeless or even those just struggling to pay rent for a 1 bedroom apartment, I just don't understand the justification for a massive home like that. They take up large plots of land, cost a fortune to build, use up lots of lumber and other materials, and require a great deal of energy to heat and cool. Not to mention the furniture that would be needed to fill the house, and probably require hired help to clean and maintain a place like that.
Obviously it's their money to do what they want with, but to me it screams selfish excess. While 1500 sq/ft suits us perfectly, 2000 to 3000 sq/ft seems reasonable to me for an average family. How big is too big for you?