People Who Live In Suburbs: Classy, Icky, or Dudes?

That NYT photo can be summed up with "lol old whites!". Luckily, they'll die off soon.

both otm

i'm sure other stupid ppl will fill their shoes

Yes, it's not like the world is going to run out of stupid people, but they'll be afraid of slightly different things, allowing the rest of the world to make an end-run around their particular hang-ups. And so on, and so on. I think this is how "progress" happens?

I literally cannot deal with that NYT article

haha there was a nyt article about how hard it is to find parking these days in manhattan cause they tragically keep replacing parking lots with ~actual buildings~ and it is hard to express how hard I was trying to will a comments section into existence

In fairness to everyone Agenda 21 is a pretty evil name

haha tru

http://grist.org/list/america-has-40-million-big-houses-that-no-one-wants/

http://www.theatlanticcities.com/housing/2012/02/have-americans-given-mcmansions/1184/

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46216000/gif/_46216562_houses_466_4.gif

of course these people are kind of right if you cross out "the UN" and replace with "people concerned about density/sustainability/planning issues."
more appealing to say that "x is a plot orchestrated by the UN" than "x is a plot orchestrated by some other people who live here and want to make some changes" I guess

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/02/the-end-of-ownership-why-arent-young-people-buying-more-houses/253750/

think it's time to buy houses to rent to young people

Did not read the article, but...

We just went through a massive housing bubble and bust that extended over several continents, and we are presently in a very weak recovery from the worst recession since 1929. Moreover, house prices continue to drop in the USA, according to the numbers that just came out yesterday. And someone thinks they have to explain why young people aren't buying more houses?

well maybe you shoulda read the article, cause it's about how kanye west and MIA have turned a generation against home ownership via music

I thought it was about that new Beyonce song "All the Single Renters"

Old houses have the stigma of ickyness, new houses look like crap

I'd like to hear some analysis on wtf is happening in this picture

http://info.51.ca/uploads/userup/6/4/8/3/8/200903/64838_2340163V9_0.jpg

Well, on the bright side her job doesn't require a goofy costume. She seems to be very enthusiastic about waving that sign.

Impressive considering it must be a very difficult position to hold over an extended period of time.

You know, you just made it clear to me that she's the one holding the sign and not vice-versa.

I saw this version first and it looks more like she's hanging from it.

http://cdn.theatlantic.com/static/mt/assets/business/615%20young%20housing%20.jpg

And I couldn't get that part out of my head.

I've been all "did they photoshop the shadow on the ground?"

also, breasts.

bubble and bust that extended over several continents

Watch China for example...

"bust that extended over several continents" great description of those breasts.

bout to buy a house in the burbs in the next 6 mos. take that "the atlantic"

Old houses have the stigma of ickyness

??

mold and lead for one, if not simply "lived in by disgusting savages".

I live in a 2,000 square foot house that may be upgraded to 3,000 to accomodate family plus guests. This house is more than big enough for three people RIGHT NOW. It is more than eighty years old.

I just can't imagine living in a 4,000 square foot space with only a family of four and maybe some pets. I think that kind of thing is for management types, people who entertain a lot or who have a lot of guests. But a lot of people in the US think that is the "goal", a mark of success.

I was mocking people who always live in brand new places. My house was built in 1915. Sheesh.

The last house I lived in was built in 1941. I can't fathom ever living in a house older than 10 years again (depending).

We had the little round fuses for the circuit breaker. Once got up in a light fixture and the cords inside looked like they were made from twine. Couldn't ever find vent covers that were the right size. State Farm even turned us down to insure the house!

Those were just a few tiny things. I can't stress enough how nice it is to finally live in a house with three-pronged outlets.

Also, the guy who was here first designed the house in the late 90s, so every room has a phone jack next to the cable outlet for dial-up.

I think you can find examples of houses older than 10 years that have three-pronged outlets and light-fixtures that aren't twine based...

Well also you can rewire old houses. I mean you really have to, in fact.

Yeah, but those houses that are 20+ years old look like Elliot's house from ET.

All of them.

I think the biggest advantage of old houses is that they are (more often) located in old neighborhoods

People have rubbed their butts on those walls.

Yeah, our house was built in 1946, and before we moved in, I had the fuse box replaced with breakers, the electrical service upgraded, and all the two-prong sockets replaced with three-prong GFI sockets. I didn't do a complete rewire, but I may in the near future.

Do not want to live in any more turn of the century homes, no matter how rehabbed they are.

pplains, did you buy the place and it had fuses for the circuit breaker? My home inspector was like "welp, they have two circuits flipped here, the higher amp one should be over here and vice versa" and then the sale was contingent on this and a handful of other changes!

As for the "twine" stuff, probably just old romex that was fiber-based and not rubber. No big deal, really. As long as you don't have knob and tube wiring still in place, I wouldn't worry.

Old houses are awesome because the building materials are generally much higher quality, if they've been well-maintained. There are exceptions, definitely, but I'd place more stock in the longevity of a well-built older house than a new one. Wiring isn't that big of a deal when you can have an electrician who's skilled at fishing wires put in grounded outlets pretty easily.

Then again, people move every ten years to a newer house anyway, right?

yup, a trend that can pretty easily continue for all of history w/ no repercussions

We just need to keep having more poor people. The middle class (hah hah hah) gets new houses, poor people get the old ones.

Have we discussed townhome clusters and what's going to happen to them as their first/second-gen occupants move out?

many xposts

My house was built in the early 80s, and as much as I love it, it definitely needs considerable help. It was built in the cheapest way possible and the previous owners did very little to maintain or upgrade it. So I can kind of relate to the ickiness factor.

Just slappin' salami all up on the kitchen counters and everything.

The funny part is that some houses get "old" a lot faster than others.

moodles, your old house suffers from being a new house

our old house is old and we have some electrical issues, but we're working on it. i like old. not so big on new. though i'm sure there are plenty of new well-made houses. i just feel old in new houses.

I feel like a lot of new homes have bizarre historical affectations and skimp on infrastructural concerns

The only thing I don't like about my old house -- which is brick, with plaster walls rather than drywall -- is the lack of insulation. Getting the whole house properly insulated will be $$$, so we generally rely on window film, door stripping and so forth during the winter. It does at least have replacement windows.

My old house I think, despite its age, was one of those cheapo houses built in a nice neighborhood when no one was looking due to the war. It was kinda neat in a way to walk around the neighborhood and see the other houses built from the exact same plans, like if I ever want to burgarlize them, I'd know right where everything was in the dark.

But I'm so glad we sold that house. Rewiring an entire house would have been a bitch, and like Laurel says, it's only really a matter of time before someone has to.

We're lucky because our new house was built in an old neighborhood, a wagon ride away from the park and everything. It's built sturdy though I do wish sometimes they had a used a better material than cardboard paper to make the roof with.

Have we discussed townhome clusters and what's going to happen to them as their first/second-gen occupants move out?

I think we have, but it's still ripe for discussion. With the way the housing market exploded so fast, we're seeing my town a lot of new crime in the new zip codes. Where cities have traditionally supposedly rotted from the inside out, we're starting to see dead limbs form on the outer edges. Neighborhoods like this one are seeing more crime than the old ones.