How the other half lives . . .

[ACG]

For the housewarming gift, suggestion by most others; home made bread, baked goods in a pretty basket, a small plant, or see packets with a little pot ready to be planted.

It is the thought that counts.

[Tri Girl]

For the housewarming gift, suggestion by most others; home made bread, baked goods in a pretty basket, a small plant, or see packets with a little pot ready to be planted.

It is the thought that counts.

I agree. Something homemade would mean the most.

[Irulan]

if only two people are in a house, it's still the same amount of showers, flushing and tooth brushing regardless of how many bathrooms there are. Let's assume that the toilets don't run. You can have one running toilet that uses way more water than 5 low-toilets that never get used. You can have a 3000 ft sq house that is more energy efficient than an poorly built 1000 ft sq place with an old refrigerator and leaky windows. Appearances aren't everything.

So how do you balance what you want and what's appropriate? And who gets to decide what's appropriate?

[zoom-zoom]

Can we all agree that Donald Trump is not appropriate (and I'm not just talking about his real estate, heh)?

[Crankin]

I am sure most people think my 3,000 sq. foot house with 3.5 baths is too big for the two of us. But, we bought it on a whim, because we were bored with our typical New England newer, center entrance colonial that was 2400 sq. feet, including the finished basement. I hated living in a Stepford neighborhood.
But, we got a very unique house, in a cool neighborhood, with a pond. We've spent a ton of $ making it ours. I am not ready to downsize, and except for the 2 "kids" bedrooms, we use every room in our house.
And I am definitely left leaning. And I tend to agree with Irulan. I earned the $ to buy the house, and I am not, generally an ostentatious person. I do like nice things and space.

[GLC1968]

Some people choose to spend their money on big, nice homes. Others on fancy cars. Others on fancy bikes. We personally spend a ton of money on groceries because I'm picky about what I eat and we can afford it. What's the difference?

While I agree that huge houses are often a waste of money, I also agree that this thread got more than just a tad judgemental. Who are we to judge what other people choose to spend their money on? Didn't Limewave say her friends desgined their house? That means to me that a lot of thought went into it. If they love it, good for them.

Personally, if I had a LOT of money (we are talking millions here), I'd design my own tiny house on a HUGE piece of property with spectacular views and a nice long driveway so that no road noise could be heard from the house. And I'd buy only the very best for what goes IN the house because I'm tired of junk that doesn't last as long as it should (like appliances and furniture). But that's just me.

[indysteel]

As one of the people who got overly judgmental in this thread, I again want to apologize. I have friends with money who have bought nice houses with it and I haven't batted an eye. I have others that did the same thing that I have very good reason to believe were self-medicating in the same way that an addict might. Where my best friend is concerned, I have good reason to think it was the latter. So, yes, I have an opinion about it that goes beyond some knee jerk reaction to blatant consumerism. Do I think also think her 7000 square foot home for two is excessive. Yes, I do. Do I think a 3500 square foot home is? Not really. Is there a bright line about such things? No, but that doesn't mean it's a conversation not worth having. And I don't think it's wrong to encourage one another or others to consider other things other than their own needs or desires. We do that all the time with any number of environmental and social issues.

While I'd like to wholeheartedly agreed that how people spend their money is none of my concern, the reality is that sometimes it is. There are environmental concerns. There are economic concerns. There is a societal cost to more and bigger stuff. We don't make these very personal decisions in a vacuum.

[Biciclista]

while we're designing houses I want one on a hill with lots of windows and an attic bedroom with dormers. Two small bathrooms would be nice but I don't care how big my laundry room is. I discovered that big bedrooms were a big waste of space. Make the big rooms be the living room and kitchen.

[zoom-zoom]

While I'd like to wholeheartedly agreed that how people spend their money is none of my concern, the reality is that sometimes it is. There are environmental concerns. There are economic concerns. There is a societal cost to more and bigger stuff. We don't make these very personal decisions in a vacuum.

This.

[grey]

Some people choose to spend their money on big, nice homes. Others on fancy cars. Others on fancy bikes. We personally spend a ton of money on groceries because I'm picky about what I eat and we can afford it. What's the difference?

Personally, if I had a LOT of money (we are talking millions here), I'd design my own tiny house on a HUGE piece of property with spectacular views and a nice long driveway so that no road noise could be heard from the house. And I'd buy only the very best for what goes IN the house because I'm tired of junk that doesn't last as long as it should (like appliances and furniture). But that's just me.

This describes us exactly. We don't have a huge house (1,200 sq ft, with a separate in-law suite we can rent out if we want to, it's 400sq ft). But we are saving, saving, working toward a large piece of land where we can either fix up a beat up little house or build our own, totally off grid. Not anyone else's idea of paradise, but it would be ours. Big garden - because we also spend a LOT of money on good food.

Some people like their McMansions. I don't really want to have that much to clean, or to have to buy that much furniture, or have a big pool to keep up (or pay to clean it) but that's ok, all of us are different.

[Rebekah H]

My husband is from SC and we have a house there that is in the 3000 sqft range. I could never keep up with it! Something always needed cleaning that didn't even get used and it was too spread out. A few years ago, we decided that we would build a vacation house in Louisiana so that we could spend half of the year here to be near my family more. It's around 1600 sqft and I couldn't be happier. I can't stand the upkeep that larger houses require and really, really appreciate the necessity of keeping your crap to a minimum that comes along with a smaller house because my husband is "sentimental." (Homeboy is a freaking hoarder.)

The folder is an awesome housewarming gift!! If I lived in the city, that would have been an amazing gift to receive. My personal favorite gift, for any occasion, is booze. Unless the person is a teetotaler, you can't go wrong!

[Selkie]

I fall into the "each to his/her own" crowd, although I do agree w/Mimi's point about social responsibility.

Always find it amusing when people have to compare their homes/possessions w/mine ("my house is bigger than yours is, nah nah nah!"). As if I'm a loser for choosing that simple is better for me. I just ignore it, change the subject. Actually, it's kind of sad when someone puts so much value on material possessions because those can disappear in the blink of an eye.

I thought smaller homes were becoming chic for those to whom things like that matter?

Our house is very small -- 2 br, one bath but a toilet in the basement, next to the dryer -- built in 1940. We consider ourselves fortunate to have purchased it before the big real estate boom. There is a lot of infill in our neighborhood, which is distressing. They tear down these solid, brick on brick constructed homes to put up big plasterboard mcmansions that don't fit in w/the surrounding homes. I love the older pre-war/ww2 era homes, imagine the folks who lived in them, kids raised in them, etc.

[salsabike]

And who gets to decide what's appropriate?

This too.