Dwellings you LOVE

[shootingstar]

Screened porches are wonderful, Shooting Star. Why don't you like them?
Generally, they are on the back of a house, but still, it really extends the use of a porch because of the lack of bugs. We had a huge screened porch on our first house in MA.

Sure the mosquito protection makes alot of sense and for me, it's helpful since mosquitoes are drawn to me compared to other people I know. I just don't like the look of them from the outside.

When I grew up in an old drafty house, we had a back side sun porch. It was handy from my parents' perspective to have their 6 kids horse around there in the evenings when it was humid in summer. But in winter, I hated going out there, since it wasn't heated. We kept all our shoes, boots, probably over 35 pairs ..it was treated like a semi-mud room. There was some seating. The newspaper boy delivered our papers through a catch door. My mother dried her meat hanging in another corner, etc.

I never for instance, read a book in the sunporch. The "karma" just felt wrong.

Years later, I visited a friend several times over the decades, who bought a lovely cute (but big cottage with 3 bedrooms) by Lake Huron. It had also a sun porch at the front overlooking the bay. Still I never truly whole heartedly enjoyed being in the porch vs. the living room (with same view).

Then when I stayed at her other home (yes, she had 2 properties) in a town, there was a sunporch off the 2nd story bedroom where I stayed as a guest. I never wanted to go out on the sunporch. But then they didn't equip for sitting out but it was clean, etc.

It's just me. I can't explain it but probably does stem from childhood memories.

I did want a home in multi-rise building with a balcony. I just never expected 2 balconies. Our home in VAncovuer, does have a (smaller) balcony overlooking bike path, an ocean creek where you can see kayakers and sailboats regularily. All downtown. The sunsets/sunrises are wonderful and I miss it. This is the view from
Vancouver home.

I do get a wonderful but totally different view here (not in Vancouver), of rising foothills, bike-ped. path, greenway, etc. It's perfect since we're downtown here also.

Downtown living can work really well....one just has to be patient and choose their location carefully. I hear no cars...and we're just 1 block away from a busy road during the work week. Apparently there will be more bike lanes painted in our area over time.

I'm not really a house person at all. I just found out from a single woman who just recently retired from our workplace... she's under 65 and wants to sell her 2 story townhouse. Her knees can't take walking up and down stairs. And she's not that old! Another single woman who I know more closely for a longer time, who is 73 yrs. has a large 1500 sq. ft. 1-level apartment (she went through ownership of house, condos over the decades) who now is looking for ...a cheaper place to live while she is barely mobile with her walker because of a hip problem. It is VERY sobering to personally know someone well for past 30 yrs., beautiful, vibrant, fiercely independent and active and now she is ...abit disabled and weak.