brip blap: linklings, labor day in Florida edition
Akemi Gaines
· 3 months ago
Hi Steve, I just moved, too, and love the new place. I'm just renting a townhouse, but it's built pretty well -- upstairs great room has wonderful view of the valley and the kitchen is spacious with large ceramic tile counter. The deck is good size, too, and I plan to resume gardening. Downstairs are my bedroom, a den, and bathrooms. (There are two, I only use one.) It's built on the hill, and the downstairs is semi basement -- which make it a bit cold, but the leasing manager swears there is no mold problem as long as I take reasonable care. I don't like taking care of the house (mowing, etc) so I think I will keep renting for a long time. . .
Steve, whichever house you choose, my best wishes goes to you. (Screened patio is nice in a warm area like Florida where there are so many bugs. Is it true you are supposed to keep a huge spider called housekeeper to control other bugs down there? ^_^)
Steve
· 3 months ago
@Akemi: Hi! Sounds like a great place, and if you're happy with renting I think it'll be good for you. If you have a great view that's a big part of enjoying a place - nothing like waking up to a view to make the day go better.
I keep a houseslipper called "bug-be-flat" that keeps the bugs under control. But I do try to use the broom and flyswatter to flip "guests" outside when I can... especially the overly-friendly lizards who sneak inside. Time to get reacquainted with nature :)
Bucksome
· 3 months ago
I know you didn't ask for advice, but wanted to put in my two cents (totally free to you). Go for the house in the better neighborhood.
Even though you're going to have to put some money into it, the better neighborhood and location will pay off in the end.
Ruth
· 3 months ago
Go for the best location! You can always change things about a house, but you can't change the location.
Bret
· 3 months ago
I agree with bucksome.
"Location, location, location."
"Buy the cheapest house in the best neighborhod you can afford."
I live on the left-coast and got a great deal on a house in an expensive town, back in the nineties. I have had to put a lot of work into it, but it's worth three times what I paid for it an my property taxes are cheap.
Steve
· 3 months ago
@Bret, @bucksome, @ruth: I hear you, although it's still not clear to me that the "good" house is in a 'worse' neighborhood than the "crappy" house (quote crazy...). It's tough weighing one neighborhood against another when they're largely identical - but I agree with you that when one is overwhelmingly better than the other, it's better to go with the good one.
Weston
· 3 months ago
Interesting that you don't mention the one factor that we looked for first in buying both the homes we have owned. That is the quality of the schools. The first step for us was to identify the best middle schools and high schools in the county and then get the best deal we could find within the borders served by those schools.
We have made that this approach makes sense not only for our primary intent (the health, growth and well being of our kids) but also it makes good financial sense since many other families with kids are eager to buy in those same areas for the same reasons.
Steve
· 3 months ago
@Weston: Good point, but I just didn't mention the schools since both homes are within the same school district, meaning that's not a factor. We already narrowed our search down to a single district, and haven't even looked at a house outside of that district.
guinness416
· 3 months ago
Always nice to have a choice! If you go for the finished one, make sure you won't be redecorating soon anyway, for taste or to correct skin deep flip renovation.
I've found reading zenhabits less interesting or rewarding for me the the further into his own "freedom" he gets. As an ex montessori kid, I'm mildly sympathetic to his beliefs (although would have been nice to see some actual stats to back his opinions up, not to mention some recognition that it ain't possible for everyone) but the constant contempt for the corporate worker in some of these blogs is tiresome. He'd be called on it if he were running down bricklayers or something. ZH sure has quite the amen chorus though.
Steve
· 3 months ago
@Guinness416: I agree that there's a certain smug satisfaction that permeates a lot of the anti-corporate-jobs blogs that I read, and it seems to be building during the recession. ZH used to be a must-read for me, but recently the tone has shifted a bit too much into the dreamy "we are all going to work on the web" mode. No we aren't. I like the idea of people taking a bit more control over their work lives than some employees do, true. I would like to do more of it, too. But you're dead-on, though - if you replaced "corporate worker" with "bricklayer" it would sound downright awful.
Spanish school in Spain
· 2 months ago
Your article was pretty interesting. Hope you will come up with more interesting ones like this
All Comments
I just moved, too, and love the new place. I'm just renting a townhouse, but it's built pretty well -- upstairs great room has wonderful view of the valley and the kitchen is spacious with large ceramic tile counter. The deck is good size, too, and I plan to resume gardening. Downstairs are my bedroom, a den, and bathrooms. (There are two, I only use one.) It's built on the hill, and the downstairs is semi basement -- which make it a bit cold, but the leasing manager swears there is no mold problem as long as I take reasonable care. I don't like taking care of the house (mowing, etc) so I think I will keep renting for a long time. . .
Steve, whichever house you choose, my best wishes goes to you. (Screened patio is nice in a warm area like Florida where there are so many bugs. Is it true you are supposed to keep a huge spider called housekeeper to control other bugs down there? ^_^)
I keep a houseslipper called "bug-be-flat" that keeps the bugs under control. But I do try to use the broom and flyswatter to flip "guests" outside when I can... especially the overly-friendly lizards who sneak inside. Time to get reacquainted with nature :)
Even though you're going to have to put some money into it, the better neighborhood and location will pay off in the end.
"Location, location, location."
"Buy the cheapest house in the best neighborhod you can afford."
I live on the left-coast and got a great deal on a house in an expensive town, back in the nineties. I have had to put a lot of work into it, but it's worth three times what I paid for it an my property taxes are cheap.
We have made that this approach makes sense not only for our primary intent (the health, growth and well being of our kids) but also it makes good financial sense since many other families with kids are eager to buy in those same areas for the same reasons.
I've found reading zenhabits less interesting or rewarding for me the the further into his own "freedom" he gets. As an ex montessori kid, I'm mildly sympathetic to his beliefs (although would have been nice to see some actual stats to back his opinions up, not to mention some recognition that it ain't possible for everyone) but the constant contempt for the corporate worker in some of these blogs is tiresome. He'd be called on it if he were running down bricklayers or something. ZH sure has quite the amen chorus though.