My latest favorite TV shows are about house hunting on HGTV. House Hunters and Property Virgins. I love “walking through” the homes and seeing the decorations and amenities. I also love and hate to see how much house you can get for so much or so little. And depending on where the house hunters are from, they have such varied reactions which always amuses me. For example, yesterday I watched a couple look for a $425k condo in San Francisco. They ooh’d and ahh’d through all of the tours of the 600 square feet their money could afford them. I mean, the kitchens were very very efficient and some had no dining areas. For an additional $25k you can park your car. I really appreciated their positive attitudes though. I mean, they were so willing to compromise for the location of San Fran. I don’t blame them, it’s a beautiful and delicious city. On the other end of the spectrum, I saw another family walk through a 5000+ sq ft home with a 3 car garage and they complained about the size of the dining room and bedrooms. It was in Georgia so their budget was about $600k.
I remember when I first moved, I thought the kitchen was too small! It is small but then I took a trip to NYC and realized I have a gourmet kitchen. I like seeing the stark differences of the peoples’ demands. Some folks can thrive and be happy with less and for others, it’ll never be enough. For me, it’s all about practicality. I haven’t gone hungry in my little kitchen and clean up of the entire place is a snap! When people ooh and ahh at vaulted ceilings, all I see are dollar signs floating away from the heating and cooling bills. And the more square feet there are, the more there is to clean. Not ironically, the couple buying 600 sq ft place both had jobs and one was going to school as well. There’s no time for cleaning! The family that bought the 5000+ sq ft house had a stay at home parent.
And this is why I plan on living at home for the rest of my life. Practicality.
I hear ya!