Do you know anyone who's house is so big they can't afford anything else?

[pearlieq]

We all make choices and decisions based on our own unique circumstances. You have no idea why these people don't furnish their houses the way you would. For all you know, it has nothing at all to do with money.

AMEN!!!

First off, if given the choice between a bigger/better house and "stuff", I would choose the bigger/better house if it suited my needs better. "Stuff" can always be aquired later and usually cheaply, whereas it can be awfully difficult and costly to trade up to a bigger/better house if one finds the need.

I'd gladly go without a formal dining set for 10 years if it means I could buy the house I actually wanted to live in. I think that's very smart thinking.

Plus, not everyone wants to cram their house wall to wall with things. People don't really need that much. I have a formal living and dining room that are nearly empty. Why should I go out any buy things just to fill them? I don't need them.

If any of my family or neighbors were to criticize, I would think they were trapped in mindless consumerism before I would think that I was somehow deficient because I don't have a china cabinet. I have a neighbor who makes little digs about our modest furniture/decorations every once in a while. I have to hold myself back from asking her if she was able to get approved for another credit card this month so she could buy groceries.

To each his own!

 

[GraysMom]

OP. Yes I know many people in our school district who bought during the housing boom & easy mortgage approval. They are house poor & unfortunately may not make money when they sell if things do not get better. It was their dream to have the McMansion & I do not think they regret it. My district had a projection of 200 new students EVERY YEAR over 10 years we are growing fast.

I do not think there is anything wrong with this but I would not do it if I could not vacation every year. But that is just me.

Sounds like the district I taught in and also the one we live in. Do you live in the Lehigh Valley?

 

[liamsaunt]

IWe all make choices and decisions based on our own unique circumstances. You have no idea why these people don't furnish their houses the way you would. For all you know, it has nothing at all to do with money.

I have to agree with this. My DH and I have been in our current home for about six years. It is a small home, I'm not sure of the square footage, but it's 2 BDR 1 1/2 bath home. However, prior to this place we had an apartment in the city, mostly furnished with college-type stuff. So, we've been fixing this place up, and buying things that work for us, but very slowly. Even though our house may be small, to us, after years of apartment living, it still seems huge! We don't have kids and we work full time, and could definitely qualify for one of those "McMansions" if we wanted to. But, frankly, we have other priorities that take precedent over a big house or swanky furniture.

We are lucky in that we both get a lot of vacation time from our jobs and love to travel, so that is where most of our fun money goes. We make a lot of sacrifices in other areas to travel the way we do. My Dsis, who stays over frequently, was intrigued to find out that I am finally going to get a real bed for the spare room--right now our spare room has an aerobed! And you know what? She, and our other friends who stay over and use that room, really do not care that it is an aerobed and not a special four poster contraption. DH and I are bringing my sister and her kids to Disney all expenses paid for the third time in December. That's a better use of "fun money" than a spectacular dining table, in my opinion.

 

[wilderness01]

Around here a half-million dollar house will NOT buy a McMansion, nor will it buy a huge piece of land where we can't see our nearest neighbor. It would have 6-7 years ago, but that's when our house cost a lot less (and now costs over half million, even though it is NOT a McMansion). Of course that's here and in other areas housing can cost a lot less.

Same here.

 

[weregoingtodw]

I saw that a lot when I lived in NJ. People bought these 5000 s/f McMansions and they wouldn't have any furniture. When we first bought this place we didn't ahve a dining room set. I had one in the old house, but it was poor quality and totally not going to work as far as the decor in the new place. So I gave it to Goodwill and the dining room sat empty for a year until we were able to buy a discontinued floor model set at Ethan Allen for almost $1800 less than the regular price!

The rest of our home was furnished and we had curtains and blinds on all the windows though.

Anne

I saw pics of your house, probably several years ago, when you linked to them, Anne. Your home is gorgeous! I still remember the ceiling fan that you have in your Florida room. I love your style.

 

[weregoingtodw]

Since you are an anonymous stranger on the DIS I can ask you, why no curtains? Do you live in a rural area where you don't have many neighbors?

I'm not the one who said it, but I can tell you why we don't have curtains in some rooms (living / dining / kitchen / family room). We have mini / vertical blinds on every window for privacy, but after four moves in as many years, I started noticing that every time we got "settled in" (meaning curtains on the windows), we'd get orders and have to move yet again. So I put my foot down this time and said we can just live without them, and guess what -- almost two years in the same home!

 

[weregoingtodw]

I live in the suburbs. The nearest neighbor is about 15 ft away. They are welcome to watch me undress anytime they like. It is not a pretty sight.

 

[JennyMominRI]

Around here a half-million dollar house will NOT buy a McMansion, nor will it buy a huge piece of land where we can't see our nearest neighbor. It would have 6-7 years ago, but that's when our house cost a lot less (and now costs over half million, even though it is NOT a McMansion). Of course that's here and in other areas housing can cost a lot less.

In San diego it wouldn't have bought the rotten house we had.

 

[Michie]

eh...

We build or buy a new house on average about every 3-5 years. The last house we sold, the buyer bought most of my furniture and even my dishes. I really thought it would streamline moving, which it did, but it also took me almost 2 years to replace everything. Not that it wasn't in my budget, I just couldn't find anything I liked.

 

[KathyTX]

What's your definition of "McMansion"? Does it vary in different parts of the country?

 

[Snow_White]

I wanted to chime in that that is how it is around here also....then I looked & saw you're in Maryland too!

Yes, you can't get any kind of McMansion around here for half a million.
You can get a nice, garaged townhome for that price though.

LOL I'm in MD too and I happen to live in a nice, garaged townhome that is worth almost half a million (400 something to be sure--who knows with the market right now). It is SICK SICK SICK!! If you want a nice McMansion in our area, you better be willing to pay 1.5 million or so!

 

[Snow_White]

What's your definition of "McMansion"? Does it vary in different parts of the country?

In my area, it's a 5,000+ sq. ft. home with a few acres of surrounding land (1 at the bare minimum). Houses like that go for ABOUT 1.5 million (1 million for the "cheapies", 2 million for the more custom homes). They are NICE houses, I think "McMansion" is a silly term for them, personally.

 

[KirstenB]

What's your definition of "McMansion"? Does it vary in different parts of the country?

Around here, it's the biggest house that can be squeezed onto a tiny lot. Surrounded by similar looking Mc Mansions. The first time I'd heard the term was a few years ago. I was visiting my sister in DC, and they were discussing the McMansions in the Virginia suburbs. Basically there is no sense of scale and proportion in terms of house vs land.

 

[Freyja]

Here in tiny Iceland housing prices around Reykjavik have become insane as well. We live in a very modest approx. 2300 Sq.ft. home. I would have loved a bigger house for our family of 6 + dog. For instance we only have 1 full bathroom. However, there is no way we could have afforded it and kept a somewhat nice lifestyle. Our house is valued at approx. $880 000!!!

 

[mickeyfan2]

We don't have curtains on our windows, just white, 2", wooden blinds. We want to get fabric treatments to go with them. (Blinds are OK, but look kinda "half done.") Alas, DH and I can't agree on styles or patterns that we both like. So, instead of wasting $$ on a compromise, we're stuck with plain white blinds.

I think the OP mean nothing on the windows.

When we bought our home we had two empty bedrooms and an empty dining room. The family room did not even exist. We put up pleated blinds and eventually toppers (to hide the blinds when they are open). I live in the country and don't really need window coverings, but I just don't feel right without them.

Now our home is full of furniture. It just took time.

 

[Andrea]

We dont have a lot of stuff either buy choice. We just moved into our first house which is a lot larger ( but we can afford it) then the house we rented, so yes right now our house is "empty" compared to our old house. we are slowing buy stuff for it, but i am not just going to go buy something to fill the room i am waiting until i find exactly what i want.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

In San diego it wouldn't have bought the rotten house we had.

San Diego does have terrible housing market.

LOL I'm in MD too and I happen to live in a nice, garaged townhome that is worth almost half a million (400 something to be sure--who knows with the market right now). It is SICK SICK SICK!! If you want a nice McMansion in our area, you better be willing to pay 1.5 million or so!

The market has changed for sure. I know that our house would have sold for about $700K+ a year or two ago, but not so sure now. Not more than that, I'm pretty sure.

 

[ducklite]

I saw pics of your house, probably several years ago, when you linked to them, Anne. Your home is gorgeous! I still remember the ceiling fan that you have in your Florida room. I love your style.

Thank you very much! It's funny, we can't use the fan on high speed because the room becomes a wind tunnel.

Anne

 

[weregoingtodw]

Thank you very much! It's funny, we can't use the fan on high speed because the room becomes a wind tunnel.

Anne

You're very welcome!

And who cares, as long as it looks good!

 

[KathyTX]

Here in tiny Iceland housing prices around Reykjavik have become insane as well. We live in a very modest approx. 2300 Sq.ft. home. I would have loved a bigger house for our family of 6 + dog. For instance we only have 1 full bathroom. However, there is no way we could have afforded it and kept a somewhat nice lifestyle. Our house is valued at approx. $880 000!!!

Wow, Freyja!!! In Texas, you'd be in a very nice McMansion for that price. With lots of bathrooms.