Can you believe this? This is housing for one family. Not even a very large family. There are hundreds...thousands...of these being built all around Round Rock, in what used to be maize and cotton fields.
This probably contains four bedrooms, at least three and a half bathrooms, three living areas, two or three eating areas, and far too many windows. Not to mention a two-car garage.
When I was a child, only the wealthiest of my friends didn't have to share bedrooms with their same-sex siblings. When my mother was a child, only the wealthiest of her friends didn't have to share a bed with their same-sex siblings. She and her sister shared a bed, and her two brothers shared another.
Now, kids not only have their own rooms, they have their own living room, too. Most of these McMansions have a den, or informal living room, and a formal living room, and a "media room."
We had one TV, and we didn't get that until I was 15. We had one telephone, and it was situated in the main hallway of the house. No such thing as privacy on the phone. The only reason I had my own room was that I was an only child. Eventually, my mother got a new radio in the kitchen, and I got the old one for my room. Had to turn it off at 11 PM, though, or one parent or the other would come and take it away.
Why are we paving over acres and acres of productive farmland to build these behemoths? Nobody needs this sort of space.
It's nice when each child can have his or her own room, with his or her own TV and computer, but it's also nice when they learn to share the time, the space and the programming.
These houses are a waste of space, of resources used to heat and cool them, of building materials and of time spent cleaning them and looking after them. How many of them will have an electricity bill of under $200 a month?
This is the reason our children are being raised by day care providers. Most people can't afford this without having both parents in the work force. Now, raising our children has become secondary to supporting a house like this.
Where do we draw the line? Who is going to be the one to say, "I don't want to keep up with the Joneses, I want to stay home and raise our kids. Find me a smaller house."
My disgust comes from people owning houses like this when there are so many people in need.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. These houses are also a pet peeve of mine. We will be moving soon to what I feel is my "dream" house, and it is about 1/3 the size of this one. Our realtor said we could qualify for a much larger loan, but why would we want to? Who would have time to clean and maintain a place like this?
ReplyDelete"How many of them will have an electricity bill of under $200 a month?"
ReplyDeleteMore like $400, I'm betting!!
I couldn't agree with you more. Nicely put!
Taking into consideration that most of the families living in this luxury are about three paychecks away from losing the house to creditors, and the whole thing becomes less and less attractive.
ReplyDeleteI have talked to builders, and asked why there are not smaller, more efficient, more modest "starter" homes on the market, and was told that nobody wants them. I had thought people were buying these because these were all that is out there.
Not so. As a society, we have convinced ourselves that this is what we want and need.
They are all full of piss and pomp, Ronni. They deserve what they get in the end.
ReplyDeleteBringing children up to think they are unimportant unless they have all that "show" is really sad.
There is a method to our madness. I am buying a 4 bedroom huge home. I have 3 kids, and the price of this home is half of what it was just 2 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI have stayed home with our children and will continue to have one parent home with them throughout the time they are here.
The thing about our house, half a bazillion kids come here. My parents would not let my brother or I have friends stay the night on the same night and more than one friend? Unheard of.
That's not the case here. You could kind of say there are slumber parties every weekend. Summer, there is always someone here. They pull out blankets and pillows from all the closets and put them away when they are done.
The method to our madness is to have all the kiddos here. I know what they are up to and what they are not. Also, if the housing market goes back to the way it was, which we have been told it takes about 10 years. By then, when we sell our house, depending on where we live, we can have a home that's darn near close to paid for.
So not everybody is keeping up with the Joneses. If we were, we would have huge boats, high-priced cars, jewelry and "things." None of those things matter to me though.
I guess what I am saying is, don't judge all of those books by their covers. I am very frugal on most things, but a place where my kids and others are safe is priceless to me.
Spring, I see you as one of the minority that actually uses all the features of your house. Also, do you realize how lucky you are that you can stay home with your kids and still have a house like this?
ReplyDeleteTrust me, there are very few.
I know you work from home, which helps with the bills.
The space is available, so you use it. If the house were smaller, you would still be doing the same thing, just a little more crowded.
Yes, I do know what you are saying, and if you could see the town we used to live in, we kind of stuck out like a sore thumb :) We had just moved here and didn't know.
ReplyDeleteThe only room here that is not utilized is a formal family room. There's NOTHING formal around here :)
But if the house was a whole lot smaller, and I had to hear that rock band any louder or more than I do, I might go postal!
I do know I am very lucky, and I count my blessings every day.
Up here in Canada we're hearing about nothing south of the border except the mortgage and credit crisis, and repossessions. On a visit to Kalamazoo MI last October we stayed with hosts in an upscale part of town and watched yet another "For sale" sign being hammered into a lawn. D'you mean to say they are still building McMansions in Round Rock?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to say that the appetite here for McMansions is cooling fast, aided by Canadian winters and the need to heat such piles. I grew up in post-war England: the country endured rationing for five or six post-war years right into the '50s. Frankly, I think society was the stronger for it.
Good rant, Ronni. Keep up the head of steam. And congratulations on getting that "pinkish" lion award.
Robert Fripp
Thousands of them, Robert. You have no idea! I'll try to get a shot of the whole subdivision where I took the picture.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the kind words...
Not all of us who live in big houses are evil gluttons. And I disagree with mgt's socialist view that one shouldn't have large houses when there are people in need. By most people's standards, I have a big home. It's an investment, and something we were able to afford without me having to go back to work. I am a stay-at-home mom.
ReplyDeleteDo we intend to live here forever? No. When our children are grown we plan to sell and get something smaller, preferably a condo without the yard upkeep. But in the meantime, my children have a place for their friends to hang out. My husband's large family has a place to come on holidays. We have room for big parties, such as milestone birthdays.
And in the past year, among other donations, we have donated to a building fund, repeatedly to a food bank, and to mission trips.
To whom much is given, much is expected. - Luke 12:48
Wyn, I don't mean to imply that everyone is and evil glutton.
ReplyDeleteJust an observation that, a generation ago, we somehow didn't need so much interior space. Kids still had a place to hang out. Friends still had a place to come to. Somehow, we did all that with smaller houses.
I would like to see smaller houses on the market.
You can justify your big house; anyone can. Still, you could get by with a lot less. Many do.
We are a wasteful culture. If thinking so makes me a socialist, so be it.
I believe in single provider health care, too.
While most people that live in the McMansions ALSO can afford help, thereby adding to the economy on one hand by having employees (my best friend works in construction cleanup biz, and also cleans the houses of the rich) I have seen the other side of the coin as well.
ReplyDeleteMy cousin had such a house in Silver Spring, MD, she lost her job which was 250k a year, and then her mind when she decided to be a stay at home mom to her one child who is in school still. The others are both in college.
Well without her job, they lost the house (not LOST exactly, but had to sell in THIS ecomomy, thereby they got lots and lots less than what they paid for it). Her husband is a basketball coach, so in an apartment they are now. Relocated to Annapolis which if you know anything about MD you would know is NOTHING like Silver Spring, and a LOT of damn money.
I fear the days of housing for an investment are gone. Housing prices were bound to level off one of these days, and these days have come.
My parents live in a big home, but there were a lot of us, and yeah, they wanted a bedroom for all of us plus a guestroom. They figured sooner or later everyone would be out of the house.
If they had sold just 5 years ago they would have easily gotten 1.5 mil for it. NOW? MAYBE 600k.
At least its paid for though. And yeah, heating it is a bitch in the winter. If my sister hadnt moved home they would like the years before she did, cut the heat off of all the rooms except the ones they use.
My point is that, while many of us like these huge houses, and think we need them, we really don't. We are conditioned by our "me" generation society to think of ourselves as failures if what we have is not bigger and better than what our parents have.
ReplyDeleteOur parents did not start out in such houses.
I live in a three bedroom, two bath tract house. I can easily get by with one less bedroom and bath. I would be scrambling to do so if this one weren't paid for. My living room is too big, and my sun room is used for storage.
I could have raised all three of my kids in a house like this. Unfortunately, I was so poor that this would have been a huge step up.
I also made a living cleaning such houses when my kids were small.
Ronni, I live on my own in Northern NJ.
ReplyDeleteMy apartment is the size of my bedroom in my parents house (my former bedroom I should say), and I pay more than $1,000 a month for it not including anything basically.
I have lived in this apt for 7 years, I am used to no space and nobody around. I also grew up in lots of it, but with LOTS of people around.
When you have a blended family, I think there is a need, especially in the beginning. Yeesh, how my sisters hated and resented my mother.
I think it would have come to blows if we werent able to go to our own places and cool down.
We got lucky, my brothers and sisters and I. When our parents got married they were able to buy a big house coming from the money of 2 small houses (though even in the small houses when I was bitty I still had my own) into one.
I'm with you on this one, Ronni. IMO, society has lost its community spirit.
ReplyDeleteStay at home mums..? Very, very fortunate. Not many of those around, today.
I grew up in nice neighbourhoods, in houses with a swimming pool. Things are very different for me today, through no fault of my own. I'm probably extremely jealous of women who have it easy, so my bad.
I still believe there are people who have to be seen as doing better than their parents, friends and siblings. Kind of like a mission.
If my ship ever came in, there are a few people I would like to help before I rushed out to buy a big house. That's just me, though.
This "have not" is sorry for offending the "haves".
Hey, Melissa, I like the sound of your little pad. I would love to be on my own to do as I please....absolute heaven!
Mgt, while I wouldn't offend my friends for the world, I would like to see everyone think about it long and hard before buying a huge house like this. Think, "Do I really need this?" and not just, "I can't find anything else, so I'll have to buy this," or, "Everyone I work with, everyone in Johnnie's scout troop has one, so Johnnie will feel deprived if I by a little house."
ReplyDeleteRonni, you know what is going on in my life. I don't know how many of your other friends have the same things going on in their life. I tried to more or less point out yesterday that not all books should be judged by their covers. I love you and respect your opinions, but am going to say some things only to make a point.
ReplyDeleteIt is judgmental to say that someone should think before they buy a big house. I can assure you, I have thought long and very hard on the subject.
On another post, 4 cars were brought up. I have one car in my family that belongs to us. Hubs has a company car. We got rid of his car when he got that to save money. Would we like to be able to toodle around the California hills in a Jeep or a convertible? You betcha. Do we? No. It was our choice to buy a bigger home.
Now, do we like to travel? You betcha. In fact, one day, I would love to own a motor home as my home. I would like to travel from state to state when hubby retires and just see wherever it would take us. Do people NEED a motor home? Nope. If they have saved up and own one, should I judge them for that? Nope.
Some of the things you talk about wasting are different strokes for different folks.
After the first comment, I kind of thought hmmm, I know she wouldn't say something like that to offend me. But then when the added, I don't care how many kids your 2 or 3 kids bring home...that kind of sounds like it is directed at me.
Does it really matter what anybody thinks about how many cars someone has or how many square feet their home is?
I think you know me well enough to know that I would give the shirt off my back to someone in need. I give money, but I also give time, which I think is even more valuable.
I guess the bottom line is, you wouldn't want someone telling you, hey, before you go traveling the countryside, think about the gas you're using, as much as I would want someone telling me I am wasting by buying a home. You have no idea how thankful I am that I am even able to have something to call my own.
I hope I don't come off here as being bitchy or saying that you shouldn't have cars or be out driving the countryside. You needed that, and I was happy you were able to do that. I can see you buzzing down the road with the wind blowing in your hair. I am sure it was therapeutic. Do I think you were wasting gas? No, I do not.
I hope that you are always able to see anything that I say to you, my friend, is to be a positive energy to you, not to ever be negative.
I haven't walked a mile in your shoes, do I think I should tell you how to run your life? Hell, no. Will I be here to hold your hand if you need me to? You betcha :)
Ooops. Forgot to address the keeping up with the Joneses and the boyscout thing. You know me via the internet. If you knew me IRL, you would know without a shadow of a doubt, I keep up with nobody. Most all of my furniture is second hand. My TVs, second hand. My clothes, off the clearance rack. Ebay and craigslist are my friends :) Could I afford new things? Probably. But I chince on some things to do others.
ReplyDeleteMost importantly ANY of my friends or family that would speak about me after I am dead will talk about what a generous person I am. I know this without a doubt.
Spring, I did not mean to sound bitchy about people inviting kids into their home. I am simply saying that you, being the generous soul you are, would be doing that no matter what size your house. Having more space just makes it more fun, is all.
ReplyDeleteI also was not implying that I thought you were a social climber, I know better. And, I know first hand how generous you are.
I also said, in a comment, that I have too large a house for my needs. I know, because there are two rooms just full of stuff. I hardly ever go into either one of them, unless I'm looking for something.
At the time Addy and Paul bought this house, it was too much house for them, too. But it was barely adequate for all their stuff. They were downsizing from the large Victorian house they had in Omaha.
I just want people to think abut their purchases. I know you did, as I've been following your house hunt avidly.
Somehow, I see your house as a sprawling, noisy, comfortable place, not a tidy showplace that is always held in readiness for the Queen to come to tea.
It's just that, as a society, we use much more than our share of the world's resources, and the only way to stop is to think long and hard before we buy anything; asking ourselves the question, "Do I really need this?" and answering it honestly.
It sounds to me that you and Wyn have both done that.
The Queen is only invited if she's hungry, needs a place to lay her head and doesn't mind a bazillion kids :)
ReplyDeleteAnd hopefully she doesn't mind a little dust and likes Mexican food. haha