JinJer 28: Guns & Roses

[MadeItOut]

6 hours ago, marmalade said:

No, there's a mortgage. I've seen the paperwork. 

Both were on full scholarships/grants. 

I love that they have a home and that things are changing, but as a moderately successful actor & techie who was turned down for a mortgage because "your 'profession' is a massive red flag since it's so insecure", a little part of me is headed to the prayer closest to scream for just a moment.

[seraaa]

7 hours ago, PreciousPantsofDoom said:

Now, it's a nice area, but it used to be the sort of place where a moderately succesful doctor or a lawyer might buy a home. These days only the Uber rich need apply.

And if that doesn't just encapsulate the problem. It's like there's this transitive shift - previously working class areas are gentrified, displacing the people who formerly could afford to live there, but that shift is driven in turn by people like your described young professionals who can't afford the homes they might've bought in past decades. 

Something's got to give, before everywhere turns into San Francisco - where low wage service industry jobs (and other jobs, too) are readily available, but businesses have to compete over a shrinking labour pool because the people who have those jobs on their radar can't afford to live anywhere near where they are located.

Either they fix it, or we'll all be paying rent to facebook and the like   

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/09/facebook-addresses-silicon-valleys-affordable-housing-crisis

[SapphireSlytherin]

4 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

And this kitchen would be considered decades outdated here in the Netherlands and would be replaced immediately by anyone, but I guess that is also because of the local taste.

Looks outdated to me, and I'm American.

What's amazing to me is how different "standard" things are, in different countries. German toilets, English kitchen sinks, Czech toilets, Chinese toilets... all "different" and "odd" to me; just as American fixtures are "odd" to my European/Asian friends. 

[CarrotCake]

10 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Looks outdated to me, and I'm American.

What's amazing to me is how different "standard" things are, in different countries. German toilets, English kitchen sinks, Czech toilets, Chinese toilets... all "different" and "odd" to me; just as American fixtures are "odd" to my European/Asian friends. 

I know!

I was in the states last year and I was avoiding to poop in public toilets because the walls and doors between stalls don't go all the way to the ceiling and floor. I tried at some point, but my body just couldn't do it because I was afraid of sounds and smells.

This is totally not practical when you are on campgrounds  I had to wait till there was no-one else brushing their teeth or whatever before I could go. 

[backyard sylph]

Maybe better ventilation here, though.

Jinjer's neighbor's kitchen is definitely "outdated" by any standard. It's more a question of whether you might like that style anyway, or not want to put the reno money there instead of somewhere else in the house.

[Kangaroo]

39 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Looks outdated to me, and I'm American.

What's amazing to me is how different "standard" things are, in different countries. German toilets, English kitchen sinks, Czech toilets, Chinese toilets... all "different" and "odd" to me; just as American fixtures are "odd" to my European/Asian friends. 

American homes always look really funny to me, especially kitchen cabinets anf the Outside/style of the building. I find them both very distinct form what we have here. 

I'm sure many Americans would visit Australia. I've always wanted to live in a Queenslander or Federation style home with a big verandah and garden. Sadly where I live it's all rendered grey brick modern cookie cutter. They lack soul!

American homes often look more charming to me. I'm sure you've got your souless bests like we do though!

 

 

[CarrotCake]

I feel like American houses always look more classic and 'country'-style to me.

Here in Northern/Western Europe the interiors are way more modern and contemporary. Since I am totally into modern interiors, I seem to always dislike any American kitchen I see on the American home-improvement shows.

[merg429]

12 hours ago, VelociRapture said:

I don't hate any specific area of the country. New England is my home though. Always has been and I hope it always will be.

 

I agree with everything you said, but especially that first line. I can't ever imagine leaving New England for many reasons. 

ETA:  @CarrotCake - I am a fan of very traditional kitchens, I have a close friend who is a German kitchen designer though and there is a big uptick of the very clean modern lines of Northern Europe here in Boston!

[HereticHick]

9 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

THIS! What the coasters don't understand is that we have everything they have, only we have it with our cheap mortgages and sprawling back yards.  

One of the things I treasure is the racial, religious and ethnic diversity of my urban community. Another thing I treasure is the progressive politics. 

No offense, but not every place in America has that. Full stop.

I wasn't aware of the term "coaster." Is it intended to be derogatory?

[backyard sylph]

1 minute ago, HereticHick said:

One of the things I treasure is the racial, religious and ethnic diversity of my urban community. Another thing I treasure is the progressive politics. 

No offense, but not every place in America has that. Full stop.

I wasn't aware of the term "coaster." Is it intended to be derogatory?

I'd say it's merely descriptive.

Here in Ohio, there's a wide disconnect between rural and urban/suburban areas in terms of some social philosophy. Here in Cincinnati, corporations are helping to drive social change because they want young people to come here to work. It's only partly selfish; there's also a degree of education which goes into driving these changes. Anyway, you will find liberal employment policies in most of the large companies, and also set by the city committees, and you will find fewer of them implemented state-wide, but that is also changing swiftly, despite the current federal situation. I like seeing the change that has been happening around me over the past six years, and am glad to be a witness to it, and a participant, as well, when I can. Things aren't static, and you can't win it unless you're in it.

[louisa05]

20 minutes ago, backyard sylph said:

I'd say it's merely descriptive.

Here in Ohio, there's a wide disconnect between rural and urban/suburban areas in terms of some social philosophy. Here in Cincinnati, corporations are helping to drive social change because they want young people to come here to work. It's only partly selfish; there's also a degree of education which goes into driving these changes. Anyway, you will find liberal employment policies in most of the large companies, and also set by the city committees, and you will find fewer of them implemented state-wide, but that is also changing swiftly, despite the current federal situation. I like seeing the change that has been happening around me over the past six years, and am glad to be a witness to it, and a participant, as well, when I can. Things aren't static, and you can't win it unless you're in it.

My husband worked for a large corporation with headquarters in Cincinnati. Any liberal policies they have in corporate HQ (and they indeed have many) do not trickle down to their facilities elsewhere in the U.S. and the world. Not even close. The double standard is ridiculous. People will even tell you it must be great to work for them. And it must be. If you are in Cincinnati. Otherwise, pure hell. 

@HereticHick The nearest metropolitan area to me has created the first cooperative multi-faith religious campus in the U.S. The initiative that worked on this campus has been in existence for a decade providing education in religious diversity and tolerance to places of worship, teachers, schools and others in our region. But clearly we have no diversity. 

Links: https://trifaith.org/ 

http://www.omaha.com/opinion/editorial-omaha-s-tri-faith-initiative-shows-our-spirit-of/article_6b24c1c7-6949-563d-8d73-1a7b9736c63e.html

[backyard sylph]

I do not know of your husband's company in particular, @louisa05 but will still retain optimism about the larger life picture, and how it is improving, though sometimes it feels achingly slow. The context of having watched relatively rapid progress here since I moved six years ago from the east coast (and other points; I've lived in several regions,) allows me hope that there is more to come.

[louisa05]

Just now, backyard sylph said:

I do not know of your husband's company in particular, @louisa05 but will still retain optimism about the larger life picture, and how it is improving, though sometimes it feels achingly slow. The context of having watched relatively rapid progress here since I moved six years ago from the east coast (and other points; I've lived in several regions,) allows me hope that there is more to come.

Well, you do know it if you live in Cincinnati. But I didn't say which one. Because when he left with a severance package he signed an agreement not to talk about them. 

[karen77]

6 hours ago, CarrotCake said:

Apparently it is Jinger's neighbours' kitchen, since I made a small mistake in googling 

And this kitchen would be considered decades outdated here in the Netherlands and would be replaced immediately by anyone, but I guess that is also because of the local taste.

I"m not a fan of it either and would want to gut it, or at least give it a major face lift.

[kacarlton]

A friend of mine was a dancer at the Festhaus. I have 2 friends who STILL work there every year for Howl O' Scream. I did one summer, that was more than enough. 
I graduated from Peninsula Catholic when it was still downtown on 34th St. Went to Thomas Nelson too (Harvard by the highway). Did about 12 years at Newport News Shipbuilding. 

My best friend's father worked at the shipyard! I had moved away several years before college, but attended public schools in NN - Saunders and Booker T. Washington. I went by both when I drove through last year and was pleasantly surprised at the apparent restoration of Booker T.

[singsingsing]

Huh, I really like that kitchen. It looks cute and pleasant. I'd keep it.

[PreciousPantsofDoom]

3 hours ago, seraaa said:

Something's got to give, before everywhere turns into San Francisco - where low wage service industry jobs (and other jobs, too) are readily available, but businesses have to compete over a shrinking labour pool because the people who have those jobs on their radar can't afford to live anywhere near where they are located.

It's already a problem in my City.  It's one of the reasons the Macdonald s nearest us changed to an ordering system where you order off a touch screen before picking up at the counter.  This has cut down significantly on the number of counter staff they need to recruit. It saves the company money too, but it means that those entry level jobs are gone. 

Every single member of the staff at the coffee shop we go to has a second or 3rd job in addition.  All use transit to get to work from where they live waaay out in the burbs. Retail and restaurants around here are often permanently looking for staff because it's so hard to find people.

Its a real problem. If you can afford to live here, you are not looking for a minimum wage job.  If you are looking for a minimum wage job, you can't afford to live here.  It will lead to a very heterogenous city of priveliged rich people. All of whom need to be thanking god for the new immigrants right now, because they are currently the ones who are most willing to work the 2-3 minimum wage jobs that it takes to get by here.  

[KelseyAnn]

Am I the only one uncomfortable with people using the word "ghetto" to describe an area? Because to me that insinuates an area is undesirable because it has a large African-American population. 

[Four is Enough]

On the other end of the "bought a house in the city/burbs".... Baltimore suburbs here. Same "advantages" as others have said: close to a great airport, museums, sports teams..... BUT the traffic has increased in both volume and speed every year for the last 30 years, AND our neighborhood, which was a "good one", "close to good schools" is beginning its downward slide. We hear police, fire trucks, EMS, helicopters.... DAILY. More break ins. More vandalism. 

 

I very much want to retire back to my much smaller hometown in western Maryland... and Mr. Four is having a fit. He was Baltimore born and raised. It's causing issues right now.

[CarrotCake]

7 minutes ago, KelseyAnn said:

Am I the only one uncomfortable with people using the word "ghetto" to describe an area? Because to me that insinuates an area is undesirable because it has a large African-American population. 

Originally it would be an area with a lot of Jews.

[KelseyAnn]

2 minutes ago, CarrotCake said:

Originally it would be an area with a lot of Jews.

I know. But to me, at least where I came from, the word ghetto is only used to describe an area 'ruined by an influx of non-white people." 

But, again, I came from a really racist small town in the Midwest. 

[2manyKidzzz]

Well, unless JinJer have extra money to burn, the kitchen would do well. They just bought a house. Or the Duggar Family Construction group could work on it. 

But everyone does not need a totally marvelous kitchen. This kitchen is good.

[Zola]

30 minutes ago, Four is Enough said:

On the other end of the "bought a house in the city/burbs".... Baltimore suburbs here. Same "advantages" as others have said: close to a great airport, museums, sports teams..... BUT the traffic has increased in both volume and speed every year for the last 30 years, AND our neighborhood, which was a "good one", "close to good schools" is beginning its downward slide. We hear police, fire trucks, EMS, helicopters.... DAILY. More break ins. More vandalism. 

 

I very much want to retire back to my much smaller hometown in western Maryland... and Mr. Four is having a fit. He was Baltimore born and raised. It's causing issues right now.

Please consider Frederick County, if you haven't already. You'll be within an hour of both Baltimore and DC, and the small town appeal abounds. Real estate is reasonable and fairly plentiful. You can find a nice place in town in Frederick, which has been becoming a more awesome city year by year, or in one of the many quaint and charming towns around it, or a sweet little farm set-up in the more rural spots.  You could live in the mountains or down by the river (hopefully not in a van) and anywhere in between.

I grew up in Nebraska and Wisconsin, loved it there, but I love Maryland so much more. Mountains, farmland, big cities, and ocean, all in one little state. My idea of paradise.

[feministxtian]

37 minutes ago, KelseyAnn said:

Am I the only one uncomfortable with people using the word "ghetto" to describe an area? Because to me that insinuates an area is undesirable because it has a large African-American population. 

I will call it out as a neighborhood that is predominantly African American. In describing my hometown, some of the policies instituted by the city and state have led to parts of the city looking like bombed out relics. I can describe neighborhood after neighborhood after apartment complex that were nice and safe 20 years ago, that being there after dark there (and maybe even during the day) is literally taking your life in your hands. I worked pizza delivery then and there were areas that were "no go after dark" and "no delivery ever". The townhouse complex I lived in 25 years ago is now probably one of the WORST neighborhoods in the city. The townhouses were bought up by investors who happily took the big breaks offered if they accepted HUD vouchers. And...well...there went the neighborhood. 

Even here in "sin city" there's a distinct difference in apartment complexes that accept HUD vouchers and those that don't. Where we used to live accepted vouchers...was known as one of the worst areas in the city (per an NLV police officer). Where we live now, the rent is considerably less, as in our 3 bedroom apartment is about 50 dollars less a month than the 1 bedroom we had with the HUD voucher...yet the neighborhood is cleaner and safer. 

I'm sorry it makes you uncomfortable...however, it is what it is. Cities I've lived in available in PM if anyone is interested. 

[AlternativeVoice]

39 minutes ago, Four is Enough said:

On the other end of the "bought a house in the city/burbs".... Baltimore suburbs here. Same "advantages" as others have said: close to a great airport, museums, sports teams..... BUT the traffic has increased in both volume and speed every year for the last 30 years, AND our neighborhood, which was a "good one", "close to good schools" is beginning its downward slide. We hear police, fire trucks, EMS, helicopters.... DAILY. More break ins. More vandalism. 

 

I very much want to retire back to my much smaller hometown in western Maryland... and Mr. Four is having a fit. He was Baltimore born and raised. It's causing issues right now.

We live in Waldorf. Moved from Greenbelt. I loved Greenbelt and would move back there in a heartbeat but Waldorf has an easy southern feel to me that I adore. It can still get pretty busy some afternoons but it has a lazy feel to the air that draws you in.