Joy and Austin 18: 234 Days Since the Wedding and Counting

[Shadoewolf]

Being married to a chef, of course the kitchen is the be-all end-all of decision making when we start looking to buy a house next year. Has to have enough cabinets and counter space for prep. Honestly the house we have now I would consider buying, but not for anything higher than what the landlord paid at $60K then dump that same amount into it. It needs a LOT of work. New windows, fix the fireplace, full renovation of the upstairs bathroom and the kitchen counters, convert the carpet downstairs to hardwood floors, level and re-sod the backyard, add privacy fence to the one side that doesn't have it, paint,  new appliances. And that's just to start. But I imagine we'll find something within our price range at $149,900 that won't need quite so much effort. 

[Meggo]

22 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

Well many Americans require an insane amount of space, we are very much a go big or go bigger society.  I get a chuckle out of watching House Hunters International and watching Americans in Europe with their little budgets looking to get 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms when the realtor is very professional and says yeah, not gonna happen. 

I like the "we really want to live in a traditional English home, right in the city center, close to shops etc. But we'd like a master bath with a walk in closet, we'd like a HUGE eat-in kitchen, a lovely backyard, a place to park our car, a place for our 150 lb dog to romp and frolic" (Just joking - I've never seen a 150 lb dog frolic)

And then they complain about everything - the budget, the noise (being in the heart of it all), low ceilings, no closets, weird heating system, no cooling system, the stairs that look "unsafe" - ugh.

[Bushes of Love]

32 minutes ago, Meggo said:

I like the "we really want to live in a traditional English home, right in the city center, close to shops etc. But we'd like a master bath with a walk in closet, we'd like a HUGE eat-in kitchen, a lovely backyard, a place to park our car, a place for our 150 lb dog to romp and frolic" (Just joking - I've never seen a 150 lb dog frolic)

And then they complain about everything - the budget, the noise (being in the heart of it all), low ceilings, no closets, weird heating system, no cooling system, the stairs that look "unsafe" - ugh.

I'm finding the bathroom requirements hilarious. If they are looking at Victorian terraces they were most likely not built with a bathroom at all. Even my Dad, who was born in 1944, remembers the house he lived in until the age of 18 had no bathroom - the bath was a tin tub that had to be filled with kettles and buckets and the toilet was in an outbuilding at the end of the yard. Apparently, it didn't even have electric until 1960. When these 2 up 2 down houses were first built they housed 2 parents and maybe 7/8/9 kids, some even had 1 family to each room.

So when 2 people look at them and call them small I'm like 'bish, please'.

Sorry for keeping talking about this. I'm a social history nerd.

[SapphireSlytherin]

Please know that not all Americans are this way. We're just as flabbergasted as you are when we see/hear the way they act. This is why we're known as "ugly Americans" everywhere.

I'm looking forward to my tiny (by American standards) but perfectly practical >1,000sf terraced house in the UK, with its non-mixer taps, airing cupboard, no air conditioning, and non-open-floor-plan. Cannot WAIT to retire and move there.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

33 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Please know that not all Americans are this way. We're just as flabbergasted as you are when we see/hear the way they act. This is why we're known as "ugly Americans" everywhere.

I'm looking forward to my tiny (by American standards) but perfectly practical >1,000sf terraced house in the UK, with its non-mixer taps, airing cupboard, no air conditioning, and non-open-floor-plan. Cannot WAIT to retire and move there.

Oh yes, dh & I are the same We are planning our last home here, and for just the 2 of us we'd like a small 2 bedroom 2 bathroom (hubbys a plumber we can do that easy) home with kitchen that has enough counter space for me to cook on, and a craft room/area for me. The only other MUST HAVES for me are a wood burning fireplace and enough yard space for a garden, we want a ranch, or story & 1/2 and preferably less than 1000sq feet.  I want something small I can maintain on my own, seeing as I'm almost 10 years younger than DH odds are I'll be on my own for a while and I don't want a huge yard and house to maintain.

[Meggo]

56 minutes ago, SapphireSlytherin said:

Please know that not all Americans are this way. We're just as flabbergasted as you are when we see/hear the way they act. This is why we're known as "ugly Americans" everywhere.

As an American - I know. I still find it hysterical (and embarrassing).

Some of the houses they show - that are in the city center etc - I'd KILL to live in!! (but I remember one 300 year old farm "house" in France that basically had straw and bats living on what would be a "second" floor but calling it a house was a stretch. I'd likely skip that one...)

[Coconut Flan]

Carry on here: