175 sq ft home

[Jules]

I saw 120 acres for $89k up here yesterday, with a 3-bedroom place on it (but I suspect it was a place that'd need to be torn down :-) I think half of it was woodland, half farmland.

[Tony]

Half woodland sounds interesting, where is it located?

[Jim Elbrecht]

Just to play a little devil's advocate here--- could the folks who want to live in Manhattan still walk to work, where they are paid top dollar in their fields, and after work stop into an endless supply & variety of eateries. . . then catch a Broadway show before walking back home. Remember these folks neither drive, or cook.

I can only take 2-3 days in a row in any city- but I understand the draw for some folks. Those that would pay anything to live in Manhattan would not be happy in the boonies at any price. [unless it is just to spend their 2-3 days & return home]

Jim

[Jules]

Hmm, Bagley area (MN) from memory - paper it's in went in the recycling heap earlier unfortunately. It's all trees and lakes and fields up this way :-)

cheers

Jules

[Tony]

I'd love the trees and lakes and fields but not the cold winter!

[h]

These people remind me of a couple in CA who had a mudslide destroy their home years ago. The guy looked dejected, but the woman had this manic smile on her face while she shoveled broken glass and 3 feet of mud out of her living room. She turned to the camera and said, "Well, I'd MUCH rather be shoveling broken glass than snow!" Umm, okaaaay, she'd rather shovel glass and mud out of her HOUSE than shovel snow on the SIDEWALK? Really? I got the same vibe from the 175sq ft hamster cage couple. Weird, creepy, and out of touch with normal.

[Existential Angst]

There's a great quote around: The problem with people is that they will get used to anything.

I might add, Or rationalize anything.

And, it's not so much that these two hamsters opt for a certain kind of wheel-spinning lifestyle. What gets me more is that they willingly allow some real estate predator to gouge them for the privilege of living in a rat cage. Along with lost general sensibilities, we seem to have lost any sense of justice or of "what is correct".

The whole country rationalizes economic rape. It's just recently, when the rape occurs with a fishhook, that we start to complain.

[Jules]

Hey, it's -11 out at the moment - that's just a nice cool breeze ;)

[Andy]

Andy comments:

Well stated !!! I live in a rural, wilderness area in Texas on a big lake, and we have people who occasionally move into the area from towns like Dallas or Houston ( not manhattan by a long shot) and the first thing they want to do is have all the deer shot, cut down all the trees, and put in golf courses....... They usually aren't happy here when they find they are up against a county government full of "good ole boys" who like things just like they are. To me, it's a retirement paradise --- to them, well, they should live in a condominium somewhere within a couple miles of decent shopping.....

I suggest that anyone thinking about such a change go to the area and rent a house for a year first. They may save themselves a lot of time and money.

It takes a LOT of money to be able to be comfortable in a "dirt poor" lifestyle .... :>))))

Andy in Eureka, Texas

[h]

That's definitely true. When my parents retired they moved from NY to NC and they rented a house for the first year, just to make sure they liked it there. They picked a development which was still being expanded and once the year was up they liked it so much they built a house on one of the last (and most remote) lots.