Picking on Brits a Bit

[mawnansmiff]

I read a few pages from a diary of one of my many 'cousins' that settled in Utah back in the 1800's and there is mention of four brothers making adobe bricks to build their first house. I'm all for heritage and all that but I can only imagine what those early adobe houses looked like. I doubt if any remain standing now.

Jay.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

what those early adobe houses looked like.

Some have been around for several hundred years. And, they can look rather nice.

 

[sablebrush52]

So if your let's say grandfather left you the totally unique house that he built with his own blood, sweat and money, you wouldn't feel a certain amount of pride in living in it yourself, and with a view to passing it on to one of your offspring?

*Serious question.

Jay.

Americans generally don't build an attachment to the "family" home, because we're always moving somewhere else. The obvious exceptions are "old money" where the family fortune hasn't been squandered and the estate remains very much an active family center, and a few who are attached to their hometowns.

My grandfather had a large farm and orchard in Connecticut and a a beautiful old house filled with antiques, including an oil painting of Abraham Lincoln over the fireplace. At his suggestion, I picked out a couple of antiques to have shipped back and I still have them. After he died, everything went.

That land is now a handful of large estates.

 

[sablebrush52]

Some have been around for several hundred years. And, they can look rather nice.
View attachment 354676

This is not a several hundred year old adobe. It may not even be an actual adobe, by the looks of it, but the style is correct for a nice Santa Fé home.

 

[wyfbane]

I remember them going up. I had friends on a farm in Little Cornard. They swore they'd sell up and move when those horrible boxes started appearing over Prospect Hill. And they did. I don't care to go back that way again, and look. The old farmouse is now probably part of an extension to that housing estate. And that, dear Americans, is another stupid thing about this country that you missed so far - we build crappy little houses all over perfectly good, food-producing farmland.

You absolutely do not have a monopoly on squandering much of your best farmland via development...

 

[cosmicfolklore]

This is not a several hundred year old adobe. It may not even be an actual adobe, by the looks of it, but the style is correct for a nice Santa Fé home.

Oh, I know, but you can either have an ancient adobe, or a nice looking one... can't have both.

 

[wyfbane]

Ac

According to the Missouri DNR , there was a humongous one (and aftershocks) in the winter of 1811-1812 . Estimated mag 7.0 + .

Facts about the New Madrid Seismic Zone | Missouri Department of Natural Resources

While not as well known for earthquakes as California or Alaska, the New Madrid Seismic Zone (NMSZ), located in southeastern Missouri, northeastern Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Kentucky and southern Illinois, is the most active seismic area in the United States, east of the Rocky...

dnr.mo.gov

I live near Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee, which was formed by this particular seismic shift.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

One negative about American homes is that after 20 years, you have to start sinking a lot of money into them. The wood we use is soft and crappy, so it will start rotting ASAP. Roofs have to be replaced, ACHV has to be replaced, plus all sorts of other issues come up. I find nothing about owning an old house quaint or nostalgic. The warm and fuzzys leave, when the wallet starts getting propped open.

 

[wyfbane]

So if your let's say grandfather left you the totally unique house that he built with his own blood, sweat and money, you wouldn't feel a certain amount of pride in living in it yourself, and with a view to passing it on to one of your offspring?

*Serious question.

Jay.

My uncle lives in the house my grandfather built, just across the road from the Spokane River in Washington State. It is a good thing.

 

[warren]

They should have never built where they did in Anchorage and I've read that they've re-built there again..

But, the land was collapsed and is much safer. It's really no different than building on the Mississippi flood plain, in hurricane zones, wildfire areas, etc. Buildings are now built to higher standards and certain areas are restricted as to size or use.

Earthquakes! Just another of life's vicissitudes one must cope with. I was there, remember it like it was yesterday, helped neighbors retrieve stuff from homes which were destroyed. My family took in some friends until other housing became available. It was a grand learning experience for a high school junior with regard to how to handle adversity ... Just get on with it, rebuild better and move on.

 

[MisterBadger]

I live in a cottage that was built around 1850, originally a humble two-up-two-down affair, now extended into 10 rooms by successive occupants. it now sits on 3 different levels, part of it has been knocked down and rebuilt from the original materials, the front porch is now the back porch, and vice versa. When we moved in 6 years ago we extended the room that the old front porch had become. Each set of occupants has subtly altered the house and you can read its history like a book. I'm currently looking at the census records from 1851 to 1921 and am learning a lot about our predecessors (I am not sure one or two of them aren't still here, in fact).

For many of my fellow Brits, the thought of that gives them the creeps and, like your average American, they seem to want a blank slate of a new house that is all them, and no one else. Well, each to their own.

At the other extreme, Mrs B and I work for a family that runs a farm on an estate which that same family has farmed since about 1260. The present manor house is only around 460 years old but it's huge and costs them a fortune to heat, so they live on a much smaller farmhouse on the estate and rent out the manor house to wealthy tourists. The farm buildings are mostly so old they can (and do) run the place as both a working farm and a museum. Now I love the old place and so does Mrs B - but we can always walk away from it any time we like - but they can't. They are held in place by centuries of tradition and hereditary responsibility and frankly, despite their social status they are asset-rich but cash-poor, and are more bound to where they are as any medieval villein. I wouldn't want to be them: but folk like that are not uncommon in Britain.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Honestly, since the 20's, I don't think that there is much in the way of architecture that should remain. Most 40's to 60's architecture is just dated looking. Mothing looks classical, or as if it was meant to last. But, that is ok. Mow it down, and build for the new generation. In America, we don't give a shit about the past. Hell, American History even changes every decade or so, depending on which of the morons the masses of idiots elect.

 

[FLDRD]

But, the land was collapsed and is much safer. It's really no different than building on the Mississippi flood plain, in hurricane zones, wildfire areas, etc. Buildings are now built to higher standards and certain areas are restricted as to size or use.

Earthquakes! Just another of life's vicissitudes one must cope with. I was there, remember it like it was yesterday, helped neighbors retrieve stuff from homes which were destroyed. My family took in some friends until other housing became available. It was a grand learning experience for a high school junior with regard to how to handle adversity ... Just get on with it, rebuild better and move on.

Isn't that whole area still prone to shifting / sliding, based on the makeup of the soil in the area? I thought it was essentially prone to sliding because of that and that the "next big one" would repeat what happened before because people rebuilt in the same area?

 

[warren]

The land varies. Some is atop clay which turns to "jelly" in a quake. A good deal is on "bedrock", stable, solid. I live on the side of a mountain, solid rock. But, when the tectonic plates shift, nothing may be stable. One can't live one's life in fear of a hurricane, tornado or earthquake. What's the old song? "Que sera, sera"? Can't live one's life in fear, just get on with the living and face whatever nature throws at you as it comes.

 

[dd57chevy]

I feel like there was a desired shift around the 08-09 mess that lasted a little while, then the size thing started creeping back up before totally blowing up after 2020. Now everyone needs their own bedrooms, everyone needs their offices, etc., etc.

Everyone around me keeps adding additions or knocking down to build 2-3x the house that was there while I sit in my sub-1000 square foot home feeling like it's kind of spacious.

Average Wedding Cost: How Much Should You Budget For Your Big Day?

Getting married is exciting, but it’s getting costlier. The average cost of a wedding in the United States rose about 14% in 2024 from 2023, according to a study from Zola, an online wedding registry and planner. Although weddings can get expensive for many reasons, there are ways to save money w

www.forbes.com

Wouldn't want any smaller yards though. Don't need to start over crowding out here. it's busy enough.

Ok , I love my country & as a believer I try to love my fellow man . But as a whole , we are a self-indulgent , self-centered people who must have the nicest things even if it means going into debt ! These young couples live in what 50-60 years ago would be considered palaces !
It's not just houses . The average couple spends $33,000 for their wedding !

Average Wedding Cost: How Much Should You Budget For Your Big Day?

Getting married is exciting, but it’s getting costlier. The average cost of a wedding in the United States rose about 14% in 2024 from 2023, according to a study from Zola, an online wedding registry and planner. Although weddings can get expensive for many reasons, there are ways to save money w

www.forbes.com

My Mom & Dad had a church wedding , have 2 wedding pics (which I think her Dad took) .
Dad wore a suit & Mom wore a nice dress .

PS: I have you beat , fireground_piper . I live in a 500 sq ft house & am thankful & content .
(Being debt free is a great feeling)

 

[warren]

$33,000.00 for a wedding doesn't seem unreasonable and is certainly as great thing for the caterer, dress makers, tux renters and so forth. People spending moneys, even recklessly, is good for the rest of us. Keeping track of the moneys others spend, excepting government of course, seems like a waste of my time.

I will also proclaim that I am dept free, should some of you care and ... are keeping score.

 

[mawnansmiff]

$33,000.00 for a wedding doesn't seem unreasonable

It does when you take into account the divorce rate.

8.3 million divorces in the US since year 2000. Apparently there are roughly 230 marriages every hour in the US and 86 divorces. That's a lot of $ wasted on wedding ceremonies then you take into account the costs of the divorce.

Jay.

 

[MisterBadger]

$33,000.00 for a wedding doesn't seem unreasonable

- I think that would depend on a) how many daughters one has, and b) whether they make a habit of getting wed

 

[cosmicfolklore]

My stepson just got married. I had offered each kid $30,000 to make it to 30 without getting pregnant (or someone pregnant) or married. He is 32, but they opted for a small private ceremony in NC, and then had an elopement party.
He rented a large brewery, (its a classy place, just happens to make beer) and a band for way less than if they had called it a wedding party. Just calling it a wedding increased costs to everyone by 3xs as much. And, he gets more bang for his buck. And, now he has a nice down payment on a new house.

He’ll probably knock an older paper house down and build. Ha ha.

Edit: I had much rather make this deal than buy any of them a car when they turned 16. To me buying a kid a car is insane.

 

[warren]

That's a lot of $ wasted on wedding ceremonies then you take into account the costs of the divorce.

It is most certainly not "wasted" moneys. First, those dollars are pushed out into the local economy, to the benefit of many. Secondly, I'd bet most of those newly weds did not wed while entertaining the idea of divorce in the future. Now, the "social costs" of divorce are certainly concerning but, you didn't raise that aspect.

The $30 grand number is a considerable fir some for some. For many others? Eh! That's not even "pocket change".