My town is nicer than I thought!
By Christa TerryI live in one of those towns whose name inspires images of grand well-established homes to form in people’s minds. The fun part is that some people will automatically assume I live in some sort of high class manse when the truth of the matter is that I live in a home more akin to a cottage. Looking a the homes for sale in my area is odd because I think of my town is being squarely suburban when I am indirectly surrounded by richie riches. Hey, at least the schools are good!
So just for fun, I thought I’d post some pics taken from the real estate listings of homes currently for sale in my area. If there’s the same sort of economic divide where you live, give us a link to some of the more beautiful houses on the market.
This home costs $3,150,000, which means it’s ten times more expensive than my little abode!
The room you see before you is part of a house that’s even pricier at $4,600,000.
$4,950,000 will buy you one heck of a view, apparently.
I’d planned to post more snapshots of opulence –being that there are plenty to be found — but WordPress is apparently having some kind of uploading hiccup. So for now, all I have to do is sit and wait for all that prosperity to trickle down to my side of town, right? They do say a home is an investment!
January 30th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
What a verdant yard that is, overlooking the lake. The upkeep would be difficult, but on a warm summer’s afternoon it must be an intensely pleasant place to frolic.
January 31st, 2008 at 12:10 am
This is an interesting post. My mother grew up in Marin County, CA, just across the bay from San Francisco. My grandmother still lives in what is best described as a cottage in a very bohemian area. I never thought much of visiting my relatives or thought they lived in a particularly ritzy area while I was growing up, it just seemed very homey and normal.
Now, of course, my grandmother’s cottage is probably worth a million dollars and there are very few families in her neighborhood because only very wealthy people can live there. As a long time Marin resident, she is dismayed by the change because she feels like it has led to a much less friendly (particularly to young families) community. It’s a shame.
January 31st, 2008 at 6:52 am
I want the room with the grand piano and library. Really, I could live in just that one room. Especially if it also has a fireplace…..sheer Heaven!
January 31st, 2008 at 7:59 am
Ooh, that’s something I never thought of, Eilish. I do like living among families — my block is crawling with kids of all ages, and I like the artsy stuff — my town is home to an arts college. I wonder how the prosperity really spreading would change those things…
January 31st, 2008 at 9:14 am
Never teh – I once did a trip to San Jose, CA and wandered into a Japanese store in their version of “Japan Town” and talked to the owner, who’d lived in San Jose since just after WWII. She told me that up until Silicon Valley took off, San Jose was a sleepy little pretty college town (San Jose State), with lost of off beat housing for students and young marrieds. After Silicon Valley — people were renting out their livingrooms to students who were sleeping on the floors. So, treasure your place while you have it!
February 7th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
There was that song …
Do you know the way to San Jose?
…
I’m going back to find …
some peace of mind in San Jose
….
you can really breathe in San Jose
they have a lot of space …
there will be a place I can stay
….
The cheapest house in San Jose is $315,000. Median price’s $600,000+. And then if you want to find some space, how about six acres?
http://www.realtor.com/realestate/san+jose-ca-95148-1089423428/
Pretty darn cool. But not exactly affordable housing, no?
The amount of peace of mind you would find in that tech mecca is best left to the imagination.
Whenever I hear that song I am profoundly amused by how much things change.
D
February 7th, 2008 at 11:04 pm
This reminds me of the Watts Towers – the same wild eccentricity and creativity with materials considered worthless by the average person.
I took these pictures in 1999 when I lived in Los Angeles:
http://cgi.amazing.com/david/portfolio/watts-towers/
I took them with a Canon XL1 digital video camera – state of the art at the time but sadly lacking today. But I still think the pictures give you a pretty good idea of what they were like when I saw them.
Of course that house that was $1.5 million in Newport Beach is today over $3.5 million. Darned real estate prices.
D