Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

American Dream: House and Home

I know many of us have an idea of what the ideal home is, but we are oftentimes constrained by a number of things. Money is usually the biggest concern, but access to good schools, transportation, proximity to jobs and like-minded people are all deciding factors.

So, I wanted to pose to you this question: If you could remove all of the above variables, in other words, they would be the same no matter the choice, in what kind of home and place would you like to live?

Assume that you would have to pay nothing to buy and maintain these places. Also, assume that you aren't choosing any of them for financial gain. Just, plainly, where would you like to live? Any particular reason why? I've made the poll multiple choice in case you are torn between a few and can't decide.

Where would you like to live?

29 comments:

Unknown said...

I want a condo in the city with a view of water of some sort. I have an amazing view of Lake Union right now from my apartment on Westlake, it will be hard to give it up when I buy a place. Unfortunately a condo can make it harder to do some systems like large greywater, hand laundry to dry outside, or grow food.

My ideal condo though would have no yard- I hate yard work, and can't grow next to anything even when I try. Plenty of storage space for outdoor gear and bikes, but the overall size of the apartment need not be big.

I prefer the city to a rural or suburban area- I need to be able to walk almost everywhere I need to go in the average day.

Robj98168 said...

I voted for a beachfront house- of oourse with a hot tub, pool and lots of raised garden beds. Hot tub would be soalr powered and pool wold be for water storage as welll as swimming, with a natural filtration system and Infra red light sanitizer(?) so the pool could be used for drinking waer in an emergency.

Eco Yogini said...

Our dream is to build as sustainably as possible, right on the ocean.
If there were NO obstacles, I would have a garden (BIG one), cut down zero trees to build, build from reclaimed sustainable materials, have geothermal heating and solar panels, oh gosh... the list could go ON. rain barrels, grey water systems, rooftop garden, part of the home built into the earth, flash water heating system, composting toilets, surrounded by nature with a few neighbours near by... but not TOO far from the city or good schools.

I've been limiting what I think about... as realistically it won't happen... Right now we live in an apartment in the city... and home is where we are together, as corny as that sounds.

Stone Fence Farm said...

I vote farmhouse, however, I would want way more acreage.

Adrienne said...

I voted beachfront house 'cause I love, love, love the ocean (and I live in Kansas, hello). The thought of living right on the ocean makes me a little worried about bad weather, tho.
Semi-realistically, what I'd like is a house with a large enough lot to have a big garden, in a city with decent public transport/ walkable/ etc., and the city would be close enough to the coast that I could get to there a few times a year instead of being stuck here in the middle.

The Mom said...

I voted farmhouse, but I would like it to be off grid as well. I would love to have a bigger garden, orchard and more chickens and other animals. It will never happen, but I can dream.

Unknown said...

I would want a small house in the non-evil suburbs (the kind that used to be towns in their own right until some metropolitan area ate them) with a large lot. I need a bit more space than in the actual city, but with everything I need frequently in walking distance. A cohousing community of some kind would be ideal, with shared studio and gathering space, and small individual dwelling places.

Jennifer said...

My dream house didn't exist on your poll...

...either a 100+ year old farmhouse on 1 or 2 acres

OR a 100+ year old house on a decent sized city lot walking distance to downtown and grocery store.

I have the latter already... :) I'd just prefer it to be in the town that is walking distance from my WORK as well!

Katy said...

I was torn between "off the grid cabin" and "apartment in Manhatten". It wouldn't have to be large, I could do with a studio sized one.

I love the quite of the country, but I also love being in the city. So there you go.

Really, no matter where you put it, I don't dream of having a large space. Right now I have a two bed one bath that I share with my daughter and it fits us just fine. I live on the out scurts of a city naghborhood that is filled with old mansions and I often wonder how odd it must feel to be lost in all that space.

Kay's Spot said...

You *had* to throw in beach front house; I was all set w/the farm house (although I'd like more acreage than just 10, because really that is not much at all) for my organic/sustainable farm. Then I thought of an awesome house off Lake Michigan. Sigh .... I couldn't farm though, so maybe (since were fanticizing) I'd have two houses. Both with few neighbors, of course!

juniperbug said...

Dream house not listed. I want a historical home full of character in a small city (like Ann Arbor) or in the suburbs. Medium sized yard.

dee dee said...

If you had asked me this question a few years ago, I would have said farmhouse on 10 acres. But I'm in the my late 50s and the just the idea of maintaining that kind of property is exhausting. I would want to live in a house in the city with a biggish lot so that I could grow some veggies and fruits, but have the advantage of public transportation and lots of cultural activities.

Segwyne said...

I am a New Englander. I can't imagine life without beach and woods. Of course, we would need space for our livestock, so I was thinking a farmhouse with 10 acres situated between the beachfront and the forest with a freshwater river or stream nearby. It would be off grid, of course.

The home would be large enough to accommodate our family of 7, but small enough to maintain easily. There would be room to build extra houses as needed when the children grow up and start families of their own.

I know, probably too much to ask for.

Green Bean said...

Farm house for me too! If only schools, money and proximity to family weren't an issue.

Spice said...

Nice house picture on your post Crunch!

Just guess what I voted for! Actually i would have voted for an off the grid cabin in the woods on 160 acres if you had that option, but you're a party pooper. I love our home! Just don't tell Greenpa...

Rosa said...

I chose the city condo because i have a job. It doesn't have to be as big as Manhattan, I liked Brooklyn just fine & I love Minneapolis too.

If I didn't have a job I would live in the cabin in the woods or on a farm (though not our own farmhouse, too much work - cooperative living in the country is awesome when you can find it). But commuting is soul-killing, and of course environment-killing.

Farmer's Daughter said...

Only 10 acres???

The farm I grew up on was ideal! 60 acres, but close to good schools and family.

Good thing I only moved down the street so I can bring my kids over there all the time!

Catherine said...

I'm right where I want to be; in a farmhouse on 10 acres in the wilds of KY. Although, instead of the small, practical farmhouse we have, I would have liked one of those Victorian Farmhouse Monstrosities...at least in my dreams. Not in reality though. It would be a bear to heat and a nightmare to keep clean.

Anonymous said...

I voted for 2. Because I'm indecisive that way.

I chose beachfront, because I do love the ocean. And I also chose house with a big yard in the city because I like having space for my kids to play and a large garden. I also like the idea of having easy access to the amenities of a city.

Amanda said...

I like living in my McMansion (okay mine isn't exactly Mansion status, but it is in the 'burbs of Dallas and it is in a cookie cutter neighborhood)

Somedays I would love to live in a cabin in the woods.

Other days I would love to live in a co-housing neighborhood. I'm sure you've heard of these. Where everyone has their own house but they share a common garden and common central house? What a wonderful environment!

Love your blog. I'm not all that crunchy, but am learning more about it each and every day!

Anonymous said...

A little house on aa big lot in just about any beautiful natural place. Rolling foothills with some woods and streams would be the best. I really don't like other people too close. Don't want to smell their cooking, hear their fights, or worry about them dropping by.

Oldnovice said...

I'm REALLY happy here in North Texas. There are a few months in the summer where I don't want to leave the house and the garden totally goes to weeds, but the rest of the year is great.

I guess one would call our neighborhood a suburb. I took more of the back yard for gardens this year than I have in the past and I may have taken more than one person can realistically tend, but that may also be "It's too f'cking hot out there" talk.

Our house is large enough to allow us private space when we feel like it, yet small enough to not get lost in it.

Life is good here and I don't want to change a thing.

rebecca leigh said...

Where's the option for a natural building? I know you can't squeeze in every possible dream home, but a little representation for mud and straw would be nice ;)

I want to live in a little cottage--hybrid stawbale, cob, timber frame, cordwood, etc.--on a good chunk of land... at least enough for a small orchard, big garden, and livestock, and a sleeping porch.

The Nurturing Pirate said...

Hmm, no option for "sailboat." Actually boats have a pretty small carbon footprint (once they're built). But in the meantime, I'm pretty happy in a smallish house in the city. Would like a little more flat land though for gardening (I live on a canyon).

Lisa said...

We almost have what I want. A small, intelligently designed house on a flat lot, in a decent neighborhood, with a mild climate. The only thing missing is our house isn't "intelligently designed". Would love to have more storage and for the kitchen not to be the major pass through to the bedrooms and bathroom.

Katy Allgeyer said...

I already live in a farmhouse on 10 acres with an apple orchard in forest on an island in Maine 1 mile from the beach. We'd like to be off the grid but the wind turbine is too expensive for us right now.

Samantha said...

what about a sailboat powered by wind and solar?? ;)

we lived in an RV before the sailboat and i was really interested in converting it to biodiesel but the sailboat is much simpler. i'm no mechanic.

motheralice said...

How about an off the grid house in the city on a large lot? (It's the kind of thing I'm working toward where I'm at now, the lot size though... it's pretty small.) Being in town helps, because almost everything is nearby. Preferably an old house with character that I could modify to my needs.

temptressyarn said...

I haven't had time to read all the responses, but I want a 10 acre waterfront farm in a climate with seasons. Probably too much to ask, huh?