I have an issue.
This whole idea of a master planned community sounds fine and dandy, but there's something about it that really rubs me wrong. Sure, it's nice to have certain amenities (schools, libraries, etc.) and maybe even nicer to have other amenities (community pool, rec center, golf course, etc), but I grew up in a regular 'ol neighborhood where no one was welcomed by a sign disclaiming our home's worth.
Don't get me wrong, having an HOA breathing down your obnoxious neighbor's neck to get him to move his car off the road is kind of nice. I just hate the idea of people saying, "Oooooh, you guys can afford to live in that neighborhood?" or "Aww, you'll meet nice people over there, even if the schools aren't that good" all based on the sign out in front of the "community" or even billboards on the freeway regarding you neighborhood saying: Homes Starting in the $150's, $250's, $750's or whatever the price may be. It seems soooo superficial. I just hate the idea of everyone knowing exactly what our house cost us and judge the entire community based on that fact.
We're living in a time when "keeping up with the Jones'" is more like, "how can we beat the Jones' at their own game?". I think these communities are just making it all worse.
Luckily, I'm not a homeowner quite yet. We're merely looking at this point. But I'm learning about the snobbery that accompanies some of these communities.
Am I crazy? Do the pros of what an HOA can bring outweigh the superficiality or do I need to move to the country?
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Master Plans
Written by Mindy at 9:27 PM
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5 comments:
I can see your point and I agree~ I remember when we would look at homes in Houston together talking about the same thing. I think tyring to keep up with everyone else is out of control these days.
I've never thought of all that before, since we haven't looked for a house yet. But...that would annoy me too. I don't think I'd buy a house in a subdivision anyway. Too many rules and restrictions for me--I'd get in trouble. What if you want to grow corn in your front yard? They'd never let you.
But, you know approximately how much most planned communities are worth anyway, even without a big sign out front. The sign just shoves it in your face. Marketing is so annoying. I can't believe I got my degree in it.
Sounds horrible, I am right there with you! It is kind of like that here but not really at all, good luck!
We had that in our old neighborhood. People don't say much about it, but one will find that everyone knows which neighborhood is which.
Funny thing was that those with the million dollar houses didn't care where we lived, but those with the homes prices slightly above ours seemed to really pine over money. Hummm...something to think about.
we live in a master planned community, and like you said, there are definite pros and cons. we love the clean streets, manicured parkways, rockin' pools (seriously), sense of community, newsletter with gardening tips, etc.
weird stuff: not too much, actually, now that i'm sitting here thinking about it. we won't live someplace like this forever. we don't like having a house that looks just like the one two doors down, and we want some land around us, but for now, with our little kids, riding bikes to the pool, carpooling to school, it's great.
i've never even thought about the whole house value thing. i gues because we don't live in a new house. ours is about 9 years old, so it doesn't really matter in our immediate neighborhood anymore, i don't think.
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