<p>^^^A friend of D1’s came to our house to spend the night. She told us “I love your house! I wish I had a house like this!” When she left the room DH and I looked at each other and just about died laughing (quietly). DH said, “Yeah, she could have this house about 3 or 4 times over.” This child lived in a mansion on the most prestigious street in Dallas. She probably felt our home was cozy since it was less than 4,000 sq. ft. and hers was over 12,000 sq.f.</p>
<p>I saw on a Dallas real estate site that her parents have just listed their home for over 13 million dollars.</p>
<p>We’ve also had the experience of some of our kids’ college friends thinking our house was huge, but one from a wealthier family thinking it was “cozy.” It’s all about the context.</p>
<p>I havent chaged my mind per their attitude about anything below $4 million being a " fixer upper" even though it is well above the reach of most people in that neighborhood, but I accept that the prevailing responses disagree, so it is obviously a waste of energy, trying to present my viewpoint.</p>
<p>Well, the wife did say, “I was not interested in a fixer-upper at that point,” but I attrribute that to their having first renovated a four-story house and then, after it burned, renovating it again.</p>
<p>Nrdsb4- my experiences in Dallas were similar. Some of the homes my kids’ classmates lived in were just beyond my comprehension. Bowling alleys, multiple elevators, large indoor pools… I thought we had a nice home and good careers, but…then there were the Perots.</p>
<p>When D1 was in high school, she asked me to drive her to a friend’s house (her dad did most of the driving back then). I was used to big homes around where we lived, so I wasn’t surprised when there was a gate and a security guard. So, when I saw a fairly large house complex I automatically turned to that direction. D1 said, “No mommy, that’s where the staff live.” Sure enough, to the other side, there was a large castle like house with a fountain in the circular drive. </p>
<p>To my kid’s credit, she always told us that she liked our cozy 4000 sq ft home because it was homier. My kid’s friend often stayed at that big house by herself and the staff because her parents traveled so much.</p>
<p>I couldn’t understand EK’s attitude at all – who cares if they want a nice place and they have $4 mil to spend? – but then I read the post about the folks with the baseball diamond and scoreboard in the backyard, and I find myself having the same reaction to that sort of excess that I was scoffing about in EK. It’s all relative I guess. </p>
<p>There is a 16,000 sq. ft. house (with a 5000 sq. ft. carriage house) for sale in our neighborhood. Honestly, no one seems to want it, it has been on and off the market for 3 years now with no contract. And it is a beautiful property - but that amount of space is just too over the top.</p>
<p>Well, in their defense, they had 7 kids, many of whom played ball, so the teams could practice at their house. That’s how I happened to see it in person. Also, the Dad had sold his interest in a company for hundreds of millions (according to news reports), so for them the cost was probably a pittance in comparison to their assets. They seem like really nice people and give a lot to charity.</p>
<p>I know. I was just laughing at my own internal reaction when I read it, right after I was internally scoffing at the same reaction in someone else. </p>
<p>My D went to the same private school the Gates & Bezos kids attended, so I’ve seen my share of big houses.</p>
<p>I never said they were " bad" people, but someone who has trouble finding something they can live in, when they have enough money to buy nearly any house in the community, seems strange.
Perhaps they would be happier in a neighborhood that was more to their taste.</p>
<p>emeraldkity4 - I don’t think you are familiar with NYC. There is no such thing as a neighborhood with only millions $$ homes and a neighborhood with only low income housing. In my neighborhood there are government subsidized housing and 5-10 mill $$ (or more) townhouses.</p>
<p>I didn’t get that they couldn’t find anything they liked. In fact, it said that they bid on several homes, only to get outbid or have the owner pull the property from the market. </p>
<p>When DH and I have looked for homes, it has taken a long time to find something we both agree on. It’s not a matter of thinking we couldn’t live in them, but coming to agreement on what our priorities were. He wanted to be in a certain location; I didn’t care about location, I wanted a view. He wanted turn key, while I thought it would be great to do a remodel. And so it went. We FINALLY found something we both liked. We each got some of the things we wanted, but had to compromise on others. I imagine this family went through a similar process.</p>
<p>I think it’s hard for someone who hasn’t lived there to understand how difficult it is to find a home in NYC, no matter what your budget it.</p>
<p>I can certainly understand not wanting to renovate again. I feel the same way, and I have “only” renovated two full bathrooms, a half-bath/pantry/entry space, and a number of more minor renovations (replacing windows, adding French doors, re-doing back yard and patio). Our kitchen is awful, beyond awful. It would be better if it were the original 1920’s kitchen, but it was remodeled in 1984. Think ugly cream formica cabinets with wood trim, cream formica counters with wood trim, tile on backsplash and floor with dark brown lines. Brown lines everywhere. I’ve had to replace the appliances but have not changed anything else. I could never face the prospect of months without a kitchen, so the kitchen remains. At this point, I don’t want to spend any more of my life planning and overseeing renovations, so I will never buy a house that needs more than painting again.</p>
<p>I have a clear memory of spending a Saturday morning looking for a bathtub. And resenting the fact that I was spending the morning that way.</p>