Louisville, contrary to your expectations, is a pretty funky little town, and we have a couple of pockets that are very hip and artsy. A decent house in these areas is around 200k and up, and would be a 1800sq/ft house with a tiny patch of yard and the next house fifty feet to either side, like this:
Big community, park, boat ramps, beautiful house, acre of land, hot tub, etc.
I work in the city, and I’ve lived in the city the last twenty years, but grew up in the country. I’m thinking I can get all the city I want at work, then come home to the country manse to unwind. Hivemind, advise!
I took the middle ground. I’m in a suburb, but I live in one of those communities that’s built up around a small shopping area, with some units directly attached to the shops. The bottom line is I save a significant chunk by picking that path but doing it outside of the downtown area.
The large dream house in the country doesn’t appeal to me Houngan, but I’m not the right person for advice. I’m not married, nor do I have children. Space to roam for me is easy, even in a place with 1500 square feet.
However, you forgot the important question here. What is the proximity to a shooting range and/or gun shop?
This is what I do. The only times I regret it is when I get plastered and have to crash at someone’s place because the cab fare home would be horrendous. Also, it makes it harder to do stuff spontaneously with people in the city. On the other hand, you can have some kickass barbecues and make them all come to you.
If you don’t mind the commute, I’d take the country every single time. I need space, wildlife, peace away from the insanity of human society, and crocs in the back yard. But your social life may suffer if your friends don’t like driving out to see you.
I see it as quality of life versus convenience, select whichever appeals to you most.
I would be torn, as long as the commute was short. (A commute longer than 30 minutes is a total suck on your quality of life.) I grew up in a huge house in a semi-rural area next to some open space and having lots of land to roam was wonderful. It was so quiet. I’d love to have a farmhouse and a garden. But having grocery stores, pharmacies, parks, coffee shops, libraries and banks within walking distance is fantastic. Even better if you can walk to work.
It will be in the neighborhood of 30 minutes, and I’m used to ten, that’s probably my main worry. The house’s sheer awesomeness should offset any lack of social life (by generating a new “let’s go to the cool river house” social life.)
Yeah, we don’t have money, but we sure have pretty. Plus I get to leech off the taxpayers during the periodic floods! Yay government sponsored insurance!
I would go for the country house (assuming it’s not a ridiculous commute). You said 20 minutes, which is fine IMO.
I think when you go home, you really want to be able to GO HOME and get away from work. If you live too close to work, it sometimes feels like you never really left. Spending weekends in your dream house in the country sounds way better than spending them in a nice house in the city.
Yeah, I’m definitely leaning that way. Plus work lets us work from home a day or two a week, and I’m not exactly hurting for the ladies now that I’ve dipped into the online scene. I mean, who wouldn’t want to get in that hottub? Provided you’ll drive out into the dark country with a strange man to get to it.
$200K for an 1,800sq/ft house in just about any setting would be a bargain around these parts. According to Trulia’s average listing prices map, the only county in the state that comes in with an average or median sales price at or under $200K is Essex County, which came in at $198K, and is way up in the sticks. It’s our poorest and least-populated county.
20 minutes isn’t such a bad commute. It takes me about 30 minutes to get in from the 'burbs (relative to the size of the state), and I’m only 10 miles away from work.
Country house with 30 only a 30 minute commute or house in the city? It’s not even a choice. Go for the country house especially if it’s a long term thing and you want kids one day.
To each his own, but that’s not been my experience. I’ve lived three blocks from work and never had this problem - never was the person called in 'cause I live so close, never felt like I wasn’t “home” when I got home, etc. And I would think even if this was an issue, a commute is such a miserable thing to have to do every day that the benefits of a short commute would outweigh the negatives.
I looked at the pictures of the real estate - the city house is soooo my style. It looks really classy and that attic space is just dying to be a secret reading room/artist studio/place to stash a crazy wife. I would kill to be perched up there in a house like that - it’s like the bow of a house. 80’s architecture is not my thing, but it’s a matter of taste.
And I would think even if this was an issue, a commute is such a miserable thing to have to do every day that the benefits of a short commute would outweigh the negatives.
Well, he stated 20 minutes in the original post which is nothing. I do 15 or so each way and I barely notice it.
You’d think a place in the city would be better for a single person, but I guess if you’ve got online dating and the country community is good enough that should have you covered too.
I don’t like commutes but I guess it depends on traffic and the roads.
I went for the country house about 10 years ago and while it was nice it had a really negative effect on my networking (I have to invest 80 minutes round trip in the weekend to go to a function) and over time the commute really sucked balls. I figure it cost me a good amount in quality of life and a good amount of cold hard cash.
