Do you ever drive by a spiffy cottage, mansion, or apartment complex and think to yourself, If I only had the money? If yes or no, why?
I sometimes get that tinge of envy when I watch real estate or apartment showcase videos. It would be nice to not stress out about rising rents and utilities or what upkeep will be affordable for the next year or two.
I don't generally envy the huge houses as the house I live in was where my maternal grandparents lived. It's home in a way that a big generic place could never be.
And, frankly, it's a lot of room for one person. A McMansion would be even sillier.
Mulcahy Messages: 38 Registered: May 2021 Location: Queens, NY
Baron
I like seeing tiny apartments and how people make them work (tiny as in under 400 square feet, two-plus residents). I don't get envy about living space. Certain locations, sure.
Rusty Messages: 1184 Registered: May 2018 Location: Kansas City Missouri
Illuminati (3rd Degree)
When I take a friend who has no transportation for his medical appointments. We go past an area of town with institutional sized homes. There has never been a time passing by them that the street these mausoleums are on that they don't have the curb filled with contractors trucks that do all the maintenance on them, their yards, pools and who knows what.
Champagne dreams, caviar wishes.
Yeah, I've been there, noodle. I don't envy the large estates that I run across; I figure it's just more to clean and maintain. However, I feel incredibly envious when I see a home with a large yard. I live in a major city where that sort of space probably comes at a premium that is out of my budget, if it even exists.
Rusty, you're amazing for taking your friend to his appointments. I'm sure it means the world to him. I wish we had better public transportation throughout the US, including an easy-to-use option for those who have disabilities.
Rusty Messages: 1184 Registered: May 2018 Location: Kansas City Missouri
Illuminati (3rd Degree)
My friend Madison has been through the mill with his health. Active all his life but drew a short straw with genetics. Had his colon removed in his 40's Hip replacement in his 50's. Retired early in his 60's then had to have major surgery for a huge benign tumor that required removing part of his pancreas, his gall bladder, duodenum part of his stomach and God knows what else. Now it's endocrine tumors throughout his liver. Fortunately kept in limbo with monthly injections.
All this has compromised his finances. Had to sell his car and now his home he can't keep up property taxes on. He'll have to sell. It has a large yard that's too big to maintain.
So, I and another friend help out. Part of his network I guess. The kicker is our healthcare system. It's cost and the insurance industry that compromises people both physically through denial of benefits and financially through keeping up premiums.
At least now he's on Medicare. Traditional Medicare that you pay a monthly premium above and beyond the part B. It does well covering everything if you can afford it. But the new Advantage system being pushed on retiree's is a major rip-off by the insurance industry and the government to limit Medicare costs.
Take heed.