I'm a 35yo single female academic, just starting on my career, and my ideal would be an apartment or townhome in a walkable town or district where I had a guest room, separate bedroom/office spaces and separate living/dining spaces. I'm reasonably handy with basic home maintenance and repair (thanks to parents who homeschooled me and involved me in all our household projects) but unless my trajectory in life changes I would be solely responsible for all the repair and ongoing maintenance of a large yard and home -- which is daunting, to say the least, especially as I also think about how much I will need to do to establish my career so I can provide for myself into the future.
Know thyself, the Delphic Oracle said: knowing myself means recognizing that I have localist aspirations, but they are less the homesteader-raising-chickens-and-goats-on-a-few-acres flavor and more the walking-everywhere-on-narrow-streets-past-courtyards-and-buying-groceries-daily-from-the-open-air-market variety.
Great piece. I am a Boomer who lives in a big house. It's almost 100 years old and costs a pretty penny to maintain. I couldn't agree with you more. I truly don't get the "conservative" attitude you describe.
I think young people can idealize this kind of labor, you see something similar with farming (probably more among young lefties.) But once you actually do the work most of that goes out the window
I'm coming to this post late (as a relatively new subscriber), but a few cents from a under-represented-in-this-thread 'middle-aged' Xer: we bought the house we could afford on a street of mostly then-derelict residential buildings, and I went from a most-of-my-adult life renter to a homeowner. The work we've done to upgrade and soon to renovate more thoroughly seems constant, and I know that it's likely driven our daughter away from homeownership as an aspiration. We're privileged enough to have work schedules flexible enough to devote blocks of time to this work, and I enjoy much of it. But it's also a matter of cost, in that we're (again) privileged enough to afford assembling tools for a workshop suited to taking on some bigger projects, but not enough to justify $75,000 for a kitchen contractor.
But back to generational perceptions: I grew up in a newly-built suburban house that didn't require much maintenance at all (I did mow the lawn!), and with a dad who was in no way handy. I'm also a recovering academic who enjoys the challenge of learning crafting skills way out of my skillset, so I'm rebounding on the other side, I guess. Again, though, I'm sure that our daughter will want no part of this nonsense when she's on her own.
I sort of enjoy the idea of having work to do around the house. I take some of that from my parents, who taught me frugality and self-sufficiency (though not glorifying it to some Little House on the Prairie extent). On the other hand, I very much get the appeal of calling in a work order when something goes wrong in an apartment, rather than going through the whole process that begins with comparing multiple contractors.
In grad school, my dryer broke down once, and I spent about five minutes fiddling with it and reading about what might be wrong with it. Then I entered in the work order online, and the next day it was fixed. The ability to focus your mind on your own work and life and not stuff like getting the dryer fixed is not a mark of immaturity or lacking a sense of responsibility. (I did, however, fix our coil electric stove - the coils had come unplugged from the electric sockets, and that was that!)
Holly Whyte wrote "The Organization Man" about Park Forest, IL, a Levittown-era early suburb of Chicago. The median new homebuyer there was a 28 year old White male war veteran, already with wife and child. I doubt many 28-year-old men in 21st century America aspire to mow lawns every weekend; we have a much wider array of things to do. And with the typical American man not marrying until after 30, there's also a much longer "pre-child young adult" span when urban housing types make sense.
Hey, I did too! Haha. Yes, I agree with you completely. Ironically, while social conservatives often see something pro-family in the suburbs and in single-family housing, it's much more pro-family to have affordable options for people before marriage/kids - if that's what they want, all but the most privileged need time and accumulated savings to get there.
I would think that conservatives would appreciate the corporate-driven ingenuity and efficiency improvements that come with apartment living. Specialized staff to handle particular tasks (correctly, hopefully) that come up regularly for 500 units but only rarely and unpredictably in each one of them? Sounds like entrepreneurial genius! And you save each of the 500 units the hassle of determining competence, which I find is basically impossible as a homeowner, before hiring somebody.
Yes, the issue of choosing a contractor for a job is one of the biggest headaches my parents have had to deal with over the years re owning a large-ish home. My dad has learned to do some home maintenance stuff because it's so hard to find someone affordable and reliable. An apartment or home warranty may not have the best contractors but you just make one call and roll the dice. It's a lot easier.
I do housing a lot, from a lot of different angles all over Michigan. The pricing of properties is so different in different places. My wife also experiences the east coast for her work....so we see it all.
I'm 31, and I wanted a condo, but my husband really wanted a house of his own. We compromised and bought a small house in an inner ring suburb near the town center. We have two kids, and are hoping for more. I think the small house in an urban environment is better for kids, but it's likely more work for the parents.
The house is SO MUCH work. My husband does most of it, but the baseline is 5-10 hrs/week, and more if you want to make improvements. The labor is probably edifying in some way - we've learned a lot of skills we wouldn't have otherwise, and it's a source of pride to maintain your own home. However, my husband is an engineer, and I think a lot of other people would not be able to master these skills and just get frustrated.
Parenting small kids is SIGNIFICANTLY more work in a small space. You can't cordon the kids and their mess in one part of the house. My oldest loves to do art, and the only big surface we have for her to work on is the kitchen table. I clear the table of art supplies or meals 5-6 times/day. We have a teeny yard that isn't really enough for her to really run, so we walk to a playground 3-4x/week. These problems would be exacerbated further if we were in a condo. I thought I would save time having a small house because I wouldn't have to clean as much...HA!
However, despite all these complaints, being in a walkable neighborhood is so incredibly good for a small child. My daughter gets a lot of the things social conservatives seem to want for their kids by living in this environment. She has a sense of place, and knows the local businesses and their proprietors well. She develops a sense of agency at an early age by checking the bus schedule or pressing the walk button. She can wake up at a normal time for preschool because school is only a 10 minute walk away. She gets exercise and exposure to nature every day, no matter the weather, because we always have to walk somewhere.
I also find driving with small kids to be very unpleasant compared to walking. You have to strap them down in the back of the car. If the baby starts to cry, it's hard to stop and help them. Toddlers are too short to see our the window, so the car rides are incredibly boring. Older kids can't participate in the trip in any way. If you need to go to multiple places, you need to strap the kids in and out of the car seat, which often wakes a napping baby.
I'm a 35yo single female academic, just starting on my career, and my ideal would be an apartment or townhome in a walkable town or district where I had a guest room, separate bedroom/office spaces and separate living/dining spaces. I'm reasonably handy with basic home maintenance and repair (thanks to parents who homeschooled me and involved me in all our household projects) but unless my trajectory in life changes I would be solely responsible for all the repair and ongoing maintenance of a large yard and home -- which is daunting, to say the least, especially as I also think about how much I will need to do to establish my career so I can provide for myself into the future.
Know thyself, the Delphic Oracle said: knowing myself means recognizing that I have localist aspirations, but they are less the homesteader-raising-chickens-and-goats-on-a-few-acres flavor and more the walking-everywhere-on-narrow-streets-past-courtyards-and-buying-groceries-daily-from-the-open-air-market variety.
This is exactly the kind of nuance that actually determines these decisions (along with budget and income, of course) in the vast majority of cases
Great piece. I am a Boomer who lives in a big house. It's almost 100 years old and costs a pretty penny to maintain. I couldn't agree with you more. I truly don't get the "conservative" attitude you describe.
I think young people can idealize this kind of labor, you see something similar with farming (probably more among young lefties.) But once you actually do the work most of that goes out the window
I'm coming to this post late (as a relatively new subscriber), but a few cents from a under-represented-in-this-thread 'middle-aged' Xer: we bought the house we could afford on a street of mostly then-derelict residential buildings, and I went from a most-of-my-adult life renter to a homeowner. The work we've done to upgrade and soon to renovate more thoroughly seems constant, and I know that it's likely driven our daughter away from homeownership as an aspiration. We're privileged enough to have work schedules flexible enough to devote blocks of time to this work, and I enjoy much of it. But it's also a matter of cost, in that we're (again) privileged enough to afford assembling tools for a workshop suited to taking on some bigger projects, but not enough to justify $75,000 for a kitchen contractor.
But back to generational perceptions: I grew up in a newly-built suburban house that didn't require much maintenance at all (I did mow the lawn!), and with a dad who was in no way handy. I'm also a recovering academic who enjoys the challenge of learning crafting skills way out of my skillset, so I'm rebounding on the other side, I guess. Again, though, I'm sure that our daughter will want no part of this nonsense when she's on her own.
Interesting comment. I wrote about related stuff on Saturday: https://thedeletedscenes.substack.com/p/house-work?s=w
I sort of enjoy the idea of having work to do around the house. I take some of that from my parents, who taught me frugality and self-sufficiency (though not glorifying it to some Little House on the Prairie extent). On the other hand, I very much get the appeal of calling in a work order when something goes wrong in an apartment, rather than going through the whole process that begins with comparing multiple contractors.
In grad school, my dryer broke down once, and I spent about five minutes fiddling with it and reading about what might be wrong with it. Then I entered in the work order online, and the next day it was fixed. The ability to focus your mind on your own work and life and not stuff like getting the dryer fixed is not a mark of immaturity or lacking a sense of responsibility. (I did, however, fix our coil electric stove - the coils had come unplugged from the electric sockets, and that was that!)
Hey, meant to say hi at Thursday's event!
Holly Whyte wrote "The Organization Man" about Park Forest, IL, a Levittown-era early suburb of Chicago. The median new homebuyer there was a 28 year old White male war veteran, already with wife and child. I doubt many 28-year-old men in 21st century America aspire to mow lawns every weekend; we have a much wider array of things to do. And with the typical American man not marrying until after 30, there's also a much longer "pre-child young adult" span when urban housing types make sense.
Hey, I did too! Haha. Yes, I agree with you completely. Ironically, while social conservatives often see something pro-family in the suburbs and in single-family housing, it's much more pro-family to have affordable options for people before marriage/kids - if that's what they want, all but the most privileged need time and accumulated savings to get there.
I would think that conservatives would appreciate the corporate-driven ingenuity and efficiency improvements that come with apartment living. Specialized staff to handle particular tasks (correctly, hopefully) that come up regularly for 500 units but only rarely and unpredictably in each one of them? Sounds like entrepreneurial genius! And you save each of the 500 units the hassle of determining competence, which I find is basically impossible as a homeowner, before hiring somebody.
(age > 30 since you asked)
Yes, the issue of choosing a contractor for a job is one of the biggest headaches my parents have had to deal with over the years re owning a large-ish home. My dad has learned to do some home maintenance stuff because it's so hard to find someone affordable and reliable. An apartment or home warranty may not have the best contractors but you just make one call and roll the dice. It's a lot easier.
I do housing a lot, from a lot of different angles all over Michigan. The pricing of properties is so different in different places. My wife also experiences the east coast for her work....so we see it all.
I'm 31, and I wanted a condo, but my husband really wanted a house of his own. We compromised and bought a small house in an inner ring suburb near the town center. We have two kids, and are hoping for more. I think the small house in an urban environment is better for kids, but it's likely more work for the parents.
The house is SO MUCH work. My husband does most of it, but the baseline is 5-10 hrs/week, and more if you want to make improvements. The labor is probably edifying in some way - we've learned a lot of skills we wouldn't have otherwise, and it's a source of pride to maintain your own home. However, my husband is an engineer, and I think a lot of other people would not be able to master these skills and just get frustrated.
Parenting small kids is SIGNIFICANTLY more work in a small space. You can't cordon the kids and their mess in one part of the house. My oldest loves to do art, and the only big surface we have for her to work on is the kitchen table. I clear the table of art supplies or meals 5-6 times/day. We have a teeny yard that isn't really enough for her to really run, so we walk to a playground 3-4x/week. These problems would be exacerbated further if we were in a condo. I thought I would save time having a small house because I wouldn't have to clean as much...HA!
However, despite all these complaints, being in a walkable neighborhood is so incredibly good for a small child. My daughter gets a lot of the things social conservatives seem to want for their kids by living in this environment. She has a sense of place, and knows the local businesses and their proprietors well. She develops a sense of agency at an early age by checking the bus schedule or pressing the walk button. She can wake up at a normal time for preschool because school is only a 10 minute walk away. She gets exercise and exposure to nature every day, no matter the weather, because we always have to walk somewhere.
I also find driving with small kids to be very unpleasant compared to walking. You have to strap them down in the back of the car. If the baby starts to cry, it's hard to stop and help them. Toddlers are too short to see our the window, so the car rides are incredibly boring. Older kids can't participate in the trip in any way. If you need to go to multiple places, you need to strap the kids in and out of the car seat, which often wakes a napping baby.