Just a 46-year-old mom of 2 in Northern California. My kids are Monkey Monkey(MM) and Drama Llama (DL). I am married to Monkey Hubby (MH). Since my camera is a little on the old side, and big and bulky... (I hesitate to call a camera bought in 2002, old, but technology has improved substantially since then!). Anyway, I would love to take more pictures and work in a 52 or 360 picture project, but I find it unlikely I will take many. It's not a little discreet camera I can take with me everywhere. !
But, we did go on a bike ride and I snapped some pics I had been meaning to share.
For one, I tell people all the time I have the best of all worlds. We live in the city and the country. 
It's kind of nice.
& I also wanted to show our little park oasis and the sea of empty home lots that has come to glut our city.
So, where to begin...
These pics were snapped on the corner - at the end of our street.
& I am surprised it turned out, but you can see the downtown skyscape in this picture. We are very close to downtown (just a few miles). When we moved in there were no homes in between us and downtown, so we used to have a more clear view.
& this is just looking back at our development. The border of suburbia.
There is just nothingness, farmland, rivers, etc. as you head west (or north) from there. We pretty much live on the northern/western border of suburbia and there isn't much else out there. Most of the development is east (higher land/closer to the Sierras).
Well, here is a glimpse of the sea of undeveloped home lots:
These are models that have largely been abandoned. They have a security camera and the lawns look manicured, but I have not seen a soul there in over a year. This is across a major road, so doesn't directly affect us or our home values. But is pretty close to us, yes.
Whoever bought these homes, lucked out in some sense. But gives you a sense of some of the monstrosity they were building. & yet, though I am sure they paid top dollar for a very small patch of land, they kind of lucked out and got a lot of empty space. Depends how you look at it I guess.
& this is the park we found in the sea of unbuilt communities. We love it because it is SO peaceful - never see anyone over there. It is surrounded mostly by empty home lots. We had a picnic there one day and though we could see downtown in the distance it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere because it was so peaceful. So we just LOVE it.
Anyway, my friends went to school in this area in the 90s, and having grown up in the Bay Area, we always called Sacramento, Cow Town. LOL. I think because LA, Bay Area, and the coats are so desirable, that Sacramento is considered the armpit of the state. (That is what I hear it called). But I think it gets a bum wrap. It's way cheaper, it's way less crowded, and it's rather close to both Tahoe and San Francisco. We have kind of been reserved to the fast growth, as it is exactly what happened to San Jose when we grew up there. IT was farmland in the 70s, and by the late 80s it had pretty much become an extension of San Francisco. Sacramento was kind of going in the same direction. So, we were used to it. Over crowding, disappearing of farmland, etc., etc. LOTS of people living here and working in San Francisco. That's the way of California. But, if we are lucky enough to revert back to a bit of a cow town as other areas of the state once again become somewhat affordable, that sounds good to me. The bubble burst has its perks for us, I guess.
One more thing - we thought we were super smart to buy in the first phase of a new development. Well, we were in our situation. But, yeah, not so smart for people that bought in new developments the last few years. A lot of builders have gone bankrupt, and a lot of unfinished developments. I feel lucky now our entire neighborhood is built up. No empty lots or half finished homes. & you can't build much community if you only have a couple of neighbors. It leaves those desolate homes pretty susceptible to theft, etc.
So, Phew.
Pictures of My World
December 29th, 2008 at 03:38 pm
December 29th, 2008 at 05:01 pm 1230570085
December 29th, 2008 at 05:56 pm 1230573376
I laugh at the huge houses.
We used to live in a huge house. When we moved (my town is rather pricey) we bought a small house in a great location with plans to remodel. It's less than 1500 square feet and there are 6 of us. Cozy, yes! WE DO need a little more space. There are lots of us. But we are surviving just fine. Some of these people with one kid and 3800 sq feet....just doesn't make sense, but I guess it makes them feel important or something.
We will likely move somewhere larger in the next 5 years, while also having 2 kids go away to college. We won't need the space as much, but I hope those kids will be coming home a lot for years to come! Our biggest issue is living space for entertaining. Not that we're huge entertainers, but it's pretty crowded!
December 29th, 2008 at 06:01 pm 1230573696
December 29th, 2008 at 10:10 pm 1230588632
December 30th, 2008 at 05:00 am 1230613202
But really...need? I have a friend with a 3800 sq. ft. house. They have one kid. Five bedrooms, plus playroom. Just seems like a waste somehow....
Our town is expensive. We had to buy smaller, because that's what we could comfortably afford. Our house has lost surprisingly little in value over the last 2 years. And we certainly don't owe more on it than it's worth! And since we will likely move in the next 5 years (more like next year, probably), I'm thinking about these things.
You, MM, don't seem like the type to buy a big house for the wrong reasons. I'm guessing you didn't buy thousands and thousands worth of upgrades.
Interestingly, my son's two best friends live in gigantic houses with all the latest toys... and guess where those boys are most of the time?! Crammed into our tiny family room playing games on an old XBox we scored for $20!
December 30th, 2008 at 04:54 pm 1230656046
I do get defensive about the big house/granite countertop thing. It annoys me to no end when frugal people with bigger electric bills, and costly upgrades to their fixxer up homes, get on the case of people like us. IT's fun to villain-ize people with bigger homes, and granite, but it misses the point. If my home is twice as energy efficient, as is, and stuff like the granite and the roof never have to be replaced, and I haven't spent a dime on fixing up, I feel like the smart one.
Anyway, I am not taking this particularly personally or seeing it as a debate. (I say that because it is hard to read tone in a post. I swear, I am not mad - LOL). I think the part that bugged me was the "Some of these people with one kid and 3800 sq feet....just doesn't make sense, but I guess it makes them feel important or something." You know, if they aren't hurting anyone, who cares. I had to defend them.
OF course no one "needs" that much space.
December 30th, 2008 at 04:55 pm 1230656104
I do get defensive about the big house/granite countertop thing. It annoys me to no end when frugal people with bigger electric bills, and costly upgrades to their fixxer up homes, get on the case of people like us. IT's fun to villain-ize people with bigger homes, and granite, but it misses the point. If my home is twice as energy efficient, as is, and stuff like the granite and the roof never have to be replaced, and I haven't spent a dime on fixing up, I feel like the smart one.
Anyway, I am not taking this particularly personally or seeing it as a debate. (I say that because it is hard to read tone in a post. I swear, I am not mad - LOL). I think the part that bugged me was the "Some of these people with one kid and 3800 sq feet....just doesn't make sense, but I guess it makes them feel important or something." You know, if they aren't hurting anyone, who cares. I had to defend them.
OF course no one "needs" that much space.
But yeah, shifting gears to put down upgrades didn't win me over - hehe.
December 30th, 2008 at 04:59 pm 1230656390