Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Things I have learned from "House Hunters"

Most of what I love about HGTV's "House Hunters" is learning how the rest of the country lives. Apparently us Californians don't do it like the rest of the country.

1. Yards. In California we have fences. This is my backyard space, that is your backyard space. Don't mess with mine and I won't mess with yours. But so many of the yards I see in other states don't have boundaries. There are just hundreds of feet of grass between you and the neighbor. Question: how do you keep your dogs from running away? Except for the animal issue, I think I like life without fences. It looks a lot prettier.

2. Basements. My grandma's home in the Bay Area has a basement. It is cold and concrete. That is where she threatened to send us when we misbehaved. I know that some of the older homes in San Francisco and Sacramento have basements, but for the most part, basements are foreign to me. Everytime I watch House Hunters people want to see a finished basement or a least a basement they can finish themselves. I guess I just don't understand this yet.

3. Man caves. Apparently man caves are very desirable outside of California. The men on that show are always looking for a space (ie the aforementioned basement) to set up their man cave. My husband has a man cave. It is called the garage.

There is one thing I know to be universal about homes across our country, however: some people do strange things while designing and decorating their houses.

4 comments:

  1. I love House Hunters so, so much.

    The no-fence thing totally weirds me out. I agree about the dog issue, but also...what about the kids? what if your neighbors don't mow? what if they like pink flamingos? what if they sunbathe nude? or what if i want to? I like fences.

    With all of my moving, this is the first time I've ever had a basement, but it's not usable. The new place has one though. Apparently it's 68 degrees year round. I do plan on threatening my kiddos with it. I'll let you know how that goes.

    What's the female cave equivalent? I cannot think of anything.

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  2. electric fences keep the dogs in.....or a long rope.

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  3. I don't know anyone with a man cave. Aside from the two foot space around the grill, that is.

    I think the people on that show are a small percentage, because the houses these people can afford? Also foreign to me. How can you be 25 and buying a half million dollar house? Sheesh.

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  4. UGH. Man Caves. When we started our own house hunt I informed my husband that if I ever heard that term escape his lips, he'd be livIng in his Man Cave PERMANENTLY.

    I've always wondered the same thing about the no fences thing, I think I like having my privacy too much to lose my fence. Plus, how do you send your kids out to the backyard when you're cooking dinner when there's no fence to keep them in?

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