What would you like your dream home to be?

[Pink Jazz]

I was wondering, what would your ideal dream home be?
Here is my ideal home:

   
• Built by Fulton Homes (Arizona homebuilder)
• Minimum 1600 square feet
• Minimum 16 SEER Air Conditioner
• Separate Gas Cooktop
• Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator
• Stainless Steel Appliances
• Built to Energy Star Standards
• U By Moen Smart Kitchen Faucet
• U by Moen Smart Shower Controller
• Moen MotionSense Wave Bathroom Faucets (not released yet, but coming soon)
• Smart Thermostats
• Moen Handheld Showerheads with Magnetix
• Fairy Tale Pink (or similar shade) master bedroom
• Tankless Gas Condensing Water Heater with built-in recirculator
• Tile in kitchen and hardwood in master bedroom.
• Preferably a gas furnace instead of a heat pump
• Preferably a separate wall oven and cooktop
• Pool
• Water Softener
• Reverse Osmosis System

[Rothman]

Heh.  That's quite the set of specs.

Fun fact is that I sold a house last year and have rented since.  Given the much lower level of stress due to not having to worry about maintenance or plowing or raking or landscaping, home ownership is a much lower priority for me now.

[JayhawkCO]

Honestly, my house right now has almost everything I would need.  Wouldn't mind a larger master bedroom with an en suite bathroom, but it's not a huge deal. 

We just redid the kitchen this past summer after refi-ing for the second time in two years, so now it's darn near optimal.

Chris

[SkyPesos]

I would trade off some house and yard size for a location in a walkable neighborhood and easily accessible by transit, with most things I need (especially a grocery store) nearby. It's nice only having to own one car for a household (for roadtripping) with good alternative ways to get around locally, instead of the 2 or more I see in a lot of households nowadays. One of those concept "missing middle"  homes seem intriguing to me. Also, a smaller yard size means less grass to mow, which is another plus to me.

Not sure about the interior of this house, as I have no clue what is the best brand for kitchen appliances, toilets, etc.

[NWI_Irish96]

I have a rough floor plan drawn up. The house it 2 stories with the front entrance on the upper level and a lower level rear walkout.

Upper level has 2.5 car attached garage, with kitchen and laundry/pantry right off the garage, an open family/living/dining space and an office in the middle, and an en suite master, 2 bedrooms, full bath and flex room on the side opposite the garage.

Lower level is half finished with a 4th bedroom, full bath, rec/card room, and storage space.

House is oriented so the front of the house faces south and the garage is on the east side.

[Max Rockatansky]

-  Away from a major city.
-  No more than 1,800 square feet.
-  Has a garage. 
-  Less than half an acre of land.

To expound, really I don't want a large home and I'm more associated with the cost of paying one off.  I live kinda sorta in the model I described above in far eastern Fresno.  About the only thing I would change is having where I live in a more rural setting.  I'm not really one to be super concerned about gadgets and having the latest tech items. 

[Roadgeekteen]

Depends on if I have a family or not.

[webny99]

Location, location, location. If I could really pick where ever I wanted, it would probably be Montana's Flathead Valley.

But in terms of an actual house and property: I'd favor having too many rooms rather than too few. Not a brand new home, but not old enough to require ongoing repairs/upgrades. A few big trees, but not too many. Some outdoor living space in the form of a deck or patio. Preferably a somewhat similar layout to my current house, facing west (front rooms get evening sunlight, back rooms and most bedrooms get morning sunlight).

[triplemultiplex]

[1995hoo]

The main thing our current house doesn't have that I'd like is a two- or three-car garage. When I moved here in 2001, I was single and I had just the one car. The one-car garage was fine for my needs. I didn't necessarily anticipate I'd still be living here after 20 years when I was married with four cars, but there you go. As it happens, it's a good thing I bought a middle unit with a one-car garage instead of an end unit with a two-car garage because the end units were going for a decent bit more, meaning my mortgage payment would have been higher, and there was a period when I was out of work for a couple of years and relied on my savings to pay the monthly bills. During that period, the end unit would have been a problem.

Otherwise, things I might like to have that we don't now are a lot more electrical outlets, including in the bathrooms, and a dual-zone HVAC system that provides a separate system for the top floor as opposed to the lower two floors. During the summer, in particular, it gets a lot warmer upstairs even if I adjust the dampers and close the basement registers almost all the way.

One thing I sometimes ponder is that if, some years down the road, hopefully not any time soon, my mother still owns her house when she dies, I would have to consider whether I would buy out my brother's half of the house and move over there. He moved to Louisiana a few years ago and so wouldn't likely object, though he might try to extort me on what a 50% share is. I don't know whether I'd do it, though. It would be weird for me to live in my parents' house with both of them gone, but it would also be really difficult to sell the house because of all the memories that are tied up there (which, no doubt, is a major reason why Mom has shown no inclination to move in the 2+ years since my father died).

[ZLoth]

I have a good if modest home where I am living now. Some of the criteria was that it was a single-story home, small (thus easy to maintain), within walking distance from work, and damn good high-speed Internet access. I got a nice 1984 home which meets that criteria. In the past year, I did replace all of the windows, the air conditioner with a variable-speed, and put in home insulation. While there were nicer and cheaper homes north of where I'm currently living, I did not want to deal with a long commute. A bigger home means a higher assessment value, thus higher property taxes (but hey, no state income tax and the money stays local). As a bonus, I'm near a light rail station to downtown Dallas, and the airports are about 30 minutes away.

[Scott5114]

One concept that I drew up that I like is a house that is built of a collection of "pods" or wings which consist of a bedroom, an "interest room" (for a library, office, art room, etc.), and a bathroom. Each wing would be separated from the main body of the house with a door with a lock. Thus each occupant of the house would have their own personal space to conduct their personal recreational activities in privacy without having to venture through a hallway or across the kitchen or living room and perhaps be interrupted by other residents.

[jakeroot]

It really depends on what I'm doing and where I'm working.

I'm in the process of moving to Vancouver permanently, and I've been looking at various homes, apartments (condos), and other places to see what fits my needs. My absolute must-have is either (a) walking distance to a SkyTrain station, or (b) walking distance to frequent bus service that connects me to the SkyTrain.  Besides this, I'm not too picky.

That said, if I had to pick a dream home/location: probably the Burnaby, BC area. I love the central location relative to the rest of Metro Vancouver, and all of the amenities. Probably a single-family house with alley parking (not keen on front garages). I'd love a home that's older and has some character. I'd love a cellar to store various things. Three bedrooms and a couple of bathrooms would be great. Definitely an office, for those work-from-home days. White appliances would be nice too (I do not like stainless appliances, they darken the room and show fingerprints). Of course, an area that is walkable too, as I don't want to drive to transit, and I want my kids to be comfortable going places on their own without a car.

[kkt]

Basically, the house I have now, only with a garage and a lower maintenance yard.

[Bruce]

Something with adequate soundproofing, or an HOA that gives a damn about enforcing noise rules. Living next to neighbors from hell has made me want that beyond all other considerations.

And considering what can be found on the market, it'd be impossible to find something that also fits my other general criteria:

- Walking distance to transit and amenities
- Located halfway between downtown and the edge of the metro area with decent freeway access
- Trees for shade
- Air conditioning (still not guaranteed here)
- Minimal reliance on natural gas or oil for heating/cooking

[Rothman]

Something with adequate soundproofing, or an HOA that gives a damn about enforcing noise rules. Living next to neighbors from hell has made me want that beyond all other considerations.

And considering what can be found on the market, it'd be impossible to find something that also fits my other general criteria:

- Walking distance to transit and amenities
- Located halfway between downtown and the edge of the metro area with decent freeway access
- Trees for shade
- Air conditioning (still not guaranteed here)
- Minimal reliance on natural gas or oil for heating/cooking

What noise do they make?

I'd rent before living under an HOA.

[index]

A hole in the ground with a bunch of wood covering the top and tarp along the sides of the hole to keep water from seeping in. Extends outward once below ground to make space for a bed of leaves, a nightstand made out of a tree stump, a rut dug into the wall to hold a candle.

For the finishing touch, add a Thinkpad next to the bed with a gigabit internet connection. Charged using a wall outlet, embedded into the wall, with electricity illegally tapped into somebody else's home. If there's company then they'll have to dig extra space themselves. Showering and relieving oneself may be done in a nearby stream.

[Rothman]

A hole in the ground with a bunch of wood covering the top and tarp along the sides of the hole to keep water from seeping in. Extends outward once below ground to make space for a bed of leaves, a nightstand made out of a tree stump, a rut dug into the wall to hold a candle.

For the finishing touch, add a Thinkpad next to the bed with a gigabit internet connection. Charged using a wall outlet, embedded into the wall, with electricity illegally tapped into somebody else's home. If there's company then they'll have to dig extra space themselves. Showering and relieving oneself may be done in a nearby stream.

Well, there goes your water supply.

[index]

A hole in the ground with a bunch of wood covering the top and tarp along the sides of the hole to keep water from seeping in. Extends outward once below ground to make space for a bed of leaves, a nightstand made out of a tree stump, a rut dug into the wall to hold a candle.

For the finishing touch, add a Thinkpad next to the bed with a gigabit internet connection. Charged using a wall outlet, embedded into the wall, with electricity illegally tapped into somebody else's home. If there's company then they'll have to dig extra space themselves. Showering and relieving oneself may be done in a nearby stream.

Well, there goes your water supply.

Only if I get it downstream of the bathroom site.

[oscar]

Someday, would like to move from my tiny one-bedroom condo, to a three-bedroom single-level unit in a high-rise condo. More room, including a bedroom for me, a home office, and a guest bedroom. Single-level, with elevator access, because I was for a time wheelchair-bound, and even the four steps to my building entrance were a big issue, so I don't want to get into that situation again. High-rise, with no views into my place from other high-rises, so I can leave the blinds up if I (or my cats, if I get back into cat ownership) so desire.

While I strongly prefer suburbs, and would continue to drive as long as able, I would want some semi-decent transit access like I have now (buses would work, and I don't like the price premium for living close to a subway station) for when I can't drive.

Something with adequate soundproofing, or an HOA that gives a damn about enforcing noise rules. Living next to neighbors from hell has made me want that beyond all other considerations.

My current place has thick concrete walls. My next-door neighbor would often play the piano in early morning hours, and I wouldn't hear the music until I stepped out of my apartment such as to get the newspaper. Soundproofing would be more of an issue in a new place.

[wxfree]

A transparent dome with climate control and life support systems on the moon.  It would have at least one airlock and and a space suit, for longer hikes.  I would bring some soil and plant some trees, evergreens like live oaks, cedars, and pine.  One side would have good soil and soft grass, and one side would have rocky soil, bushes, and cedars.  This would help with the oxygen supply in addition to making the environment interesting.  I'd probably spend most of my time camping, but I'd want some kind of shack to go into when I didn't want to see the sky.  That's where I'd have my computer, television, video games, and such.  I'd live there alone.  I have no interest in farming, so I'd need supply runs for food, either from Earth or from farming colonies.  I wouldn't need to be alone on the moon, just a dome maybe four miles wide, enough space to have some different environments, and hopefully no other domes close enough to be visible.

I would also need a gym, with low-gravity workout equipment, so I wouldn't degenerate too much.  I'd probably want that indoors, too.

[LilianaUwU]

I'm fine with what I have currently, but if I were to upgrade, I would want more room and a computer setup that's not 10 years old and on the verge of breaking.

[Bruce]

What noise do they make?

I'd rent before living under an HOA.

My neighbors from hell finally moved out (got evicted at the end of the moratorium, thank goodness) but they would spend just about every night blasting music from their house or car. The bass-boosted kind that seeps through walls.

I've had to call the police to enforce the noise ordinance dozens of times and heard nothing back from them, so I suspect they were being let go because of their friends in the pigpen.

But I have new neighbors with obnoxiously loud (and probably modified) engines/exhaust that I can hear early in the morning. I haven't had a full week of uninterrupted sleep since 2019, and my health has taken a turn for the worse because of it.

[kkt]

Be careful what you wish for.  At a previous house, the neighbor I considered to be from hell (drug dealer, loud parties once a month or so) moved out.  In moved a couple of kids who were passing themselves off as college students so their mom and dad would pay for their living expenses.  Loud parties were a couple of times a week, and they didn't even wait for the weekend.  Police were useless.  Call them for excessive noise at 10:00 when it's supposed to be quiet, and they might make it around for 3 or 4, or they might never come at all.  (It took a year or so, but we did get them dealt with.  Tracked down the owner and from them the parents of the "students" who were too busy partying to study.)

[triplemultiplex]

Charged using a wall outlet, embedded into the wall, with electricity illegally tapped into somebody else's home.

Eh, you just need to have currant bush growing nearby.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carissa_spinarum