The American Dream
When I was 35 I bought a home.
I loved the house. It was in a perfect location next to a park with easy access to hiking trails and bike paths. You could walk out the front door and bike or hike to the city, or the wilderness. For someone like me who loathes driving and dependence on a motor vehicle, the location of the place suited me well.
Even though finally I fulfilled the standard of success in the U.S., the ownership of that house was not only a heavy weight to bear, it felt like ball and chain. Almost like a virtual prison, disabling my freedom.
We sold the home four years later, as a result of my divorce. I've not had a desire to buy another home.
Why is home/land ownership an "American Dream"?
Why is it so important for us to declare "mine, mine, mine"?
5 comments:
Glad to see you back, Nick!
You raise a very interesting question. I have a friend who has NO interest in owning a home. She was raised by her parents in a series of apartments and since she's been an adult she and her husband have also only ever rented apartments. She fixes up those apartments and keeps them furnished and decorated as nicely as anyone does their own home. She enjoys her life and she says she never wants all the aggravation that comes with a house - worrying about the taxes, the lawn, the upkeep, etc. If she has a plumbing problem, the landlord fixes it. If it were her own, she would have to call someone and pay for it.
We own our home and enjoy it but I totally understand what you mean about feeling tied down. The less you have, the less you own, the more free you are to do what you want. If I didn't have a mortgage I'd be able to work at something that paid a lot less and I might like a lot more.
It must go back to frontier days and of course our capitalistic society which pounds the whole idea into you.
Hi there!
Good to have you back indeed. ;-)
My friends keep telling me that I'm throwing my money out the window by renting.
Well paying for NO RESPONSIBILITIES, in my opinion, is well worth it! If there's a problem with the toilet, getting it fixed is a phone call away and I don't have to pay for it.
When I look at my friends who have to pay for this and that on their houses and not to mention all the work they have to do around the place....
So yeah.. I'll keep throwing my money out the window and the price I pay per month, it's well worth it!!!!
Keep on running!
Nxx
glad to see you back...i happen to have a home-of-my-own which i share with two cats and it's my peace of mind...to be able to get away from the world...
i've contemplated the whole native American idea of land ownership...but i'm not quite there yet...hugs!
Mauigirl - I never left, just didn't have time to blog. Work, work, work.
I never been one of those people who had to own stuff. To me, ownership is an extra burden I don't want to deal with.
Nancy - I've always been here, never left, just kind busy, and not in a good way, like keeping a mwember of the opposite sex satsified with my pelvic thrusts. Oh wait is that the good or bad, it's been so long I've forgot.
Buying property and maintaining ot is one less stress in my life, and you get where I'm coming from. Hugs, my friend.
AZ - Nothing wrong with owning a house it that is what makes you happy and reduces your stress. It just doesn't do that for me, Maybe when I retire, I will probably get a small condo or townhouse in the mountains around Taos.
Nick, I hear ya - I've been very busy at work too so haven't had as much time to blog or even read blogs as I have before. I hope this is a temporary thing! ;-)
Post a Comment