On Wed, 3 Jun 2015 15:35:51 -0700, "Julie Bove"
> wrote:

> These days, younger people want it all and want it now.

That's fine if they can afford it. I bought a house I knew I could
die in - minimal steps to the front door, master bedroom on the main
floor, space between houses (this is San Francisco, so that's
unusual). I got it all. I had to give up "sunshine", but that was
the trade off. All in all, it was a good choice. We lived off one
paycheck for a couple of years, in a very nice, but not very expensive
apartment a block away from where my husband worked and had only one
car. We walked to restaurants. Nice area for the newly married and
we saved a lot of money so we could put 20% down on a house.

Remodeling is "the money pit". No matter what you do, you could have
spent more and done it better. The reality is that no matter how much
you spend, 15-25 years later: it will be out of date and you'll have
to do it all over again.

--

sf