i'm fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood where as of right now in a one square block radius there's 3 new suburban-palacial houses going up in place of freshly-demolished centex-inspired 1st-gen-suburban homes from the 1950s.

I hate that. It's so garish. Same thing's happening to my grandma's neighborhood in Northbrook, which had retained its Kennedy-administration charm for years until some people got the big idea to tear down these rock-solid houses and slap up big gaudy McMansions that in some cases aren't just out-of-context opulence but almost some kind of architectural practical joke.

I hate that. It's so garish. Same thing's happening to my grandma's neighborhood in Northbrook, which had retained its Kennedy-administration charm for years until some people got the big idea to tear down these rock-solid houses and slap up big gaudy McMansions that in some cases aren't just out-of-context opulence but almost some kind of architectural practical joke.

It'd be fine if they went deep on the lot and eliminated pesky back yard to cut, but having your wall be dong's-length from your neighbor's wall is the sort of thing you move to the suburbs to avoid, am I right?

no, big side yards are nice but congregating only with people who trace their heritage east of Ireland, west of Germany and north of Italy is even better

Northbrook is French? I thought it was Jewish and Korean.

Are you discussing your private school education here?

Catholic school was incredibly affordable in my youth...like a couple hundred dollars and pay whenever you get the chance affordable

A lot of religious schools have inexpensive tuition because the church members subsidize the school. The church leadership views the school as a mission or community outreach with which to evangelize.

you cannot live in a city built in being "better than" and then complain about people who try to outwardly exhibit it

i'm fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood where as of right now in a one square block radius there's 3 new suburban-palacial houses going up in place of freshly-demolished centex-inspired 1st-gen-suburban homes from the 1950s. most recently our neighbor has decided to take the plunge and build a new house in place of the vintage one, bringing the sights and sounds of gentrification front and center to my day-to-day life.

during a cigarette i got to talk to the guy who was operating the excavator (which in and of itself is a word worthy of my operation) and i told him that i could use a fun job so how the hell do i get a job like his? (i mean, who didn't grow up as a little kid wishing they wielded the power to destroy houses?) he laughed and replied "me and my brother own the company. yeah, in fact we're not just demolishing but also building all three houses on your block" * dignified nod *

so while i'm sure the guy isn't going to rest on his laurels during all of the construction and rah rah rah, i still think you've got life pretty much figured out when you're raking in the cash and able to say "i wanna be the guy who destroys the houses" and nobody's going to step in the way of your childlike dream to grow up and be a fucking astronaut, you know what i'm saying?

so while i'm still getting used to the seismic activity that you dont foresee coming with one of these demolition jobs, i'm tipping my cap to the guy next door operating the excavator for being a living breathing embodiment of social change and progress. i'll be damned if for my whole life there wasn't a house next door that managed to simply disappear from this plane of existence in approximately an hour once this guy showed up wielding a power usually reserved for the gods. all hail the almighty job creator!

Inspired Sini to get a high paying machine operator job?

As a Part time licensed, insured and bonded excavator operator, it gets boring after 20 minutes. It was fun the first time, then occasionally there was stuff I wanted done or moved and I got in the machine and did stuff, but just moving the damn thing 20 feet shakes you enough for the day.

FYI, the demo and excavation guys are making a small fortune these days. Takes a big wad of insurance money to have one of these companies in the city, thus only a few around.

I hate that. It's so garish. Same thing's happening to my grandma's neighborhood in Northbrook, which had retained its Kennedy-administration charm for years until some people got the big idea to tear down these rock-solid houses and slap up big gaudy McMansions that in some cases aren't just out-of-context opulence but almost some kind of architectural practical joke.

I think some here would prefer the late 60's home porn pics found in the ceiling of a place.

You know it.

I never understood wanting your home to fill up 90% of the lot. The homes look so out of place.