DEAR SOMEONE ELSE’S MOM: When we bought our home most of the houses on our street were either ranchers like the one we’re in, or bungalows all from the 1950s and 1960s. It was a perfect neighborhood with a lot of the original or second owners still in residence, and it was a great little neighborhood.
Over the past few years half a dozen of the 17 houses on our block have been either built out and up in all directions or torn down altogether and replaced by McMansions.
It not only makes for a very odd, incongruous look, but the entire nature of the neighborhood has changed. In some cases investors, not homeowners, have moved in for the short term just until the construction is completed and what we call the “mega-houses” are sold.
Last month construction was wrapped up on our next door neighbor’s house. He expanded the original footprint and added a full basement where there had only been a crawlspace and he put on a full second floor.
We used to have daylight much of the day on that side of the house and we now have shadow only, not to mention how our little 3-bedroom, 2-bath looks next to a 3500 square foot hulk.
We have considered moving, but our current commutes can’t be beat, the schools have an excellent rating, and we are very close to both our families, which makes it nice, since we are at each other’s houses all the time.
I am at a loss to understand why people have to build these monstrosities, especially in situations like our neighbor, who is a single man with a sometimes live-in girlfriend.
For a while this was happening all over our city, and I wonder if some of your other readers experienced this same situation, and did they stay or did they go? --- DAVID LIVING NEXT TO GOLIATH
DEAR DAVID LIVING NEXT TO GOLIATH: The story of your neighborhood isn’t a new one. I’ll be interested to see what any readers have to say, but I can add my own experience in this department.
The community where we largely raised our family was, like yours, made up of midcentury ranches and split-levels. Most additions were reasonable, practical enhancements, but a few of the original homes were leveled and what arose on those lots was decidedly out of keeping with anything around them.
When we left the area, it was to lessen a commute. A few other families in our circle also relocated through the years, but a large number of our friends from those days have stayed put and enjoyed their immediate neighborhoods even as they’ve changed.