I had one
roommate, unaccustomed to living outside suburbia, whom expressed fears of
living in anything “different”. At that time, a group of us were undergoing
discussions about possible housing situations and gauging important variables
like the character of the surrounding community, transportation costs, bar
proximity, garage space and yardage. We had just graduated from college and wanted
an extra year together while we made the transition to the working life. The
five of us ended up in a four bedroom, two and a half bath house with three garages
and a small dry yard. And you could only enter from an alley. It was a
relatively safe and mix neighborhood in central San Diego. Life wasn’t so bad away from
perfection.
With America’s housing collapse, bank failings,
bail-outs, and the management turmoil in Washington
D.C., people aren’t spending as
much nor can they get a loan from banks. Even though housing prices are
falling, there’s too much uncertainty to buy.
As people
lose their buying power, new housing subdivisions become phantoms belonging to
a by-gone post-war affluent fantasy. They stand as mirages in our collective
desert. We have to ask ourselves, “How feasible is it to get away from
everything?” Better yet, how much space can one afford?
Many thought this mode of life could last forever.
How can we make living sustainable to
last future generations? More...