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The connotation I've always had for "McMansion" is the object of a middle or upper-middle class obsession with a poorly built, absurdly huge, cookie cutter hous
by morganvachon 10y ago
The connotation I've always had for "McMansion" is the object of a middle or upper-middle class obsession with a poorly built, absurdly huge, cookie cutter house that looks just like every other house on its street, packed together on 1/4 acre or smaller lots with no lawn, yet selling for upwards of $500,000.
Not that I'm one to be snobbish, since I live in an old farmhouse that needs two issues fixed for every one that I tackle. But I'm happy that my only neighbors are a nice old lady in another little farmhouse, a church, and the animals that live in the woods behind me. It's not much to look at but it's within my means and in fact, my mortgage payment (tax and insurance escrow included) is less than a car payment for most of my peers. I'm happy that I don't feel the need to "keep up with the Joneses" and I can focus on my family's needs and my own hobbies instead.
- kedean 10y agoSlight correction (that seems to be divisive on the issue), McMansions are generally characterized by not being cookie cutter. A neighborhood full of mcmansion's does have the distinguishing feature that each one is different, but they will all still feel the same. It's the result of each owner wanting something more unique and fancier than everyone else, and just smashing stuff on to do it.
- morganvachon 10y agoSorry, by "cookie cutter" I mean it's blatantly obvious they are all (within a neighborhood) designed and built by the same property developer. Around here, a developer will buy land for a subdivision, then hire one architectural firm and one construction crew to build 200+ houses all to the same general specs and overall theme. Yes, there are variations, but it's variations on the same theme.
- nsxwolf 10y agoI call that "tract housing". That describes my house. It's the same 6 floor plans with a few options, with the occasional custom job here and there.
- logfromblammo 10y agoThey're houses built like cars. You have the six basic models. Then each of those models can have upgrade options and trim packages. Floor plan C with bay windows, sun room, and gabled roof here; floor plan E with 3-car garage expansion there; floor plan F with cupola feature and two-story deck package somewhere else. Every house is different, but every house is the same. The only thing that really distinguishes one from the other is the finish work. The builder uses all the same parts and all the same subcontractors in each one. The subdivisions are little more than an outdoor mass-production factory for houses. The assembly line is largely invisible, found only in the builder's sales and scheduling software.
- kedean 10y agoAh ok, when I think of a cookie cutter house I imagine neighborhoods where every house is the same with maybe an extra gable on some of them. Little boxes, and such.
- seanp2k2 10y agoInteresting in the Bay Area where half a mil won't even get you a single-family house: https://www.redfin.com/zipcode/95123/filter/min-price=400k,max-price=500k https://www.redfin.com/zipcode/95123/filter/min-price=400k,m... Most small houses start at around 700k and go way up from there. There are still McMansions, but they're more like 1.5+++
- kuschku 10y ago> Interesting in the Bay Area where half a mil won't even get you a single-family house That's the case in almost all European cities, too.
- ido 10y agoBut the difference is that in most European cities single-family houses aren't the main mode of living - most people live in apartments.