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Buy a cheaper used minivan The guest bedroom makes for a decent storage space A yard has aesthetic value and you might be living in an area like greater NY me

Buy a cheaper used minivan The guest bedroom makes for a decent storage space A yard has aesthetic value and you might be living in an area like greater NY metro area where land is worth more than the house built on it, so it's going to make financial sense down the line. The perspective of the author doesn't seem to come from the same background and experiences as many of the people reading the article, especially since the comparisons of the decisions they made to the "normal" are based on a very strange normal. That's fine, but it might be nice to get a sense of where they come from and what type of lifestyle their social group is living. Looks like "modo" is a canadian service - maybe canada is wildly different from the US but at least from my brief visits to metro areas in that country a significant portion of the lifestyle for the people I met in the toronto area seemed to be a lot like your typical american urban/suburban lifestyle in the US. I guess I just don't recognize the people "paying for the other 95" since I can't imagine anyone buying housing in an urban area with condos and public transit and parks that also sees property land area as purely recreational space instead of a financial investment, or people with young children that can't afford a 50k car that would think it makes more sense to rent out a minivan everytime they need to take the kids anywhere rather than get a 10 year old odyssey that'll keep running for 10 more. And I certainly can't imagine anyone that would decide to get a smaller house without a guest bedroom for financial reasons and then be so magnanimous that they're willing to pay for their friends hotel's when they visit! If they're not visiting to hang out with me at my place, why am I paying for their vacation? I wouldn't expect them to pay for mine!

ghaff 6y ago
>I wouldn't expect them to pay for mine! That was a sort of odd touch for me. Mind you, I obviously don't know the details--maybe an old friend that he knew didn't have much money. But, yeah, I'd consider an offered guest room a nice offer but I'd never expect someone to offer to pay for a hotel if they didn't have the room.
- vikramkr 6y ago
  The other people's reactions were also odd - the first reaction to hearing someone say they'll pay for a hotel instead of buy a house with a guest room is discuss the cost of the hotel? Is that just a Canadian thing I don't know about? It sounds like the friend group also all share the same idea that you are expected to provide for lodging when a friend visits. The only context where that sort of obligation even slightly makes sense to me is if your parents are visiting.
  - ghaff 6y ago
    The funny thing to that reply is that it's my dad who feels really strongly about paying for accommodations if I or my brother visit him. But, yeah, absent some serious wealth disparity it seems weird and, even then, it would probably be something I'd throw off with a line like "I have more credits at that hotel than I know what to do with" or something like that to avoid anyone being embarassed.

ghaff 6y ago

>I wouldn't expect them to pay for mine! That was a sort of odd touch for me. Mind you, I obviously don't know the details--maybe an old friend that he knew didn't have much money. But, yeah, I'd consider an offered guest room a nice offer but I'd never expect someone to offer to pay for a hotel if they didn't have the room.

vikramkr 6y ago
The other people's reactions were also odd - the first reaction to hearing someone say they'll pay for a hotel instead of buy a house with a guest room is discuss the cost of the hotel? Is that just a Canadian thing I don't know about? It sounds like the friend group also all share the same idea that you are expected to provide for lodging when a friend visits. The only context where that sort of obligation even slightly makes sense to me is if your parents are visiting.
- ghaff 6y ago
  The funny thing to that reply is that it's my dad who feels really strongly about paying for accommodations if I or my brother visit him. But, yeah, absent some serious wealth disparity it seems weird and, even then, it would probably be something I'd throw off with a line like "I have more credits at that hotel than I know what to do with" or something like that to avoid anyone being embarassed.