An Observation

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I bought my 1700 sq ft home in a Chlt. subd. in "85 w/ homes selling in the $70-80k range w/ interest rates @ 13%+. My neighbor just sold their home for $440k. This would be the 3rd millenial couple in that home in the last 10 yrs. My observation is not one of these neighbors has struck a lick @ a snake in improvements in their 1/3 ac. lots...they do mow the grass when it gets ankle high though. No trees, shrubs, flowers planted...nothing! Am I correct in saying is this the laziest generation ever? Or are they stretched so thin financially because of housing cost that they have no $ to make any improvements? Both husbands & wives work, but so did my wife & I & had 2 children to boot. I constantly receive comments nowadays on how nice my yard looks. It got that way because I worked my a.. off when I worked for S. Bell & off days, now ret. I often had to work 13 days straight 12 hr. days w/ one day off for 6 months straight during declared emergencies, but still managed to go to church on Sun. & keep the yard up. BTW, I am really enjoying retirement since 2011.
 

Helium

Old Mossy Horns
I bought my 1700 sq ft home in a Chlt. subd. in "85 w/ homes selling in the $70-80k range w/ interest rates @ 13%+. My neighbor just sold their home for $440k. This would be the 3rd millenial couple in that home in the last 10 yrs. My observation is not one of these neighbors has struck a lick @ a snake in improvements in their 1/3 ac. lots...they do mow the grass when it gets ankle high though. No trees, shrubs, flowers planted...nothing! Am I correct in saying is this the laziest generation ever? Or are they stretched so thin financially because of housing cost that they have no $ to make any improvements? Both husbands & wives work, but so did my wife & I & had 2 children to boot. I constantly receive comments nowadays on how nice my yard looks. It got that way because I worked my a.. off when I worked for S. Bell & off days, now ret. I often had to work 13 days straight 12 hr. days w/ one day off for 6 months straight during declared emergencies, but still managed to go to church on Sun. & keep the yard up. BTW, I am really enjoying retirement since 2011.
I’d say some of it is cost…. There is house payment is substantially more than yours

The other is they don’t see it as priority
 

nchawkeye

Old Mossy Horns
You are right in a way, many do not know how to do the things that we learned when we were young...I have 2 great son in laws but neither could rebuild a carb, rebuild the inside of a toilet, replaced plumbing in a home, fix a roof, wire a light switch, etc...Heck, until 2 years ago I changed the oil on all my cars, lawnmower, etc...

Thankfully both of my son in laws make good money but they sure spend more money on things I did when younger...So, I'm not sure I would call it lazy but I agree with your observation about taking care of their property...Frankly I have been shocked at homes I have listed and the condition of some....
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
Priorities yes, but absolutely also no pride in ownership & pure T laziness. Not too sure about the $ factor though.
Priorities.


My neighbor has an amazing yard. He’s out there 2-3 hrs a day every single day pulling weeds, spraying, edging etc. Good for him. I don’t have time for that nor do I care. I mow my yard once a week, keep the weeds out of the flower bed and spray the weeds on the sidewalk/driveway every few weeks. That’s good enough for me. I spend maybe 4-5 hours per month on my yard. I would rather spend my time hunting, fishing, camping, hiking etc.

And just for reference, my neighbor and I are the same age (37). Our priorities just differ.
 

Ceehawk37

Ten Pointer
Priorities and the likelihood of moving elsewhere. Im not investing a crap ton of time or money in something when I may sell it 2-3 years down the road and it won’t bring enough extra to justify it. Do the bare minimum to up keep and spend time doing something fun if you don’t plan to be there long term. My generation is a lot more mobile too, even when they have kids.

I just turned 35. Purchased average and got a house built about 2 years ago way out in the sticks. I’m working on this property a ton when I have time because I plan to be here long term and want to be more self sufficient. If I were in a suburb then I’d likely not do a ton to upgrade. As long as you check the HOA boxes then no sense in spending that much time or effort on it.
 

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Priorities.


My neighbor has an amazing yard. He’s out there 2-3 hrs a day every single day pulling weeds, spraying, edging etc. Good for him. I don’t have time for that nor do I care. I mow my yard once a week, keep the weeds out of the flower bed and spray the weeds on the sidewalk/driveway every few weeks. That’s good enough for me. I spend maybe 4-5 hours per month on my yard. I would rather spend my time hunting, fishing, camping, hiking etc.

And just for reference, my neighbor and I are the same age (37). Our priorities just differ.
I am speaking in generalities of course. Sounds like you do a quite a bit of yard work & every one does have different priorities. The point I am making though is the last 3 owners do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING other than mow every 2-3 weeks. Shrubs & pine needles full of weeds, never edge, vines growing up the side of their home, etc.
 

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I am not expecting the last 3 neighbors yards to look like the Biltmore Estste, but I cant help but wonder if they don't plan on practically doing ANY yardwork, why didnt they just buy a condo. Anyway, like already mentioned the HOA does deliver them notices on occasion because they have told me.
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
I'm afraid I'm becoming a millennial. About all I can do these days is ride the mower once a week and that takes me about 3.5 hrs. I have to hire somebody to do the weedeating. I never did much pulling weeds but have now just gone to roundup for weeds and edging. The good thing is, I am so far away from everyone that hardly anyone ever sees the place. But then, that is my problem. I can't stand to see the things going downhill that I worked so hard to keep up. The wood's pathes,around the pond, the grass in the driveway, firewood..... and on and on. It gets really depressing sometimes when you see all that needs done and can't handle it any more.
 

ScottyB

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I got a neighbor on one side with tons of time and tons of money…. Beautiful place- gardening is her thing…..other side of me a young couple just bought the ugliest house in the neighborhood….. never saw it in person and paid 679,000…..they have been balls to wall working in the yard, getting lots of use of the pool and I think they will be great neighbors! Guess we got lucky With our young folks!
If I had a neighbor letting things go to chit… vines growing on house kind of stuff… a man to man talk may be in order just to see where his head is at….. may just been raised in an environment where his dad never did that stuff …. It would be worth a tank of roundup and an hour of my time if they would allow it just to improve the neighborhood ….ommv
 

timekiller13

Old Mossy Horns
Dang over achiever

Mine is lucky to get chopped once a month

It’s more a deer pasture than a “lawn”
I live on a 0.5 acre lot now. Takes 20 min to mow and 10 min to trim. So I figure I got 30 min once a week to devote to that. There are a few advantages to living in the ‘burbs!!
 

dobber

Old Mossy Horns
Am I correct in saying is this the laziest generation ever?
about 5 years ago i took a little break from work for 6 months, wish i didn't as i missed out buying a house across the road for $99k, has had 3 people move in and out since, the last guy (paid $286k) has cut his grass twice so far this year, the first time was due to the big notice taped to his door. He is entertaining though, he has had a few different women in and out and each one of them crazier than the last. Just the other week the latest one was screaming on the phone about her "mental health" issues, for reference she did change clothes at least twice in the driveway.
whether its the garbage cans or recycle bins, normally takes him 3 days to bring back to the house
 

Longrifle

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Laughing, I sold my second 50 acre farm and downsized to an 8 acre place because I was the guy who would spend 7-8 hours every weekend mowing yards, pasture, and woods trails for 7-8 hours. Did so nearly 30 years. Now I'm down to a little less than 5 with woods on 3 sides and 50 acres of crops on the other. It'll take a drone to find me because I like it that way. My little homestead is 450' down a winding driveway and there's a No Trespassing sign at the end of the last curve with an arrow pointing to the center of a set of crosshairs. It reads "You Are Here!" at the top of it. My most regular visitor is a guy in a Big Brown truck, he brings me archery gear and always has treats for Cowboy.

And Cowboy? His dog pen is an easy 1/4 acre fenced. I keep it groomed and him well taken care of. Why? Because I like him a lot and he's the best and only help I've got....
All of it gets mowed regularly...the sides of the driveway, the yard ,the dog pen, trails out back, and the road frontage....but only because I can do it in an hour or so. And damn a weedeater, I'm going fishing!
 

DC-DXT

Twelve Pointer
Could be different priorities, maybe they lack work ethic, possibly their give a damn meter is broken, or they might not know how to do those tasks. We had a young couple move beside us once from Miami. The 2 Dads moved everything into the house and had everything setup and ready. Young couple arrived a couple days later. The young couple (at least the guy) didn’t have a clue how to operate a push mower or weedeater. I could be upstairs working and hear him trying to mow. I would stand at the window & watch in amazement. I told him if he had any questions or needed help with the push mower or weedeater just ask. He never did. One day I hear the mower start up and head to window for some cheap entertainment. Her family was visiting and her sister was mowing the yard, she actually knew how.

The boy’s Dad asked me about crime. We all had fenced in yards. Told him I have a lock on the gate so kids’ bikes won’t walk off. Dad returns to Miami. Few days later, I notice a lock on the gate, on the outside of the gate. Go upstairs, sure enough no lock on the inside of the gate. He didn’t know bolt cutters existed. He was from a concrete jungle.
 

BigBow

Ten Pointer
Contributor
I'm afraid I'm becoming a millennial. About all I can do these days is ride the mower once a week and that takes me about 3.5 hrs. I have to hire somebody to do the weedeating. I never did much pulling weeds but have now just gone to roundup for weeds and edging. The good thing is, I am so far away from everyone that hardly anyone ever sees the place. But then, that is my problem. I can't stand to see the things going downhill that I worked so hard to keep up. The wood's pathes,around the pond, the grass in the driveway, firewood..... and on and on. It gets really depressing sometimes when you see all that needs done and can't handle it any more.
Lee, I can relate to not being able to do what I used to do & finally have come to that reality after a detached bicep tendon, twisted ankles, numerous punctures, cuts & bruises, a ruptured Achilles tendon, & being overweight w/ diabetes, etc. I now realize my limitations & don't push it anymore. We do the best we can & don't worry about it. Still love to hunt & fish, but you will not find me 40' up a pine in a climber deer hunting anymore or trout fishing 3 miles up a rugged mountain stream. I pay a yard man to do my yardwork, but still like working my small garden, pier fishing @ Seaview, Turkey hunting, etc. I am loving 11 years of retirement & the relaxation it affords after having spent 32 years of telecommunications lineman work.
 

Hevi 13. Anson

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
Lee, I can relate to not being able to do what I used to do & finally have come to that reality after a detached bicep tendon, twisted ankles, numerous punctures, cuts & bruises, a ruptured Achilles tendon, & being overweight w/ diabetes, etc. I now realize my limitations & don't push it anymore. We do the best we can & don't worry about it. Still love to hunt & fish, but you will not find me 40' up a pine in a climber deer hunting anymore or trout fishing 3 miles up a rugged mountain stream. I pay a yard man to do my yardwork, but still like working my small garden, pier fishing @ Seaview, Turkey hunting, etc. I am loving 11 years of retirement & the relaxation it affords after having spent 32 years of telecommunications lineman work.
Funny thing is most posters missed the fact that you questioned your neighbors pride in owning property. These are the same people that have knee high grass in their garden or have weeds knee deep in their flower gardens. Sure everybody is busy with life but how hard is it to shine your trophy, unless it a participation trophy. You hit the nail on the head and the hit dogs hollered. Good post my friend.
 
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