Currently on my tall-oak-lined lane (yes, we still have actual “lanes”) in New Jersey – and it’s a dead end one too – where for well over 50 years only smaller bungalo-style or modest ranch homes have stood, an 8,000 sqft ginormously and obscenly unnecessarily high field-stone faced, hip-roofed McMansion is going up blocking out the sky next to my modest 1,350sq.ft. lovely little ranch of 25 years.

Even my neighbors (all 12 of us on the lane) are stunned and disgusted and it won’t immediately or directly impact them as much as it will me. There cumulative comments are: “Why didn’t they build a monstrosity like that in a neighborhood where homes like that are more common? Surely they don’t intend to try and ‘fit in’ with this modest-struggling economically community?”

AhHah! Lightbulb moment on my part. That, I reasoned, is EXACTLY why they decided to build here: If you live in a $1.5mil. house that’s flanked by other $1ml or $900K houses …..how’s anyone to know that yours is the most expensive? You just blend in, so to speak. It’s not about wanting your style of architecture to stand out because all those homes are practically identically designed anyway. So how do you project the materialistic wealth of your home and (more importantly: YOU) to your neighbors and anyone else driving by? ANSWER: You build in a neighborhood where – by comparison to your home – the rest of the houses are mere hovels/shacks/shantys, etc. and (obviously in your opinion and in the opinion of your frequent other materialistic guests who’ll use drive into your circular driveway in their Porches)…obviously the people who inhabit said ‘shantys’ are low-class and to be avoided at all costs.

Eh, voila! Class distinction and projection of wealth and (in their opinion) importance imparted all at once and without saying a word or lifting a finger any more than it took to sign the ginormous check for all that environmentally-unfriendly crap used in your homes construction. Not to mention all those 50-100-year old oaks that were felled to make room for it and for the obligatory massive deck and pool which will surely follow, along with the chemical pesticide/herbicide toxic lawn treatments to come as well.

Sorry for the rant. Guess I should start my own blog about this because I sense I’ll have much more to say as this progresses. Matter of fact…….

It’s not just a matter of landfills being overloaded with teardowns. Where do people go for affordable housing? And while property values may go up, so do taxes. There are older folks in our neighborhood (one couple has been here since 1946) who can’t afford to live in their little 2 bd/1 ba 1,200 sq ft home.

The mentality of the people who live in these McMansions bothers me too. We introduced ourselves to our new neighbors when they were building their house. It was on the lot across the street from us where a neat brick ranch once stood. The lady who lived there had a wonderful garden and could tell you every plant that was in it, where the plant came from, how to tend to it, etc. She always waved and was friendly and cordial. After the newbies figured out we lived in the tiny house across from them, they haven’t spoken to us since. As a matter of fact, the brother of the owner backed into a friend’s car that was parked on the street. There was no apology. The first words out of his ligitation-driven mouth were,”I knew this was going to happen. People park here all the time. I’m surprised it wasn’t me.” First of all, hardly anyone visits so no one every parks there and, if they did park there “all the time” wouldn’t you be aware of that fact when backing out? Especially when your entire yard is paved for your Yukon and Expedition?

The point I guess I’m trying to make, in a rambling way, is that people have been conditioned to think only of themselves, their castles, their cars. There are no communities anymore, which is a tragedy as well.