MrsRobinson
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Posts posted by MrsRobinson
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4 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:
https://photos.app.goo.gl/QCRejEDd6hJEcAQE6
This is my kitchen. I LOVE this kitchen.
I was standing in the dining room when I took the picture. It's open to the dining room and we keep stools under the peninsula.
To the left of the fridge is a pantry and an exit to the back porch. Under both counters arecabinets. There’s lots of storage space!
Jealous! I love your kitchen, too! 😄 ❤️
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8 minutes ago, amyx4 said:
Our first house was on a corner lot. The house faced the residential street and our driveway ran along the back of a small commercial building. It was an insurance office so mostly Mon-Sat. 9-5 business with only 3-4 parking spots. For many years, all was fine, until the new owner put a public payphone very near our driveway. Zoning-wise there was nothing we could do. The payphone attracted all kinds of activity, noise and chaos on the weekends.
Once you are interested in a house, I would go to the city/town building department and ask "worst case scenario". Could the nearby property be turned into anything at all? An Amazon warehouse that loads/unloads trucks all night long? etc.
I read something recently that suggested asking the previous, previous owners when you are looking at an unusual property.
That's wild that a payphone would attract so much attention!
Dh wants to voice our concerns to our real estate agent and get her perspective. See if she thinks its worth waiting a little longer to see what comes on the market or if we should try to snatch one of these houses for a song.
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9 minutes ago, Catwoman said:
The sellers might be starting to get nervous if they haven’t received any offers yet, and their Realtor is probably suggesting that they lower the price. And if they have received early offers but haven’t accepted them, they might be warming up to the idea now that more time has passed.
If you make an offer, you have to get past your natural hesitation to not want to hurt the seller’s feelings by making a very low offer, because one day you will be that seller and the location could hurt you.
One thing to check on — is there any possibility of getting the house re-zoned to commercial or office in the future when you want to sell it? That could add a lot of value for the right buyer, and a highly visible location across the street from Walmart could be pure gold for a professional office or a home-based business.
😨 Yikes! I don't want to be that person! Lol!
I looked up the zoning map for our city and it doesn't look like we'd be able to change anything. The house is in a subdivision, its just on the outer edge of it, which happens to be right across from Wal-Mart. We would actually be looking at the parking lot, side entry/exit, and side wall of Wal-Mart, if that makes sense. So we wouldn't pull in and out of the driveway onto a 5 lane road. Its just a regular city street. But man, its RIGHT THERE, lol.
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10 minutes ago, Margaret in CO said:
No way! I'm unhappy that I can see lights out my back windows now, and they're over a mile away! Noise? Nope! Traffic? Nope!
I know, right? I'm milling around my house now, tidying up and as I look out the windows on one wall of the house, I can see a bright street light and a sprinkling of little porch lights from neighbors along our street. The boys do need blackout curtains to get to sleep.
But the windows on the other three walls? Fields, cow pastures, dark, and quiet. I will miss that very much.
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11 minutes ago, Catwoman said:
How long has the house been up for sale?
It was listed 5 days before Christmas so while its been on the market longer than houses usually last here, it has an unfair time frame because nobody is looking between December 20th and New Years, lol.
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1 hour ago, Bluegoat said:
Yeah, I have lived in quite a few places like that. I would say there are trade-offs, but it can work out well.
I would look into noise at night. I personally find certain kinds of noise bother me more than others. A lot of drnk people - annoying. A regular bus or train - after a while I didn't notice. In fact I found I really liked certain kinds of industrial activity when I would hear the trains changing in the train yard early in the morning, or the work at the container pier, or foghorns - it always made me feel like getting up and doing something useful. On the other hand, for some reason being able to hear highway noise really annoyed me.
I generally like being near smaller retail. Something like a big Walmart I might not enjoy - I just can't enjoy looking at giant parking lots, and Walmart buildings are really ugly in a weird way - I find they make me feel like a gazelle with no where to run if a lion appears. Too open.
Something else can be smells. Where I am now I occasionally smell the Burger King a few blocks away, which is not a problem. When I lived near an industrial bakery it often smelled quite nice in the street. On the other hand, I lived near a brewery and when they were boiling I found the mell overpowering. I lived near a coffee roster too and while I liked the smell, it gave my roommate a headache.
The worst retail/housing combo I knew was my friend who lived over an aquarium shop. They constantly had crickets in their apartment, chirping and chirping and chirping....
To the bold: You are my people! I agree with all of this! Dh thinks I'm crazy for actually liking any kind of noise.
To the italics: that is hilarious! Not to your friend, I am sure, but I doubt very many people would think of crickets when considering an apartment above an aquarium. 😂
The more I read responses here, the more I think it really will depend on the type of commercial activity. Dh and I are leaning toward "no" on the house that's across from Wal-Mart. Which is a shame because its beautiful.
The other two are still strong contenders but I do want to see what its like at night. Fortunately, they are both empty so I could probably park right in the driveway for a few minutes.
Who knows, we might not end up buying any of these houses and waiting for a later spring market inventory. Like I said, early stages but, when your realtor takes you to three different homes all right up against the business district, you start thinking, "well if this is the only option I can afford, how could I make it work?"
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14 minutes ago, beckyjo said:
I live behind an old KMart; it's been closed (so empty) for about a year and a half and it is now being remodeled as a Lumberyard. Honestly, I don't even really notice it. Some things we have run into: it draws neighborhood teens who hang out and sometimes make trouble, weirdos drove and parked behind it or dumped garbage while it was closed, and the parking lot lights can be blinding at night.
Hopefully, with the new occupant, the weirdos and trash dumping will stop. Its so sad people behave that way.
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17 minutes ago, Arcadia said:
My condo’s “backyard” is Canon, Samsung, Light Rail headquarters and we picked this location because we are surrounded by potential employers and decent high frequency light rail system. Supermarket with pharmacy, library, dental, optician, hair salon, cafes and restaurants, cellular providers and a hotel is just across the street. It’s great for our family because I don’t drive and my husband prefers not to drive. We are used to urban city living so bright lights, road noises and UPS/DHL/FedEx trucks don’t bother us.
Yes, that would be a huge change for us. We live on the very edge of town in a quiet cul-de-sac subdivision where the space between houses is big and other than our one subdivision neighbor, we are surrounded by fields and farmland. The cows get loud seasonally but that's a different kind of loud, haha! 😁
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Okay, it dawned on me that a friend of mine lives across the street from a big grocery store so I chatted with her for a minute and she said the two things she's doesn't like are the parking lot lights and the constant grocery bags and other trash blowing into their yard. She loves her house though. Huge living room, home office, play room, garage.
So, basically, she was no help! Lol! 🙃
You guys are right, I need to lurk at night and on the weekend to see what goes on at various times.
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13 minutes ago, Where's Toto? said:
My mother lives with a strip mall and main commercial area over her backyard fence. It is miserable for her - noisy, rats (any large retail location that sells or serves food will have rats, mice and roaches), the lights, having to worry about random people being around all the time, safety, traffic. She hates it.
I didn't even think about vermin! Ick! Ick! Ick! 😱
I did think about random people hanging around. The house with the metal building and parking lot across the street definitely attracts teens with skateboards and the like. We are over there weekly for one of the kids extracurriculars so I'm very familiar with that area.
The house has FOUR bedrooms though! 😩 And a huge back yard... and a basement... and a garage... and beautiful real hardwood floors! 😫
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42 minutes ago, mmasc said:
Now that would be awesome! I love deer and we have a lot around here. Maybe I’ll just imagine that it’s miniature deer playing on my back porch. 😊💕
Yes, and as the tiny deer frolicked, the blue birds circled them and sang Disney songs. 😂 🤣❤️
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We are in the early stages of house hunting. Hoping to buy some time this year. Anyway, a few of the houses we like and can afford are right next to the business district. As in, out the front door and front windows is a huge metal building and parking lot across the street, or a Wal-Mart Supercenter, or a mega church. I'm thinking that's the main reason they are so affordable because they are otherwise lovely homes.
Would you ever buy a home with such a location?
If you have bought a home with this type of location, was there anything you were able to do to minimize the unattractive view, give privacy, or block the lights at night?
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46 minutes ago, Æthelthryth the Texan said:
I would highly suggest you buy a password manager App like Dashlane or LastPass- do NOT use a notekeepign app for passwords. You can install/access the PW Applications across devices- they work really well. But there's no way I'd keep passwords on any Notekeeping App out there and if you encrypt it and lost the password you're done for.
Beyond that, I also vote OneNote using OneDrive. It works well regardless of device type be it Android or iOS.
Its just for the annoying sites that make you "register" to access whatever. A lot of educational games the kids like to play. That sort of thing. Nothing with our credit card info or any other identifying or private information.
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1 minute ago, JIN MOUSA said:
It is very similar. We switched from Evernote to OneNote because Evernote changed their free account to limit how many devices it could be installed on, and we were over the limit.
Oh bummer! I want to keep it on my computer and add it to my phone and tablet. Off to figure this out...
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2 minutes ago, JIN MOUSA said:
Another vote for OneNote. It's free and syncs across all of our (Apple) devices.
I also like that I can group like things together; Pages (a single "note" of any size) group into Sections, and Sections group into Notebooks.
It sounds a lot like Evernote. I do love that grouping feature.
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2 hours ago, Katy said:
I have apple devices. I love Microsoft One Note, it's free across apple devices and is fantastic. Everything syncs, and unlike apple programs I've rarely had an issue with it. When there IS an issue it shows you both versions and asks YOU to choose which is the newest. IDK if it costs more money on Microsoft devices.
I have android but I think I can get One Note free. I'll look more closely at it, thank you. 😊
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2 hours ago, vonfirmath said:
What do you want it to do?
I use Google docs for actual documents and I also have Google Drive so I think I'm good there.
What I need it for is that I have a ton of notes on the note app that comes with the phone. Medical notes for the multiple chronic illnesses in our household, curriculum lists, food staples, menus, info for a couple of things I volunteer for, financial notes, school things for school on the go, gobs of book lists for library trips, website logins and password hints, and more.
My phone is on the fritz and I don't want to loose everything so I want to switch to an app rather than saving all these notes to the phone. I also would like to be able to use these lists from my tablet.
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20 minutes ago, rdj2027 said:
I would probably do both. Go on vacation now and keep saving money until I have made up what we spent on the vacation and renovate the kitchen a couple of years down the road.
That's what I'd do!
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So apparently, yesterday's plan to "hit the basics" with regard to schoolwork meant "only do one math lesson with ds." 😰
We did make it to the library so they've gotten a bunch of really good books and are learning a lot there. Ds learned what reluctant means and dd has been compiling info about sights to see in various states. She wants a vacation as badly as I do!
We are getting ice right now and it's supposed to snow the majority of the day. So I guess we're not going anywhere.
I definitely want to do memory work, Spelling, Math, handwriting, and read alouds with ds. Dd needs to do memory work, spelling, writing, math, and handwriting. It seems weird to do school lessons one day and then have the weekend free but I actually think it will be a good way to ease back into it.
Maybe I'll have the kids do some snow day arts and crafts this afternoon.
Have a good weekend everyone!
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2 minutes ago, Seeking Squirrels said:
I'm afraid mine would panic if I showed her something like that! She's pretty sure every single writing curriculum or writing requirement is nothing more than nasty evil moms intent on torturing their children. I've tried so many different things with her and it feels like all it's gotten us is a headache and a lot of wasted time and money.
A couple of things that at least diffused dd's panic about writing were the Thinking Tree Journals, Listography, and Wreck This Journal. Posters here suggested them. She loves those and it really showed her that writing and expressing herself could be fun.
Writing is still a challenge for her but its much less of a battle than it used to be.
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Reading: shoring up reading skills with a bunch of links from ElizabethB. I haven't mapped it all out yet.
Spelling: Spelling Workout C
Grammar/Writing: EIW level 3
Handwriting: McRuffy 3rd grade cursive
Math: Math U See Gamma or Math Mammoth 3a and 3b if I decide not to spend the $.
History: interest led. I'm finally not deluding myself thinking we will stick with a curriculum.
Science: interest led. We have lots of kits and books. We love playing around with science.
Other: piano at home, monthly field trip, monthly playdate. Swimming lessons. He really wants to do Homeschool PE again, so we'll try to make that happen.
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I needed this! Thanks!
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1 hour ago, Seeking Squirrels said:
Wow they do look quite similar! Definitely on LA! I so want to go back to EIW; it got done! But she says no she hates it. She did it well at the time though. I also hate the looseness of BW. I know so many love it, but I really prefer "do this on this day" and I can keep us on track better with that. I'm glad you got through to your DD, maybe I'll try again. Is she doing at grade level in EIW?
Ha! No! I wish!
I bought grade 3 and grade 4, waving them under her nose each year but she said she hated it and wanted to do Brave Writer. It was like a lawn mower that won't start. We made very little progress in 2 years with Brave Writer.
So we are going through the grade 3 EIW level. Without the DVDs so we can get through it faster. We do all the lessons on one grammar topic in a day. So if there are 4 pages on adjectives, she can whip all that out in a day.
On the writing lessons, we do have to slow down and do it one step at a time. We plan to just keep going through the summer into the 4th grade book. I will probably have her watch the videos for the writing assignments in the 4th grade book.
When I was showing her where we've gone wrong with LA, I pulled out my box of school work from when I was in 5th grade. Pages and pages and pages of full sentences and huge topic paragraphs all single spaced handwritten in cursive circa 1995. 😊 She hasn't complained since and thanks me for adjusting my expectations to her abilities. 😂
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Good luck on your potential auto sales, HSL!
I am currently listening to hold music. On the phone with health insurance. A dreaded task for all, I am sure. 😰
The kids are building forts and getting along nicely. We'll do some schoolwork at some point. Just hit the basics.
I'm feeling better, just extremely weak. (I didn't make it to the store yesterday, I fell asleep on the couch.) I will venture out today because ds has 5 holds ready at the library. But that should be fine. I can just sit and rest while the kids play and gather books. 😊
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Homes that are located right next to commercial property...
in The Chat Board
Posted
One of the houses has a huge 1/2 acre backyard with lots of open space and trees. I was telling dh, we could make that backyard an inviting obvious spot to congregate and maybe that would minimize what's going on across the street and answer family and friends unavoidable questions of "why on earth would they buy a house here?!" 🤣