House hunting pettiness

[teachermom2834]

Do you ever just scratch a house off the list because of the street name? Seriously I don’t know what the people with the power to name streets are thinking sometimes.

We aren’t moving until the spring/summer but dh and I drove around looking at houses that are currently for sale scouting neighborhoods last weekend and drove by a street and I told dh “I could never live on that street. Could you imagine giving out that name every time asked for your address?” 

Sure enough the next day the perfect house came on the market on that street! 

 

[JustEm]

We looked at a 16 acre lot with two houses with stables and a huge barn on it  and would have completely bought it had they not built the main house on the lowest spot of the property meaning all the water had run into the basement and was ruining the foundation. The property was on Blue Ball Rd but that wouldn't have stopped us.

Edited September 13, 2022 by hjffkj

[Carrie12345]

Yes, but we all have different tastes, lol. I would love on Devils HoleRd, but I wouldn’t live on the streets that use my estranged family members’ names. 😉 

[teachermom2834]

I really hope it wouldn’t actually come down to a street name because finding the right house is such an ordeal. Our current street name is just a made up nonsensical word that I have to spell and that is super annoying but certainly not something you wouldn’t buy a house over.

[Bambam]

Our town has a Smelley Road. Yes, pronounced Smelly. I think it is an old family name, so it is understandable it is named that, but I'm glad we didn't find a house on that road. 

[Elizabeth86]

Totally petty, but I’m not easily bothered by things like that.

[Katy]

I’ve refused to look at houses on certain streets just because of the name, yes. 

[Kassia]

I would be really torn if I found the house I wanted but it was on a street name that I didn't like.  

[Jenny in Florida]

Several years ago, we rented a house on a street named after a military commander who was heavily involved in implementing the Indian Removal Act. We did not recognize the name when we rented the house, but it bothered us the whole time we lived there. When we started looking at houses to buy, there were a few on that same street that met all of our criteria, but we opted not to look at them, because of the street name.

[teachermom2834]

1 minute ago, Jenny in Florida said:

Several years ago, we rented a house on a street named after a military commander who was heavily involved in implementing the Indian Removal Act. We did not recognize the name when we rented the house, but it bothered us the whole time we lived there. When we started looking at houses to buy, there were a few on that same street that met all of our criteria, but we opted not to look at them, because of the street name.

Ugh. I hadn’t even considered moral objections. Just the embarrassment of something with a gross connotation. 

[Home'scool]

My town had a street called "Roast Meat Hill Road" -- I think I would've thought twice about buying a house on that road! 

[teachermom2834]

5 minutes ago, Home'scool said:

My town had a street called "Roast Meat Hill Road" -- I think I would've thought twice about buying a house on that road! 

That is funny. My family would be okay with that one! 😂

[stephanier.1765]

I haven't come across that problem yet but several times, if the houses had been right,  I would buy houses because I liked the street name. A new neighborhood has a street called Sheer Bliss Rd. I want to live in sheer bliss. LOL

[teachermom2834]

3 minutes ago, stephanier.1765 said:

I haven't come across that problem yet but several times, if the houses had been right,  I would buy houses because I liked the street name. A new neighborhood has a street called Sheer Bliss Rd. I want to live in sheer bliss. LOL

I don’t know. That is a lot of pressure. I might prefer “Just Average Lane” or “Regular Day Drive” LOL

[HomeAgain]

I love so many of the quirky street names around here.  Fresh Holes Road might deter me a bit, but whoever named Ichabod Lane is a kindred spirit. 😄  There are only a few houses on Sesame Street but you bet your bottom if one came open I'd consider moving.

[Kassia]

Ds1 lived right next to Wealthy Lane and wanted to move there because he loved that (I wouldn't).  He ended up moving to King Street for a while, so that was close enough to Wealthy Lane.  🙂  I grew up on a numbered street but the homes I've lived in since moving to Ohio have all been on street names I really like.  

[fairfarmhand]

In my dh's hometown there is a Penile Hill road. I don't think I would want to live there. i wouldn't be able to not giggle when sharing my address.

In our rural area, lots of roads are named after people who lived there. Often there are multiple people from the same family with road names. So for instance there's a Joe Watson road and a Ted Watson Road.  

[rebcoola]

I admit that I am the kind of person that would probably giggle and be happy to live on road with a dirty name.  I have noticed any here they are all named after trees. We live on Forest rd which would be totally boring except we live in a desert so it's ironic I guess.  We do have more trees than most here.    

[historically accurate]

Yep, DH and I really thought about putting an offer on a house a few years back. I would've hated living on Be-Ver-Kreek Road (beaver creek) - ugh, having to spell that monstrosity, hyphens and all, every time you give out your address. While the name of the road was a strike against it, we decided against it for other reasons. 

DH refuses to look at houses on Hurlbut (named after someone in the Civil War) here in town. Apparently, there is a whole town (population 305) called Hurlbut in Illinois; I don't think DH would appreciate that since he doesn't even like it as a street name.

[teachermom2834]

I’ve seen some here with three or four hyphens and thought what a pain to deal with. Surely we could do something simpler than that. So unnecessary. There is one here there is nonsense and hyphens (or not nonsense but some language or meaning unfamiliar to me and surely most people). I’d have trouble remembering just syllables and hyphens if it didn’t make words I know. I’m getting old 😂
 

I’ve also seen just really long names. Like “Knights of the Round Table Trail” which I love for dramatic impact but seriously that isn’t going to fit on most forms. Wouldn’t be a deal breaker but would be super annoying!  But easy for people to remember I guess. 
 

I’m longing for numbered streets now.

[lynn]

There is an entire neighborhood of names of computer operations????delete street, disc drive,

Edited September 13, 2022 by lynn

[kirstenhill]

1 minute ago, lynn said:

There is an entire neighborhood of computer part names...delete street, disc drive, etc

Ooh, I would like that! 😄 I think I would have a harder time with a street name that was a person or concept I found morally objectionable than something that was just annoying or gross.  Maybe it would depend on how gross.  I really hate mold, so if there is a "mold street" somewhere, I would maybe be too grossed out...I don't know!

[teachermom2834]

5 minutes ago, lynn said:

There is an entire neighborhood of names of computer operations????delete street, disc drive,

I like that. Though “Delete Street” out of context sounds like the setting of a horror film. 

[KungFuPanda]

I live in the land of weird street names. In my “village” the names come from the works of Carl Sandberg, Earnest Hemingway, and Andrew Wyeth. My street is from Fitzgerald. They don’t even always add ‘street’ or ‘road’ to the end and just shove a couple nouns together and call it good leaving the residents to explain this anomaly whenever we share our address. It’s more fun and quirky than annoying. 
 

There is a town down the road called Scaggsville. That never really sounded pleasant to me. 

[athena1277]

Kinda the opposite, but there’s a street with dh’s first name.  There’s also a builder that uses our last name.  Dh really would like a “lastname” house on “firstname” road. 

[Forget-Me-Not]

I totally get it.  I would have a hard time buying a house on a street name that I hated.

Our new house is on a street that is made up of two words that should be separate but are shoved together on the street sign.  Think "Whiteflower Way" vs "White Flower Way" (as an example).  I was so happy to learn that the official post office address has them as separate words, though I know for a fact that some of my neighbors use it as one word.  Of course now when I give my address, I have to specify that they are separate words.  You would *think* adding a significant pause between the two words as you are giving the address would do the job, but no, no it doesn't.  

Edited September 13, 2022 by Forget-Me-Not

[freesia]

I live on an unpronounceable difficultly spelled road, have a last name that’s nearly as bad and a first name with two common variations. I would give anything to live on Elm St. lol. However, I am a pragmatist with a hint of idealist. If I could get the perfect house for a good deal, I wouldn’t care about the name. 

[elegantlion]

There are a few street names here that I wouldn't pick. Thankfully, I know the houses on the street are not our taste. 

[klmama]

We looked at a great house on a street with a famous name that had been misspelled.  I decided against it for other reasons, but the misspelled street name would have really bothered me. 

[Ali in OR]

Ours was the first house being built on this street, named after a tree, and the builder's submitted plans to the city misspelled the tree. There was a street sign up with the wrong spelling. I didn't want to live on the misspelled street (and have to constantly correct people like myself who know how to spell) and I was actually able to get the city to put a new street sign up, spelled correctly, but only because we were the first house. They wouldn't have fixed the misspelling if anyone was already using an address with it.

[Spryte]

2 hours ago, Ali in OR said:

Ours was the first house being built on this street, named after a tree, and the builder's submitted plans to the city misspelled the tree. There was a street sign up with the wrong spelling. I didn't want to live on the misspelled street (and have to constantly correct people like myself who know how to spell) and I was actually able to get the city to put a new street sign up, spelled correctly, but only because we were the first house. They wouldn't have fixed the misspelling if anyone was already using an address with it.

Nice! Our street name is misspelled, and it’s seriously frustrating. I try to tell myself it was someone’s last name. 

There’s a quirky neighborhood in the foothills of a mountain range that I always loved because all the streets are named for Beatles songs. How sweet to live on Penny Lane.

 

[Splash1]

We looked at a house on Jackass Hill Road.  Didn't work out but was imagining teaching my preschooler their address.

 

[stephanier.1765]

I have to say I'm really enjoying this thread. It's a bright light just when I need it. Thanks!

[shawthorne44]

The street name where I grew up started with "West".  That was a pain-in-the-butt.   Because it wasn't "1234 West XYZ Drive" it was "1234 WestXYZ Drive". and confused delivery drivers who couldn't find XYZ drive.  

[Jaybee]

Our street name is a pretty name, but it's rather historical and perhaps prestigious, and this is very much middle class average suburbia. If you were to see the name, you would not imagine quite what you find when you get here.

[AmandaVT]

We have a Mosquitoville Rd nearby - I can't imagine voluntarily living there! 

 

[teachermom2834]

This has been fun. I cannot believe no one has asked me what the offending street name in the OP is.

Now this is just academic because we aren’t really ready to buy and it isn’t really the perfect house but it does meet our basic parameters and is in the right location and we would look at it. I’ll go ahead and share because I’m not anonymous on here and have shared my location before. Let me know if you would be put off to tell people you live on:

Touch Me Not Trail

I feel like they are going for the “Leave Only Footprints” nature preservation angle but that is not what comes to mind. 
 

It is a condo community, actually, so maybe it is conveying the idea that this is where you move when you are over it and ready for separate bedrooms?

I think it might be great for my dd to tell her date where to pick her up for prom. 

Edited September 15, 2022 by teachermom2834

[Kassia]

3 hours ago, Splash1 said:

We looked at a house on Jackass Hill Road.  Didn't work out but was imagining teaching my preschooler their address.

 

This cracks me up!  

 

16 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

This has been fun. I cannot believe no one has asked me what the offending street name in the OP is.

Now this is just academic because we aren’t really ready to buy and it isn’t really the perfect house but it does meet our basic parameters and is in the right location and we would look at it. I’ll go ahead and share because I’m not anonymous on here and have shared my location before. Let me know if you would be put off to tell people you live on:

Touch Me Not Trail

 

I don't know if I could live on a street with that name.  My first thought is perverts/molestation.  😞  

[teachermom2834]

4 minutes ago, Kassia said:

This cracks me up!  

 

I don't know if I could live on a street with that name.  My first thought is perverts/molestation.  😞  

Yep. I think it is awful. 

[Acorn]

I first think of the touch me not flowers, but I wouldn’t want it as an address.

[teachermom2834]

Just now, Acorn said:

I first think of the touch me not flowers, but I wouldn’t want it as an address.

I don’t think I even knew that was a flower! I am glad that not everyone would have something unsavory as a first thought. Though I bet most of the people I know would 😟

[KungFuPanda]

35 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

This has been fun. I cannot believe no one has asked me what the offending street name in the OP is.

Now this is just academic because we aren’t really ready to buy and it isn’t really the perfect house but it does meet our basic parameters and is in the right location and we would look at it. I’ll go ahead and share because I’m not anonymous on here and have shared my location before. Let me know if you would be put off to tell people you live on:

Touch Me Not Trail

I feel like they are going for the “Leave Only Footprints” nature preservation angle but that is not what comes to mind. 
 

It is a condo community, actually, so maybe it is conveying the idea that this is where you move when you are over it and ready for separate bedrooms?

I think it might be great for my dd to tell her date where to pick her up for prom. 

But it’s a flower!

I’m so used to weird names. There’s a street called The Bowl. That’s it, no road or court; just The Bowl. We have stuff like Paragon Circle and Fall Moon Ride and Sohap lane (because “ blah blah blah so hap blah blah” in some book.) I’m pretty sure there’s a Satan Lane or something. I’m on one of those streets that doesn’t say st. or ct. or anything that makes sense. 
 

“Where do you live?”

”546 Coffee Cup.”

”You must live in Columbia”

I’ve had that conversation a lot. Touch-me-not seems normal. 😁

[teachermom2834]

Way better when I think of it as a flower! 
 

I’m totally fine with all the other weird names people have mentioned. Totally digging Roast Meat or definitely down with Coffee Cup.

[KungFuPanda]

11 minutes ago, teachermom2834 said:

I don’t think I even knew that was a flower! I am glad that not everyone would have something unsavory as a first thought. Though I bet most of the people I know would 😟

I think normal people call it jewel weed. We loved making the pods explode as kids. My sister just asked my mom and me if we have any seeds to share. She misses the plant and it’s a bit nostalgic for us. 

[Shoeless]

On 9/13/2022 at 7:46 AM, teachermom2834 said:

Do you ever just scratch a house off the list because of the street name?

Yes. There's a street not far from here called "Purgatory Road".

I mean...living in Purgatory? No...just no.

There was a street called "Cheese Road" where I used to live. I kept hoping a house would go on the market there, but no luck.

[Kassia]

4 hours ago, MissLemon said:

 

There was a street called "Cheese Road" where I used to live. I kept hoping a house would go on the market there, but no luck.

Ooooh - I'd love Cheese Road or Chocolate Trail.

I forgot that Touch Me Not is a flower.  That does make me feel better but it would always feel creepy to me whenever I told someone where I lived. 

[lmrich]

We bought house on Columbine - it is a flower local to the area, but my kids think it is just awful. But to make it worse:  it is popular to name houses in this mountain community. It was named Heaven's Gate. We quickly took down the sign with the name. 

 

[shawthorne44]

I would totally live on Touch Me Not.  
I'd avoid anything with evil connotations.  After that preference for not having to spell the name at length.   

 

[Janeway]

On 9/13/2022 at 7:46 AM, teachermom2834 said:

Do you ever just scratch a house off the list because of the street name? Seriously I don’t know what the people with the power to name streets are thinking sometimes.

We aren’t moving until the spring/summer but dh and I drove around looking at houses that are currently for sale scouting neighborhoods last weekend and drove by a street and I told dh “I could never live on that street. Could you imagine giving out that name every time asked for your address?” 

Sure enough the next day the perfect house came on the market on that street! 

 

Yes. I remember a couple awful street names that I could not live on.

[rutheart]

I wanted to buy a house on Chateaugay Rd, but my husband and teenager found the street name absolutely mortifying. We didn't get it because it needed too many repairs to pay full price and the owner wouldn't budge on the price. There was a large hole in the dining room ceiling that you could see the second floor through. Decades of dust was caked so thick, you could see the narrow walkways where the homeowner walked through the house. The master bath looked like a crime scene. That wasn't even the worst house we saw during that 8 months of house shopping...

I always pause to think about long street names that have to be spelled out every time. One of my childhood homes was on Entree View Dr. Once you spelled out Entree, people would demand View be spelled as well, like they couldn't trust that would be a normal spelling. My current street name has to be spelled out, but it's only 4 letters, so I don't mind as much.

I passed by Cut Thru Rd yesterday, and thought that would be a miserable place to live.

My youngest desperately wants to live on Boring Rd. lol