Sprawltastic

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• But I forgot to mention that I am in total agreement with some of these ludicurous names that these builders come up with.

• Nice photo shoot. I can't stand these zero lot line developments - is land that expensive that the houses have to nearly touch? Why not just build row houses then, like Coronation Street?

  Forty feet wide lots? Wow, that's living in the country. It seems like an apartment is no different than these houses. And no sidewalks either, so kids have to play in the street. What a shame to be a kid and not have sidewalks to learn how to ride a bike on.

  I have never been a fan of that raised-ranch style anyway, always going up and down stairs. You'd think with that layout, Windsorities would be the fittest people around.

  It seems like some of these developments follow the old farm lots set up by the French, like those going east on Riverside Dr. You can almost see the houses squished in between too-narrow roads.

  These houses should be regular colonials with real basements, and on 100x100ft lots, with sidewalks. Otherwise build townhomes and call it a day. If people don't really like the neighborhood, but buy because they don't want to live in an apartment, they will move on as soon as they can, so turnover will be a problem. I can't imagine people living in these homes for 40-50 years.

  I was going to say since all the homes are the same, the builders' quality should be high, as all the bugs should be fixed after the first few homes - but I doubt it. These babies are slapped together ASAP, at least they were until the housing market collapsed.

• Lately, I've noticed an awful lot of homes up for sale in the east end of Windsor. I wonder if the people moving out of older neighborhoods like Forest Glade and Fountainblue are buying up the cookie-cutter houses out by the 401 or whether they are moving out of Windsor altogether.

• George, there were many, many, for sale signs in this "neighbourhood". I'm not sure if they are foreclosures or turn-over or if they were ever occupied.

  JB - I think you're right on the money. They are slapped together as quick as possible, using the cheapest materials. We'll see how they look in 20 years...

• Check out 'South Windsor' - built from what - the early 1950's thru late 60's/early 70's. Notice how few sidewalks are present? Do you know what it's like being a kid trying to get to school? At least Norfolk had sidewalks on both sides - but the feeder streets didn't. How about the kids at Southwood? Again, busy streets and no side walks!! Hey, about about walking to the corner store to buy a candy bar or a stamp? Put yourself at Massey or near Massey - or the centre of South Windsor - circa 1985 - where is the closest convenience store? What poor planning. And it just continues ...

  I believe a perception exists that the downtown is a dump and a bad area and people don't want to live there - hence they move to these 'burbs' to show off their 'wealth (or debt)'. You know, big house, big cars, ... -- perhaps good about 20 years ago, but as written above, the slums of the future.

• Old world charm. Real hardwood floors. Natural fireplaces. Pocket doors. Coved ceilings. Glass doorknobs. Huge wooden front doors. Wainscoting. To list just a few added benefits one is rewarded with when buying an older home in the city vs the so-called "ticky tack" raised ranches and townhomes. Not to mention build quality and workmanship of a long gone era when homes were built over a period of months. As Andrew says, it's a matter of personal preference, but I'm glad to see more homebuyers are starting to show an interest in vintage homes. And for what one must spend on a home in sprawlsville you can do quite nicely - even better - in areas like Old Riverside, Walkerville, and yes... Downtown too. Ever admire the grand old homes on Victoria which extend north right into downtown?

  And yes, Windsorite, the convenience store should be around the corner or down the street, along with a bunch of other useful places. Running out of eggs shouldn't mean having to plan a car trip. ;) That's the nicest thing about living in the city. I'm with Andrew all the way on this. Could not imagine being a slave to my car in sprawlsville, which is essentially what living out there is all about. At $1.30/litre and climbing I think more people are going to be coming back too!

• John, I have to chuckle when I hear you talk about old world charm. Most downtown houses were at some point rental properties and most of that old world charm is long gone. Fireplaces had to be sealed up with a brick wall, as ordered by the Fire Marshall for rentals. Hardwood floors damaged beyond repair from cat and dog urine, original doors kicked in and replaced by metal or press board, once natural wood trim damaged from sloppy moving and chewed away by animals which had to be painted over, original wainscotting rotted from neglect. A lot of the houses on Victoria were at some point split into apartments and turned into rentals. And, while the brickwork may make it look quite elegant from the outside, the inside tells a whole different story, I've seen too many wrecked interiors in downtown to have such a romanticized view of it. Yet, that being said, a fresh coat of paint on the inside and new carpet could have one living quite comfortably in a home the size of one in sprawlsvile for a lot less.

• Well that generalisation is very debatable, but regardless of that, I was not talking about the 69k shacks which exist in many areas of the city, not just downtown. You missed the point:

  The comparison was between what you could buy in the city (which includes areas outside the downtown core btw) in the same price bracket or even less than you would pay in sprawlsville, not some handyman special rental property from hell on Aylmer. Apples to apples.

  I'm not sure how your home buying experiencies have been, but I'm on my 2nd home and in both instances there were scads of older homes on the market, particularly in Riverside and Walkerville, in fine condition. In the 150k range I did not see one home with damaged hardwood, kicked in doors, sealed up fireplaces, etc.

• I'm not talking about Alymer St--most of the exteriors are all gone from the vinyl siding, so it makes no sense to even set foot inside. Maybe you're just sticking to Chilver and Devonshire, but check out some of the ones on Lincoln--looked like someone threw a hand grenade inside. Most of my search was done from Victoria to Caron in downtown $150K and less range. Pretty rare to see one like you're talking about there. There's some beautiful brick houses on Bruce. Looks great on the outside exterior, but once you set foot inside, OUCH! No old world charm. You know it's been a rental.

• I'm not talking about just Chilver and Devonshire, although they are good examples.
  I've looked at quite a few homes on Lincoln that were very nice, by the way. Lincoln is one of those streets that runs the whole gammut. But once again, in the sprawlsville price bracket, you will do fine on Lincoln as well.