If Money Was No Object.

[GHT]

As the title suggests, what would be your fantasy come true? Can I say this is meant to be a fun thread, just a fantasy.

Where I live is quite enviable, having lived, cheek by jowl, in a heavily populated district of London my detached home is like a breath of fresh air. But I still commit the sin of covet when I look out at my neighbour's abode.



Now if I lived there I would have to have an everyday car, but also a car that, well let the photo explain.......

So do tell us, if you had won the lottery, if you had become an overnight celebrity, what would be your fantasy, if money was no object?

 

[belfastboy]

My wife and I were riffing about this in the pub yesterday over a few pints and chicken wings.........after I bought a lottery ticket. The fun aspect of the conversation is that at this point in our lives we have everything we need and much of what I want. I don't think I would even move as we love our house and where we live. I have a new Hyundai SUV but I suppose if I had stupid money I would buy a Porsche. Not a 911 as I could not get in or out of the damn thing without major struggle so it would have to be an SUV. The one change is we would fly first class....no more economy!

 

[Tiki Tom]

If money was no object?

Probably would own a vineyard and a villa with a red tiled roof with a view of the Mediterranean. Would drive a classic Land Rover Defender and have a local variety of cheese named after me. Politicians, movie stars, and intellectuals would always be stopping by for my guidance. Most importantly, my kids would live within a two hour drive and I would have grandkids.

It‘s pretty to think about.

 

[Turnip]

I’d have a summer villa in the Bretagne and a winter villa in the Provence, as well as chalets in the Vosges, French Alps and Pyrenees, a 7l Ford-GT40 in each garage and a never failing Bentley Continental GT for traveling around.

 

[Edward]

Mrs Marlowe and I often discuss this. We'd likely end up with a house each, as she likes the countryside - she grew up in Bristol City. I grew up in the countryside, so I know all too well the drawbacks. As I keep telling her - "I escaped from the countryside, I can't go back!"

I'd like a house in London. Not the uber-fancy Western areas, I like the East. Probably the fantasy would be something in Greenwich Village area. Semi / detached / terrace doesn't matter, as long as there's off-street parking and a garage big enough for up to five motorcycles. An electric car, obviously. I'd love to have something with a bit of panache but that doesn't need babied - maybe one of the old Beauford tourers, probably the hard top, with an electric engine replacement. Four bedrooms (one of which will be ours, one set up as a permanent spare; the other two would be my study and then a library / music room, both with a sofa bed for big occasions).

Out of town, I'd like a small property, either a flat or a small house, far enough out of town to feel like a getaway if we wanted a week out of town during exam marking season, or a weekend out. I do like Rye very much; Hastings is also an increasingly appealing option (Hastings is actually somewhere the wife would live permanently if ever I could afford to retire - I'd rather stay in London with time to enjoy it, but Hastings would be nice for the odd weekend, and those two weeks in July when London becomes unbearable due to the ridiculous heat in England).

Clothes-wise. I suspect the lure of Henry Poole would be strong; I'd never have to wait for a sale to buy what I wanted in Cathcart or Collectif again. I'd have a *lot* more suits for sure - maybe a couple of dozen at any one time. And there would be the inevitable trip up to Galashiels where I'd live out my "three of everything, please!" dream. I would also like to try out some bespoke shoes.

I'd buy the hifi system of my dreams - and have more than one so I could enjoy music properly in every room - none of this streaming nonsense.

Beyond that, I suspect very quickly it would become for me less about the material, more about having the time, freedom and security to enjoy experiences - holidays I couldn't otherwise afford, flying business class, better seats at the theatre (and more theatre visits), that sort of thing. I don't know that I'd give up my job immediately, but I certainly would never again be working sixty hours a week across six or seven days while getting paid for a 38 hour, five day week!

 

[MichaelRhB]

Move to the Swiss Alps somewhere near Chur. Maybe as high as Arosa.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Pay off the kids' mortgages, pay off my mortgage and my medical debts, give an endowment to the theatre, and use the rest to buy a farm to turn into a preserve for homeless cats.

 

[Edward]

When my wife still lived in Bristol and worked in Corporate Hell, she had this fantasy about winning multi millions, and then doing the 'Fornicate You I'm Leaving' dance through the office, while offering £50K free to anyone joining her and quitting on the spot....

That's probably one of the ultimate freedoms money can buy you - being able to walk away from a job without something else lined up to jump to.

 

[belfastboy]

If money was no object?

Probably would own a vineyard and a villa with a red tiled roof with a view of the Mediterranean. Would drive a classic Land Rover Defender and have a local variety of cheese named after me. Politicians, movie stars, and intellectuals would always be stopping by for my guidance. Most importantly, my kids would live within a two hour drive and I would have grandkids.

It‘s pretty to think about.

I would be ok with that except for the movie stars and politicians stopping by. I would have guards at the gate to keep them out. I will admit that each tiime we watch British TV and I see a Defender, a Pavlovian induced drool begins to flow.

 

[belfastboy]

When my wife still lived in Bristol and worked in Corporate Hell, she had this fantasy about winning multi millions, and then doing the 'Fornicate You I'm Leaving' dance through the office, while offering £50K free to anyone joining her and quitting on the spot....

That's probably one of the ultimate freedoms money can buy you - being able to walk away from a job without something else lined up to jump to.

I have walked away from too many jobs without a safety net. It was exciting at the time but it did exact a toll. Not sure I would change anything though......it all sorta worked out in the end.

 

[tonyb]

For most of us here, the bulk of our lives is in the rearview mirror, be that mirror in a million-dollar supercar or 22-year-old Toyota Yaris with hail damage. We’ve never been crazy rich, yet here we are, which can’t be said for Steve Jobs, say, or Paul Allen.

Of course I’d love having so much money that money would no longer be an object. I could have some really nice toys and a beautiful abode or two and be able to jump aboard a private jet to go visit friends in far-off locales whenever the spirit moved me. My fear is that I would also have more “friends” than I would wish.

Most of my closest friends and relatives are gone now. No amount of money can change that. But for those who remain, I suppose I could see to it they would never have concerns over housing security. I know what it is to have that monkey on my back, and I know what a relief it is to be rid of it. Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like a paid-for home.

 

[tonyb]

When my wife still lived in Bristol and worked in Corporate Hell, she had this fantasy about winning multi millions, and then doing the 'Fornicate You I'm Leaving' dance through the office, while offering £50K free to anyone joining her and quitting on the spot....

That's probably one of the ultimate freedoms money can buy you - being able to walk away from a job without something else lined up to jump to.

I wouldn’t be the first to call a bit of money put away a “f*** you fund.”

 

[tonyb]

I have walked away from too many jobs without a safety net. It was exciting at the time but it did exact a toll. Not sure I would change anything though......it all sorta worked out in the end.

But did you walk away with your dignity intact?

I’ve quit without another job lined up a time or two. Or five. I kinda lost count.

My obligations were few then and my skills were in demand. So I was reasonably confident I would keep a roof over my head and booze in my belly. And I did.

As you say, it worked out okay.

 

[belfastboy]

But did you walk away with your dignity intact?

I’ve quit without another job lined up a time or two. Or five. I kinda lost count.

My obligations were few then and my skills were in demand. So I was reasonably confident I would keep a roof over my head and booze in my belly. And I did.

As you say, it worked out okay.

Yes, It was rarely an Eff you situation. I just decided it was time to move on to do other shit. Been fired a few times too....that is always a good soul cleanser. Since I first started working at 12 (If I ever want to start a great argument I lead with stating that I think child labour is ok and can even be a positive. It worked well for me, saved my life in so many ways. I have always been good at making money.....much less adept at keeping it!!!

 

[HudsonHawk]

I‘d buy season tickets behind home plate and heckle the Yankees when they came to town.

 

[LostInTyme]

I am a car guy, I'd start with a 1954 Jaguar XK-120. Since I am exceedingly rich, a 356 Porsche cabriolet, a couple of electrics, a 65 Mustang GT-350, a 50's Buick Skylark, a '66 Pontiac GTO (the teal green one), an Edsel, a 63 split window Corvette, and a 1951 Ford Tudor (my first car) also referred to as the shoebox. Of course, I'd have all them in a garage similar to Jay Leno's.

 

[Edward]

I am a car guy, I'd start with a 1954 Jaguar XK-120. Since I am exceedingly rich, a 356 Porsche cabriolet, a couple of electrics, a 65 Mustang GT-350, a 50's Buick Skylark, a '66 Pontiac GTO (the teal green one), an Edsel, a 63 split window Corvette, and a 1951 Ford Tudor (my first car) also referred to as the shoebox. Of course, I'd have all them in a garage similar to Jay Leno's.

I couldn't begin to run something that size in London, but I've always had a soft spot for the Edsel. I know little about them mechanically, but I love the styling - the idea that they stuck out as 'other' in a bad way compared to their contemporaries just never flew with me.

 

[Tiki Tom]

I’m trying to think what toys I would buy. Sure, I’d have a big library and space for it. Might be nice to have a sailboat in a nearby harbor. Biggest luxury would probably be to own cozy crash pads in a couple of cities. Pay off the debts of friends and family. Maybe some charity stuff ala Bill Gates. Get myself a personal trainer to whip me into shape. Equally important would be the stuff I wouldn’t do: strict “no mistresses” policy, would try not to wall myself off from the real world, try to not be ostentatious and try to generally fly beneath the radar. With that much money, those last items might be the hard part. Hire someone to constantly whisper in my ear “don’t be an entitled ass.”

 

[LizzieMaine]

Oh, and I'd turn my heat up to 68 EVERY DAY.

 

[Zombie_61]

...Of course I’d love having so much money that money would no longer be an object...

This is the ONLY reason I'd love to be rich--so I would never have to worry about having enough money ever again. Sure I'd like to buy a few "toys", but even without money that dream bubble has burst because of "every gas-powered vehicle on the planet" going the way of the dinosaur eventually. Vacation home? Naw, gotta' hire a staff to maintain it when you aren't there. So I'd probably do a little traveling, see some places and meet some people on this planet that I wouldn't be able to meet otherwise, at least until I got tired of living out of a suitcase.