You know you are getting old when:

[Edward]

There are houses (and other structures) made from retired airliners.

I once considered buying an old passenger rail car that had served as a construction and leasing office at a recently completed suburban office park. Wiring and plumbing were already in, so it was livable as it was.

It was an entirely romantic notion. I had no place to put the thing (it was a good 60 feet long or more, as I recall) nor a clue as to how to move it.

But, for a person with such resources, it would be a hit as a short-term rental (which didn’t really exist back then).

I’ve lived in a garret, I’ve lived in a converted chicken coop, I’ve considered living aboard a boat. But really, I much prefer living in a house built to be a house, on dry land, without wheels under it. And I like not sharing walls, nor floors, nor ceilings.

But man, there remain some waaaay cool trailer parks. Some of those vintage house trailers (as we called them then) are great eye candy. And while the residents might be able to touch their neighbors’ houses without getting out of their folding lawn chairs, at least they aren’t sharing walls.

My wife and I holidays at a caravan site on the Isle of Wight last year. We stayed in a cabin-chalet thing that was a step closer a permanent building, but there were some wonderful creations there that were all basically static caravans - 'trailers' as would be in the US - that were large and as good as homes. Sort of thing where you could have a large, luxury version for somewhere in the region of ten to fifteen K, no council tax (or other upcharges normally associated with second properties either), relatively small site fees..... If ever we were in a position to seriously think about a fixed holiday home, I'd consider something like that. I love London too much to want to move out, though it would be nice to have something that wasn't too much of a commitment that meant we could have weekends out, or a month out of town in July when London is dead and the heat is unbearable. With a decent broadband connection, there are times of year I could work there for a week or two if suitable as well. Rye appeals - nice place, handy enough to London for a last minute weekend or one-nighter, even.

A lot of older folks in southern England some years ago sold up when they retired and moved in to one of those sort of places. Normally there's an elven month rule (i.e. they shut for one month in the Winter, it's not a permanent living place). A lot of folks sold their house in England, bought a trailer and lived there in the Summer, then Wintered in the south of Spain. Not so easy an option for those without another route to EU citizenship post-Brexit, though.

I've often wished there was a culture of (nice) trailer parks here in London as affordable homes..... a double-wide would be bigger than my current flat, probably bigger than any house I'll ever afford here. We don't have the land for them, though - and they have something of an image problem, being broadly associated here with the traveller community, that carries its own sets of stereotypes and issues, fairly or otherwise.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^^
“Trailer trash” is an epithet commonly tossed about over here in God’s Country, and, as is often the way with these things, adopted by those so characterized as something of a badge of distinction. You know, the trailer trash can call themselves that, but coming from the outside it rubs wrong.

There are some decidedly dodgy trailer parks, where you might see blue plastic tarps almost covering leaks in roofs and old Camaros up on blocks. And, as is not unusual in low-income areas, property crimes aren’t uncommon. (Lest anyone charge me with an anti-poor people bias, know that I have lived in very low-end housing myself, and I understand the temptation to theft among people with few financial resources. People of greater means aren’t any more honest on balance, they just aren’t so desperate. Their ripoffs are generally grander.)

And then there are very well-maintained trailer parks (or, if you prefer, mobile home communities). Some operate much like condos, with the residents owning the land under their homes and paying monthly association fees for maintenance and repairs and such to the common grounds and amenities. The residents have more of their lives and resources invested there, and it shows. “Cute” is the word that comes to mind, although it can and often does cross over into kitsch.

The missus has been making noises about a cabin in the mountains. I believe I’ve almost convinced her that it makes no sense financially. It’s worse than owning a boat. Add up what it costs to buy and own the thing (there’s always money going out, even after the loan is retired) and divide by the numbers of days it actually gets used. And then put it on the market.

 

[Edward]

The missus has been making noises about a cabin in the mountains. I believe I’ve almost convinced her that it makes no sense financially. It’s worse than owning a boat. Add up what it costs to buy and own the thing (there’s always money going out, even after the loan is retired) and divide by the numbers of days it actually gets used. And then put it on the market.

Yeah, that would be my issue with too fixed of a holiday home at any distance - I'd hate to spend all my holidays in the same place. A bolthole in Rye would be just close enough we would actually use it regularly, but yeah, its' definitely a thing.

 

[Trenchfriend]

When you're 38 and you give a poop on anything, what comes from the silly season plugging service over the broadcast.

 

[tonyb]

Yeah, that would be my issue with too fixed of a holiday home at any distance - I'd hate to spend all my holidays in the same place. A bolthole in Rye would be just close enough we would actually use it regularly, but yeah, its' definitely a thing.

I have friends who until recently had lived in a fifth-wheel camping trailer onto which was tacked a small sitting room, maybe 150 square feet. At present they are constructing a 24-foot yurt as their new home, out in the soggy forest north and west of Olympia, Washington.

I admire them for living within their means and for not doing what so many people in similar straits do, which is to spend on housing huge chunks of their income, earned at jobs they don’t like but which they have themselves believing they can’t afford to leave behind.

 

[belfastboy]

Yeah, that would be my issue with too fixed of a holiday home at any distance - I'd hate to spend all my holidays in the same place. A bolthole in Rye would be just close enough we would actually use it regularly, but yeah, its' definitely a thing.

We looked at buying a recreational property/cabin but decided against it for your same reasons. I don't need another house to maintain and don't have a location favourite enough. We opted for a 32' motorhome so we had our cabin on wheels. Toured the US west over 6 years spending on average 90 nights a year in it.

It was overall a brilliant experience but sold it last year as that form of travel had run its course. Decided to sell while the rig still had some resale value. Owning an RV is only slightly less vexatious than owning property in terms of maintenance/repair but the mobility is such a huge plus for us. Plus I didn't want to be the really old guy careening down the highway in a rig I really could not drive well.
Terrible financial choice as it was a lot of money tied up in a depreciable 'asset'......but the experience of seeing the country made it well worth it......and as they say ..apparently you can't take it with you.

 

[tonyb]

^^^^^
Your experience seems typical, which is why, should I ever buy a motorhome, it will be a used one.

I clearly get why persons of a certain seniority and of certain means buy the things new. They want to have as trouble-free a time of what remains of their time as they can. And, as you noted, they can’t take the money with them. And they know that.

 

[belfastboy]

^^^^^
Your experience seems typical, which is why, should I ever buy a motorhome, it will be a used one.

I clearly get why persons of a certain seniority and of certain means buy the things new. They want to have as trouble-free a time of what remains of their time as they can. And, as you noted, they can’t take the money with them. And they know that.

There is a case to be made for buying new and for buying used.
Our first was a lemon and started to rot from the inside after less than 2 years. We traded it in and I would not want to be the guy that bought it used. Our second one we bought a Newmar which at the time was (pre Winnebago buyout) top of the line in terms of factory quality control. It was brilliant with no defects for the 5 years we owned it plus it held its value on the resale. So the person that bought our second one did well. So it is a crap shoot buying new or used.

 

[Trenchfriend]

Yesterday evening, me and my mother enjoyed a small concert of german popsinger Ulla Meinecke in Weimar.

You know, Ulla Meinecke is actually 69 years old (born 1953) and her career peak was 1983 - 1985! The generation of my mother (born 1963) is of course the generation, which grew up with her music from the late 70s on.

Ulla was practically discovered by Udo Lindenberg, which office Ulla was working in as chief. She and Udo worked together on stage, too, so Ulla had the chance to start in the musician world. And she ALWAYS wrote her own lyrics.

1979, she moved to pulsating West-Berlin, which was of course one of the best moves she could do to as a musisian at this era. She became very popular in Berlin and the 80s were the right time for her as a real popsinger. And from the late 70s on, she was indeed one of the real first german pop singers. Real pop music with no signs of Schlager.

In 1983 she launched her album "Wenn schon nicht für immer, dann wenigstens für ewig", which was produced with highly advanced sound technics. This album was her sudden commercial breakthrough, because it became an iconic album for german teenagers and young adults in West-Germany. Today, we call that of course overproduced, but that were the booming 80s and it was real GERMAN popmusic for the youngsters.

Listen. Fourty years old! I was born one year later.

This success she could repeat with her album "Der Stolz italienischer Frauen" in 1985. And that was her peak of popularity!

In the late 80s, her fine music finally became "non-overproduced" again and from the 90s on, her big time was over. And even in the 80s, she was still far away from huge commercial succes like Herbert Grönemeyer or Marius-Müller Westernhagen. Ulla Meinecke was always on another level of poesy and art, you know. And together with her relaxing voice, that made her unique until today! And that's, why I like her.

My actualy favorites are her 1981 and the 1988 album.

I love the 1988 album!! That's THE ULLA-EFFECT!

And yesterday evening from 20:00 to 22:00, I (38) was of course one of the youngest in the audience.
Circa 75% women. Not surpsingly some women with seemingly her daugthers. And some 50+ midlife crisis guys, looking like the Porsche cliche.

Bruce Springsteen in German. One of her very popular songs! The voice, aaah...

And young, fresh Ulla in 1981. Great!!

 

[Trenchfriend]

When you crawl thru the narrow tunnel leading to the shut-off valve for the ice machine that you were able to effortlessly navigate ten years ago and you end up getting stuck because your hips are now wider than the aperture and you have to bellow at the top of your voice for help until somebody shows up to pull you out by your ankles while laughing uproariously.

I know this is extremely specific, but life is like that.

A Galaxy Class era Jefferies tube moment, right? Was it Geordi LaForge or Chief O'Brien, swearing?

 

[Turnip]

…you begin to prefer Andre Rieu over Ulla Meinecke.

 

[Trenchfriend]

…you begin to prefer Andre Rieu over Ulla Meinecke.

W--T--F !!

 

[Trenchfriend]

When you used a (YELLOW) Deutsche Telekom telephone cabin last time in early 2006.

Remember the time, when your mobile phone accu was empty, but you knew, that anywhere around the corner a telephone cabin could be found? You threw 50 pennys in the slot and all was fine.

Of course, Telekom telephone points (without cabin) still can be found, even in our smalltown. I don't know, if some still got coin slots, but the coin slots were still common in 2006, because nearly no one wanted to use prepaid card/debit card for a simple, short telephone call.
And our old german yellow (Federal Post) telephone cabins were funnily replaced only piece by piece over many years! That's, why not less yellow cabins were still there in 2006. And the last yellow ones were seen in 2019.

EDIT:
All german Telekom telephoint points were deactivated in January 2023!

 

[tonyb]

…
you find yourself pondering if gravity is indeed getting stronger and time is speeding up.

 

[Rmccamey]

When you had...or still have...one of these!

 

[Trenchfriend]

When you had...or still have...one of these!

View attachment 526645

Nah, Butch Cut is timeless, a practical D.I.Y.-thing. Didn't need a barber since 2003.

 

[Zombie_61]

When you had...or still have...one of these!

View attachment 526645

What, the poster?

 

[KILO NOVEMBER]

Lenny, a teenager who lived on the next block when I was about aged 6, had a flat-top. I really, really wanted one, too, but the texture of my hair was too fine to sustain it.

I wouldn't want one now, and anyway, my hair (now disappearing from the crown outwards) is still too fine.

 

[BobHufford]

"Well, that foreman, he's a regular dog
The line boss, he's a fool
He got a brand new flat top haircut
Lord, he thinks he's cool"

 

[GHT]

Lenny, a teenager who lived on the next block when I was about aged 6, had a flat-top. I really, really wanted one, too, but the texture of my hair was too fine to sustain it.

I wouldn't want one now, and anyway, my hair (now disappearing from the crown outwards) is still too fine.

Way to go KN.