Big trees in the yard or a view. Since I don't go outside much I like to be able to see something nice when I do look out, or go out.

The house I grew up in had 4 or 5 100ft+ douglas firs in the back...

Then again I had many restless nights during windstorms since my room was on the back of the house, second floor...

Water pressure is something you don't appreciate until you've lived in a place where it's horrible.

Sunlight is really, really nice to have as well, but I have an appreciation for most every phase of the day, so it's not terribly important to me.

There is a great, big tree that practically hangs over my deck, so lots of birds collect up there in the morning sun. The other day, a lone raven was perched right above my bedroom window, just cawwing periodically. I got up, got some coffee and a smoke and went on the deck to wake up, it was still there. We acknowledged one another for a while, but then, on the street below, a fat lady came by, and I hesitate to say she was jogging, but she was breathing extremely loud; the raven went nuts. I think it could tell she was on the verge of death, because it started squawking at her and hopping around in little circles, as though it was doing some sort of little victory dance.

So yeah, birds are important to me. And corpulent joggers.

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There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

The foundation has to be in good shape.. and it would be nice to have a good recent furnace, the one in our house now is from the '60's i don't know how it is still running.. Newer windows are important to me now after buying a house built in 1923 with half original windows and half shitty broken windows from the 50's. I think a house like this would suit me just fine...

http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetai...dKey=1785325728
comox is on vancouver island... we've often thought about moving there but we don't want to leave my parents behind.

I'm big on energy costs. I also look for hazards (from the insurance standpoint; age/condition of foundation, roof, electrical system, materials used in construction, etc). Since I'm a big do-it-yourselfer I also need to assess the potential for renovations and the expected complexity of same. Also, always think in terms of long term maintenance costs... that art deco place with the flat roof may look fantastic; however, it's going to run you 10-15K to replace that roof membrain every 10 years as opposed to 5K to replace asphalt shingles every 25 on a house with a traditional gable or hip roof.

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quote:

Originally posted by RickyM you're just a shit version of Moral Hazard. At least he knows what he's talking about.

quote:

Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN lol, i love it when moral feels the need to lay the smack down

I used to live in a house in South Dakota that was 120+ years old. Our furnace was actually a cast-iron coal-furnace located in the basement, right next to a large, dank, coal pit. The basement would flood every summer - I'm talking 6 inches of water would just hang out there all the time. We once found a 13-inch long salamander down there. Not to mention all manner of frogs, cats, and other miscellaneous beasties.

The house was supposedly haunted by its builder, Mr. Waterbury. They had in fact never found his body, and I recall seeing his headstone during my Great Grandmother's funeral with just the date he was born, a hyphen, and a blank slate where the year of his death should have been. My room was the draftiest, with the attic access and the north-facing window. The wind would howl all night in the winter, and I recall several fever dreams beneath a heating blanket startling me in the wee hours of the morning.

We went exploring in the attic once and found all manner of ancient religious items from around the time the house was built, nestled inside of the very insulation. There is a gilded picture frame of the Madonna carrying the christ-child that my dad still has, and I look forward to having it myself some day.

That's what I look for in a house.

___________________
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

This explains a lot about you, you fearful Jesuit you.

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When a wise man gives thee better counsel, give me mine again: I would have none but knaves follow it, since a fool gives it.

quote:

Originally posted by wienerschnitzel The foundation has to be in good shape.. and it would be nice to have a good recent furnace, the one in our house now is from the '60's i don't know how it is still running.. Newer windows are important to me now after buying a house built in 1923 with half original windows and half shitty broken windows from the 50's. I think a house like this would suit me just fine... http://www.realtor.ca/propertyDetai...dKey=1785325728 comox is on vancouver island... we've often thought about moving there but we don't want to leave my parents behind.

that looks ace. I can't really find anything that I'd describe as y dream though. Saw some lovely stuff in Niagara-on-the-lake though.

I think the main reason I bought my home is because of the view. When I'm playing piano or sitting on my porch, I look out over my garden to the sea, big sky.

The house also has a huge kitchen. It's older so I've had to paint, replace windows and the heater but I anticipated the extra work and expenses before I bought it.

Ian, did you go to Niagara Falls?

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Nu skal jeg betro dig min hemmelighed. Den er ganske ligetil:
kun med hjertet kan man se rigtigt. Det væsentlige er usynligt for øjet.

yes I did it's ace. I'm so jumping off there one day

lol Niagara is nice but as awesome as it is out there i don't think i could live out east! The humidity is pretty crazy! I'll always travel back to see my family though.

well it was humid in alberta in aug/sept. Hoping May/June is nicer And we've got to sort out some dates for Banff

quote:

Originally posted by Ian yes I did it's ace. I'm so jumping off there one day

Did I tell you about the time we (older sister, her bf, Jerkin, and I) hiked like 8 miles (most of it steep incline) in the middle of summer (46 degrees C which is about 115 degrees F), I had that burn on my bum, to see a water fall that was 200m long (I think) named Rainbow Falls...

Ha, we hiked all the way up to the point where you look across at the water fall, and there was no fall; because of a drought, it had all dried up.

To this day, I remember us standing there looking silently, miserably hot, sweating, looking... at nothing.

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Nu skal jeg betro dig min hemmelighed. Den er ganske ligetil:
kun med hjertet kan man se rigtigt. Det væsentlige er usynligt for øjet.