Where have you always wished you could live? A ritzy, rich person’s modern mansion with all the bells and whistles – which are getting more and more amazing and ridiculous – or a castle, complete with tall turrets, winding grand staircases, pillars, and thrones? Or does a cozy cabin in the woods with the smell of pine needles and a crackling fire meet your fancies? Maybe lying in a sleeping bag under a star laden sky is your cup of tea. (Maybe you just wish you could afford a house to live in and not have to rent!) Well, let’s look into it a bit.
Mansions, palaces, manors, and the like are extremely costly to maintain. Plus, there is another factor that should be taken into consideration if you are ever serious and able to get one. I cleaned houses for a while and soon lost my desire to have a coveted large, stunning Victorian house – unless I could afford a housecleaner, maid and cook (just kidding – a housecleaner would do). On the other hand, wow. What a wonder to own one of those stunning places and an honor to keep it alive and loved. Everywhere you walk in your home would be a masterpiece of ancient beauty and craftsmanship. You might never go outside again.
As for castles, I love them. I love to look at pictures of them, I loved walking through the few I’ve been through – the beauty, the history, the emotion they invoke…it’s wonderful. However, the history is generally bloody, so, you know, would you be taking on ghosts or creepy feelings? Would you dare try to get to the bathroom in the middle of the night – is there a bathroom??? It will likely be damp and/or musty and for sure hard to heat. Hmmm. Maybe my lovely, little house is just fine.
Moving on to cabins. While some are quite large and will fall into the categories I’ve already covered (upkeep costs, cleaning, etc.), most are quaint or charming or rustic or simple. This might be the best option for a dream home if you like being away from populated areas. A bit of land, maybe a lake or river, if you’re lucky… Then again there may not be electricity, heat, or gas (and God forbid - internet!). Can you tolerate sleeping in layers of clothing in the freezing cold, only cooking over a fire, or live without social media? We may as well include the sleeping-under-the-stars dreamers in this paragraph, because you know what’s coming next, don’t you? Bugs. Yes, and lots of them, especially with those fortunate-to-live-by-lakes-or-rivers lovers as bugs – mosquitos especially – breed, live and thrive in them. As do other critters for survival, because there are also the spiders, bats, rodents, not to mention other larger critters that can cause grief. Still, to have it quiet at night, no cars or trucks waking you up…though maybe a coyote howl, screech owl, or bear running by might startle you out of your dreaming. Or a snake sliding into your sleeping bag…
I think I’ll be quite happy to stay in my wee house with the necessary things and some lovely things as well and just google pictures of grand, glorious “homes”. I can happily live with that.
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