Overheard over the fence (Antimustachian neighbours)

[Adventine]

Same psychology that drives why people overspend whenever something goes on sale. They're blinded by the dollar discounts ("wow, what a good deal!!") and don't stop to factor in anything else, like the travel time, gas or effort they'll need to spend to get that deal.

[dragoncar]

I'm always amazed by this.  I often sell items on FB marketplace and it astounds me that people show up (usually very late) with the comment "I didn't realize it was so far away.  I drove an hour to get here!"  Didn't they mapquest it before they left?!?! Or once they got on the road, the app tells you your estimated arrival time!

I actually had to check to make sure I wasn’t accidentally reading a really old post.  People still use Mapquest?

[ATtiny85]

I'm always amazed by this.  I often sell items on FB marketplace and it astounds me that people show up (usually very late) with the comment "I didn't realize it was so far away.  I drove an hour to get here!"  Didn't they mapquest it before they left?!?! Or once they got on the road, the app tells you your estimated arrival time!

I actually had to check to make sure I wasn’t accidentally reading a really old post.  People still use Mapquest?

Had the same reaction.

[Dee_the_third]

Not exactly a neighbor: someone just drove 50 miles round trip alone in a pickup truck to buy $15 of mini water bottles from me via facebook marketplace. I paid $38 originally and used half (outdoor event) before reselling.

At the $0.655 IRS mileage reimbursement rate, she paid twice as much in car costs than she paid to me in cash and almost the same in car costs as it would have cost to buy twice as many waters from Amazon. I just checked and the price has gone down to $34.

I'm always amazed by this.  I often sell items on FB marketplace and it astounds me that people show up (usually very late) with the comment "I didn't realize it was so far away.  I drove an hour to get here!"  Didn't they mapquest it before they left?!?! Or once they got on the road, the app tells you your estimated arrival time!

I once gave away an LED grow light that was worth maybe 25 dollars, max? on my local buynothing. This woman messaged me with an enthusiastic story about how her partner is a science teacher and this would be sooooo great for his classroom. I was like whatever, if you get to it first you can have it, but there’s someone else picking it up tomorrow afternoon. She freaked out, begged me to hold it, said she didn’t have money for gas, etc. etc. I just left her on read and she told me she was going to make a special trip to come get it from nearby City X, 25 miles away, and it was gone from my porch an hour later. People are weird.

[Scandium]

I'm always amazed by this.  I often sell items on FB marketplace and it astounds me that people show up (usually very late) with the comment "I didn't realize it was so far away.  I drove an hour to get here!"  Didn't they mapquest it before they left?!?! Or once they got on the road, the app tells you your estimated arrival time!

I actually had to check to make sure I wasn’t accidentally reading a really old post.  People still use Mapquest?

I had to check, and Mapquest still exists! But it doesn't have bike directions, or transit, so cant say I'm very interested in trying it.
It's supposedly profitable (due to "embracing in your face ads", nice..)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/does-mapquest-still-exist-as-a-matter-of-fact-it-does/2015/05/22/995d2532-fa5d-11e4-a13c-193b1241d51a_story.html
I loved this quote about the users:

MapQuest had users who were actively seeking it out, searching for it in an app store or typing in the URL. Some analysts say those people are less valuable Internet users — slow adapters who are set in their ways — but McMahon said it’s “tough to give up” on them.

ouch. (i assume they mean adopters)

[DeniseNJ]

Same psychology that drives why people overspend whenever something goes on sale. They're blinded by the dollar discounts ("wow, what a good deal!!") and don't stop to factor in anything else, like the travel time, gas or effort they'll need to spend to get that deal.

Also, who's gonna clean it.  That's number one for me.  If it looks difficult to clean, I don't want it.

[Adventine]

Same psychology that drives why people overspend whenever something goes on sale. They're blinded by the dollar discounts ("wow, what a good deal!!") and don't stop to factor in anything else, like the travel time, gas or effort they'll need to spend to get that deal.

Also, who's gonna clean it.  That's number one for me.  If it looks difficult to clean, I don't want it.

Same! This very thought has saved me from buying kitchen appliances and home décor many times over the years.

[BC_Goldman]

I'm always amazed by this.  I often sell items on FB marketplace and it astounds me that people show up (usually very late) with the comment "I didn't realize it was so far away.  I drove an hour to get here!"  Didn't they mapquest it before they left?!?! Or once they got on the road, the app tells you your estimated arrival time!

I actually had to check to make sure I wasn’t accidentally reading a really old post.  People still use Mapquest?

I had to check, and Mapquest still exists! But it doesn't have bike directions, or transit, so cant say I'm very interested in trying it.
It's supposedly profitable (due to "embracing in your face ads", nice..)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/does-mapquest-still-exist-as-a-matter-of-fact-it-does/2015/05/22/995d2532-fa5d-11e4-a13c-193b1241d51a_story.html
I loved this quote about the users:

MapQuest had users who were actively seeking it out, searching for it in an app store or typing in the URL. Some analysts say those people are less valuable Internet users — slow adapters who are set in their ways — but McMahon said it’s “tough to give up” on them.

ouch. (i assume they mean adopters)

Adopters do things voluntarily; adapters only do things when they are forced.

[AMandM]

Ran into an acquaintance  for the first time in a few months. Last time we met, he'd recently replaced his old (300k miles) Toyota pickup, and he'd been telling me about his plans to build cabinets, a mattress support, etc. into the new one so he and his wife could go camping. So I asked how the DIY camper was coming along. He said they had had so many arguments about what should go into the truck and how that they decided to buy an RV instead.

[sonofsven]

Ran into an acquaintance  for the first time in a few months. Last time we met, he'd recently replaced his old (300k miles) Toyota pickup, and he'd been telling me about his plans to build cabinets, a mattress support, etc. into the new one so he and his wife could go camping. So I asked how the DIY camper was coming along. He said they had had so many arguments about what should go into the truck and how that they decided to buy an RV instead.

Show them this video! https://youtu.be/TIH4ElBo4l0?si=k-rlcmlbx0nlbhp2

(spoiler alert: It's the Portlandia "Van Life" episode)
"I want to chase light!"
"I'm tired of eating at gas stations, I have terrible diarrhea!"

[Reynold]

I was talking to a friend of mine who moved with his wife to another state about 10 hours away around 13 years ago.  At that time they got 4 climate controlled storage units to store stuff they weren't moving (they probably had some of these units even before they moved, I'm not sure). 

They have since managed to clear out two of them, around 5-6 years ago, but they are still renting one empty and two full ones because they will "need the empty unit to stage things into" from the next full one they clean out.  Someday.  While it is possible to get storage units fairly cheaply early on, in my experience managing one for work they raise the rates to $300+/month for a climate controlled one within a year or so.  I'm guessing ~$1000/month for these three units, though when I asked they weren't sure what they were paying. 

I asked about storing this stuff in the house they are renting, since it is larger than they need, but I'm told then they would never get around to clearing it out.  A decade apparently doesn't qualify as "never".  Since the wife has the ultimate decision on what stays or goes, and she does not drive long distances, and they have dogs which cannot be left more than a few hours so they can't simultaneously go anywhere for long, "someday" is likely to be at least another decade away. 

In the same conversation it turned out that either his former or his new employer decided to discontinue their pension plan and pay them some kind of lump sum.  Neither of them is sure what they did with that lump sum, how much they got, or whether it needed to go into a IRA or a regular account. . .  They were sure he could never retire though (she hasn't worked in about 20 years, so not relevant for her).  They could be right. 

[Brit71]

My next door neighbour rents. A year ago he said there was no chance of getting on the housing ladder.

Went for a drink (or two) today and he told me they were getting a new car. His grandfather left some money.

I asked him about putting it towards a deposit. They can't afford a deposit.

They're good people. But this.

[lifeisshort123]

My next door neighbour rents. A year ago he said there was no chance of getting on the housing ladder.

Went for a drink (or two) today and he told me they were getting a new car. His grandfather left some money.

I asked him about putting it towards a deposit. They can't afford a deposit.

They're good people. But this.

For a lot of folks the reality is that they can't perceive being able to do a big thing, so they do the little things... Clothes is a great example of this

Can't afford a decent car or house, but I can get $500 to have a nice pair of sneakers...

Travel is another.... Can't afford a good XY or Z but I can afford that one "trip of a lifetime".

[Dicey]

OMG,^This^! Last week, our son-in-law dropped me off so I could pop into a resale shop while he and DH continued on to the hardware store. I found a lovely cashmere cardigan for his wife. (I had recently redesigned her closet, so I knew it was her size and something similar, but not the same as, other sweaters she has, so I was pretty sure she'd like it.) I spent $25.00.

When I finished, I walked over to the hardware store to find the boys loading a new BBQ into the car. WTF? DH told me later that SIL had seen it and decided to buy it on the spot. The damn BBQ was $1200.00!

Egads!

[Freedomin5]

I bumped into a neighbor and found out he and his wife had moved to a new compound just down the street. His wife is a trailing spouse. No kids. He makes a decent but not astronomical salary.

His company provided him with a decent 2-bedroom apartment in a very nice compound as part of his benefits package.

They moved recently to a different apartment where they have to pay out-of-pocket. It has four bedrooms. Why? Because he’s tall and needs more space. Also, they might decide to have kids in the future. Never mind the fact that if you have a kid, his company upgrades you to a larger apartment. For free.

 The deposit and first month’s rent was $10,000. The rent is more than half of his monthly salary. His wife has been buying new furniture like crazy.

He’s on a two-year contract and there’s no guarantee his contract will be renewed.

Oh, and they ripped out the kitchen in the rental and put in a new kitchen because “it’s only $2000”.

10-year-old DD was with me when we were chatting, and she asked why they needed to move to a bigger place. They said they needed more space because neighbor is tall. After we walked away, DD commented to me, “That doesn’t make any sense! He’s tall! Not wide! If he was wide, he’d need more space!”

I need to find me some tenants like him. You want to rip out my 1980s kitchen and put in a new luxury kitchen on your own dime? Absolutely! Be my guest!

[reeshau]

His wife has been buying new furniture like crazy.

From the first line of your post, I was anticipating the "now we have to fill up this space!" punchline.

Nature abhors a vacuum.  That goes for rooms in a house, too.  I admit we once fell for this: a lovely house, at a cheap price; so big that it had a back staircase, in addition to the main one.  And later, when we moved, tons and tons of furniture and stuff together rid of, because we knew we'd never buy a house that big again.

[Metalcat]

My next door neighbour rents. A year ago he said there was no chance of getting on the housing ladder.

Went for a drink (or two) today and he told me they were getting a new car. His grandfather left some money.

I asked him about putting it towards a deposit. They can't afford a deposit.

They're good people. But this.

For a lot of folks the reality is that they can't perceive being able to do a big thing, so they do the little things... Clothes is a great example of this

Can't afford a decent car or house, but I can get $500 to have a nice pair of sneakers...

Travel is another.... Can't afford a good XY or Z but I can afford that one "trip of a lifetime".

This is so true.

We have friends and family who have always taken elaborate international family trips annually, and they are shocked that we can afford a second home in a bucket-list travel destination. 

In reality, our expenses to live here 5-6 months a year are still probably less than what they pay to travel 7-14 days per year.

[theninthwall]

My wife and I were talking about our former neighbor last night and I can’t believe I haven’t mentioned him here yet. It was a laundry list of questionable financial choices.

1. We were living in the same apartment building. He sold his house in 2020 to take advantage of rising prices. In 2022 he bought a condo in the same market, after two more years of rapid housing price growth.

2. He couldn’t believe the deal he got on his new car (a Mercedes). He went into the dealer and they offered him a brand new one at the same monthly payment because his used car (also a Mercedes) was supposedly in demand. We asked him what the total amount owed on his last car was and he didn’t know.

3. He had a membership to the a local club, called the (City Name) Club. It was an exclusive social club from what I could understand, where basically you paid for the privilege of being able to enter a restaurant/bar/common space on a high floor of a building. You still paid for everything in there too. He once took us along as guests and we felt like outsiders the whole time - maybe we weren’t the right clientele.

4. He paid West Elm to ‘decorate’ his rental apartment. Ie he paid West Elm to recommend West Elm products to decorate with. I’m sure he replaced all of these items for the new condo.

5. We mentioned FIRE once. He told us that was his plan too! He was going to retire early, you know, once he got the house and all that. He probably made low $100s…

[41_swish]

I just moved to a house for the first time instead of an apartment complex. I met some of my neighbors at a Thanksgiving potluck and they seemed nice. However, we got talking about money and they could not get it through my mind that I am fine with driving my paid off car instead of getting a truck. They insisted I need a tuck to do "house stuff". I literally just rent the house.

Later I heard them talking about being in credit card debt for the holidays, helping their college ages kids, and a big summer trip. Such is life, I guess.

It genuinely baffles me how many people genuinely burn everything they earn. I guess driving a 2024 GMC Yukon XL is more important than retiring before 65.

[Metalcat]

I just moved to a house for the first time instead of an apartment complex. I met some of my neighbors at a Thanksgiving potluck and they seemed nice. However, we got talking about money and they could not get it through my mind that I am fine with driving my paid off car instead of getting a truck. They insisted I need a tuck to do "house stuff". I literally just rent the house.

Later I heard them talking about being in credit card debt for the holidays, helping their college ages kids, and a big summer trip. Such is life, I guess.

It genuinely baffles me how many people genuinely burn everything they earn. I guess driving a 2024 GMC Yukon XL is more important than retiring before 65.

The truck thing is SO weird to me. I grew up in poor rural Canada where the winters are brutal and the roads are bad, so 4*4 was a huge blessing depending on what the hills were like to access your house. Trucks were never a status symbol.

Hilariously, it wasn't until I moved and went to an elite highschool in the 90s and hung out with very rich kids that I started hearing boys talk about wanting really BIG trucks.

To me it sounded like wanting to cosplay as labourers.

[Dicey]

I think another reason is so they can haul their giant-ass trailers. When we travel, every camp site seems chock full of them.

[AMandM]

I think another reason is so they can haul their giant-ass trailers. When we travel, every camp site seems chock full of them.

Many years ago I had neighbours who bought a giant trailer that had more appliances and electronics than my house did. Then they discovered their Jeep couldn't tow it, so it sat in the local campground for a year until they could afford a bigger vehicle. (And Malcat, this was in rural Nova Scotia.)

[Metalcat]

I think another reason is so they can haul their giant-ass trailers. When we travel, every camp site seems chock full of them.

True, even fairly small trailers are so heavy that it requires a pretty powerful vehicle to haul them. I was looking at fairly small couples trailers and was horrified by the size of vehicle I would need to haul them around.

[41_swish]

I just moved to a house for the first time instead of an apartment complex. I met some of my neighbors at a Thanksgiving potluck and they seemed nice. However, we got talking about money and they could not get it through my mind that I am fine with driving my paid off car instead of getting a truck. They insisted I need a tuck to do "house stuff". I literally just rent the house.

Later I heard them talking about being in credit card debt for the holidays, helping their college ages kids, and a big summer trip. Such is life, I guess.

It genuinely baffles me how many people genuinely burn everything they earn. I guess driving a 2024 GMC Yukon XL is more important than retiring before 65.

The truck thing is SO weird to me. I grew up in poor rural Canada where the winters are brutal and the roads are bad, so 4*4 was a huge blessing depending on what the hills were like to access your house. Trucks were never a status symbol.

Hilariously, it wasn't until I moved and went to an elite highschool in the 90s and hung out with very rich kids that I started hearing boys talk about wanting really BIG trucks.

To me it sounded like wanting to cosplay as labourers.

Cosplaying a blue-collar worker is crazy. This has to be a byproduct of the car dependent North American society we live in.

[Metalcat]

I just moved to a house for the first time instead of an apartment complex. I met some of my neighbors at a Thanksgiving potluck and they seemed nice. However, we got talking about money and they could not get it through my mind that I am fine with driving my paid off car instead of getting a truck. They insisted I need a tuck to do "house stuff". I literally just rent the house.

Later I heard them talking about being in credit card debt for the holidays, helping their college ages kids, and a big summer trip. Such is life, I guess.

It genuinely baffles me how many people genuinely burn everything they earn. I guess driving a 2024 GMC Yukon XL is more important than retiring before 65.

The truck thing is SO weird to me. I grew up in poor rural Canada where the winters are brutal and the roads are bad, so 4*4 was a huge blessing depending on what the hills were like to access your house. Trucks were never a status symbol.

Hilariously, it wasn't until I moved and went to an elite highschool in the 90s and hung out with very rich kids that I started hearing boys talk about wanting really BIG trucks.

To me it sounded like wanting to cosplay as labourers.

Cosplaying a blue-collar worker is crazy. This has to be a byproduct of the car dependent North American society we live in.

IDK, we've seen it here many, many times, white collar professionals having idealistic, romanticized concepts of labour jobs.

I don't think it's uncommon for people who grow up and work in environments where their human capital is primarily mental labour to romanticize physical labour, especially men.

Meanwhile those of us who did grueling physical labour jobs have longed for work that can be done from an ergonomic chair.

The grass is always greener. It's easy to romanticize a reality that you don't really understand.

[TheGrimSqueaker]

IDK, we've seen it here many, many times, white collar professionals having idealistic, romanticized concepts of labour jobs.

I don't think it's uncommon for people who grow up and work in environments where their human capital is primarily mental labour to romanticize physical labour, especially men.

Meanwhile those of us who did grueling physical labour jobs have longed for work that can be done from an ergonomic chair.

The grass is always greener. It's easy to romanticize a reality that you don't really understand.

Belief in the idea that the grass is greener on the other side of the fence is human nature, but there have to be limits. When it gets to the point where the person doing the fantasizing ignores input from the people they're cosplaying, that's when things break down.

Example: Marie-Antoinette of France liked cosplaying as a shepherdess and set up an entire fake farm where the sheep were always freshly washed. Of course, she came to a bad end when she, her husband, and the French government at the time persisted in ignoring the needs of the exact people she was cosplaying. The out of touch lack of willingness to engage with the reality their subjects had to live in was a contributing factor.

[Laura33]

I just moved to a house for the first time instead of an apartment complex. I met some of my neighbors at a Thanksgiving potluck and they seemed nice. However, we got talking about money and they could not get it through my mind that I am fine with driving my paid off car instead of getting a truck. They insisted I need a tuck to do "house stuff". I literally just rent the house.

Later I heard them talking about being in credit card debt for the holidays, helping their college ages kids, and a big summer trip. Such is life, I guess.

It genuinely baffles me how many people genuinely burn everything they earn. I guess driving a 2024 GMC Yukon XL is more important than retiring before 65.

The truck thing is SO weird to me. I grew up in poor rural Canada where the winters are brutal and the roads are bad, so 4*4 was a huge blessing depending on what the hills were like to access your house. Trucks were never a status symbol.

Hilariously, it wasn't until I moved and went to an elite highschool in the 90s and hung out with very rich kids that I started hearing boys talk about wanting really BIG trucks.

To me it sounded like wanting to cosplay as labourers.

Cosplaying a blue-collar worker is crazy. This has to be a byproduct of the car dependent North American society we live in.

IDK, we've seen it here many, many times, white collar professionals having idealistic, romanticized concepts of labour jobs.

I don't think it's uncommon for people who grow up and work in environments where their human capital is primarily mental labour to romanticize physical labour, especially men.

Meanwhile those of us who did grueling physical labour jobs have longed for work that can be done from an ergonomic chair.

The grass is always greener. It's easy to romanticize a reality that you don't really understand.

Exactly.  It is why I laugh at every story about people my age and younger dreaming about owning a farm and producing artisinal whatever.  My grandparents grew up on a farm and were willing to do just about anything to get off of it; I spent only a few weeks there every summer and still figured out that it is a hell of a lot of hard work for a teensy little amount of money (they didn't live in a cut little farmhouse, either -- it was trailers all the way).  I am way too close to farm life to ever romanticize it -- it'll probably take at least until my kids, or maybe even their kids, before someone is far enough away to start dreaming about that again.  ;-)

[Taran Wanderer]

You can love the physical work of farming or building or what have you, not to mention the animal care, satisfaction of growing things or other aspects of the work.  Make no mistake, though, it’s work, and it never ends.  Some people thrive in that, and in the freedom that comes with applying your time in a way that they have control over.  It’s the physical work of any type with low financial reward, or more likely, constant financial struggle, that pushes people away from that lifestyle.  People need to be realistic, though.  You’re not going to make money growing or making or building a commodity where your competition is either highly capitalized automated systems or really cheap labor elsewhere in the world.  If they can find the right niche where their quality and brand can bring in more value, then it can work for some.

[Metalcat]

You can love the physical work of farming or building or what have you, not to mention the animal care, satisfaction of growing things or other aspects of the work.  Make no mistake, though, it’s work, and it never ends.  Some people thrive in that, and in the freedom that comes with applying your time in a way that they have control over.  It’s the physical work of any type with low financial reward, or more likely, constant financial struggle, that pushes people away from that lifestyle.  People need to be realistic, though.  You’re not going to make money growing or making or building a commodity where your competition is either highly capitalized automated systems or really cheap labor elsewhere in the world.  If they can find the right niche where their quality and brand can bring in more value, then it can work for some.

We're not saying it can't be enjoyed, I loved my job. We're laughing about it being romanticized.

[RetiredAt63]

You can love the physical work of farming or building or what have you, not to mention the animal care, satisfaction of growing things or other aspects of the work.  Make no mistake, though, it’s work, and it never ends.  Some people thrive in that, and in the freedom that comes with applying your time in a way that they have control over.  It’s the physical work of any type with low financial reward, or more likely, constant financial struggle, that pushes people away from that lifestyle.  People need to be realistic, though.  You’re not going to make money growing or making or building a commodity where your competition is either highly capitalized automated systems or really cheap labor elsewhere in the world.  If they can find the right niche where their quality and brand can bring in more value, then it can work for some.

We're not saying it can't be enjoyed, I loved my job. We're laughing about it being romanticized.

I waitressed one summer in university.  That is a physically hard job.  Somehow it doesn't seem to get romanticized.    ;-)

[41_swish]

I just moved to a house for the first time instead of an apartment complex. I met some of my neighbors at a Thanksgiving potluck and they seemed nice. However, we got talking about money and they could not get it through my mind that I am fine with driving my paid off car instead of getting a truck. They insisted I need a tuck to do "house stuff". I literally just rent the house.

Later I heard them talking about being in credit card debt for the holidays, helping their college ages kids, and a big summer trip. Such is life, I guess.

It genuinely baffles me how many people genuinely burn everything they earn. I guess driving a 2024 GMC Yukon XL is more important than retiring before 65.

The truck thing is SO weird to me. I grew up in poor rural Canada where the winters are brutal and the roads are bad, so 4*4 was a huge blessing depending on what the hills were like to access your house. Trucks were never a status symbol.

Hilariously, it wasn't until I moved and went to an elite highschool in the 90s and hung out with very rich kids that I started hearing boys talk about wanting really BIG trucks.

To me it sounded like wanting to cosplay as labourers.

Cosplaying a blue-collar worker is crazy. This has to be a byproduct of the car dependent North American society we live in.

IDK, we've seen it here many, many times, white collar professionals having idealistic, romanticized concepts of labour jobs.

I don't think it's uncommon for people who grow up and work in environments where their human capital is primarily mental labour to romanticize physical labour, especially men.

Meanwhile those of us who did grueling physical labour jobs have longed for work that can be done from an ergonomic chair.

The grass is always greener. It's easy to romanticize a reality that you don't really understand.

I used to work a labor job while I was getting my college degree. I used to roof houses, install doors, windows and flooring. It taught me a ton of very useful skills, but I never want to go back to carrying shingles up a ladder in July.

[Dicey]

I know this is a necropost, but I need to talk to my people.

Our neighbors consider themselves intellectual elites. They dine out or Door Dash almost every night. A couple of years ago, they hired a designer and a contractor to do a full gut remodel of their kitchen. Their dining habits have not changed one bit.

Their gardener shows up every Saturday morning like clockwork.

They used to drive sensible sedans. After the kitchen remodel, they swapped them out for a Jaguar F-Type SUV and a 4-door Chevy Colorado. Because everyone who prides themselves on not doing manual labor needs a 4-door truck. They have one son. We idly wondered why they didn't hang on to one of the reliable sedans to be his first car. Uh, nope. We returned home this week to see a brand new 4-door Ford Maverick parked next to the late model cars. Must have been his graduation present. Can't wait to see how long it lasts.

[Sandi_k]

Cars, schmars.

Our next door neighbors bought the house. Presumably as a second house/vacation property, ST rental?

It was badly in need of updates. Which they did. Very Badly. Slapped a coat of white paint all over the exterior (the painter left unpainted the part of the siding where his ladder leaned against the house - epically bad paint job).

They used ceramic tile, and glued it down on top of the recently-installed redwood deck. (groan). They gutted the interior, and apparently painted it all white as well.

In the four years they've owned it, they have stayed overnight maybe a dozen times? And now - they show up with a truck or hatchback, and unload absolute GARBAGE into the garage, onto the rear deck, and into the side yard.

It's truly awful.

And worth about $1M.

[2sk22]

I know this is a necropost, but I need to talk to my people.

Our neighbors consider themselves intellectual elites. They dine out or Door Dash almost every night. A couple of years ago, they hired a designer and a contractor to do a full gut remodel of their kitchen. Their dining habits have not changed one bit.

There's a strong element of cognitive dissonance in spending lavishly on kitchen remodeling when you're eating out every day :-)

[Sandi_k]

I know this is a necropost, but I need to talk to my people.

Our neighbors consider themselves intellectual elites. They dine out or Door Dash almost every night. A couple of years ago, they hired a designer and a contractor to do a full gut remodel of their kitchen. Their dining habits have not changed one bit.

There's a strong element of cognitive dissonance in spending lavishly on kitchen remodeling when you're eating out every day :-)

No, no, no! You don't understand! They were IMPROVING the house's resale value!

[Dicey]

I know this is a necropost, but I need to talk to my people.

Our neighbors consider themselves intellectual elites. They dine out or Door Dash almost every night. A couple of years ago, they hired a designer and a contractor to do a full gut remodel of their kitchen. Their dining habits have not changed one bit.

There's a strong element of cognitive dissonance in spending lavishly on kitchen remodeling when you're eating out every day :-)

No, no, no! You don't understand! They were IMPROVING the house's resale value!

Hilariously, they've done a bunch of other stuff (solar, landscaping) and it still looks like a POS, especially compared to the house next door. To their credit, ours was overbuilt for the neighborhood, but fortunately that has changed in the ten + years we've lived here, no thanks to them. They bought at the same time we did, but ours took longer to close, so they think they were here "first", as if that counts for something. They knew the house had drainage problems when they bought (and resent that we know this, too, because we know the seller's Realtor). We've offered to let them tie into our massive drainage system, but they have chosen to ignore the problem in favor of other things they choose to spend their money on. We are treated with hostility in return.

Amusing as this story is, it's all about the stupid truck they just bought their 18-year-old son, who just got his driver's license. We aren't even sure of that, because we've never actually seen him drive. FWIW, we have never even seen him ride a bike.

[41_swish]

I live in an apartment complex now and the amount of doordash and amazon I see here is alarming. I understand that these are conveniences of modern life, but I have talked to my neighbors a couple of times and they have told me that they doordash at least one meal a day and sometimes the amazon packages that show up are a "surprise". Oh baby..... I will admit, before I was on here I was doordashing quite a bit

[Sandi_k]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

[RWD]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

I've never used it. I've hardly ever even used traditional food delivery methods.

[MrGreen]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

I've never used it. I've hardly ever even used traditional food delivery methods.

Ditto. I don't understand the appeal of Door Dash. I don't view a service that delivers cold and/or soggy prepared food to my door as convenient.

[kina]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

As far as I can recall, I've never used a delivery service at all.

[Dave1442397]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

I've never used it.

The only thing I have delivered is pizza/Italian food from a local place once every six months or so. I freeze most of it and it usually takes a couple of months to get through it.

[RetiredAt63]

I've never used any of the delivery services.   I did use curbside pickup at the grocery store during and after Covid, that's the closest I've come.

[reeshau]

I have used it on vacation, at times.  It was a lifesaver when most of the family came down with Covid in Anchorage last summer.

[Dicey]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

You are not.

[zolotiyeruki]

Am I the only person on the site who has never used Door Dash?

You are not.

I haven't used it, either. It seems like a pointless waste, since the restaurants we go to are nearby, and the food is fresher in person

[41_swish]

The convenience service era we live in crazy. I had a roommate once, right when I graduated from university, who would door dash one meal a day only get groceries delivered. He also bought a ton of stuff on amazon. One time he told me he hadn't shopped in person in like 3 months.

[sonofsven]

I've never used any food or grocery delivery service, either.
Where I live, no place in town will deliver to. I've heard there is one pizza place that will meet you halfway, but I've never tried.
I always keep the Kirkland cauliflower crust frozen pizza in the freezer "for emergencies", lol. When I get hungry, the first thing I think is "I need to get home!". Which is nice.

[SunnyDays]

I've never used Door Dash, Skip the Dishes or Uber Eats.  Maybe once a year I'll get a pizza delivered, in the winter when it's bloody cold out, but that's it.  When I, on occasion, get some kind of fast food, I pick it up.  I was recently at a Five Guys burger place, which doesn't deliver, waiting for my order, and there were 3 Door Dash guys waiting too, just in the 15 minutes I was there.  Crazy.

[Taran Wanderer]

What’s really baffling is when the Door Dashers are picking up at McDonald’s.  Really?  McDonald’s?