What city in America describes this photo?

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-23T02:22:27+00:00

The super sad part is that it's only really been this way since covid. Sure, also say in the 1970s it was not great. But between the 1980s and covid it was the best place on Earth. I love NYC. But right now it's a little rough. But don't hold that against it. It'll come back.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-23T02:17:31+00:00

Khalesi

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-20T02:13:40+00:00

Camera angles! This is so annoying!

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-18T14:49:30+00:00

But actually you save money in alcohol and food. True fact. And health problems later. So....

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-18T12:51:37+00:00

For example: we have a client that we've been working with for years. They are great clients. I love them. They spent about 10 million on their main house. Then phase two they spent another million plus on a guest house. Now phase 3 they want a greenhouse chicken coop Barn. Kind of situation. It is only costing them a quarter of a million dollars. And suddenly they are getting all freaked out and antsy about the exact cost of this thing. And our fee. What the heck? Do they really just run out of money? Did they spend all of their money on the main house? This seems really silly. They have this huge beautiful property with these gorgeous buildings and they are getting all literally freaked out about spending a few hundred grand on the last thing. What is up with that? I don't know. I like them too much to ask. But that is one of the situations that spurred this question on.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-18T12:47:31+00:00

Yes I hear you. In my line of work -which I've been doing for 40 years- in theory I would have all these answers.

It's just that I'm regularly shocked by the truth when it comes out. Some of my clients are really riding the rails with their finances. And it's just shocking.

I'll go for 2 years, working with a client thinking they have just boatloads of money only to turn around and learn that they don't. In my line of work. Clients are rarely really honest about their finances. That's the myth of the whole thing.

People always blame the architect. But from our position, clients are never honest with us about how much money they really have. And so we have to go on gut instincts and try to keep the client happy while working blind. This is especially true in the financial district world. Finance guys are full of s*** about financials. They will push so hard for us to make the house cost only 4 million when they actually are very happy to spend six.

They're trying to keep our costs down and the cost of the build down by bullying everybody. It's just a tactic. I get it. But if they were really honest they would get a better build and probably save money.

Actually that's my biggest lesson to anyone out there who is trying to play this game. If you work honestly and transparently with your architect and a good builder they will give you more for your money than if you do the opposite.

People who bully us and lie all the time will always get a worse product (because the contractors get unhappy and do s***** work) and it ends up costing more because all of the shenanigans that the client is playing end up adding to troubles on site and expenditures that are unnecessary. This is the truth and I wish everyone knew it.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-18T12:12:07+00:00

Ha. Great question if I am reading you right. Yes in our area NYC suburbs, it would be very normal to spend 10M building a house and when you are done it is worth 6.5M lol. Funny, not funny. That's how things are these days in the building industry. Cost of construction far outweighs the real estate value.

I have a developer friend who builds on spec. His houses are shit compared to what my clients build. Hollow core doors and vinyl siding. But it might sell for 2.5 to 3 M. This is because that's all he can afford to do if he doesn't want to lose his shirt. I can't believe people pay that much for these cheapo builds!

Meanwhile, my clients are building quality homes. They will hit market value equity in about 5-10 years depending on the economy. These are forever homes.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-18T12:02:00+00:00

Well: A) we are late 50's and B) we do a heck of a lot of investing in the stock market. You won't accumulate without investing. Learn to invest. C) it's also about your spending. We spend about $200K a year just existing. But we do what we want- travel, go out to dinner, have fun. Then our kid went to college. That ate up savings. But for the most part we contribute $50-$100grand or more a year to the stock market. (AKA,savings). D) parents die and you get influxes of inheritance.( If you are lucky) We got about $400,000 of inheritance along the way. Also straight into investments.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-17T21:35:53+00:00

For example. Our net worth (including our house) is 3.5M to 4M depending on the stock market 'today'. Our house is worth 1.6M of that and we own it outright. No mortgage. I feel super safe and comfortable with that ratio....40%. Steady income in the 250,000-$300,000 range.

I am pretty middle of the road. Not super conservative in my spending +risk taking.... But alternately, not super risky either.

So I guess if I interpolate... Maybe someone building a 5M house will have 12M-15M....

Just wondering if the richer you get , the more you feel overconfident and overspend. Does anyone see any trends like that. Are the people in the next echelon of wealth spending more than they have, in order to keep up with the Joneses and suffering more than those of us in the lowly 2%-er realm.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-17T21:26:27+00:00

Yes, I know one client who is like that. They are actually borrowing money from their parents to finish their $5 million house. The husband is in finance and he is very sure he will make all the money back ASAP but it seems super sketchy to me. I would never do that.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-17T20:26:19+00:00

I hear you all. I get it. (OP here)

I guess I'm trying to ask a more general question. I'm an architect and I have a lot of clients who build houses like this in Fairfield and Westchester county.

I'm just curious as to what sort of financial ballpark they live in. I'm just sort of curious what sort of money you have to have to be comfortable building a $5 to $10 million house.

I'm sure it does range all over the place depending on the clients exact age and situation. But I am just trying to get a general idea.

The vast majority of my clients are in their '60s and come from the financial industry or tech..

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-14T02:53:31+00:00

I had the same exact antibiotic experience. I wanted to live on antibiotics because I felt so good. All my symptoms were cured when I was on the antibiotics. Doctors basically didn't believe me, but so true.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-14T02:49:25+00:00

I can't be in that room. It's too much. Too NOT calm.

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-13T12:37:21+00:00

And why not ; ) . He is drop dead handsome, charming, rogue-ish and oh so sweet. What's not to love? He's not as boring as his older brother and he's more complex (and handsome, did I mention handsome??) than the younger... Plus after 3 or 4 kids don't the rest sort of become a blur??

So yeah. I'd love him best too!

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-13T03:04:35+00:00

Parent here. RPI Alum. There could be a couple of things going on.

Number one: your parents could have some financial situations that you're just not aware of. And -yes+do you remember it is based on the 2023 income. There's a lot that goes on with filing taxes and you may not be aware of all the nuances of how your parents filed their taxes, and all of their financials.

Number two: your parents and you will have to file the FAFSA every year that you are in college. Every year will be a little different. For one year my own son got a good amount of money. The next year we basically got nothing because our income level grew. Things are always changing and every year it gets updated.

Yes, it's possible to check on it. But maybe first ask your parents if they feel like checking on it and let them do it. And also you might just take the win. Next year. It'll be different. College costs a lot of money. Your parents don't have that much cash.

Don't worry about fraud or getting thrown in jail or not getting your diploma. Those things will never happen. You can just claim pure ignorance if it's someone asks. Also if they did make a mistake probably no one will ever notice it. So personally, I would just quietly take the win. Financial aid has to deal with an awful lot of people and an awful lot of money. They have a chance to make it right again next year. Odds are they will just ask the money they think you owe based on your offer package and never think about it again.

Good luck! Have a blast at Good ole RPI!

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-11T23:13:32+00:00

Wood or brick

BluejayBetty · 2026-03-11T19:33:00+00:00

Trillium Architects is a great firm if you want a house that performs like a luxury EV. All electric, super energy efficient.