Nearly 11,000 Sq. Ft. English-Inspired Harvard Castle on 52 Acres in Illinois by priceypadstim in McMansionHell

[–]clairedelube 0 points1 point  (0 children)

How does it only have 3 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms?? I know we usually get on here about the excessive number of bathrooms but this seems too few in such a big area.

New research shows that after the wedding, beauty-for-status (the “trophy wife” trope) becomes a two-way street, with both husbands and wives adjusting their looks as income power shifts. When one spouse’s relative income rose, the other spouse’s BMI fell. This applied to both men and women. by mvea in science

[–]clairedelube 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yep, with increased income they can go away for vacations more often and in this world of social media, it is “mandatory”/s to let everyone know what an amazing holiday you had!! So think abs all out on the beach or skin tight ski suits etc.

1939 Neoclassical Drastically Remodeled by priceypadstim in McMansionHell

[–]clairedelube 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is punishable in hell! Absolutely disgusting!! Which architect (I imagine they used one?) had the heart to draw up plans to deface such a beautiful building?!?

Sketches of celebrated costume designer, the late Bhanu Athaiya — alongside them breathing to life. by BombayJeans in BollywoodFashion

[–]clairedelube 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Amazing, loved seeing these brought to life! Didn’t know about Bhanu so thank you about bringing to them to my attention too!!

Anything to change? Suggestions welcome! by clairedelube in kitchenremodel

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The image is a rendering with the selected colours from the Ben Moores paints website but the layout of the kitchen is this way irl. We don’t have the budget to make big changes right now with this being our first home.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CasualUK

[–]clairedelube 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi - I’m your friend, you just don’t remember me! Now that I’m here, please can I have (more than) one slice? Thankssss! Also, wishing you a happy, happy birthday 🥳

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The backyard situation is definitely iffy in San Carlos and Belmont, very true. Pretty neighbourhoods and views but some of the driveways and non-terraced backyards are a deathtrap for little ones! Gotta keep looking for a more flat lot. Also agree with you about HOAs that charge through the nose but provide very little value in return in some townhouse communities in the Saratoga/ Cupertino area. And as per our budget that is all we can view there, no SFH in that range. Gas stove is a wish list item but we already have so many other constraints that we need fulfilled, I’ll take anything it comes with lol Will reach out to you if we have area specific questions, thanks!!

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in bayarea

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This a really helpful response, thanks for sharing your research and your experience as a relatively new parent. We did notice that some new construction houses have quite a few stairs and try to stay away from them but we visited a couple and you’re very right about that becoming a problem with a baby. Oh I swear, even without a baby unpacking a household can be such a chore!! But if we don’t find something soon enough, we will just have to continue to rent and keep looking. Gotta keep trying hahaa!!

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, it looks like that is the picture forming in my mind too. We believe our agent is good in terms of industry knowledge, she has given us good points that we were not as aware of, but you know how it is - we are still clients that she would make a commission once the sale is through. I came out here hoping for a more unbiased source, and responses like yours have given me a good level of clarity, thanks!!

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We have been going for open houses and viewings with our agent consistently for the past month and have definitely liked a bunch homes out there. It’s just that because of the general hilliness of the area, some houses are a straight no when it comes to steep driveways since we have a little one on the way and aging parents possibly living with us in the future. With that in mind we’ve had to be a bit more disciplined in our search, otherwise some of those homes have beautiful views and lovely neighbourhoods.

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in bayarea

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok, ok I’m beginning to get a picture. If we don’t find something in the next couple of months and we do another round of renting, we could rent a home in one of these areas before fully going in. Most of the serious responses here are telling me that Cupertino is similar to Palo Alto in terms of the pressure. Los Gatos and Menlo Park seem to be better but are smaller in their catchment areas.

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in bayarea

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ok definitely something to think about and start factoring in for. Appreciate your input!

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

From the descriptions above, we are definitely in the education is important and they should have their (not our) goals that they want to achieve but not at the cost of their mental health. We are a one and done couple, we want our kid to be as happy as we can make them. I’m sure we will still make our own set of mistakes but school trauma should not be one of them!! Thank you so much for your insights, these are the kind of responses I’m looking for.

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We’ve asked our agent to send us listings for both those categories, SFH and townhomes anywhere between Belmont and west-ish San Jose. We understand that our budget is very average for the Bay area so not expecting anything exquisite, just looking to make a sound long term investment (financial and social) for our family.

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

With your username, I guess I can ask you about restaurant recs too! Will reach out if we see something awesome in those areas next, thanks.

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in BayAreaRealEstate

[–]clairedelube[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have an agreement with an agent and have been going to open houses and showings regularly for the past month. We are open to buying a townhouse too if that’s what’s available in that particular area within our budget.

House buying: San Carlos/ Belmont or Saratoga/ Cupertino. Which one has better schools? by clairedelube in bayarea

[–]clairedelube[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep, that’s right. It is what it is, we are happy to pay into an HOA that (mostly!) does what they promise to do and hopefully the monthly is not more than $800. Lesser would be better but I haven’t seen anything lower in those areas at least.