Proof that people don't care.

[Krell1]

There's a neighborhood in Buffalo NY that was beginning to suffer and look bad. Local landscapers, in an effort to improve the way that neighborhood looked, landscaped some of the houses free of charge. My sister lives near there and said they were very nicely done and very pretty. She had occasion to go by there today and said they're all over grown and full of weeds. Nobody apparently has done anything to keep them up. She takes care of her house and puts a lot into it. Her flower garden has won awards in local competition. I guess no matter how much people try to help others, if they don't want to make an effort to help themselves it just doesn't work. Oh, and I didn't tell her this but, in my opinion, most of the neighborhoods within the Buffalo city limits have all gone downhill since I lived there years ago.

[rwsmith]

Some people care, but many don't give a rat's butt.

[Buckey08]

They will someday!

[gregintenn]

You don't usually appreciate it if you didn't earn it.

[dmar]

I don't care what it is, or where it is, if a person does not have any of their own skin in the game, they will not truly value what they get/have.

[Tom K]

Well now, who does a bunch of landscape work and then doesn't take care of it? Sounds to me like it's totally the landscaper's fault!

/sarcasm

[tops]

[QUOTE=Krell1;137956375] I guess no matter how much people try to help others, if they don't want to make an effort to help themselves it just doesn't work.QUOTE]

And I have found that most people that try to help themselves don't need help. Larry

[99savage308]

Buffalo,NY...... hmmmmmmm where do i begin ? I'm not. Let's just say it is an outhouse.

[meaneyedcatz]

Kind of reminds me about the south side of Peoria IL.
A local wanted to make the area look nice so she got permission from the city and made flower beds around the south end, down the hill from the old Jumers Inn for those who know the area (Goose Lake).

She had noticed over time something did not look right. Then one day she stopped to do some maintenance and caught some locals digging up the flowers she planted to take them home to their weed beds.

SHEESH

[DeadAye]

My wife and other members of our local Lady's Club planted shrubs and flowers near the welcome to town sign. It looked great
A week later ALL of it was GONE

They totally gave up beautification projects after that.

[cass]

Originally Posted by dmar

I don't care what it is, or where it is, if a person does not have any of their own skin in the game, they will not truly value what they get/have.

Agree 100%. The last neighborhood I lived in was a old, well established $$$$ neighborhood that was considered as "THE" place to live. It's now a high crime, dirty, trashy slum. Government assistance paved the way for some families to acquire homes that they couldn't afford, and the rest of us were very lucky to get out in time to save a little of our investment values. It's unbelievable what can happen in just five years - like Detroit.

[Double-O-Dave]

I once worked with a wonderful (retired) lady who did volunteer work at the health clinic where I was employed. She no longer drove a car, and her house was on the way to work, so I often gave her a ride to/from work. This lady had a beautiful "hanging garden" of potted plants that she hung from and around her porch. Then, she noticed some of her plants were going missing. One day when I stopped to pick her up, she was smiling, and in a very good mood. When I asked her why, she said she had found her late husband's old tackle box, and was now using it to help her with her gardening. I could not understand how old fishing tackle could be used in gardening, and she explained that she started using some old treble hooks tied to 20# fishing line and laced same throughout her hanging potted plants. She stated that while she had to clean up the mess of a few broken pots, as well as some blood stains on her porch, the theft of her hanging plants had drastically diminished. Pretty smart old lady getting people "hooked" on gardening.

Regards,

Dave

[cass]

Originally Posted by Double-O-Dave

I once worked with a wonderful (retired) lady who did volunteer work at the health clinic where I was employed. She no longer drove a car, and her house was on the way to work, so I often gave her a ride to/from work. This lady had a beautiful "hanging garden" of potted plants that she hung from and around her porch. Then, she noticed some of her plants were going missing. One day when I stopped to pick her up, she was smiling, and in a very good mood. When I asked her why, she said she had found her late husband's old tackle box, and was now using it to help her with her gardening. I could not understand how old fishing tackle could be used in gardening, and she explained that she started using some old treble hooks tied to 20# fishing line and laced same throughout her hanging potted plants. She stated that while she had to clean up the mess of a few broken pots, as well as some blood stains on her porch, the theft of her hanging plants had drastically diminished. Pretty smart old lady getting people "hooked" on gardening.

Regards,

Dave

Smart move ! I did that back in the CB Radio days when scum were stealing the radios out of every car they could find. I tied treble hooks around the coax connector, and they saved my CB one try.

[rimfired]

I drove my Cousin the Atty. to the Newark, NJ RR station today.
He said "you can drive my car so you don't have to take all the guns out of yours."
Newark, what a ********! I didn't spell anything so thats not "creative spelling" as I've been spanked for many times! Is it?

[coltle6920]

I think that for the most part people do care about their property and the maintenance of such.What I don't like is an HOA dictating what my lifestyle should be such as house paint colors or my taste in landscaping.

If I want to paint my house a color other than the original colors I need approval.A flower bed needs approval.You can't have a window air conditioner or rooftop swamp cooler if it can be seen from the street in front of your house.If you want to xeriscape your front lawn you need a certain number of plants put in based on the square footage of the area.

Don't feed me any ******* about not living in a covenant community.Sometimes it just isn't avoidable.

[bhayles]

Originally Posted by coltle6920

I think that for the most part people do care about their property and the maintenance of such.What I don't like is an HOA dictating what my lifestyle should be such as house paint colors or my taste in landscaping.

If I want to paint my house a color other than the original colors I need approval.A flower bed needs approval.You can't have a window air conditioner or rooftop swamp cooler if it can be seen from the street in front of your house.If you want to xeriscape your front lawn you need a certain number of plants put in based on the square footage of the area.

Don't feed me any ******* about not living in a covenant community.Sometimes it just isn't avoidable.

Its ALWAYS avoidable. Living under HOA rules are always a choice...you CHOOSE to live there, you weren't forced.

I despise HOAs and there is nothing that could get me to live in one...for the very reasons you don't like living in the one you chose.

[gregintenn]

Don't feed me any ******* about not living in a covenant community.Sometimes it just isn't avoidable.

Why it is most certainly avoidable.

[lawandorder]

Some species just use their nests as outhouses.

[islamoradamark]

ive had people steal my trash cans and leave the crummy ones in a good neighborhood i think it was landscapers since there where two different company acrross the street that day

[BigBoy99]

On my route to work, there were several vacant lots which were owned by the city and they built apartments on the lots. The apartments were done and were place into the "public assistance program" where they were "given" to the welfare crowd in which to live. Within a few months windows were broken, doors partially off their hinges, trash in the yards, etc. Within three years of the apartments being completed, they were all boarded up because of all of the damage which had been done to them and were demolished shortly there after. The lots are now vacant again. Sure is a demonstration of how people have absolutely no respect for things they are given.

[moosedog]

I'm betting most of those people in that neighborhood are on the government dole.
When people are given everything, they eventually lose their pride.

Detroit is a great example. People come in from the burbs and clean up the neighborhood while the locals sit on the porch and watch them.

[Autococker07]

Easy come, easy go..... its not just a catchy phrase.

[HOUSTON RICK]

They are naturally waiting for the people who put in to come back and fix it. If they wanted it there they would have put it there. As stated before, no one is going to care much for something that was given to them that they did not even ask for. They got for free before, they can get it free again. Besides reality TV is so educational...

[Road Rat]

No comment.

Anything I might say would only get me banned for a month!!

[pharmer]

Around here, the surest way to kill a community is "Section 8" housing. It is a program that was created to do away with "the projects." .Gov pays landlord set amount /mo, tenants pay a token couple bucks a month. Naturally welfare, stamps and Medicaid are part of the package. Not to cast aspersions, but if I was back at the house all day, I would know which neighbors left and returned at what time (naturally looking out for the safety of their stuff). Joe

[zzzippper]

Originally Posted by rimfired

I drove my Cousin the Atty. to the Newark, NJ RR station today.
He said "you can drive my car so you don't have to take all the guns out of yours."
Newark, what a ********! I didn't spell anything so thats not "creative spelling" as I've been spanked for many times! Is it?

I got spanked for it once too. I learned to type what I want to say. If it is bad the auto-censor will catch it. As long as you don't try to avoid the censor the mods don't care.

[zzzippper]

Originally Posted by gregintenn

Why it is most certainly avoidable.

Never say never and never say always. The government moved me to Denver from Korea. I will only be here about 3 years until I retire to our house in STL so we rented. For over a month I answered every rental ad I found. I finally rented from the ONLY person that answered my calls, messages or emails. And the HOA I got stuck with are Nazis, a bunch of retired geezers with nothing to do but stick their noses in your business. Our wildlife camera caught one of them looking in our kitchen Window while doing an "inspection" of the outside.

Sorry for the thread drift.

[3dots]

Uncared for, overgrown landscaping is a haven for vermin. The cities should go in a nuke the sites with a defoliant and bare the earth. It's more in line with the inhabitant's profile.

[gregintenn]

Originally Posted by zzzippper

Never say never and never say always. The government moved me to Denver from Korea. I will only be here about 3 years until I retire to our house in STL so we rented. For over a month I answered every rental ad I found. I finally rented from the ONLY person that answered my calls, messages or emails. And the HOA I got stuck with are Nazis, a bunch of retired geezers with nothing to do but stick their noses in your business. Our wildlife camera caught one of them looking in our kitchen Window while doing an "inspection" of the outside.

Sorry for the thread drift.

I stand by my statement that it can be avoided. You may not be willing to do what it takes to avoid it, but it can certainly be avoided.

I have never lived anywhere where there was a homeowner's association, and I'll make it a point to continue this in the future.

[arjay]

The sad reality is,if you want a new and modern house and can't afford a lot of acreage and a custom,you're stuck with an hoa.

[bhayles]

Originally Posted by arjay

The sad reality is,if you want a new and modern house and can't afford a lot of acreage and a custom,you're stuck with an hoa.

Drop the "new" (you can keep the "modern" part of the description) and you are wrong. You give me a zip code and a price range similar to what the HOA houses there are, and I can find a slightly used "modern" house for the same or less money...and it will cost you less overall because there won't be HOA fees where you actually pay them to harass you.

[wbraswell]

I have to admit, I am one of the people y'all are talking about. I admit it. I'm just not a yard work person. I neglect all kinds of housework. I love my home, but I'm just lazy, and cheap. I will do better for a little while, then fall back. I'm not very good at keeping up with home maintenence either, unless it's the A/C. I get that fixed pronto. I know my neighbors must detest me. I am a procrastinator extrordinaire. I now live in the home I grew up in, but before I lived in houses that I bought, without gov't involved.

[Tom K]

Originally Posted by gregintenn

I stand by my statement that it can be avoided. You may not be willing to do what it takes to avoid it, but it can certainly be avoided.

I have never lived anywhere where there was a homeowner's association, and I'll make it a point to continue this in the future.

There are HOAs, then there are HOAs. We built in a new neighborhood, about 65 half-acre to acre size lots. The HOA is about $300 per year and primarily concerned with ensuring that all the houses are of similar style and size.

About the only restriction that bothers me is that any separate buildings have to be the same construction as the house - built on a slab or other foundation, brick, same roof pitch and shingles, etc. So if I want a place to stow the mower besides the garage I can't get a backyard shed from Lowes, I have to spend $$$ for a full blown structure. Only one house in the neighborhood has done this.

I also hate the requirement for lights on each side of the driveways.