Then and Now

[Park Kraken]

I remember hearing my parents and older siblings talk about moving from downtown Lakeland out to the north side of town, settling on a small dirt road out in the middle of nowhere, just like they wanted it, the peaceful countryside. Now they have the house paid off, and are ready for retirement. The catch? It's no longer out in the middle of nowhere.

The last vestiages of countryside, a cow pasture and an old orange grove, owned by a neighbor who also raised peacocks, chickens, and cows, passed away recently, and now the land will probably be bought by another housing development company. Which, with three 50-75 house and one 300-house developments in proximity to us already, and with traffic on the roads beyond ridicolous, is just the icing on the cake. Peaceful countryside transformed into major suburbia just in time for peaceful retirement.

Ah, Life (http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?name=Park+Kraken).

[Khendon Sevon]

Awesome.

Now, if the entire area were coated in houses and pavement, you'd be somewhere near Jersey.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Kraken your link is wrong. Here's the correct one: <a href=http://kevan.org/brain.cgi?Lilaena>Life.</a>

That sucks about your parents though. But the house is paid off, and with the new developments going up their property value will probably go up as well.

Then it's just a matter of selling the house and buying a new one in the genuine country. ;)

[Park Kraken]

Mmmm. I don't think real-estate is quite that high here yet. Most homes are selling for 250-350$, and our house isn't worth quite that much anymore.

On another note, I hate my work schedule. I am now so used to staying up all night that I can't sleep at night anymore.

My bad, here is the correct link - Life (http://secondlife.com/)

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

You'd be surprised at the nature of property values. My grandparents recently sold their house in Sacramento, which was on a half acre plot, for close to a million dollars. They'd been living there since the seventies, so the house wasn't in the best of shape. It's the land itself that alot of folks are wanting these days, as many times the original house will be dozed and a new one built - of course, this sometimes depends on the neighborhood, but who knows.

[Khendon Sevon]

S'il speaks the truth :)

A restaurant just sold for 'bout 4 million here. It was an acre. They knocked it down (even though it was a historical building) and are, of course, going to build more houses or something. Their liquor license went for 'round $500,000, too.

Let's not even talk about Hoboken. An apartment building is at least $2 million here.

[Morgan Evanar]

My friend's house in Coconut Grove is worth about a mil because of the land. They bought it in the late 80s for a little over 100k.

[Razielle Alastor]

Originally posted by Park Kraken
I remember hearing my parents and older siblings talk about moving from downtown Lakeland

I assume we are speaking of Lakeland, FL. Hehehe.. want to hear something scarey? I used to live in Winter Haven. :rolleyes :p

[Park Kraken]

Yeah I live in Lakeland right now. Which part of Winter Haven?

The only thing I hear from the comissioners about the growth is that they keep handing out the population polls because we are so near a hundred thousand population and they want the grants and everything that comes with it and so forth.

My mother has lived in Lakeland for all fifty or so years of her life. She remembers when Lakeland was primarily dirt roads, a few big brick buildings, and a layer of houses surronding that.

[Razielle Alastor]

:) Garden Grove, actually.