Quote Originally Posted by spqrzilla View Post
The cost of a house today - even after the bubble collapsed - is "higher" because people expect to live in larger houses with more amenities. And to do so with smaller household sizes. You are the one that are comparing gilded apples to skinny oranges and don't realize it.

This- and lets not forget that houses are built to be much more energy efficient, almost all newer houses have central HVAC, built-in cable/satellite, multi-pane windows... the list goes on. Not sure how old you are but I have lived in old houses where the floor was bowed and slanted due to settling, with no insulation to speak of and single-pane windows. I remember vividly only having heat in specific rooms of the house because it was too expensive to heat them all, and literally closing off some rooms during the winter to conserve heat. I remeber never wanting to be inside any more than necessary because the house had no ac, and hanging clothes on a clothes line to save a little on the utility bill, and a lot of other things that would send current folks over the edge. When I was growing up we had ONE TV for the entire house, and my parents dictated when and what we watched on it.

We are a land of privileged people who believe that they are entitled to whatever they want, whether they earned it or not.