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I've never owned any house. I did live 4 years in a beautiful old huge Prästgård (vicarage) which was owned by my ex-wife. And thanks to the pre-nup, it wasn't in any way mine.

Otherwise I've rented or leased - usually 3 years at a time: which is the furthest I can think ahead. Fortunately I have a taste for 'unusual' properties such as industrial buildings, and have always found good deals. They usually mean a few weeks of self-building to put them in shape. But that I enjoy too.

Neither do I own a car or a computer - everything is leased. I don't own any stocks or shares, except in the companies in which I am active. The only things I own are some treasured furniture (Bilnås), clothes and books - and me.

I hate thinking about money. When I don't have enough, I work a bit harder. When I hit a winning streak, I take some time off and work on pet projects. I also have no intention of retiring. What's the point? I enjoy what I do - there is no real separation between 'life' and
'work'. To me, that is the real luxury.

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Mar 26th, 2007 at 10:20:40 AM EST
I remember a bloke telling me this.  I cannae remember if he was already rich, but he said:

"If I were rich I wouldn't own anything.  What would be the point?  It's just a hassle.  I'd rent what I wanted for as long as I wanted it, that's all."

Of course you are rich in many ways.  (I think it has something to do with families, nests, as well.)

I also knew a bloke once who never owned anything (for legal reasons.)  Turns out his wife was very rich indeed, but had no legal relationship to his companies....

Don't fight forces, use them R. Buckminster Fuller.

by rg (leopold dot lepster at google mail dot com) on Mon Mar 26th, 2007 at 10:41:51 AM EST
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I have a distinct fondness for 'surplus' commercial buildings.  

Back in the late 70s the property values in the warehouse district of LA, near the commercial railroad complex, had collapsed.  The warehouses had been built when 4,000 - 6,000 square feet was a lot of space.  As time moved on these became uneconomical as more space was required and the transportation system moved from railroading to trucking.  At the time I'm speaking of these warehouses were going for absurdly reduced prices compared to the purchase/rent costs in the rest of the basin.  The disadvantage to the properties was the unique atmosphere generated by life in LA.  We're talking smog.  cough, hack, wheeze

Since nobody wanted them, the dregs of society - artists - started buying and moving into them.  The advantage was a large open space usable for studios and a second floor for living.  In the normal course of events the artists would attract patrons attracting resturants, boutiques, & etc attracting more people attracting people who want to live in the area raising the property values raising the property taxes and driving the artists out.  

I moved to NoCal shortly afterwards and, from time to time, wondered what happened in the long run.  

She believed in nothing; only her skepticism kept her from being an atheist. -- Jean-Paul Sartre

by ATinNM on Mon Mar 26th, 2007 at 12:04:31 PM EST
[ Parent ]
My favourite was 4 room caretakers apartment (semi-circular!) in an industrial building used when I was there by a firm of removers for storage. There was presumably once a need for a 'watchman' in the original plans for the building. Underneath and connected, was a huge room that housed the original steam heating system. It made an excellent open studio.

But the best of all - as with all industrial areas - is that I could play music very very loud ;-) As an ex-record producer I like to listen in control room conditions. I still have those house-shaking speakers and amps from an old studio at home today. Sadly though, 3am sessions with Dark Side of the Moon are now a thing of the past...

You can't be me, I'm taken

by Sven Triloqvist on Mon Mar 26th, 2007 at 12:31:35 PM EST
[ Parent ]
this is my favourite reason yo live in the woods!

in hawaii, people five miles away would hear me practising. this blissful state of affairs lasted 10 years, then a pensioner couple bought the lot next door.

and i learned to develop a taste for soft jazz!

here in italy, i found out they can hear me in the valley about 2 miles away as the crow (and the soundwave) fly.

i was down in the bar there one day and this sweet little old lady mentioned that she heard me.

as sometimes i like to cut some loud (but not rude!) rock at 3 am, i was bracing myself for some critique, when i asked her if that was ok.

good neighbourly relations are important, especially as a 'straniero'.

she smiled and said she liked it because it kept her company....

awww

what a sweetheart!

next thing she'll be showing up at the 'free biker' bar, i expect.

rockin' grannies rule!

'The history of public debt is full of irony. It rarely follows our ideas of order and justice.' Thomas Piketty

by melo (melometa4(at)gmail.com) on Tue Mar 27th, 2007 at 04:05:22 AM EST
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