From: JBrandt@AAA.UOregon.EDU (Jay Brandt)
Newsgroups: alt.callahans
Subject: Re: packrats & apartments
Date: 10 Sep 92 16:04:57 GMT
Organization: University of Oregon, Architecture

In article <keulen.716088517@possum>, keulen@possum.csu.murdoch.edu.au
(Mike van Keulen) writes:
> Here in Oz apartments are the exception rather than the norm ... 

> So what I'm interested in is: how prevalent are apartments as accomodation in
> the US, as opposed to "real" houses ("detached", as the English would say)?  Is
> an abode such as your original one, Jason and Pegasus, common in the US?
> 
> Just curious ...
> 
> Splash!

<Ping!>

Jason appears in the back corner of the bar. He reaches down and pets his
friend Thyra (the second ocelot, with the black velvet collar). She puts
her head in his lap and purrs contentedly.

"G'Day Splash, Thanks for the welcome, from both Pegasus and myself."

Thyra looks up and makes a few cat-sounds, sort of like a "Mrowwll?".

"Oh, Thyra says she's glad to meet you as well."

"Weather apartments or houses are the norm depends a lot on which town, and
which part of town, you live in here in the states. I've mostly lived up
and down the West Coast of the US, in the states of Oregon (Portland,
Corvallis, Klamath Falls, Forest Grove, Eugene, McMinnville), California
(San Francisco bay area, San Diego) and Washington (Vancouver USA, Seattle,
Bremerton)."

"In urban core areas, near downtown, condominiums, apartments and
townhouses are the norm. I've lived in the last two of these, and
personally wouldn't consider a condo'. (Don't like the idea of "buying" the
space within the walls while someone else owns the structure and land). In
smaller towns you might find houses in the core area, but not usually in
larger towns."

"The further you get from downtown, the more likely it is to see "real
houses", with yards, garages, etc.. These may be owner occupied or rented
from a landlord. There are also duplexes through 8-plexes, where the same
structure has two to eight dwellings. Some apartments, condos and
townhouses appear here too, usually in clusters of "housing developments".
My new neighborhood is "mixed residential". We have apartments, duplexes
and standard houses all mixed together. Other neighborhoods I have lived in
were all houses or duplexes. Except in the really large cities, like San
Francisco, the majority of the people live in this kind of area or in
suburban areas, even further out."

"In suburbia (the small towns around the edges of larger metropolitan
areas), houses and condos are king, more common than any other form of
dwelling. There are a few scattered apartments near major highways, but not
many. Here and on the edges of the towns you may also find "trailer parks"
or "mobile home estates". These range from really dingy clusters of old
camping trailers to well manicured neighborhoods of manufactured homes,
which ate trailers only in the sense that the pre-built units are trucked
to the site on their own wheels, which are usually removed when the unit is
installed on its foundation."

"In short, I'd say houses with one family per building and their own yard
are probably still the norm here, except in the center of urban areas."

"Well, that's probably more than you wanted to know already. I'm afraid its
my besetting sin, that I talk too much when someone gets me started on a
topic. Comes from having acces to so much information, I guess. Well, I'll
be getting back to work now. Have fun, Thyra!"

Jason presses the button on his PowerBook and again vanishes with a soft
<Ping!>. 

Thyra pads over to the bar and looks Mike in the eyes, then nods her head.
Mike places another Brandy Alexander with extra cream in front of her, and
marks it off in Jason's tab. She laps at it contentedly, and continues to
listen to the conversations around her. She seems to be wondering when the
other ocelot will strike up a conversation, but she is in no hurry. She
figures if 'Beautiful' (for lack of a better name for the other ocelot)
wants to talk, she will when she is ready. A deep thrumming indicates
Thyra's satisfaction with the situation.

<Hugs and Purrs>
Jason
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