Quote:
Originally Posted by OliverD
This is well put, and is something that isn't said enough. The bottom line is that no one is guaranteed to live in a neighbourhood that is static but a lot of people have this absurd expectation. It's one thing to not personally want to have a large apartment building constructed behind your backyard but quite another to actively campaign against it, usually with arguments of dubious merit.
If your neighbourhood changes and you don't like the outcome, then move. Simple as that.
In the short term there may be a dip in the value, sure. But in the long term it's doubtful. If the neighbourhood is generally densifying, that typically means the level of services in the neighbourhood is also increasing. People are willing to compromise to live in a walkable neighbourhood near parks, schools, shops, bars, restaurants, access to public transit, etc. Sometimes that compromise means your single family home is adjacent to large apartment buildings.
I'm currently shopping for a single family home in downtown Fredericton. For my budget I could easily buy a brand new house in a suburb with a huge kitchen, ensuite, two car garage, etc. Instead I'm likely to buy a house without those features. That's the compromise I need to make in order to walk to work, have one car instead of two, etc. It's the same kind of thing.
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Fine points and well said. To be clear, the sentiment behind my previous posts was simply this: you invest your life’s earnings into your house, and thus it should be understandable for people to be upset when something happens that decreases your enjoyment of your dwelling, in much the same way as having an inconsiderate neighbor in an apartment next to you, or somebody building a condo in front of yours, blocking the view. Instead it gets turned into some kind of argument that they should suck it up for the greater good... which is really just saying that you shouldn’t be upset because it doesn’t affect me at all...
I agree that I wouldn’t protest it, but that people do is their right in a democratic society. They won’t win anyhow, they never do...