Saturday, September 03, 2016

The Real New Year Is Coming...

HeyYouKids
GetOnMyLawnVille


One of the things I really like about my real job is that I get to hang around a bunch of sharp young kids who keep me up to date with all the latest goings on in the real (i.e. non-academic) world.

But the other day, after a lab meeting where we discussed what we had to do to analyze our latest set of CRISPR clones,  for some reason I got to blabbing about what it was like back in the old days when we first moved back to Vancouver.

Which led me to tell the story about how the offshore owner of the little house we were renting in McKenzie Heights/almost Dunbar offered to sell it to us for $255,000 dollars back in 1997.

Then I told them how I told said owner that I wasn't crazy enough to spend a quarter of a million dollars for a little patch of dirt and a bungalow that was, essentially, a tear down.

At that point, of course, the kids started to speculate about what that patch of dirt would be worth today, after which it got real quiet.

And that's when I realized I had been an idiot old, 'when I was young we lived in shoe box'-type guy.

Because I'd set all those kids around the table to thinking about how there was no way in heckfire that they were ever going to be able to buy any chunk of dirt of their own in this town.

What a dope I am.

****

Next week, the latest batch of young kids, most of whom are now younger than our oldest kid, shows up.

Happy New Year!


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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

We moved from Dunbar Heights in 1980 - near Balaclava Park. If only my mother had kept that house...

GAB

e.a.f. said...

A half acre in Richmond is now worth $5M. at one time not so long ago, it was worth far, far, less, under $200K in the mid 1980s. Ah, how things have changed, where people who lived and worked here and built this province can no longer afford to live here nor can their children or grandchildren. at least not on the lower mainland.

If the B.C. Lieberals had made some "changes" 10 yrs ago the GVRD would still be affordable. This will come back to bite the province in its ass, when workers of any type can't afford to live in the GVRD. People will move to the far reaches of the Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island. We can only hope the cities on Vancouver island and the F.V. ensure their communities don't get bought up by foreigners.

Even with price decreased of $300K in Vancouver, the price is still too high for working people. At some point no one will be living in Vancouver, it will be too expensive and unless the tax system is changed no one will be around to pay for it all either.

davemj said...

Its real sad the people that helped build this country and have passed on after the family house was sold and there kids could put a down payment on a place of there own and so on,But this is not going to happen to this generation kids thanks to our Governments allowing money laundering,taking interest free loans,turning a blind eye to the real estate situation in this Province, millions in donations to there party.Scandal after scandal since this party came to power and has only been taken to new heights by this corrupt traitor er i meant the Preemerer.!Ican not help but feel this all going to blow up in there faces including Kensella the Mastermind of all evil toss Gwen and the shills in the media.sorry for the rant Ross thanks

RossK said...

GAB!

We lived four blocks from Balaclava...31st between McDonald and Trafalgar...255 freaking thousand.

Still...Despite what the architects of the Golden Era (for developers using public land) eventually did to us, it was great fun trying to get our Co-Op built in the ensuing five years after we said no to living in Dunbar).

Hope all is well with you and yours

_____

e.a.f. and davemj--

A very important question, which is the one that really needs to be answered for all Lotuslandians, is...

Who benefited most?


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Anonymous said...

I lived on 28th at Balaclava. I spent a huge chunk of my childhood in that park.

All is well with us. Back in beautiful BC - we've settled in a little village on the Island and are about to celebrate our 1 year anniversary in our house. Europe was great, but it's wonderful to be home.

GAB

RossK said...

GAB--

Welcome back!


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