Mansions are not Green

How do you know when you bought a mansion instead of a home? Here are 10 ways to tell.

1. When you have to communicate with other family members by intercom or cell phone.
2. When everyone is tucked away in remote corners of the house and you wonder if you are alone.
3. When you realize you need 3 air conditioning units and 2 water heaters to keep the house functioning.
4. When your electricity and water bill is more than the mortgage payment of your friends’ 3000 square foot house.
5. When the tradesmen take a look at your house and quote you three times what it really costs.
6. When you wonder if you should use a different shower or bathroom just so you know it still works.
7. When you have a party, everyone huddles in the kitchen just to be close.
8. When you worry about making your mortgage and paying your bills to the point where you don’t enjoy your huge house.
9. When you keep buying furniture and still it seems bare.
10. When the kids have left home and you can’t bear to stay at home yourself. It’s worse in a bigger house.

How do you come to terms with the truth that you didn’t buy the mansion for its resale value, but the status you got from owning it and showing it off? At what point do you decide that anything over 4000 square feet, or 6000, or 8000, is vanity? Mansions are not environmentally smart, even with solar panels on the roof. They chew through water, electricity and gas and they will run your life instead of the other way around. Further reading here.