On building the 'American Dream'

I have come to the conclusion that it should be required (if not strongly recommended) that every fledgling couple purchase an older 'fixer-upper' as their first home. Even if they (by some chance of fortune) can afford to purchase a shiny new home, the rewards and life experience gained by restoring and renovating a tired old structure will pay off in a myriad of ways, many of whom I will enumerate and illustrate below.

First, let's talk about extrinsic value. The economy. There are, I am certain, hundreds if not thousands of deserving homes lying in neglect in virtually every city of any size throughout America. But no, most of these are relegated to the dust-bin of slumlordship as a result of our ever-increasing 'disposable' nature of well- everything. This sad truth haunts us everywhere, from refrigerators to relationships to everything in-between. Now I understand the desire for a nice, neat, picket-fenced home all wrapped up in a easy-to-maintain bow, sure, we all do. But that's the easy way, and as they say, nothing good comes easy. But think about it, how better to re-vitalize our decaying inner cities than to offer a low-interest, perhaps even subsidized loans for struggling newlyweds in exchange for rescuing a house that has hidden charm, character, and charisma just lurking beneath the surface of decades of neglect? There are, of course, many such programs out there, and the ones that exist overburdened (if not depleted of funds) and naggingly difficult to tap into. But that is a portion of my argument. To renovate these structures ultimately constitutes upgrading our infrastructure, and this is in itself an investment in our future.

Such is the case with rescuing and older home. By being required to oh- rewire a bad dryer socket, remove miles and miles of unused cable, weed and sod a new lawn, fix a roof, install a drain- the list goes on and on, we have inevitably instilled a sense of ownership and satisfaction into a culture of youth that is seriously lacking in even the most basic of life's essential skills. How is this not a good thing? (And for those of you wondering how this affects economy, you haven't made numerous runs to the local hardware store lately, have you?) And if you are wondering about crippling the construction industry by inflicting an army of DIY'ers on unsuspecting communities, fear not, they will survive, in fact, if they were to take the initiative and do some of this re-investment themselves, they would never starve- and more than likely grow fat and happy over a job well done, instead of a job- well... DONE.

Secondly is the nature of intrinsic satisfaction. It can be argued that we have become fat, stupid and lazy as a society, with little incentive to do anything requiring effort to accomplish ANYTHING. (We have apps for that.) And that is the crux of the argument. I defy anyone to argue that to engage in battle with a house that has issues, and ultimately emerge victorious, has any deleterious effect whatsoever. In fact, the lessons learned and character gained by overcoming these indignities will invariably yield a stronger person, a better relationship, a closer bond as a couple, and a solid foundation for a family. Because in the end, together, they will have created a HOME.

And that, dear friends, is the real American Dream.

Aloha!