Metropolitan Rural

It’s Christmas time again. We went shopping last night for our tree. It is standing quietly in the basement right now in a bucket of water. We visited local icon Ted Drewes for our tree. Guess it was a good excuse to get some frozen custard! The trees are little more expensive than going to Home Depot or Lowes like we have in the past, but the selection and quality was much better. We’ve got a nice 7-8′ tall Balsam. They are very fragrant (meaning they smell good) and they also have very soft needles, so carrying it around to get it set up won’t leave you feeling like a pin cushion!

I realized something during the trip though. In my experience, shopping for a real tree at Christmas is really a city thing. Growing up in rural Missouri, almost none of my friends had real trees. We always had the fake variety that took up space in that box in the basement. It looked terrible and was always a pain to deal with. Yes, I must say, until I moved to a larger city, I NEVER saw a Christmas Tree lot.

Sure, back home there were places to go buy a real tree if you wanted one. They were mainly farms in the area that would grow them and you could pick one out and they’d cut it down. Or, the friend I remember having a real tree used to just cut one down on their own property. Of course, they had their own saw mill at home as well, so they would just use it to make lumber later. In the city I guess it’s more out of convenience. Not everyone wants to go out to the country and chop down a tree like Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. Yet, the tree to them may seem more like living in the country because it’s not fake and plastic.

All in all, I think the real tree is not only better looking and smelling, but better for the environment (as long as you recycle it). The trees are grown strictly for this reason and we are not depleting forests so you can have your tree. It also saves the energy and oil that is used to make up the plastic things that so many people must get.

I mean, seriously, do you need a $250, 7′ tall pre-lit tree? Do you hate spending time with your family so much that you have to make even putting up the Christmas tree a world speed record event?

I’ve been noticing lately that I may seem to be a bit of a misfit. I titled this blog Metropolitan Rural to intentionally make an oxymoron. Though I am of rural upbringing, I live in and thoroughly enjoy being in a metropolitan area.

As part of that, I’ve noticed that metropolitan areas typically have a relatively high concentration of Democrats compared to just the opposite in the more rural area I grew up. Yes, I’ll admit, I also consider myself a Republican. But, I’m not a gun totin’, anti-abortion, gay hating type of Republican either. With all the recent news of the Presidential race, I’ve heard stories of different groups of Republicans and realize that I truly fall into the more moderate “Fiscal Conservative.”

Basically, I agree with much of the social programs that are often supported mainly by Democrats, but I am also concerned with the Fiscal responsibility of the government. I’m all for helping out those that need help, just don’t waste my hard earned money doing things that are not effective or unnecessary.

I started thinking about this a few weeks ago when my wife (a city girl Democrat) sent me a link online to a place that finds the best Presidential candidate for you (http://www.wqad. com/Global/ link.asp? L=259460). This test has you fill out how you feel on many of the issues that are being brought up in this election. It covers everything from Education, Health care and the War. I took the test and looked at my results. Not one or two, but EVERY Republican candidate showed up on my list above any single Democrat.

There’s just one problem. I don’t know of a single Republican candidate at this point that I would feel comfortable voting for and having as President. Is that wrong? I don’t think so. I often find myself voting for Democratic candidates because I think they will do a better job than their opponent.

So, that is the misfit that is me. Rural background and loves the City. Conservative Republican but votes Liberal Democrat. Maybe I should go check out that Island of Misfit Toys someday!

To all the other urban bloggers out there who read this… Don’t forget, before you start Republican bashing, there are those of us who are on your side. I’m sure there are people who are just the opposite of me, so I’ll try to remember the same before I go off on those darn Liberal Democrats!

There have been a couple of posts locally about the recent departure of CSB data from the Geo St. Louis website.

Eco Absence - http://ecoabsence.blogspot.com/2007/11/citizens-service-bureau-records-now.html
Random Talk on Urban Affairs - http://stlua.blogspot.com/2007/11/alderman-schmid-no-music-beer-or.html

Both of these articles talk about the use of the CSB data to track history of complaints of problem properties. While this is of great use, there is a lot of other useful data there as well.

If you haven’t visited Geo St. Louis in the past, take a moment to do so. You will find a wealth of information on local properties. It includes everything from legal descriptions, owner information, size, zoning, past sales, permits, and much more. If you are in the market for a house this is a great place to find out some of the sales and tax history as well as some general neighborhood information. Look at surrounding houses and CSB complaints to see if there are good neighbors and such. Also, the permits section lets you see a history of permits that have been pulled for the property. So, if you are being told that all the plumbing was redone, but you don’t see any permits related to plumbing… you might question who did the work and want verification it was actually done.

So, stop by, have a look. See if your house has the proper records!

Yes, you read that right. For our Christmas present this year we got the family a Wii recently. Because they are still in short supply we just decided to look until we found one and then get it. And no sense letting it sit around a month to wrap it in paper that will get thrown away (well, recycled really).

If you don’t know, the Wii (pronounced “we”)is a Nintendo gaming system that is the most interactive thing out there for video games. Their wireless controller let’s you really BE part of the action since it is motion sensitive. It has been a blast playing bowling, golf, tennis and baseball on the game that comes with the console. The rating system that goes along with it is fun to keep track of how you’re doing and the incentive of becoming PRO.

There are lots of other cool features with the system, including wifi built-in so you can get weather, news and even download original Nintendo games straight to your console. You can also link these up with systems at your friend’s house and their Mii character can wander into to your baseball game for instance. There are also fitness challenges and other fitness games you can get to go along with it. This is the first game I’ve ever broken a sweat while playing.

If you don’t have one, keep an eye out. It’s great fun for the whole family!

If you haven’t noticed yet, it’s nearly winter time here in St. Louis. We’ve spent some time the last few weeks getting the house ready. I’ve still got a little more to do, but we’re almost there. Here’s a list of chores you should make sure to do if you haven’t gotten to it yet.

1. Shut off the water going to all outdoor faucets. These should all have a shut off valve inside the house. Close that valve and open the one outside to drain any remaing water in the last foot of line. This will keep it from freezing and cracking.
2. While your at it, drain the hose and bring it into heated space if possible. You can completely drain the hose by taking it completly off the reel you keep it on and, starting at one end, lift the hose to about chest high and let the water drain down towards the other end. Gradually work your way all the way to the other end. This will keep funky water out of the house and also keep the hose from freezing and cracking if you need to leave it in the garage for the winter.
3. Storm windows! Don’t forget to lower your storm windows. Don’t be like the people who had our house before us and take the storm window out. They are called triple track windows for a reason. The track farthest from the inside is for the window that generally stays in the up position. The middle track is for the storm window you can raise in the summer to allow air in and lower in the winter to keep the cold out. The front track is for the screen to keep down when the lower window is up. We did this over the weekend and could quickly notice the difference in temperature around the windows.
4. Get your heating system ready. We’ve had our heat pump running the last few weeks, but it got just too dry and breezy this weekend, so we finally started up the boiler for the radiator. A few weeks ago I drained the expansion tank from the boiler and much of the water from the radiators. I then cleaned off the burner, refilled the system, and bled the radiators. So, Saturday, it was a simple flick of a switch and the boiler leaped into action. The radiators are MUCH more comfortable than central heat.
5. Clean your gutters. This is the last item on my to do list. I’ve been waiting for most of the leaves to fall before I did this. I’ll have to borrow a ladder from down the street to get this done (I’ll maybe buy my own next year). It’s a very good idea to get the gutters free of debris come winter. The last thing you want is a clogged down spout leaving water to freeze in your gutters.

Stay warm!

It’s that time of year again. Just a few more hours and I’ll be awash in all kinds of food. This year I may even get to feast on a Turducken if I heard right. If you are not familiar, a Turducken is a partially de-boned turkey, stuffed with a deboned duck which is stuffed with a deboned chicken. Any extra spaces are taken up by sausage or stuffing of some kind. Basically, it’s a protein feast!

Other than the meal, it’s always a chance to get together with family again. This year will be a bit special around our house. My wife’s grandmother flew in from Florida yesterday and is spending a week or so in town. She will be 92 come January. She’s not able to travel very often anymore, so this is pretty special. To top it off, my neice and nehpew will be there with their little 1 year old (today as a matter of fact) baby. Now, if you do the math, you will notice that will make 5 generations of family at one meal! (my wife and her mother, grandmother, neice and grand-neice) That’s not something that happens everyday.

This is especially fun for me. From my side of the family, I was born with 2 grandparents. Both of them passed away by the time I was 7. My son, at one point, actually had 7 grandmothers and 3 grandfathers (thanks to my parents being step grandparents and having all 4 great-grandmothers alive). He’s 8 now and down one great grandmother to 6 now.

It’s a lot of fun to see him with the grandparents and the special bond they have. He’s old enough now too that he can really appreciate them. I never had any great grandparents, and my fathers parents had both passed before I was even born. My mother’s mom passed when I was just 2 or 3 so I didn’t notice much. My mom’s father passed when I was 7 and I remember that pretty well. It was a little tough to deal with at that age since I had known him well enough to be close. I hadn’t really experienced the passing of a close family member since then until my uncle passed this past summer.

With so little family of my own, this time of year reminds me how special family is to me. While I look forward to having holiday with great grandchildren someday, for now I will just enjoy the moment and the time I have with my family now. Please do the same with your long weekend. If you can’t be around family, at least take the time to call and say hello. You’ll be glad you did.

Oh, and for those football fans out there… “Go Mizzou!”

For years growing up I always wanted to be an architect. I LOVE houses. For the last several years I have considered getting my Real Estate License. I finally decided I want to do this.

Earlier this year I was beginning to meet and talk with Marti Frumhoff about how to make a transition from a full-time job into a career in real estate. She was very generous with her time and comments. We had actually planned on getting together just a few days after her untimely death. Since then, I’ve kind of put off thinking about it.

With the new year coming, I want to see about getting my license sometime next year. I’d like to start by just working part-time and getting my feet wet before I would consider a jump to full-time (which could be several years or never). That being said, I would love to find someone who is knowledgable in city real estate to help me get started.

So, if there is anyone out there like that, just leave a comment or drop me a line. My e-mail address should be in my profile.

I don’t often talk about politics here, but with presidential elections heating up and the fight to recall Mayor Slay going on I thought I would share a bit.

It has always seemed to me that regular, normal, everyday kind of people tend to lose their minds when they win an elected office. Why is that? I’ve always guessed it had something to do with re-election. A normal person taking a job someplace doesn’t know when their job may end or have much to say about it. Politicians, on the other hand, know exactly when they will lose their job and can begin trying to secure it again as soon as they hit office.

Personally, I would LOVE to see less campaigning. I was thinking the other day it would be cool to have some website that would show me what my next ballot looks like and provide the politicians on there to have their own information and answer questions in a blog type format. That way, I don’t have to go to the election board website, find the ballot and then find all of the individual candidate websites (though many in small local elections don’t have them).

Then again, with the way things are going for Mayor Slay, it doesn’t seem like he cares much about getting re-elected at this point. Every move he makes seems to be digging himself a bigger hole than where he was before. Check out some other local comments about all the fun goings on:

• Random Talk on Urban Affairs - Slay Recall and Paul McKee
• Pub Def - The Trouble with Francis, Slay Bucks Tradition to Appoint Friend, McMillan, Green at Recall Rally

There were 2 open houses down the street from me over the weekend. Everyone I met at them were basically just nosey neighbors like myself trying to see what other homes in the neighborhood look like for the price. I’ve always figured that was the majority of the traffic at them. That being said, we found our current house because of an Open House, so they can work.

One of the houses we looked at was recently put on the market as a foreclosure. My wife and I had went to look at it to consider it as an investment. Back then it was listed for about 80k (which was a great price for the amount of space, the great garage and big yard). As an investment we weren’t that hip on it. I could easily see 80k-100k of improvements that would be needed to finish the conversion form a 2 family to 1. And that mount would leave you with a 2+ bedroom or 3 small bedrooms. It made more sense to leave it as a 2 and we didn’t want to hold onto the property, so we passed.

So, I walked through the finished conversion yesterday. They did an amazing job and have the 2+/3 bedroom scenario we had considered. We passed because we figured to sell it in our neighborhood you’d need to be around the 200k mark, and that didn’t leave much room for profits. This house is now listed at nearly 275k! Of course, as a neighbor whose home value depends on comps, I sincerely hope they get that price. But, with almost nothing in the are selling for over 200k, I think they will have a tough sell ahead of them.

While the house looks really nice, I just don’t see places in the area getting to that kind of price just because of a few nice upgrades. It hasn’t happened yet and the market is so depressed I can’t imagine there are loads of people out there waiting to overpay for a home.

All of that brings me to my point. When you are working on a house for profit, the first consideration should be other local houses. Few people want the biggest or most expensive house on the block. If you’re on top, you have the farthest to fall and the most to lose if home values go down. You also don’t have as far to go up when prices rise. Those around you are more likely to catch up rather than lag behind. In my time looking around for a house, I saw a lot of poor rehabbing jobs, and I also saw a lot of over improvement.

It’s tough to sell a wine and granite house in a beer and laminate neighborhood!

1. Motion sensing lights on the front and back of the house. This will discourage them from approaching as it could call attention to the thief.
2. Forget the 8′ privacy fence. Opt for a shorter semi-private fence (like mine) to make it easier for neighbors to help keep an eye on your property.
3. Be aware of your surroundings. See something suspicious? Don’t be afraid to call the police. The more calls they are getting from your neighborhood ahead of time, the more likely they are to be around to catch the crooks later.
4. Security Systems. Spend the money for a good security system on the house.

• Installation: Price varies some depending on options. Plan for a minimum of $100 and maybe up to $200 for all the extras.
• Avg Monthly Maintenance: This too depends on options. Our high-tech system actually runs about $60-75 per month on average.

While it seems kind of expensive at first, there are some added benefits to our system that you won’t find with most other secutiy systems. For instance, studies have shown that our particular system can actually add 7 years to your life. You can find some more details here.

How can you resist those faces? What could be better than a loving dog to great you at home. You get a safe house, a friend and 7 years added to your life.

Want to get your own? Here are some great local resources. I highly recommend it. We like ours so much that we got 2! Stay Safe!

Humane Society of Missouri

Stray Rescue

APA

City of St. Louis Animal Shelter