CDM

I keep seeing references to this. What does it mean?

- CDM

Vash the Stampede

A large, brand new suburban house with a great deal of living space but virtually no land. Usually 4 bed 2 bath (sometimes with pool) on less than 500sqm.

In Australia, these monstrosities are frequently built in huge numbers with little more than 2 metres between them. All mod cons, but no character.

High density housing at its most crass and offensive.




PS. The term originated in America, where McMansions are king.

quoll

LOL yes and often not terribly substantial either.

NickyC

And they have little or no eaves (takes up too much space which could be used for a media room or a rumpus or the fifth bedroom) so it's as hot as hell inside during the summer. A/C becomes a must which doesn't help the expenses or the environment.

They're relatively cheap, huge, flashy-looking houses.

bcworld

....and typically when McMansions are mentioned the subject is people who are mortgaged up to the eyeballs and are going to be ruined with the next 0.25% interest rate rise. They're indicitive of the kind of consumerism / keeping up the with the Jones-ism a lot of people will claim doesn't exist in Aus.

The Crow

You find McMansions on estates like these:

Apologies to those that live there - but my idea of living hell...

bcworld

Hell on Earth indeed! I took these flying into Melbourne one day....spot the grass...any grass...anywhere!?? Not quite the Dandenongs!!

jond

It wouldn't be any different if you took a photo from the window of a plane over Heathrow, Luton,, Gatwick, Manchester etc etc.

I don't really like them either, but there is quite a bit of snobbery on here. If you don't live on acreage or in the country/ hills you are classed as being a bit inferior

The Crow

Quite - I know which view I prefer... this was at in autumn (it's much greener now). We drove past one of those estates on the way to Ballarat in summer and I couldn't believe how dry, flat and barren it was....

The Crow

Why's it snobby not to like them? I think sometimes it's the opposite. We could have bought a big, shiny 4x2 on a new estate and we chose to buy an old house in need to cosmetic tlc in the hills.

nickyjohnt

A lovely big house , with a very small garden. Small meaning that its not on acres and acres of land !
People are not forced to buy these places, they choose to live there ! and i for one do not understand you get slagged off for it. Some people actually want maintainance free. I think on this site people look down there nose at you if you live in suburbia.

Everyone is different for gods sake !! :curse:


Nicky

bcworld

Um, no snobbery at all. I live in a shared townhouse on about 150m2, if it's that big! I think those pics I uploaded look dreadful, looks like any shred of green which may have been there has been cleared away to make way for suburbia. I reckon it could be done a lot more sympathetically, or maybe it was barren in the first place...who knows.

jond

I am not pointing a finger at you. just saying how certain people on here love to run new estates down.
I don't live on one, just a normal street in an outer suburb, but it wouldn't bother me if we did.

The last thing we wanted to do was move to a new Country, new life, job etc and spend every waking hour working on our house. We did this years ago when we brought a 1903 Victorian house in the UK and never again.

Don't forget that every house was new once, before we moved here we lived in a village in Essex and even though our house was 15 years old it was still referred to "as that new house down the lane"

asprilla

I think it is fair to say that McMansion is intended as a demeaning term. When someone says "mrs jones lives in a mcmansion", they generally aren't paying a complement.

The Crow

I don't think anyone is slagging anyone off - people are different and have different wants. I don't care where anyone lives as long as they're happy - that's all that counts