ᐅ Is the real estate market increasingly forcing families to build their own homes?

haydee schrieb:
@Fummelbrett
The meal plan is quite luxurious. [...]

...in the online library of this exhibition, you can also find dozens of other cookbooks. I really enjoy browsing through them – the meal plans vary greatly. From daily meat consumption to just one herring per week per family. Other books deal with saving the dowry; because if the woman doesn’t have enough dowry, the man has to work hard, never gets ahead, and turns into an alcoholic. He will also do so if the woman can’t manage the household or cook properly. The man drinks, and the woman is blamed. But let’s move away from the off-topic—well, partly: I love browsing these old books, also to see how lucky I am. I don’t have to complain about hanging up another load of laundry; instead, I’m grateful for washing machines and not having to gather wood the night before to heat the laundry boiler.

In my opinion, it depends on how you were raised and what your expectations are. What do you need to be happy? Some people have a villa, sports cars, millions in the bank, go on constant vacations, but still aren’t happy. They always strive for more, need the thrill, the ultimate achievement.

Others have almost nothing but are still content with themselves and their lives.

I am happy to have grown up "simply." Carrying coal for the tile stove, without central heating, even several years without running hot water. No big vacations, no large allowance, no brand-name clothes, no need to outdo others. I moved out for my education and had only my scholarship as an income. Sometimes I had to live on 10 marks a week, and it still worked. Later, my first job, my own apartment – with old furniture that I could gradually replace. I saved for three months to buy a washing machine.

I know that I don’t need much to live. And to be happy. I tell myself every day how lucky we are. How beautiful everything is. That is my belief. Yesterday, I was in the garden behind the house again; the plum tree is blooming, the peach trees, the cherry tree is about to flower, the magnolia shines, everywhere birds chirping, fluttering, buzzing. I don’t need a hyper-modern living bunker with everything fully automatic; THAT is contentment for me.

haydee schrieb:
This forum reflects reality.

I agree as well. I often quote the lower limit of 2000€/sqm (square meter), sometimes I’d actually like to say 2200 or 2400, while others then criticize that 2000€ is too high and that building can be cheaper.
Yes, it can! But not for those who want a double garage, a children’s bathroom, a 12sqm (130 sq ft) walk-in closet, at least 160sqm (1720 sq ft) of living space, smart home features, and everything fully electric. Not for those who think that you can’t participate confidently as a homeowner with these requirements.

haydee schrieb:
How often are newcomers told that the house and the budget don’t match?

… and those people often disappear from the forum after that.

haydee schrieb:
More suggestions for downgrading are made than for upgrading.
Unfortunately, this is often ignored.

And if they come back with a slimmed-down plan, others then criticize the 12sqm (130 sq ft) small kids’ room and the missing children’s bathroom.
What? Only gas? Old-fashioned technology, etc.

haydee schrieb:
I would be really interested to see how this continues.
Additional financing? Divorce? Forced sale? Or will the Flair house still be built?

Additional financing for a simpler house.

haydee schrieb:
My grandmother’s handwritten cookbook includes everything from pancakes to egg liqueur. It’s based entirely on what the farm and garden provide.
A lot of time was spent on canning, pickling, and gardening.

Slaughter days, baking days, days when sauerkraut was prepared, apples and potatoes harvested, or elderberries and sloe berries gathered were long days where everyone had to help and other tasks had to wait.

My grandparents grew their own food, gathered from the forest, and preserved it themselves.
In the kitchen-living room (12-14sqm / 130–150 sq ft) without a fitted kitchen, the children were bathed in a tub, and my grandparents often just washed up at the kitchen sink. Coal was delivered and stored in the cellar – in their own end-terraced house, by the way. Outside, there was a kind of conservatory, where potatoes were peeled and eaten in summer; it was like an extension of the kitchen. The garden was there to dry laundry. I liked being there...

As a child, many things seem easier and more carefree.
And just because something didn’t cause inconvenience doesn’t mean it was good. I don’t want to light the wood stove at 30°C (86°F) and preserve tons of food.
To be honest, I don’t miss the outhouse either.

People need to be more satisfied with what they have. This just isn’t typically German.

haydee schrieb:
As a child, many things seem easier and carefree.
And just because something didn’t bother you doesn’t mean it was good. I don’t want to light the wood stove at 30°C (86°F) and preserve tons of food.
To be honest, I’m not nostalgic about the outdoor toilet either.

You have to be more content with what you have. That just isn’t very German

Haha... of course, I didn’t experience my parents’ childhood. I only know about the kitchen, the conservatory, and the greenhouse. By then, they already had central heating.

Me neither. My uncle always says my parents were lucky because they were always well fed.