So, we have now been here in SC for a little over two years. I’m sure, if you’ve read some of the prior stream of consciousness exercises you are aware that both Sue and I have mixed feelings about our move. There are many good things (weather, less congested, easier pace etc), but there is one thing that is still nagging at me…these damn “developed” communities.

To go back to the “beginning”…I was raised living in apartments in the Bronx, all walk ups, all with minimal fuses so there was no air conditioning as the electrical circuits would not allow it, and frequently the fuses would blow if two or more appliances were used at the same time requiring a trip to the basement to replace said blown fuse. That was just one of the issues…the central controlled heat (controlled by the building superintendent, who was being told what to do by the owners of the buildings) would, during the coldest days, create quite the symphony of residents banging on the pipes to let the super know that it was not warm enough and more heat was required. While we had a washing machine in the house there was no dryer (again, that pesky electric issue) and the laundry had to be hung on a line extending from the window making it quite the event in the wind and in the winter as well as needing to be very conscious about quick changes bringing rain. The noise of someone walking above you (unless you were on the top floor which created it’s own walk up issues), or being told to be mindful of those living below you all contributing to “apartment living”.

Then, beginning in 1989, I was lucky enough to own my own home in CT for the first time (well “own” meaning the bank and I were in partnership), but what it meant was space, and not having to experience any of the associated “apartment life” issues. I had a yard, both front and back, (and yes, that brought on a different set of issues….mowing, landscaping, maintenance etc) but it was MINE, and if I wanted to blast Mountain playing the live version of Nantucket Sleighride, Mississippi Queen or the like I was free to do so without any issue. No one was looking in the windows, we were set back from the road and had trees around home blocking any view that the shutters or drapes did not cover. This was the case until 2021 when we moved to Bluffton, and the “planned community”….Believe me I had no real handle on the fact that unless you have a LOT of money (remember, two retired teachers so we don’t) and you don’t want to live in the sticks (which we didn’t), there is NO shot at having a home with somewhere in the neighborhood of 1/2 to 2 acres around you.

It’s not just the proximity, it’s the HOA shite, you own the home but you have covenants and restrictions, and opinions and boards, and on and on and on…example: you want to put up a fence so your kids or your dogs are not endangered by the resident gators in the ponds, you can’t just do it, you have to pay a fee to have the request evaluated and approved…so in many ways it’s back to the “apartment life” in terms of not really feeling eased. Lest you think that it’s just us “middle folks” in these planned communities, we are directly adjacent to Palmetto Bluff, where the “smallest starter” is in excess of 1.5 million with annual “dues” in excess of 20K and yet, with very, very few exceptions and not in the 1.5-2.5 million sections, they are as close to each other as we are and as are all the other little box communities.

I don’t know if we would have still made the move to this particular area if we had had the luxury of the time to look around, we knew we liked the area from vacations but those were never longer than a week, we still might have as I don’t think you can fully appreciate the annoyance of HOA living (made even more annoying by being the third house occupied in an ongoing construction community) until you are immersed in it if you’ve never had the “pleasure” before. Regardless, my conclusion is that if I ever do leave here for whatever reason, it will never again be in a planned community with an HOA…in closing I’d like to leave you with the lyrics from the song Little Boxes by Malvina Reynolds, it really does describe what it’s like in about two and a half minutes…(many of you may be familiar with it as the theme song from Weeds) if so, sing along!!!

Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes made of ticky tacky
Little boxes on the hillside
Little boxes all the same

There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same

And the people in the houses
All went to the university
Where they were put in boxes
And they came out all the same

And there’s doctors and lawyers
And business executives
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same

And they all play on the golf course
And drink their martinis dry
And they all have pretty children
And the children go to school

And the children go to summer camp
And then to the university
Where they are put in boxes
And they come out all the same

And the boys go into business
And marry and raise a family
In boxes made of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same

There’s a pink one and a green one
And a blue one and a yellow one
And they’re all made out of ticky tacky
And they all look just the same