I recently jumped on the motorcycle to explore some new territory. I pointed the bike northeast, and following no particular route, soon found myself in an area surrounded by old farmhouses and pasture. Nice quiet roads, nice weather, pretty scenery, and then…
…a new subdivision full of McMansions.
It was jarring. There was no attempt to fit into the general landscape. These houses could have been anywhere. Most of these subdivisions are featureless moonscapes. Same brick McMansions, same cul-de-sacs, same speed bumps.
They seemed like they’d fallen from another planet into this idyllic landscape. But I wonder if, like the farmhouses that surround them, they will eventually be seen as products of their time – early 21st century examples. And like the farmhouses, will they seem like the quaint idea of another time?
Stranger still are houses that I can only describe as “rural infill.” Same architectural lack of style as the subdivisions, just freestanding amongst the farmhouses. It’s like the people who built them want the ultimate “meta” experience. They want to live in this beautiful landscape surrounded by gorgeous old farms and pastures, but they refuse to be a part of it, so they drop their suburban bastardization into the middle of it, like it’s invisible. It seems to me like the ultimate in snobbery. They want the pretty views without the responsibility of preserving them.