Does anyone want the cheap dumpy bungalow next door to mine?

amother

Mon, Apr 15 2013, 9:05 pm

Just want to say that I know the bungalow colony World's Best is talking about and it's probably one of the reasons she seems like such a wholesome person. Leaving behind the sterile city environment once in a while makes kids stronger and unspoiled. It does a person a world of good to be able to laugh about things like falling through the porch. The same G-d who watched over our grandparents eating dirt will be glad to protect your kids, too (assuming you do due diligence yourself, of course) for the sake of them getting a proper close look at the world the way He made it.

I should get off my soapbox and just PM World's Best offering to take over the bungalow. But even that isn't in my budget. Think you can keep it standing until next year?

amother

Mon, Apr 15 2013, 10:02 pm

I have a forest behind my house and grass all around. All the neighbors are frum and the grassy yards are all somehow connected. We have a swing set and so do many neighbors. Some families (not too many) have pools and allow others to use. So we have the outdoors and then .... INSIDE is large, central air conditioning, "private" laundry room, 5 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, study, playroom ..... you get the picture .... the best part is the doors LOCK at night and so do the windows. I don't mean to scare you, but aren't you worried to sleep like that at night??? Who can protect you when you are practically sleeping outdoors? Funny thing is, I pay $2300 a month like you but that is my mortgage.... Maybe you want to move to Lakewood or Monsey?? Apartments with 3 bedrooms go for $1000 a month, if the house is not an option. You sound like you would like the great outdoors here and it's honestly so much safer!

bookworm10

Mon, Apr 15 2013, 10:33 pm

Sounds like the place I looked at last summer- and btw- the bungalows are gross, but they are gross and a lot more expensive in a LOT of colonies!! I would come stay with you but we work in another colony. Bungalow is not any nicer, nor are the grounds, and it costs double!

For all the naysayers- Day camp is significantly cheaper upstate btw- and it is much easier for the kids to play after camp, swim... and its cheaper than sleepaway camp. I understand that its expensive, but for some people it actually comes out more affordable than staying home.

the world's best mom

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 1:32 am

Mama Bear wrote:

$2300 is bargain basement cheap for a bungalow, even a shack. I paid $5000 for my pretty-dumpy bungalow last year at Har nof...

Did you try asking our friend Bracha VHatzlacha?

Funny, she took that same bungalow before we started using it. I didn't think of asking her, but she usually comes half a summer and splits it with a friend who comes the other half. Last summer she didn't come and the friend split it with someone else, so maybe it's worth asking.

the world's best mom

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 1:36 am

amother wrote:

I dream of living in a place like this, but I happen to think that for the summer, if you are living in a big, comfortable house, people tend to spend less time outdoors. Also, you need to clean for more than half an hour a day to make it stay clean. My bungalow is so small and we have almost no toys there, the kids are out all day and meals are eaten outside, so clean up is minimal and we spend the whole day outdoors when possible.

the world's best mom

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 1:45 am

amother wrote:

Think you can keep it standing until next year?

I think so. I'm told I exaggerated a bit too much in describing the bungalow. Nobody has ever fallen through their porch there except me and ds. The duct tape only tapes together some little things that are falling apart, but it doesn't actually hold the bungalows together. The place is a dump, but probably not as bad as I made it sound.

The point is, the bungalow isn't beautiful, and it isn't a place anyone would go to for a nice indoor experience. It's a place people go to experience nature to its fullest, while also having a little shelter for nighttime and bad weather. It's an amazing experience in an ugly bungalow with the most beautiful living room- the great outdoors. And if anyone really wants to share in this joyful experience, it will make my summer a bit less lonely. But you have to come not having high expectations of the bungalow, because then you'd be miserable.

sarahd

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 2:53 am

the world's best mom wrote:

MimiMommy wrote:

I don't understand. You're paying thousands of dollars for a cheap overpriced hazardous dump and you think this is preferable to staying home? Geez. Brooklyn summer peer pressure in full swing.

I don't live in Brooklyn. Very Happy

Going away there is cheaper than sending my kids to camp in the city, we get to escape the humidity and go swimming, and it is an amazing experience that kids can't get in the city. I would hate to stay home.

Walking on the road there admiring the scenery while pushing my stroller up and down the hills is the most invigorating, healthy activity. I take all my kids sometimes to see the waterfall down the road. Swimming is an important part of the day there. So is splashing in the mud puddles after it rains, and crawling around the grass, and so much more. The kids are outdoors all day, playing with their few friends, collecting frogs and salamandars, and having a great time.

The inside of the bungalow is just something we have to put up with.

Sounds like our colony and our summer experience. (My first summer in Ukraine I stayed in an apartment with a bathtub in the kitchen, no hot water and a toilet that you flushed by pulling a chain. But as I wrote my parents, it was perfectly lovely compared to our summer bungalow.) But those summers are my best childhood memories.

greenfire

Tue, Apr 16 2013, 9:36 am

the world's best mom wrote:

We are in Loch Sheldrake, a 7 minute drive from Shop Rite and pizza shop in Liberty. Walmart is more like 15-20 minutes away. The price is around $2,300, plus $50 a week for gas and electric.

loch sheldrake sounds like a friday the 13th movie ... drove down that road before [dd's teacher was there] ~ BOO !!!

now talk about raking in the monies - you are paying his taxes on down rodden property - the least he could do is spend some of it to fix things up a little ...

if you're that into nature you can put up a tent & go camping for a fraction of the cost ... you'd have to enjoy cooking under the stars and bathing with well water - but hey it's nature at it's best

amother

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 12:15 am

I have been to the same colony and there have always been some bungalows that are more mice-prone than others. Our bungalow very, very rarely had mice (handful of times over 30+ years) while another bungalow not far away has what seems to be an incurable problem with this, multiple rodents every year despite traps and poison and closing up holes... it's a mazal zach. I haven't seen one in ages.

the world's best mom

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 12:22 am

amother wrote:

Yeah, I know who you are talking about. She really had a ton. She is actually thinking of taking my sister's bungalow, as I just found out on Friday. She's not sure they'll fit a second crib in there, though. I hope she takes it. It would be a LOT less boring with her and her 9 kids there.

the world's best mom

Sun, Apr 21 2013, 12:38 am

I think my sister's bungalow is bigger than her old one, and it doesn't even have a tree fallen through the roof. Very Happy

My sister's kitchen table isn't big, but she has a big wooden board that she puts on when she needs more seating space, so they could keep the board on always. The big bedroom is pretty big, and it has a high riser that opens up. The question was if a crib would fit in there with the high riser open. I think she could squeeze it in, but it would leave very little walking space.

It seems to me like it's definitely MUCH better than her old bungalow, which looks like it's on its way to becoming a heap on the ground.

the world's best mom

Sun, Jun 16 2013, 6:33 pm

I hate to disappoint all the swarms of people who were desperate to rent this lovely bungalow, but my sister went to get her stuff out of there today and the bedroom ceiling is on the floor. Raccoons apparently had a party there. I heard those raccoons walking around my ceiling last year for the first time, and they figured out how to get in after we left.

Hearing this gave me a brilliant idea. I don't care for raccoon neighbors. Therefore, I will be moving to my cousin's empty bungalow, which is bigger and nicer than my old one, and has a real porch that has room for people to sit on it and no hole in the floor. The ceiling is still where it belongs, and it has neighbors attached to it. So, if anyone wants my old bungalow, you can have that too. Very Happy

the world's best mom

Sun, Jun 16 2013, 7:13 pm

They will never rebuild those bungalows. The guy who built our died years ago. His son helped him and finished building them. He died in March. HIS son is now in charge, but has no interest in the place. He would love to get rid of it, but it has sentimental value to them. I think his mother won't let him sell it, so he's stuck running the dump.