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Comment by steveBK123 | Hacker News Reader

A lot of my friends enjoy sending links to this around from time to time, and for me I just don't care.

It just all comes across as very elitist navel gazing.

I don't actually care what other peoples properties look like.

It's also kind of faux populist because while the homes they are criticizing are certainly higher income for their area, a lot of these are like $500K homes in exurbs.

The people that enjoy laughing at the McMansions are like SF/NYC $5M condo owners. So it's kicking down in a way they can rationalize to themselves.

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I dunno, my Mom in the midwest thinks it's the funniest thing ever, having grown up in an area where all the houses looked like this. There's some element of satisfaction knowing that you can't buy good taste

Yea, I distinctly remember one of the major aspects of making fun of McMansions was that we are punching up, not down. We'd look at houses 2-4X more expensive than we could ever afford and conclude the exact sentence you posted: "You can't buy good taste!"

> There's some element of satisfaction knowing that you can't buy good taste

When I see the equivalent hate blog for the $5M greige coastal condo class aesthetic I’ll believe you

I find it interesting that you think this article is bad because it is elitist but at the same time bad because it makes fun of rich people.

I used to follow the author on Twitter. No longer do as I don't agree with her other opinions. But she is definitely not owning million dollar properties anywhere. Populist? Maybe. But definitely not faux populism coming from whatever $5M condo owners you think wrote this.

You can be elitist without being rich, and you can also create content aimed at elitist rich without being either.

My comment was re: the friends I have that found it so funny (rich AF).

Don't worry, the people in the McMansions do not care that coastals correctly point out their lack of aesthetic sensibility.

Oh they're lacking more than aesthetic sensibility. Frugality and appreciation of build quality are also lacking in these designs. The sheer volume of roof angle transitions alone are a huge force multiplier on the cost per square footage of construction like this and are prone to cause expensive maintenance headaches.

I remember this from 2016. While they may have had a point about some of it. I think things like this are just an excuse for some to be judgemental snobs.

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