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Ogre213 t1_j0aoy7m wrote

Several reasons.

New construction - the kind that follows cookiecutter trends - is pretty rare here. Most of your (comparatively) built up areas have been built up for awhile, so new builds buying the latest builder-grade on trend junk are rare.

There's a general attitude of 'if it ain't broke' around here that holds. As one of my theater friends explained the New Hampshire approach to living - 'use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without'. People here don't tend to toss stuff that's still functional. Hell, my inlaws still have have some 40 year old appliances that aren't dead, and they're not buying.

New Hampshire folk, in general, also have a decided lack of fucks to give about trends. We don't particularly care if it's on trend - we care if we like it. We're not tearing out our kitchen counters because some asshole in LA decided that white quartz was hot this year. We like what we like, and that's an individual thing.

If nothing else, think of a house here as being a blank canvas to project yourself onto. If you want to do what some asshole in LA says you should, go for it. We just don't.

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Loosh_03062 t1_j0bq9eh wrote

Yup. My 40 year old house is still running with the original electric stove in the kitchen. The timer and clock have been shot for years but it still makes food hot when I need it to. There's no need to replace it with some overengineered electronically controlled glass top which will tell me the temperature to within a tenth of a degree on three scales, call my mother in law when I make one of her favorite recipes better than she does, send my phone a ding when there's one minute left, and shatter if I put my 7qt cast iron Dutch oven down wrong.

By the same token the break even point on new thermally efficient oversized windows is likely beyond the point where I'll be living here. I'll stick with storms and screens and hold the inner windows up with paint sticks while I'm at it. In fifteen years my gas bill for heat, hot water, and clothes dryer hasn't been about $1K.

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AKBigDaddy t1_j0c1z06 wrote

In winter I spend almost $1k/mo on propane. Now that the electricity rates have gotten insane, I spend $700/mo on electricity. You're damn right I'm eyeballing super efficient replacements for several older items in my home.

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AKBigDaddy t1_j0c1red wrote

> Hell, my inlaws still have have some 40 year old appliances that aren't dead, and they're not buying.

See for me this is one area I don't skimp in- I don't run out and buy frequently, but with the cost of energy what it is I'm side-eyeing my old boiler, my washer/dryer, etc and crunching numbers on how long it would have to last to break even on a replacement.

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