Motorhomes

[OnMyWay]

12 hours ago, JJReyes said:

My wife's mother purchased a home in Torrance about 60 years ago.  When we were dating 54 years ago, I recall the area was surrounded by marsh land.  Her sister lives in Palos Verdes and a niece with 4 sons nearby.  Our hotel is Extended Stay America next to Del Amo Fashion Center.  They have large parking spaces that can accommodate our RV.

My parents bought their house in North Redondo just after WW II.  Maybe it was 1949 or 50.  Cost $5000.  They could not afford the tract house in Manhattan Beach.  It was $10,000.  My mom sold it early 2000s, for $649,000.

This is the neighborhood now, from Zillow.  The red arrow points to our old house, but in 2017 someone renovated it into a McMansion.  Then they bought the house next door for their parents, and renovated it.  I think the back yard is joined so both houses have access to the pool they built.

In the 60s when I was growing up, we ignored fences.  They were just something to hop over.  We had an odd shaped lot, so I could hop over a fence to get almost anywhere.  Most of my friends were right there and 95% of the houses had kids.  Nowadays, if you hopped a fence like that, you might get shot!

 

[JJReyes]

24 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

My parents bought their house in North Redondo just after WW II.  Maybe it was 1949 or 50.  Cost $5000.  They could not afford the tract house in Manhattan Beach.  It was $10,000.  My mom sold it early 2000s, for $649,000.

That's a nice, large home in a good neighborhood.  Worth over $1 million in today's market. 

My mother-in-law purchased her house and lot for $30,000.  The backyard is a matured Japanese garden.  Two of the trees planted are now worth $30,000 each!  There are buyers who use them for landscaping office buildings.  Most are located in Silicon Valley where a building with a serene garden is some sort of status symbol.  

[Jack Peterson]

15 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

Most are located in Silicon Valley where a building with a serene garden is some sort of status symbol.  

[OnMyWay]

17 minutes ago, JJReyes said:

That's a nice, large home in a good neighborhood.  Worth over $1 million in today's market. 

My mother-in-law purchased her house and lot for $30,000.  The backyard is a matured Japanese garden.  Two of the trees planted are now worth $30,000 each!  There are buyers who use them for landscaping office buildings.  Most are located in Silicon Valley where a building with a serene garden is some sort of status symbol.  

Was that West Torrance?  I dated a Japanese girl and her family was in that area, with quite a few other Japanese families.

My parents house was originally 2 bed, 1 bath.  My dad added a family room, 2nd bath, master br, and single car garage with workshop.  This is what it looked like when my mom sold it, minus 3 of the trees in the lawn, which the next owner added.  The ornamental dwarf red plum on the right was a gift from us to my mom, maybe in the 80's?  I mowed that lawn for many, many years!

Thanks for the trip down memory lane!

[OnMyWay]

Steve, sorry for hijacking the thread!  @stevewool

[JJReyes]

8 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Was that West Torrance?  I dated a Japanese girl and her family was in that area, with quite a few other Japanese families.

Not sure.  There are many Japanese and Japanese American families in Torrance and Gardena.  Also, Japanese corporations, restaurants, supermarkets.

[stevewool]

17 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

Steve, sorry for hijacking the thread!  @stevewool

No worries , it’s good sometimes it jogs other memories from one another 

[OnMyWay]

Need to check the height!

[Jack Peterson]

 Apparently OZ style for the Outback;

[stevewool]

Seen this on one of our trips , be nice but limited to where you could travel on some narrow roads