David Brooks writes in the NY Times (Jan 6) that buying a home is the most difficult decision in life. We don’t choose a house so much as fall in love with it, he writes, and although we may envision a home with exotic things in which we will host large gatherings, most folks really seek privacy and tranquility.

Lots of interesting angles here, true to David Brooks, but the real crux of this opinion piece – to me anyway – is his very last and almost lost comment at the end:

“The process of house hunting focuses your attention on the wrong things…..

It focuses on the features of the house, not on the social relationships that will happen in them, which is all you’ll remember decades hence. Choosing this or that house has only a moderate effect on joyfulness. The neighborhood you choose, and the social fabric you enter, is more important than the structure you adore.”

Touche! This is exactly what Peter Lazar is getting at with his Home Happiness Calculator – Why don’t we start measuring Happiness per Square Foot?

Take the survey if you haven’t already!

http://www.emersoncommons.org/home-happiness-calculator.html

The NY Times opinion piece from David Brooks:The Home Buying Decision