hmbemis
ALLIANCE MEMBER
My name's HMBemis (not really) and I'm a garage-a-holic 
I grew up in a bad neighborhood (no garages), but fortunately I was kept on the straight and narrow path by my family (grandfather) and a youth-intervention program (high school auto shop).
My grandfather was a mechanic, when he retired (before I was born) he and my grandmother bought a modest raised ranch in the suburbs w/ a 2-car garage under the house. My fondest childhood memories were spent with him in that garage with him.
His garage was setup with the right half for their car, and the left as his "workshop"--which was always full of half disassembled machines, spare parts and scraps. He grew up in the depression, never had much money, so it was always about making due with what you had on hand. Fortunately for me this meant when something went wrong you didn't throw it away and buy a new one, you fixed it! I suspect that he saved the most fun jobs for when I was over visiting, and maybe he even made a few up for something to do--I grew up thinking you needed to sharpen a lawn mower blade every 2 weeks
I'm 31 now, he passed away nearly 20 years ago when I was still very young, but being in that place with him made an impression that I'll carry with me all my life. My greatest hope is that I can be someone like him to my own children and grandkids one day.
Growing up, the family homes we lived in never had a garage, and since moving out ~6 years ago I've lived in various rentals, some of which didn't even have driveways let alone a garage.
Hopefully all that will be changing soon... I've been house hunting for about a year, but with plans to purchase this spring. My goals (and budget) are modest--I'd like at least a 1 car garage, preferably detached, and the space to add more later.
The areas I'm considering have small lots, most are about 1/8 to 1/4 of an acre, with a few stretching up to 1/3 to 1/2 acre. As a result, the quality and layout of the lot is extremely important to allow for expansion. Fortunately my SO is understanding and patient with my "condition", she's had a few places that she's loved but I've had to scratch off the list due to the lot layout.
So I'm still searching and hopeful... in the meantime I'll continue to drool over some of the fantastic builds I've been subscribing to over in the Garage Gallery
Happy New Year
I grew up in a bad neighborhood (no garages), but fortunately I was kept on the straight and narrow path by my family (grandfather) and a youth-intervention program (high school auto shop).
My grandfather was a mechanic, when he retired (before I was born) he and my grandmother bought a modest raised ranch in the suburbs w/ a 2-car garage under the house. My fondest childhood memories were spent with him in that garage with him.
His garage was setup with the right half for their car, and the left as his "workshop"--which was always full of half disassembled machines, spare parts and scraps. He grew up in the depression, never had much money, so it was always about making due with what you had on hand. Fortunately for me this meant when something went wrong you didn't throw it away and buy a new one, you fixed it! I suspect that he saved the most fun jobs for when I was over visiting, and maybe he even made a few up for something to do--I grew up thinking you needed to sharpen a lawn mower blade every 2 weeks
I'm 31 now, he passed away nearly 20 years ago when I was still very young, but being in that place with him made an impression that I'll carry with me all my life. My greatest hope is that I can be someone like him to my own children and grandkids one day.
Growing up, the family homes we lived in never had a garage, and since moving out ~6 years ago I've lived in various rentals, some of which didn't even have driveways let alone a garage.
Hopefully all that will be changing soon... I've been house hunting for about a year, but with plans to purchase this spring. My goals (and budget) are modest--I'd like at least a 1 car garage, preferably detached, and the space to add more later.
The areas I'm considering have small lots, most are about 1/8 to 1/4 of an acre, with a few stretching up to 1/3 to 1/2 acre. As a result, the quality and layout of the lot is extremely important to allow for expansion. Fortunately my SO is understanding and patient with my "condition", she's had a few places that she's loved but I've had to scratch off the list due to the lot layout.
So I'm still searching and hopeful... in the meantime I'll continue to drool over some of the fantastic builds I've been subscribing to over in the Garage Gallery
Happy New Year
)
... Though I feel like I've paid my fair share, I lived in the city for a few years and was paying something like $5/day for the privilege of driving 7 measly miles of the mass pike