Am I the only one who doesn't like cul de sacs?

[Anonymous]

OP, we didn't want a home on the circle of a cul de sac, either.

[Anonymous]

I grew up on one, and it was fabulous. It had a huge center area, and all the kids played out front in the street. We had lots of games on kickball, tennis, baseball (sing a tennis racket and ball). Rode our bikes there. No traffic except those who lived on the cul de sac.

And yes, lots and lots of block parties.

[Anonymous]

No way. Our friend had a gorgeous house in a CDS. Their neighbor used to park ALL of his cars in front of one house (the house that thought it had beautiful curbage, but not for long!). While the street is public, blah, blah, blah......not being an a**hole is free.

I don't think it is worth it, OP. Just don't live in a cut through neighborhood (be sure to check this carefully - actually during rush hour!); and you should be fine.

Many neighborhoods seem great, but if it is a cut through neighborhood, especially those without sidewalks, you are sunk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you mean culs de sac?

Yes, clearly I did. Thanks for the correction. I hope you understood anyway and will have something else to contribute.

Very gracious of you, OP, though, for the record, Merriam-Webster Online gives both as acceptable plural forms.

Back to your question -- I don't like 'em either. I want a friendly neighborhood, but also value my privacy. Similarly, I don't like open floor plans. Sure, gimme a nice kitchen with room for the family to gather, but I'd also like to be able to close it off when I'm cooking and want to blast my music while DH and kids are watching football. Different strokes, baby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I grew up on one, and it was fabulous. It had a huge center area, and all the kids played out front in the street. We had lots of games on kickball, tennis, baseball (sing a tennis racket and ball). Rode our bikes there. No traffic except those who lived on the cul de sac.

And yes, lots and lots of block parties.

^^^^This is another reason why I hate cul de sacs! I absolute hate that when you have to pull in or pull out or your driveway there is always some unattended child at the end of it. You always have to dodge a ball, a child, or some other type of object that is lying in the street. The kids take over the circle and there is never any peace or quite in cul de sacs. It becomes a 24/7 playground. If you have noisy neighbors, then it's miserable too because the homes are too close together.

I have other things that I hate about a cul de sac:
Limited or odd parking for guests
It feels like you're sharing your personal space with neighbors at all times
Lack of privacy
The abundance of unattended children playing in the street at all hours of the night. It's okay when they're little, but wait until they become teenagers and they invite the entire school over every weekend to take hostage of the circle.
It's harder to sell your home because when most people live in the burbs they want space between their neighbors.

The only way you will get me on a cul de sac is if I'm sitting on an acre lot and my next door neighbor's house is a five minute drive away.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you mean culs de sac?

Yes, clearly I did. Thanks for the correction. I hope you understood anyway and will have something else to contribute.

Very gracious of you, OP, though, for the record, Merriam-Webster Online gives both as acceptable plural forms.

For the record, Merriam-Webster Online can go fuck itself.

[Anonymous]

Our street is a cul de sac, but we are on the straight part, not the round part. It's ideal for us. Low traffic, access to the circle for playing, but we have a larger front yard (rectangular rather than triangular) and don't have the parking issue.

[Anonymous]

Never. Again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I hate them. I actually refused to buy a house on one.

First of all, they're always filled with a bunch of cars parked on the street.

Second of all, I hate the idea of kids learning to ride their bikes or play hoops in the street.

I know lots of people who live on them, and not one of them have mentioned block parties. I'm inclined to think that, at least in the suburbs, that really doesn't happen as much on people on DCUM like to believe. I'm sure tons of posters will come on and say, "but we have one every month," blah, blah, blah. But as I said, IRL, I know lots of people who live on them, and none of them have ever heard of any block parties happening.

Third thing I hate, is that whenever I see a cul-de-sac, the houses seem to be very close together. I don't know if that's because of their popularity (builders try to fit as many in as possible), but it always seems like you have more neighbors close to you on a cul-de-sac than on a regular street.

Fourth thing, while people say they get less traffic, I've noticed (while visiting friends who live on them) that they get a ton of people who turn in to make a turn and go the other way on the road.

But yeah, most people and real estate agents think they're wonderful. So be it. I also hate neighborhoods that have a lot of them. It doesn't make for ideal traffic flow. And it makes the neighborhood seem disconnected. I guess people like that, but I don't.

Do kids learn to ride bikes in places other than the street?

Yes, driveways or the sidewalk. We're talking about tricycle type learning. I hate that people treat a cul-de-sac as if it's not actually a street where cars drive, where you need to be careful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you also not like open floor plans?

OP here. Nope, I love open floor plans.

Ha! I don't like culs-des-sacs (shouldn't both the plural?) or open floor plans, but I do like close-in suburbs. There's a lid for every pot (true for dating and for home ownership, I guess).

No. We have been over this. It is culs des sac, like Attorneys General.

Except not like attorneys general in that "general" is an adjective, or like mother-in-law in that "law" is not a countable noun.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

For the record, Merriam-Webster Online can go fuck itself.

Heaven knows what you would say about Roget's Thesaurus.

[Anonymous]

The bane of suburbia, no thanks.

[Anonymous]

we live on one. When we bought our home, we thought it was a negative. 3 kids later, we love it. It seems more intimate than a regular street---the neighbors seem to look out for each other. Yes, some people park as 'head in' parking in front of their homes. It doesn't bother us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you mean culs de sac?

According to Webster cul de sacs is also and acceptable plural.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

For the record, Merriam-Webster Online can go fuck itself.

Heaven knows what you would say about Roget's Thesaurus.

Touche. To the first quoted PP -- no, this doesn't rhyme with a kind of bag (or sac) that you are.