# If you were fabulously wealthy, would you want a huge mansion? A smaller one? How about servants? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 24, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705 "2012-09-24T20:20:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/101 "2013-07-18T16:06:34Z")
I don’t know what I would do with a mansion. I’d rather build my own house with lots of cool stuff like secret passageways, tiny theater, indoor garden, pool, library, workshop, and gym. I don’t see myself needing a full time staff, but I could see hiring a part time cleaning person. I might hire a professional to teach me how to cook, but I don’t see needing one to prepare meals outside of the occasional caterer for parties. I would like a tiny airstrip though, for my ultra lite trike. ---
**Author:** ![TimeWinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bcef8e/32.png) [@TimeWinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimeWinder)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2013, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/102 "2013-07-18T17:24:07Z")
> [@colleen215](#): > > I am rich from kid i am may be rich and have 15 servants as here labour is cheap 4 are guards 2 are gardeners 3 are drivers 1 is my pa also my butler 1 is a cook 1helps her 1 takes care of my kid and the other 7 clean make bed etc as jobs are find to hard here they accept to do everything even massaging my dirty feet after i exercise so here life is pleasant i find it normal like when i return from office servant kneels down remove my high heels massage my feet another one servant serving me wine so i find it very normal Sell the mansion and hire a full-time Rambling to English translator so that I can read Great Debates all day. ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/103 "2013-07-20T17:22:38Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > My last house was 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1300 square feet. And still, there were rooms that, at one point, I had to make an effort to remember to go in at least once every several months to dust and inspect (make sure the walls weren’t [del]bleeding[/del] peeling) or whatever. > > One of my hobbies is looking at houses. The internet is a gift in that department. There is this awesome 1900-ish mansion on Lowry Hill in Minneapolis for sale for $6.5 million. I think if I owned it, I’d just sit in the middle of it squeeling with delight and achieving orgasm for days on end. But eventually, I would have no fucking clue what to do with all of that space. Is an issue with looking at more reasonable houses in the city I live in too. I want a larger lot, but I have no fucking use for the 5 bedroom houses I usually find parked on them. > > And I’ve said in the past, if I won the lottery, I’m more likely to try to find the perfect piece of land, and then build a 2 bedroom house on it, with large rooms. If I’m not mistaken I’ve looked online at that same house. If I inherited a large old house with lots of rooms my daydream is to dedicate different rooms to my assorted interests. A sewing room,a music room, an art studio, a room with wonderful lighting where I could leave a half worked jigsaw puzzle on the table without thought to the cats or where my family will eat dinner. Just leave it and close the door. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2013, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/104 "2013-07-20T23:46:55Z")
There’s a place in Beverly Hills currently for sale for about 54 million. 30,000+ sqft, 7 bedrooms, 13 full baths & 9 half baths, 9 fireplaces, an elevator, garage & motor court to accommodate 27 cars, staff quarters offering 3 bedrooms & separate full kitchen. I’d have something like that. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/105 "2013-07-21T01:01:34Z")
Hang onto the servants, but move into a place more in line with a bachelor’s needs. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/106 "2013-07-21T01:05:39Z")
I’d keep the estate in the country for weekend getaways, but I’d buy up this place to use as a place to stay in town, so I can go to the opera and symphony galas & art showings & such. [http://www.pacunion.com/homes/CA/San\_Francisco/94118/3800\_\_Washington\_St\_\_/107397278/](http://www.pacunion.com/homes/CA/San_Francisco/94118/3800 __Washington_St__ /107397278/) ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/107 "2013-07-21T12:35:58Z")
I’m not really the mansion type, so it would probably be sold, although I couldn’t say for sure without seeing the specific property. It might do, but I doubt it. I’d buy instead several hundred acres in this area (Maine) where I’d build a beautiful but not huge home (maybe 3-4K sf) with a runway, airplane hangers, and a really huge garage and workshop for the husband, as well as a well-appointed stable and indoor arena for the horses. There would be a few guest houses on the property for visiting friends and family. I’d also have a smaller vacation home in my home state, to visit family, and probably some sort of beach/island property somewhere tropical. As for servants, I would certainly have someone come clean a few times a week, and there might be a barn employee, but I’d rather not have anyone actually living on the grounds unless I’m away visiting one of my other homes. I like my privacy. Certainly I can do my own cooking and fetch my own champagne. ---
**Author:** ![carlb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carlb/32/5930_2.png) [@carlb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carlb)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2013, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705/108 "2013-07-21T14:13:26Z")
Big isn’t necessarily what I’m looking for in my “dream house,” so I’d liquidate the estate and have a house custom built somewhere in the Florida Keys or the Caribbean. Based on the description of the bequeathed estate, I should have plenty left over for a couple of small condos in a few key locations around the world. I love to travel, but I need a home to come back to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-were-fabulously-wealthy-would-you-want-a-huge-mansion-a-smaller-one-how-about-servants/635705.md?page=5)