I’m old enough to remember the days when we were lucky to have a box fan what we would move from room to room on hot days, when we filled ice cube trays, perked coffee on the stove, and so on…
Now there are items that should they break or crap-out I’d go out and fix or replace immediately. Here is my partial list:
Central air conditioning
King size bed
iPad or other similar tablet
WiFi
Smartphone
My Keurig coffee maker
Water and ice through the door
Power windows, locks and keyless ignition
Bluetooth in the car
Satellite radio
Cable TV
Luggage with wheels
Now I’m sure there are many here who could do without any of these things, but what are those former luxuries that you now aren’t willing to do without?
I have four of those. I’d have trouble doing without my tablet and wifi. Having slept on my teenage bed until last year, I can’t imagine going back. Though I only have a queen.
I really want to cover my floor in springboard or gym mat tiles. And my ceiling with things to hang from. Should I accomplish that I’m sure I will consider it a necessity.
The items listed by the OP are hardly necessities. I know many people who don’t have half of those, or at least don’t use half of them. I including myself - and I’m a gadget-loving geek.
I think the most prominent “luxury turned necessity” are cell phones, the Internet and the personal computer. Cell phones are necessities because it’s almost impossible to find pay phones anymore. And a computer with Internet access is essential for job searches and other basic communication needs.
I have 5 on the OP’s list, and don’t feel like I’m missing a damn thing. Oh, and NotDeadYet: That list doesn’t impress me; it just says how dependent you are on things that nobody should be dependent on.
I only have power locks and windows, a small tablet, and wifi, but I don’t consider any of them anything close to necessities. Internet, yes, but not wifi. My luxury “necessities” that obviously aren’t really are two bathrooms for my two-person household, a dishwasher, and w/d in my apartment.
Yea, I’d say these three things are the most recent additions to modern tech that losing would feel like a major step down in my quality of life. Loosing most of the other stuff in the OP would just be a minor inconvenience (other then AC).
I don’t read it as bragging, I read it as self-deprecating.
Obviously, we could all go without those things if we had to. What is interesting, in terms of self-analysis, is to see what now seems necessary. It doesn’t have to be a pissing match about who makes do with the least.
I agree about a computer, high speed internet, and a cell phone. I would feel very isolated without those.
In my life right now, a good stroller is an absolute necessity. Baby and mama and papa need to get OUT, and at not-yet-two, baby is too heavy to carry for miles and too little to walk as far as many of our favorite destinations. If our stroller crapped out, we’d buy another really solid one even if we had to eat plain rice and beans for two months to pay for it.
Wasn’t meant to impress. It’s kind of embarrassing that as I’ve gotten older and lazier (?) things that I thought were luxuries or in the “I wish I had that” category are now “I got to have that”. I should probably come up with a better word than necessity. But it was late …
I couldn’t figure how to succinctly communicate “what would you replace immediately” and just used the term necessity. My bad. But in my defense, most of us really don’t need (or depend on) a bunch of things that assuming the resources were there we wouldn’t do without. Sure, they aren’t necessities, but we’ve come to think of them as such. People lived in Florida before central air and some still do but I’d venture that 98% of Floridians would tell you A/C is a necessity.
So if you are still willing to participate, what is it that you would replace immediately if broken, lost or stolen?
I only have one thing on that list (luggage with wheels). And I normally just schlep around a duffel bag rather than the wheeled luggage, so I wouldn’t consider it a necessity.
I’d vote for cell phones. I have a regular dumbphone, but it is definitely better than the old land line thing. I’m also grateful for microwaves. I have a friend who doesn’t have one, and heating leftovers at her house is very annoying.
Out of curiosity, why do you prefer to boil tap water?
I agree with the OP that it’s not a bragging list, but nor are they true necessities. I read it as necessary for me, the OP, to be happy and comfortable. It’s OK to like convenience and technology, people. It’s OK to use your hard-earned money to buy things that other people don’t have. As Manda JO says:
I also agree that a/c is a necessity. We don’t have central air but if my a/c broke, I’d be fixing or replacing ASAP. And that goes for a/c in my car. I spent one long, hot summer doing home visits to clients 40 hours/week in a car with no a/c and it wasn’t fun.
These keyless ignition thingies are ridiculous in my opinion. One still has to keep the transponder doohickey near in a pocket or purse. This is just a true lazy feature. Someone will surely correct me by saying it helps people who are too weak to turn a key, but I say people that badly off shouldn’t be driving. I do have a couple of vehicles with the key fob door lock opener, but there are key slots on the door and trunk that work. My sister has a Nissan Versa- its hatchback opener quit working and there is no key slot or any other way to open the damn thing from the outside. Seems to be a thing with them, and it’s expensive to fix.
I only have three on the OP’s list and have acquired one of those this year. If my ac went out, you betcha I’m getting it fixed or replaced.
I would replace my car, smart phone, hi-speed internet, my laptop and Calpholon coffee maker, if lost, stolen, or broken.
Beyond those, I already do without most of what is on the OP’s list. Yes, I would like to have air conditioning in my apartment but it’s not a necessity. I can move my fan from room to room.