# What luxuries in your life have become necessities? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 12, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663 "2013-09-12T14:53:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/1 "2013-09-12T14:53:30Z")
Two things I’d have a really hard time giving up: [ul] [li]My DVR – I can’t imagine trying to schedule and watch TV shows with the old VCR. Or, god forbid, watch in real time.[/li][li]The automatic ice maker – Oh, the arguments we had when I was growing up about who used the last cube and didn’t refill the tray. Or who’d leave one ice cube to technically stay within the family rules, then you’d have four trays, each with one ice cube. [/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![jpsbcfc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@jpsbcfc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jpsbcfc)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/2 "2013-09-12T15:12:31Z")
definitely my sky plus which is basically a dvr, i cant imagine ever getting rid of it. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/3 "2013-09-12T15:13:34Z")
Internet access. For that matter, a computer, even without internet access. When the power goes off, I just have to hope that I have a good light so that I can read or play cards. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/4 "2013-09-12T15:18:25Z")
A computer, definitely. I’m also pretty darn attached to my Kindle. I read so much it’s actually impractical and a pain to always be carrying around heavy books. I was doing that last week - had to wait, and I brought a heavy, hardcover library book. I remembered how uncomfortable it was to read a big, heavy, book, how awkward, and I think I am too attached to my Kindle now. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/5 "2013-09-12T15:22:20Z")
Internet. Smartphone. My own vehicle. A washer & dryer in my house. Funny how I had no problem going to the laundrymat before, but when our washer crapped out and I had to go to the laundrymat again I was like “Omg this sucks. We’re buying new ones NOW.” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/6 "2013-09-12T15:32:23Z")
+1 for Kindle. I take it with me everywhere, and if the house were burning down, it would be the first thing I’d grab. There is no single material object in this house I love more than my Kindle. ---
**Author:** ![Sahirrnee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sahirrnee/32/13937_2.png) [@Sahirrnee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sahirrnee)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/7 "2013-09-12T15:45:04Z")
Smart phone Cable TV Laptop and Internet Microwave Dishwasher Central AC ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/8 "2013-09-12T15:50:20Z")
Air conditioning. I can make it through the day without (albeit with a frown on my face). But I cannot go to sleep if I’m hot. I must be cold. ---
**Author:** ![Bakhtiyark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@Bakhtiyark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bakhtiyark)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/9 "2013-09-12T15:55:55Z")
Tablet & Smartphone, I use them very extensively, i do a lot of reading,listening audiobooks, practicing my foreign languages etc. I moved out of my house in Almaty so i also use my tablet to watch movies. considering buying myself a Xperia Z Ultra in order to have a two-in-one solution. Ice, i hate hot tea, my parents used to force me to drink infernally hot tea so i developed a psychologycal trauma and now can’t drink anything hot without throwing in a couple of ice cubes ---
**Author:** ![lazybratsche](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@lazybratsche](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lazybratsche)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/10 "2013-09-12T16:23:41Z")
I’m looking for a new apartment, so some of things I’ve been considering very carefully. FIOS or equivalent quality high-speed internet. Where “equivalent quality” costs an arm and a leg from the usual cable providers. Dishwasher. Seriously, if I move into a place without a dishwasher, I’m buying the best portable available. Or offer buy a built-in dishwasher and give it to the landlord if they’ll install it. I’m actually fairly indifferent to my smartphone. I’m content to keep paying for it, but it’ll be the the first thing to go if money gets tight. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/11 "2013-09-12T16:27:41Z")
We get buy with ice cube trays. My wife doesn’t like it, but it’s not a big deal for me. I don’t use a lot of ice. An ice maker would still be a “luxury” for me and not a “necessity.” On-line legal research used to be a luxury when I started practicing law, and I rarely used it. Now it’s a daily necessity. Maybe an ATM card would fit that category too. I remember having to go to a bank or grocery store to “cash a check.” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/12 "2013-09-12T16:29:34Z")
Internet access. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/13 "2013-09-12T16:40:32Z")
My cleaning lady. She comes in once every two weeks, and turns our house into an immaculate place. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/14 "2013-09-12T17:08:33Z")
I pause when I read “necessities” because I could get used to getting along without an awful lot of things. Life is just so much better with them that I’d make it a priority to get them back. The internet and our super-automatic coffee maker are the two that come to mind. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/15 "2013-09-12T17:09:50Z")
Fenced-in yard. I don’t know if it’s a luxury but plenty of people with dogs don’t have it. I don’t see how my dog and I could possibly live without it. Also, my iPod Touch. I don’t think I can sit and watch TV without it. When I have to charge it up in the middle of watching TV (across the room, so I can’t still play with it)…I am very out of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/16 "2013-09-12T18:18:53Z")
1. air conditioning and heat (I can survive well enough without A/C, even in 95 degrees with high humidity, but being cold with no way to warm up is miserable) 2. ATM’s 3. automobile 4. a home large enough to have privacy when wanted 5. refridgerator/freezer 6. running water and indoor, flush toilets ---
**Author:** ![GusNSpot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gusnspot/32/436_2.png) [@GusNSpot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GusNSpot)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/17 "2013-09-12T18:34:12Z")
Air-conditioning TV Internet with computer ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/18 "2013-09-12T21:58:10Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > 1. air conditioning and heat (I can survive well enough without A/C, even in 95 degrees with high humidity, but being cold with no way to warm up is miserable) > 2. ATM’s > 3. automobile > 4. a home large enough to have privacy when wanted > 5. refridgerator/freezer > 6. running water and indoor, flush toilets Man, you and I have some different ideas about what constitutes a luxury and what constitutes a necessity. I guess I’ve always been pretty high falutin’, what with my running water and all. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/19 "2013-09-12T22:04:58Z")
Anything computer related, and especially access to the internet. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2013, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663/20 "2013-09-12T22:14:30Z")
Air Conditioning/heating - I have personal temperature control issues, so the ability to pretty much instantly modify the room temperature is very important to me. Refrigerator/freezer with in the door ice and water dispenser [which means automatic ice maker as well] - having certain food sensitivities and diabetes I make almost all my food from raw ingredients, and I drink copious amounts of ice water because I don’t like sodas and there is no metabolic issue with plain water, and I prefer it ice cold. I can not get out to shop every day, so I need a good fridge/freezer to hold perishable ingredients. Clothing washer and dryer - I am somewhat willing to hang clothing to dry, so I can do without the dryer, but I can not schlep loads of laundry out to a laundromat, they are not very wheelchair friendly. [I do actually hand stuff on a wooden rack in front of the wood stove in the winter for the humidity in the air] Internet with computer [desktop and laptop for when I can not get out of bed] because being stuck at home most of the time, a majority of my interpersonal relations are online either on message boards, via email or in MMORPGs. Right now it is too much of a dog and pony show getting everything together to leave the house for anything other than an extended visit because most of the people I would be visiting are not living in handicapped friendly homes. When we move, we will be moving to a more centralized location and be set up for better ability to entertain at home and having more people visit the house. My tablet. I do have a smart phone I do most of my reading upon, though I can drop back to a nonsmart clamshell to save costs and switch my reading to the tablet with no trouble. I also love to watch netflix and other streaming media upon it. My hot tub - for when my body simply aches and the pain killers are not enough, half an hour at 100 degrees is amazing. Especially one of those bone achingly cold humid days that just pierces into the bones and won’t leave. When we move, we are replacing the tub with an indulgabath[one of those little tubs with a door hatch to make getting in and out easy] so I don’t always have to use the hot tub. Sometimes just a nice soak is all I want without the deal of hitting the deck and using the hot tub. Where we are considering moving to may not have a back yard with space for the hot tub, and I dislike being in a more or less urban area with an exterior hot tub, the insurance liability is scary - like having a swimming pool. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-luxuries-in-your-life-have-become-necessities/668663.md?page=2)