You know the old cliche of "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence"?
It feels like in our modern world of stagnant wages and a ballooning housing market, we don't even look twice at the lawn anymore. We are full-on envious of the entire house beyond the fence.
Want to know what your neighbors' house looks like inside? When it's on the market, you can snoop easily!
Stuck in a city with skyrocketing rent? Here's a whole slew of affordable, spacious housing in a quaint town 1,000 miles away. Shame about the commute.
I love my little old house, with its character and charm, but that doesn't stop me from semi-regularly looking at virtual tours of new home builds in my city.
When I'm three weeks and bruised knees into a big DIY project to refinish 100-year-old hardwood covered in layers of lead paint and musty carpet, those shiny new houses seem pretty darn good.
The next morning — after the wine fog has been defeated by coffee — the envy has morphed into motivation to get back to work.
I suppose that's the key. If all you do is wallow in what you can't have right now, then it's harmful to your mental health, but if you see it as motivation and something to work toward, it's not so bad after all.
