KCRag Forum

BobbyHawks,

I would suggest you get one of these...

https://www.contech-inc.com/products/ho ... -deterrent

Cats don't like water. Works on pretty much anything you can image...don't know if it works on Yeti's though.

Or this can be used against Cats only.

http://www.amazon.com/Contech-CatStop-U ... B0001A9TE2

Ha. I'm not sure I want for all of my guests and the postman to get doused every time they try to ring my doorbell, but thanks! I don't really have a front yard... hence Urban Living "pet" peeves. Close proximity makes some of the traditional methods difficult. I think an ultrasonic anything would have my neighbors' animals in fits. Key #1 would be to get my neighbor to stop feeding all of the feral and non-feral cats outside (and the raccoons, and possums, and groundhogs). I live just a few blocks from the Kauffman Center, yet I have more wildlife at my house than I ever had in the more remote suburbs. I'm not sure I even count as "urban living," but I live closer to the CBD than many who do. They just don't have to deal with snakes.

bobbyhawks wrote:

cknab1 wrote:Cats, that's funny.

If anyone knows of a way to keep cats off your front porch that does not involve a bb gun, I am all ears. Cat Scram did pretty much nothing but make my garden smell like a different type of urine. I'm allergic and can't keep them off my porch furniture. I guess the neighborhood cats are the "kids on my lawn."

Can you just screen it in?

Also, pellet gun. Also, terrier or other dog species with high prey drive. Also, trap. Also, kick them.

chingon wrote:

bobbyhawks wrote:

cknab1 wrote:Cats, that's funny.

If anyone knows of a way to keep cats off your front porch that does not involve a bb gun, I am all ears. Cat Scram did pretty much nothing but make my garden smell like a different type of urine. I'm allergic and can't keep them off my porch furniture. I guess the neighborhood cats are the "kids on my lawn."

Can you just screen it in?

Also, pellet gun. Also, terrier or other dog species with high prey drive. Also, trap. Also, kick them.

I do chase them away. Unfortunately, my porch is up a flight of stairs, and when it is dark outside, I occasionally get a flying cat streaking past my face. The cats scatter when the see or hear me, but the hours of soaking cat saliva and urine into my deck furniture have already taken their toll. At the moment, I just have a second set of cusions, but I'd like to never see a cat again up there. Screening is a great suggestion, but I think my house would look crappy with a screened front porch.

bobbyhawks wrote: Screening is a great suggestion, but I think my house would look crappy with a screened front porch.

http://www.screenedinporches.org/screen ... ch-design/
The ones I like you focus on the woodwork, not the actual screen.

There's also colored screens to add character. A bronze screen could reflect light in a cool way.
http://www.homedepot.com/b/Doors-Window ... 5yc1vZarpf

1. Buy a hazmat suit.

2. Identify the most territorial cat of all of them.

3. Befriend it with lots of food, maybe some catnip and affection from friends.

4. Repeat #3 as necessary.

5. Voila! You now have just one cat to deal with and it will chase all of the others off. You're welcome.

I'll bump this for maybe an irrational pet peeve that struck me today....and on rational one.

Irrational....parking on the street in front of a coffee shop, etc in your huge SUV to go to the car show or basketball tournament all day (weekend not parking restrictions) and not popping in to that coffee shop and buying a little something. I know this is kind of like the suburban homeowner that gets mad if people park in front of "their house" on the street.

Rational....if you are walking side by side with whomever and I'm coming the other way...and it's a narrow sidewalk...as many of ours are....move behind your wife/friend instead of forcing me into the building/grass/edge.

Totaly agree on both of those.

Eon Blue wrote:

AlbertHammond wrote:This great thread reminds me why I love Overland Park.
Litter? Not a common problem.
Parking? Driveway at every house and parking lots with more space than needed.
Idiot Neighbors? We have enough space between us to ignore each other.
Sidewalks?....why would anyone use a sidewalk?
Loitering/indecent behavior? Not-so-much.
Add schools, crime, code violations, noise to the list.

All the same promises of the 1950s still attract people who can’t be bothered by urban pet peeves.
I know some of these problems are creeping into suburbs like OP, but not as a whole and not in more stable areas.
Lovable it ain’t, but it sure is a lot less annoying.

But the name of this thread is "Urban Living Pet Peeves," not "Urban Living Dealbreakers." I'm sure if you started a thread of suburban pet peeves, the urbanites posting in this thread could shoot down most items on your list as not much of a concern in the city. I know that I gladly put up with the pet peeves in this thread to avoid things like mandatory driving, poor walkability, onerous HOAs, poor transit service, deer in the streets, traffic and so on.

I love it when the suburbanites try to convince us how wonderful their lives are in Beigeville. All I know is that driving I-35 south in rush hour is more hell than all the urban peeves combined. And I hate that feeling I get when I’m driving in Johnson County: It feels like everyone in the cars around me are driving to a strip mall to buy things to put in their beige houses. Then, they wake up the next day to drive to the same places to buy more things to put in their beige houses. Blech. I love downtown. Only peeve is occasional bad parking jobs. I miss nothing about the suburbs.

MizzouMadeKC wrote:
I love it when the suburbanites try to convince us how wonderful their lives are in Beigeville. All I know is that driving I-35 south in rush hour is more hell than all the urban peeves combined. And I hate that feeling I get when I’m driving in Johnson County: It feels like everyone in the cars around me are driving to a strip mall to buy things to put in their beige houses. Then, they wake up the next day to drive to the same places to buy more things to put in their beige houses. Blech. I love downtown. Only peeve is occasional bad parking jobs. I miss nothing about the suburbs.

It seems like you have a problem with post-1970 suburbs.

The old suburbs like Brookside, Waldo, Squier Park, Briarcliff, Historic NE, Mission, NKC, Westwood are suburbs and have a lot of the value of the suburbs without being your modern cookie cutter ones.

I drove to JoCo for six months. Commute was horrible and it wasn't to College Blvd even.
Three+ years on the east side was better but not great. Less stressful overall but could get better
Back working downtown again after almost four years and the lack of a commute (seeing 15 minutes instead of 12 is my worst day) and it's super nice. Much less stressful.

It seems like you have a problem with post-1970 suburbs.

The old suburbs like Brookside, Waldo, Squier Park, Briarcliff, Historic NE, Mission, NKC, Westwood are suburbs and have a lot of the value of the suburbs without being your modern cookie cutter ones.

Yes, thanks for clarifying my grumpiness (ha). While Brookside, Waldo, Valentine, Northeast and some other areas are indeed suburbs, I still consider them to be "in the city". I'm definitely turned off by the post-1970s suburbs.

I lived in Briarcliff -- great neighborhood, good people, nice combination of nature and proximity to downtown. But I still like being downtown more.

I am so glad I found this. My pet peeve is parking. I hate never being able to find a good parking spot. It is not easy to have to walk to far in heels and it is not good after dark to be a lady walking alone.

Darlene wrote:I am so glad I found this. My pet peeve is parking. I hate never being able to find a good parking spot. It is not easy to have to walk to far in heels and it is not good after dark to be a lady walking alone.

I bet you hate malls and big box stores too. You have to walk the equivalent of dozens of blocks inside them.

Just going from parking to the front door of a walmart is like a city block long!

flyingember wrote:

Darlene wrote:I am so glad I found this. My pet peeve is parking. I hate never being able to find a good parking spot. It is not easy to have to walk to far in heels and it is not good after dark to be a lady walking alone.

I bet you hate malls and big box stores too. You have to walk the equivalent of dozens of blocks inside them.

Just going from parking to the front door of a walmart is like a city block long!

These days I have to drive for about 90% of my Cosentino's visits, and each time I park there I can't help but think about the fact that the distance from my car to the door would be about the equivalent of me parking in the fire lane at any suburban grocery.

scooterj wrote:

flyingember wrote:

Darlene wrote:I am so glad I found this. My pet peeve is parking. I hate never being able to find a good parking spot. It is not easy to have to walk to far in heels and it is not good after dark to be a lady walking alone.

I bet you hate malls and big box stores too. You have to walk the equivalent of dozens of blocks inside them.

Just going from parking to the front door of a walmart is like a city block long!

These days I have to drive for about 90% of my Cosentino's visits, and each time I park there I can't help but think about the fact that the distance from my car to the door would be about the equivalent of me parking in the fire lane at any suburban grocery.

Not to mention how protected you are in inclement weather.

So just curious, how problematic is it to live in a condo when both you and your spouse own and play several musical instruments? One of those instruments is an electric guitar and I do like to crank up the volume from time to time. Are most condo's going to be sound proof enough for this activity or would you advise sticking to SF dwellings? We are looking for a place to live in advance of retirement in KC's urban core (and maybe the immediate burbs in Kansas like PV and Fairway) and if music is an issue for condo living we can probably narrow down the search to SF housing.

Highlander wrote: ↑Sun Jul 07, 2019 4:07 pm So just curious, how problematic is it to live in a condo when both you and your spouse own and play several musical instruments? One of those instruments is an electric guitar and I do like to crank up the volume from time to time. Are most condo's going to be sound proof enough for this activity or would you advise sticking to SF dwellings? We are looking for a place to live in advance of retirement in KC's urban core (and maybe the immediate burbs in Kansas like PV and Fairway) and if music is an issue for condo living we can probably narrow down the search to SF housing.

I think this depends on the building. For example, certain renovations with concrete walls interior and exterior will have better sound deadening than your standard wood constructed apartment. Example, Power and Light building vs. their annex.

I think you'd probably be ok in an urban condo no matter what as long as you were playing during reasonable daytime hours.

Do not move to my building.

Most condos and apartments aren't designed for that kind of noise isolation.

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:23 am Do not move to my building.

Most condos and apartments aren't designed for that kind of noise isolation.

Ditto. The golden rule applies here. Almost no condo building, especially loft conversions, will have sufficient sound insulation for that type of thing. And many people work from home.

On the other hand, I had a tenant who had a sound proof room he bought and assembled in his loft where he played guitar and there was never a complaint.

taxi wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 10:38 am

DaveKCMO wrote: ↑Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:23 am Do not move to my building.

Most condos and apartments aren't designed for that kind of noise isolation.

Ditto. The golden rule applies here. Almost no condo building, especially loft conversions, will have sufficient sound insulation for that type of thing. And many people work from home.

On the other hand, I had a tenant who had a sound proof room he bought and assembled in his loft where he played guitar and there was never a complaint.

"Uh, yeah, playing my guitar, sure yeah, that's why I installed the room." - taxi's tenant, probably.