Former resident disturbed after stumbling across property listing in hometown: 'We need to rethink our values'

You can't go home again. That's especially true when your childhood stomping grounds have been commandeered by the ultrawealthy and turned into a soulless and unreachable enclave.

That's how one Redditor felt, and they shared a photo of an opulent estate on the water in the Land of 10,000 Lakes to prove their point.

"This is what my hometown has turned into," they wrote. "Growing up Mound, MN, used to be a quaint town in a bedroom community around a nice lake with quaint little shacks. Around 1980 it was capitalized on and now you can't even afford to live on the lake."

"Our society needs to stop worshipping [rich people] and wealth," one commenter said.

Another added: "We need to rethink our values and expectations. This party of mindless consuming will come to an end, one way or another, and none of it looks good."

Other people talked about the property's vast grass lawn, which they saw as an affront to the natural setting. They mentioned alternatives for the acres of space, including growing your own food and protecting pollinators and other wildlife by, for example, rewilding the area. This means trading in monoculture turf for diverse ground cover and native plants, which saves homeowners money — perhaps hundreds of dollars annually — on maintenance and irrigation.

All these choices benefit the environment, too. Water is a finite resource, and using it to grow a green carpet can be wasteful. Most turfgrasses in North America are nonnative, meaning they need a ton of H2O as well as fertilizers and pesticides to thrive. Instead, many people are turning to native options such as clover and buffalo grass, which have adapted to their ecosystems and don't look unruly when they haven't been hit with a lawn mower in a while.

Xeriscaping is another option, especially for those in arid climates. This method focuses on desert-like landscapes with drought-tolerant vegetation surrounded by stones, rocks, or sand. The results can be stunning.

So, if you're at a loss because a special slice of your past has been eaten away, imagine the possibilities. Focus on your present situation and what you can do to bring back everyday reminders of how things used to be. Making these kinds of environmentally helpful changes will boost your mood and outlook and also benefit your neighbors — humans and animals alike.

If you were to switch from a grass lawn to a more natural option, which of these factors would be your primary motivation? Making it look better Saving money on water and maintenance Helping pollinators No way I ever get rid of my lawn Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

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