Shui the Feng Up!

FromTexas

FromTexas

This Space for Rent
Developers: Calif. city has bad feng shui

Associated Press

HAYWARD, California - Developers looking to maximize the marketability of their homes are complaining about the city's street address rules, which they claim can scare off buyers who practice the ancient Chinese art of feng shui.
Under a numbering system established by Alameda County in the 1950s, addresses are assigned based on how far the homes are from downtown Oakland, a method that puts five digits on almost every mailbox in Hayward and other cities in the county.

The numbers have always been hard to remember, but home builders recently raised concerns that they may decrease property values because the odds are greater that an address will carry a number considered unlucky by feng shui practitioners.

Feng shui holds that the way buildings are designed can affect the fortunes and health of inhabitants.

"Now developers are saying, 'Why do we have to do it this way?'" Sylvia Ehrenthal, Hayward's director of economic and community development, told The Oakland Tribune for a Monday story. "There are some numbers people don't like to have in their address."

City Council members, five of whom live at addresses with numbers that start in the 20,000 range, voted unanimously last week to allow the builders of an upscale development to use shorter street numbers. In seeking the waiver, the builders cited convenience concerns as well as the potential for violating feng shui precepts, according to Richard Patenaude, Hayward's principal planner.
Click to expand...

:doh:

And what the hell is so hard to remember about a 5 digit address?

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/weird_news/13493850.htm
 
willie

willie

Well-Known Member
Krycek said:
SAHRAB: FYI, there's no Feng shui province in China...
Click to expand...

feng shui (fng shw)
n.
The Chinese art or practice of positioning objects, especially graves, buildings, and furniture, based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Chinese (Mandarin) fng shu, wind (and) water : fng, wind + shu, water.]

Only 2.9% of the resdents are Chinese so what's the purpose?
 
Last edited:
V

Vixen

Guest
I have a 5-digit address and I'm in a court with only 10 houses. Since this was the last house in the court, I should be #10. :drama:
 
K

Krycek

New Member
willie said:
feng shui (fng shw)
n.
The Chinese art or practice of positioning objects, especially graves, buildings, and furniture, based on a belief in patterns of yin and yang and the flow of chi that have positive and negative effects.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Chinese (Mandarin) fng shu, wind (and) water : fng, wind + shu, water.]

Only 2.9% of the resdents are Chinese so what's the purpose?
Click to expand...

There are a lot of Asians in the San Francisco area so there are a lot of people concerned with Feng Shui. Over 30% of San Franciso and 15% of Oakland are Asian, That's why they care. You can't afford to lose 15-30% of the potential market to buy your house because of bad feng-shui.
 
Last edited:
jazz lady

jazz lady

~*~ Rara Avis ~*~
PREMO Member
Vixen said:
I have a 5-digit address and I'm in a court with only 10 houses. Since this was the last house in the court, I should be #10. :drama:
Click to expand...

You would think it would be that easy, but it isn't. :ohwell: I was working for a local government when the State of Maryland enacted the 911 addressing system and all the counties had to conform to it. Your house number is based on a formula used to calculate the position of your house in relation to a grid system for the county.

I don't remember how it all goes now, but it was and still is quite confusing. :lol:
 
willie

willie

Well-Known Member
Krycek said:
There are a lot of Asians in the San Francisco area so there are a lot of people concerned with Feng Shui. Over 30% of San Franciso and 15% of Oakland are Asian, That's why they care. You can't afford to lose 15-30% of the potential market to buy your house because of bad feng-shui.
Click to expand...

The definition infers that it is a practice and mentions nothing about it being a place.

So, there are a bunch of Asians in San Fran? What does that have to do with Hayward? Not all "Asians" are fond of the Chinese anyway.
 
K

Krycek

New Member
willie said:
The definition infers that it is a practice and mentions nothing about it being a place.

So, there are a bunch of Asians in San Fran? What does that have to do with Hayward? Not all "Asians" are fond of the Chinese anyway.
Click to expand...

Willie, I was responding to SAHRAB who stated "the funniest thing is Feng shui province in China is one of the poorest in that country (works real well eh?)" -- Like you said it is not a place, but a practice. And SAHRAB doesn't know what he/she is talking about in this regard.

Hayward is near San Francisco. Many Asians also practice Feng Shui such as Malaysians, while the Chinese may have invented it, it is a fairly common Asian practice, like Confucianism. Thus, there is a potential for many people to not want to buy your house if it has bad feng shui... for instance, the number 4 in Chinese is pronounced similar to the word for death. hence, many Chinese don't want that number anywhere near them, including phone numbers and addresses...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top