How the super-rich are making their homes ‘invisible’ Last updated: August 25, 2016 8:44 am
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    12 years
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Last updated: August 25, 2016 8:44 am
How the super-rich are making their homes ‘invisible’
Kate Allen
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/7a707048-648d-11e6-8310-ecf0bddad2...
Privacy is perhaps the greatest luxury anyone can buy, hence the trend for properties hidden from prying eyes and online searches. There is nothing remarkable about 23726 Long Valley Road — except that it does not appear to exist.
Estate agents’ advertisements show that the high-end Californian home — six bedrooms, pizza oven, pool — is situated in a gated community on the edge of Los Angeles. Yet prospective buyers searching online to check out the neighbourhood are wasting their time — none of the area’s 648 homes appear on Google Street View.
"There are people who still want kerb appeal but many others don’t want anyone to know where they live"Tweet this quote
All that online maps show of the area are street routes and names — what could perhaps be an outline plan for a future housing development. But anyone looking for a kerbside view of the property will find no evidence of it.
The community’s name gives a clue why: it is called Hidden Hills. What the area’s occupants — who reportedly include Kim Kardashian, Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber and Jennifer Lopez — value above all is privacy. That includes banning Google’s photography vehicles from entering (and declining to talk to the FT; a spokeswoman for the area’s management company said it had a policy of not giving interviews to the press).
Academics have long used the names “hidden communities” or “invisible communities” to denote areas with high concentrations of deprivation and social marginalisation. Yet some of the world’s most privileged people are choosing to hide from the public eye to protect their homes from burglars and other forms of unwelcome attention.
In an evermore connected world, privacy is perhaps the greatest luxury anyone can buy.
This demand for under-the-radar living has fuelled the spread of places like Hidden Hills. California has several other neighbourhoods that guard their privacy by refusing to appear on Street View, including Bradbury and Bell Canyon. All are among the most affluent neighbourhoods in the US.
Author and futurist Geoff Manaugh, whose book A Burglar’s Guide To The City documents these attempts to take entire communities out of the public gaze, calls it an “urban-scale non-disclosure agreement”.
My house is hidden from view
The area you posted has a guarded gate. The guard probably would not let the google truck in. It went up to the gate but no further.
Our house is hidden from view. But it is not because of a guarded gate (other than our gate with a dog behind it)... Our area has a sign on the main road "No Outlet" and the Google truck doesn't come to our area. It just passes the road by.
Mary, Nuvi 2450, Garmin Viago, Honda Navigation, Nuvi 750 (gave to son)
Interesting coincidence
Just a couple of hours ago, I was on Google Earth looking for Oprah Winfield's house on Maui. I wasn't surprised that I couldn't find the street address, but I did find an article that described how to find it by car.
So I followed the link, following this road and that on Maui and knew I was getting close. But then - GE ran me right into a huge bank of impenetrable clouds. How convenient, I thought, that Oprah's house can't be seen by GE. Coincidence? I think not. Think about it - how often have you seen your target covered by clouds?
Phil
"No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
Wow
And you were looking for Oprah's house, why???
maybe
And you were looking for Oprah's house, why???
he couldn't believe she had one and not 5 or 6 or 7...
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!
clouds
...But then - GE ran me right into a huge bank of impenetrable clouds. How convenient, I thought, that Oprah's house can't be seen by GE. Coincidence? I think not. Think about it - how often have you seen your target covered by clouds?
Phil
How do I order clouds for my house?
dobs108
Clouds Happen
Just a couple of hours ago, I was on Google Earth looking for Oprah Winfield's house on Maui. I wasn't surprised that I couldn't find the street address, but I did find an article that described how to find it by car.
So I followed the link, following this road and that on Maui and knew I was getting close. But then - GE ran me right into a huge bank of impenetrable clouds. How convenient, I thought, that Oprah's house can't be seen by GE. Coincidence? I think not. Think about it - how often have you seen your target covered by clouds?
Phil
Try using Google Earth's "time slider" to view earlier images. I suspect you'll find one without the clouds.
Most of these
people should be invisible and never seen.
My opinion.
Garmin Nuvi 765T, Garmin Drive 60LM
Now I know I left my
people should be invisible and never seen.
jar of vanishing cream somewhere...
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!
Because...
And you were looking for Oprah's house, why???
There was one of those ad-like thingies that talked about her house. (It was a slow night for my brain.) There were several impressive pictures of the house, so I wondered what it would like from GE. Wasn't my fault. It was my brain's fault.
Phil
"No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won't make it worse."
I doubt that google truck
I doubt that google truck ever came to our area....
It's all Satellite views around here...
A 2689LMT in both our cars that we love... and a Nuvi 660 with Lifetime Maps that we have had literally forever.... And a 2011 Ford Escape with Nav System that is totally ignored!
Invisible? Not really.
The link in the OP makes this comment.
There is nothing remarkable about 23726 Long Valley Road — except that it does not appear to exist.
Estate agents’ advertisements show that the high-end Californian home — six bedrooms, pizza oven, pool — is situated in a gated community on the edge of Los Angeles. Yet prospective buyers searching online to check out the neighbourhood are wasting their time — none of the area’s 648 homes appear on Google Street View.
try this link
https://www.google.com/maps/place/23726+Long+Valley+Rd,+Hidden+Hills,+CA+91302/@34.1584868,-118.6444784,15.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x80c29e6ddc17221f:0xb60c43be150ee8d5!8m2!3d34.159947!4d-118.644401
or
http://goo.gl/cQrgKf
Switch to "Earth" view.
Use "3D" with the Cntl key to scroll around.
Note: if you start to use "Street View" the roads in Hidden Valley are not in blue meaning there is no street view
Minor Correction..
The link in the OP makes this comment.
There is nothing remarkable about 23726 Long Valley Road — except that it does not appear to exist.
If you go into the link; you'll find it's a partial cut n' paste of what's contained in the link..
it's not the OP's comment..
Never argue with a pig. It makes you look foolish and it anoys the hell out of the pig!
Hilton Head Island
If you check Google maps for the city of Hilton Head Island, SC you will find that large areas do not have street view. The city has several large gated communities; published claims put it at 70% of the island. I am not aware that it is refuge for the newly rich and famous (or infamous). It is definitely upscale so I am guessing it is more for people who don't want to deal with the other 99% of the population.
Sorry for the misunderstanding
The link in the OP makes this comment.
There is nothing remarkable about 23726 Long Valley Road — except that it does not appear to exist.
If you go into the link; you'll find it's a partial cut n' paste of what's contained in the link..
it's not the OP's comment..
Perhaps if I had said "[t]he link in the original post makes this comment", it would not have been interpreted as "original Poster". I was indeed quoting from words in the link.
The very rich really do have
The very rich really do have some nice perks.
an94