I was taking a walk downtown last Saturday, like I try to do most weekends. It’s a nice way to see what’s new and how things are changing. Usually, I notice a new coffee shop or maybe a different flavor of kombucha at the market. But lately, it’s mostly just new buildings.

There’s that big one going up on East Mendenhall, right across from the old brick schoolhouse. They call them “luxury apartments.” You see the signs plastered all over the fences, all fancy-like. “Luxury Living in Downtown Bozeman.”

Now, I’ve got to wonder what “luxury” really means these days. Because from where I’m standing, these new places look an awful lot like the three-story apartment building that went up near North 19th a few years back. The kind with the beige siding and the balconies that look like they’re about to fall off if you put more than a houseplant on them.

I remember when “luxury” used to mean things like real wood trim, or maybe a fancy stone fireplace. My grandmother’s house had a built-in ironing board in the wall, and that felt pretty luxurious to me. These new places just look like they got built real fast.

I saw a young couple looking at the signs, probably imagining themselves living there. They looked excited. And I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade. Everyone deserves a nice place to live. But it just strikes me as a funny way to describe things.

We’ve got these little old houses, some of them a hundred years old, with their own character, sitting right next to these big, flat-sided boxes. No one seems to remark on it much, but it’s quite a sight. It makes the street look a bit like a jigsaw puzzle where half the pieces are from a different box.

My house, which I bought in 2006 for what I considered a normal amount of money, has a door that opens to the outside. That feels like a luxury to me. You walk out, and you’re just right there. Not down a long hallway, or up three flights of stairs in a building that could be anywhere.

I bet those new “luxury” places don’t have a built-in ironing board. They might have a really nice gym, though. Or a dog wash station. I saw that on a blueprint once.

It makes you think about what we value. Is it the quick and new, or the well-built and timeless? Or maybe, it’s just whatever you can afford.

Howard Benchpress owns a home he bought in 2006 for what he describes as ‘a normal amount of money.’ He brings this up frequently.