We downsized 7 years ago from an ancient family home (400 years old) to a new all singing and dancing high tech apartment. The difference in type and number of chores/tasks was staggering… life is far easier now in a modern place.
It took us probably 2 months to learn how to operate all the smart gizmos in our new place (underfloor heating, a boiling water tap thingy etc). The operating Manual was 2 inches thick. It’s certainly been important that we had this knowledge for a few sits in very techie smart homes…. with TVs that emerge from kitchen tops, and hobs that require a PhD in thermodynamics to operate! Equally we also know how to operate fireplaces, sash windows, houses that creak as they go to sleep and wake up with clanking pipes and aching wooden beams… it was all familiar to us!
We’ve also been lucky to have use of various cars- and now understand the whole hybrid set up, but it took a.while.
How are you coping with ‘sitting’ in smart/techie houses and cars.
I’m a boomer geek and love it. Our home is fully automated so I rarely get surprised but when I do my credit card gets a beating. 
edit: And we have been driving EVs for several years.
A totally smart house is my worst nightmare.
I’m sure many of you have seen Man Vs Bee (a Rowan Atkinson comedy) - that explores this topic with hilarious results.
I like mixing it up - ancient water-mill house with a fireplace one week, ultra modern minimalism in the city the next. One of the (many) things I love about petsitting.
Haha! Well I’m currently googling how to de-fluff a Shark hoover, so think I’d be totally outsmarted by modern house!
My house is completely stupid. I’m finally at a place where I hope to remodel my terrible-design kitchen and I’m worried there won’t be any non-smart appliances available. I would pay extra to not have smart appliances in my home!!
It’s not because I can’t figure out the technology, but I don’t want everything in my home to rely on internet, I don’t want my fridge to show me ads (I know they don’t all do this, but yikes), I don’t want my house potentially spying on me, and I think we are losing the ability to know how things work, which is a shame.
Man Vs Bee was hysterical. He has another one out, Man Vs Baby. He is on a house sit and somehow unexpectedly winds up with their baby. Also very funny.
I generally have had an easy time with tech. I’m selective and have been integrating it at home for decades. Like a house we owned in the late 1990s started us with heated floors. My blinds are automated — started with those maybe a decade ago. Also started with Alexa ages ago, back when it did little. I have instant hot water, robo vacuums, Ring doorbells and such.
I don’t like automated lights, because lighting depends on my mood.
I haven’t purchased an electric or hybrid car, because I want the freedom to drive cross country on my whims, without planning stops. I’ve road tripped for decades.
I am looking forward to when self-driving cars become common. I always take Waymo nowadays, where available. I’ll buy a self-driving car once they get those solid enough.
Tech wise with electronic devices, I was into reading books online well before Kindle and got started on iPads when they first debuted. I started with digital music well before iPods.
I went online back in the day, on what were known as BBSs, before the internet. 
Nostalgia. I even remember taking a “programming” class in high school, in the 1980s. Back when “Hello World” was a thing.
In my 20s, decades ago, I edited technical manuals as a side gig.
We drove across country 3 times in an EV (LA to NJ) when my Dad was sick - once in 2024 and twice last year. We brought our dog with us which is why we drove. It took us 4 days each time and don’t think a gas car would have gotten us there faster.
It was easy, the car figures out where to stop and most stops were 10-15 minutes each - enough time for us and the dog to get out for breaks. The car has Netflix on screen so for the occasional longer stop we could settle in and catch a show. Or get a bite to eat. We stayed overnight at motels and a surprising number offer EV charging onsite.
The charging infrastructure along the interstates is now fantastic and cross country travel is easy. And the benefits - especially ‘dog mode’ where climate stays on when you park the car - is incredibly useful. And in some cases we discovered wonderful places when we stopped to charge - like lovely Idaho Springs, CO - where we want to return in future and explore.
Now if you want to head to remote areas of Alaska, for example, a gas vehicle is still necessary. But not for most cross country road trips.
I’ve kept an eye out on driving distances and charging points. Still not good enough for my needs. Plus, we have an RV, with its own generator and solar panels and Starlink for internet. If we go where we plan to leave our dog, we have the temps set and monitor it for potential drops in temps.
Agree! It’s a great way to keep our brains going and our resilience to deal with challenges strong.