downsizing by choice - thoughts?

[wifecat]

My mom called me today to tell me someone I grew up with was in the paper because of downsizing by choice from a 2000sq ft family home to a 1br apt. (http://www.omaha.com/article/20130219/MONEY/130219518/1697)

I loved the story and am so impressed with their choices, and there's a part of me that loves the idea of chucking everything and being able to camp wherever (ok, except I hate camping. A lot).

My family just did the exact opposite - we spent 10 years in less than 1000 sq ft and just this last year moved into a 3400 sq ft home with a big yard. I can see the allure of minimizing, but honestly, after a long time, it left me feeling cramped and ready for space, whereas for a long time it felt fun, freeing, and adventurous. Now I look around our (sparsely furnished but very spacious) home and I feel like I can breathe. I'm not trying to push the walls out with my mind powers.

Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are...have you upsized or downsized by choice? By force? Was one way of living more fulfilling or less stressful? Was there a difference initially vs. later on? And, what do you think you ultimately prefer?

[Neatfreak]

My husband is being transferred in a few months, and we'll be going from 5000 sqft (which is too much in a thousand different ways) to 1500 sqft. I'm looking forward to having a space that I stand a chance of being able to adequately clean!

[ellies mom]

We downsized by choice although thanks to dumb luck, not as much as we planned (the owners were in hurry to sell so they dropped the house well below market value). We lost some living space and almost the entire yard. There have been pluses and minuses. The big minuses have been the previous owners impeccable bad taste and decision making. We just don't like, well, any of their choices. And some like replacing the flooring and countertops will be costly. They also didn't invest in some of the upgrades they should have. A real backyard would be nice sometimes.The big plus has been the location. We love the location. We are right off the freeway and easy walking distance to a bunch of places including a grocery store. And our school district is top notch.



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[KrisM]

There are reasons I would downsize. If we were in a bad school system, high crime area, had a lot of debt, and probably more reasons, I would downsize to change that.

But, our house is about 2100 sq ft and while we could do a bit smaller, I think I'd feel cramped. I like the yard and being able to shoo the kids outside. I like that they have their own rooms.

That family has been in the 1-bedroom for 9 months. I wonder how long they'll stay in it after they return from China. It makes sense to me to downsize for that type of reason as well.

ETA: We have the ability to have a bigger house, but choose to stay here. So, while we aren't downsizing, we are choosing not to upsize either.

[JBaxter]

We just moved from a 5 bedroom 3600sq ft house to a 4bdroom 3500 sq foot house. No way I would go less than 4 bedrooms. 2 boys are at home 2 in college I'm a firm believer in children having their own space < as in bedrooms> Love having areas to spread out and not being on top of each other.

[georgiegirl]

Well, we like having 3 separate sleeping spaces, plus a guest room. When we travel, we need at least 2 separate sleeping spaces. We could live in a smaller house, but we like our neighborhood (an acreage) and wouldn't want to live super close to another house (or in an apartment.). We also dread moving. We sometimes discuss moving, not to a bigger house, but something different, but we are too lazy to deal with that.

[maestramommy]

Cool story!

We went from a 1200 sqft apt to a 2500- sqft house. There are times when I feel like it's too much space. We use the dining room and guest room about 20% of the time. Course, the kids share a room and we could always split them, but all of a sudden nobody wants their own room:tongue5: And we love Shep.

Still, it's a fun thing to speculate about moving to a house that still has a yard, but is just much smaller with a lot less land. There are neighborhoods like that in town. I drive through one almost every day. It's very nice, and cozy, and more convenient in terms of location.

[AnnieW625]

Interesting article. I don't think I would go as far as making my 9 yr. old and 6 tr. old opposite sex kids sleep on a futon in the living room on a regular basis, but honestly my 3 bed. house is the same size as many 2 bedroom apartments, and some even have a half bath, we have a single. I grew up I a house that 1400 sq. ft., then moved to a dorm, and then shared a 2/1 on campus apartment, then moved home again for a year and then lived in 2 condos, and an apartment all between 800 and 1225 sq. ft. . We actually down sized a bit when we bought our current place, by 100 sq. ft. .

DH is always amazed when we go to Ikea and look at the super small rooms they furnished, but I don't think we could ever go much smaller than we are now.


.......
Just wondering what everyone else's thoughts are...have you upsized or downsized by choice? By force? Was one way of living more fulfilling or less stressful? Was there a difference initially vs. later on? And, what do you think you ultimately prefer?

1. We moved to a higher COL area so we didn't have much choice if we wanted a home in our price range so we settled for a house about the same size as our old apartment, and rented condos.

2. Yes it was kind of by force.

5. I honestly think we would prefer to live in a house between 1700 and 2500 sq. ft., but unless we move to really cheap col I think we will be happy with about 1700 sq. ft. . Right now our only real want is a second bathroom, but a 12x12 master bedroom with an attached bath sounds really divine sometimes.

[StantonHyde]

After spending my childhood cramped into one room all winter long (my dad would not heat the house--we had a wood stove in the family room/kitchen and my room was often 45-55 degrees)

I will no longer live like that!!!

I think that is cuh razy to expect a 9 and 6yo opposite sex to share a futon in the LR. As those kids age, they will need privacy or at least 2 separate futons. Even animals need their space and don't do well in crowded conditions. Granted, everybody has a different definition of crowded.

But I choose to live where I do (region, state, neighborhood) so I don't have to be too crowded. I have lived out in the country and that was too isolating. I like where i live now--its a good compromise.

[abh5e8]

for us, a lot depends on the outdoor space. we just moved from 800 sq ft (3/1) to almost 2000 sq ft (3bed/4bath). i didn't really want a house this big, but we did want to have some land and yet still be close to town/work, so this is what we found that fit with those requirements. i actually felt pretty good in our 800sq ft, if we had had more outdoor space. our house was on a tiny corner lot, on 2 busy streets. (although i'm sure with baby #4 on the way, we will be glad for more space.) we hope to have more dc, so I seriously doubt we will ever move to a 1 bedroom apartment or anything tiny, but for our family size, i do prefer a smaller space. i like to know where everyone is, i dont' like to clean as much and I prefer less stuff.

[AbbysMom]

I love the story you linked! I live for vacations and I would much rather have an "experience" than material things but...

That apartment situation would not make me happy. It doesn't sound very homey to have kids sleeping on a futon. We live in a small house (1600 sq. feet) and we are happy in it. It's big enough and definitely not too big.

I do have to say though we once lived through a house disaster and had to move out for a year while the house was fixed. People commented on how happy we seemed - the house, upkeep and everything that comes with it really does weigh you down whether you know it or not!