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Yep when we lived in previous house we had larger backyard and much like English garden. This time we have more land but much simpler to maintain especially since its mostly cut with Zero turn then trim in 15 minutes. That took few hours nearly every day even in winter. Love to have it back but not the maintenance needed at this age. Still love to work in yard; just not to that degree.
I moved from a 1450 sq ft condo in WI to a SF 1500 sq ft home in NV almost 4 years ago so I didn't really downsize. My landscaping is flowering shrubs, fruit trees, roses, rosemary bushes and rocks, so very little exterior maintenance necessary. I looked at smaller houses here but decided I needed the space for guests and I'm happy to say the spare bedroom and den are well utilized, especially by my Midwest family and friends during the winter! I initially thought I'd miss the full basement I had in WI, but I have lots of storage built into my garage and that works.
Glad to hear this works - I have been wondering about the no basement thing - I've never not had a basement.
We're not retired yet, retirement is between 12 months and 4 years away yet, but we started preparing in 2007 when we downsized from 2600 sf to 1400 sf. Location was important, we wanted all city services and to be within walking distance of pretty much everything and we are. We are within 3/4 mile of the bank, grocery store, doctors office, hospital and post office. The only thing we have to car travel for is church.
My wife loves her hobbies so it gets a little cramped but it works.
Ended up with a 2200 sq. ft. home, only slightly smaller than the one we raised our kids in. Nice yard for the dogs and a garden. So glad we didn't get any of the smaller townhomes we looked at. Now that both of us are home all day, we have plenty of space without getting on each other's nerves. Plus, the house fills up over holidays.
Friends of our bought a townhome. After two years, they are now searching for home where they are not on top of each other, where they have room to garden.
We have a 2300 sq. ft. tri-level house - 3 bedrooms 2.75 bath.... with a finished basement that includes an office and a laundryroom.
The area just inside the front door - is wasted space. We never spend time there in the "front room".
For us - it's not about the square footage - it's about where we will be spending the most time. For my husband - he will need an office and a media room. For me - a "snore" room (second bedroom) and perhaps a place to put a piano.
Outdoor deck/play area also important as well as enough space (not certain about how much) between neighbors.
Hopefully we will have the means to build - which will also mean we will get to size the rooms and meet our own needs.
Whether that's 2300 sq feet or 1700 remains to be seen.
Went from a 1200 sf manufactured home on 1/4 acre to a 471 sq 1 bd apt. Love it.....no yard upkeep and it doesn't take long to clean and the savings in monthly outgo is phenomenal.
We are moving from 1450 SF to 965 SF. That should eliminate all the unnecessary space .... and a lot of the storage space. We will also have more useful outdoor space.
I went from a 1800sf house with an extra wing with bedroom, bath and family room(could function almost as a separate unit-and I did have various family members stay with me, they found it comfortable) and 2 more bedrooms and a bath. It also had a huge separate garage with shop and large storage room. Now I have a 1400sf, 2 bedroom, 2 bath, double attached garage and small yard.
Mostly what I got rid of was several siblings stuff: car, pretty much all the household goods of one sibling. They now have to store their own junk. Priceless!
We went from 2400 sq ft on 1/8 acre to 1000 sq ft on 2 acres. The new house is in Hawaii and you get by with less here. Mostly spend time outdoors, only need a pair of shorts and a couple of tee shirts. Life is simpler.
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