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we were considering retiring in the pocono's where we had a 2nd home .
here in nyc we live in a 2 bedroom 2 bath apartment in a high rise . all the kids are out of the house and married .
well if we made the change to PA , unlike now where no one stays over we needed a 3000 sq ft home to fit 8 adults and 4 grand kids when everyone stays over .
many times relocating has you ending up with more house than you had because the situation with kids and grand kids change
...Although we list 1A being the 'minimum', we would prefer 5A or more and the lot has to be wooded for privacy. Newer homes are usually built on flat and barren lot divided from previous farm land!
Be careful with the trees. Ours are attractive - but often an expensive PITA. Like during/after our most recent storm (where they not only fell on houses but brought down power lines too). Farm land/meadows/short stuff that just requires an occasional mowing is looking mighty attractive to me right now. Robyn
I reject the idea that Grandma & Grandpa's house necessarily has to be the center of family gatherings. We stay in a hotel when we travel to see family. It's better for everyone's health and sanity.
When I went looking for a house I kept seeing neighborhoods with only eight feet between the houses. In that space there would be an air conditioner on a slab and a fence and maybe enough room to run a lawn mower. Sometimes there was a masonry wall between the yards. The back yard was maybe 15 or 20 feet deep. Sometimes the yard was enclosed in a high wall so you couldn't see other yards and had some privacy but it seemed too confined. You still have a noise problem with the AC unit, dogs, kids, cars and whatever else is going on. As an old city planner I know the push is to increase residential density and limit sprawl but that was too tight -- too many houses and families packed together.
There's a Del Webb senior community near me with tinier lots not much bigger than the footprint of the house but there is a common space -- a social area with a club house and a pool so it seems to work a little better. It seems very quiet, almost deserted on most days... much less activity.
Our side set-backs aren't huge - but our back yard is pretty deep. We basically designed our house with almost zero in the way of windows on the sides. Which not only gives us privacy - but keeps the noise down (from the AC units/pool heaters/etc.). Also - since we built our house between 2 existing houses - we positioned "quiet" rooms - like the MBR - away from neighbors' mechanical equipment (best we could).
The back yard fronts on a marsh/swamp. Which is pleasant to look at. And all of our main rooms point in that direction. OTOH - you have to build high in a location like this (we built high enough - just barely - but some of our neighbors didn't and got flooded out in Hurricane Matthew - big mess).
I guess no matter where you live/move/build - unless you have a lot of acres - you're somewhat at the mercy of your neighbors in terms of privacy/noise. Ours have always been extremely quiet. We live in a "regular age" community where most people work - their kids go to school - etc. It's a very "early to bed - early to rise" kind of place (even Halloween ends at 9 pm on weekdays). Also - most people keep their windows closed most of the year (there aren't too many days where you don't run the AC or the heat). I suspect that even if you have a lot of acreage - if you have neighbors who like to party outside all the time - you're going to have issues with noise and the like. Robyn
...This much sq. ft. is hard to keep clean and maintained. It is not nearly as easy for me to keep it cleaned, and not nearly as easy for DH to do the maintenance. Property is large also and requires a lot of time. Ceilings are high requiring lots of ladder work to change light bulbs, batteries in smoke detectors...
We have somewhat high ceilings. And replaced all our higher light bulbs with LEDs - put in 10 year smoke detector batteries - etc. (we're not particularly comfortable on ladders these days). Every little bit helps . Robyn
We moved from an 1875 1,000 sq ft two story house to a 1,730 sq ft house on one floor built in 2000. It isn't a question of too much space but rather "how did we do that for 30 years?" referring to the old house.
Living in this century is really nice.
I reject the idea that Grandma & Grandpa's house necessarily has to be the center of family gatherings. We stay in a hotel when we travel to see family. It's better for everyone's health and sanity.
not us . we looked forward to the times all the kids and grandkids come and we are all together . all our kids are either in co-op apartments or small houses so get together's can be tight .
not all the holidays and vists were at the house but we certainly had our share
we would not think of forcing everyone to stay in motels . i would never make the move if that was the case.
not us . we looked forward to the times all the kids and grandkids come and we are all together . all our kids are either in co-op apartments or small houses so get together's can be tight .
not all the holidays and vists were at the house but we certainly had our share
we would not think of forcing everyone to stay in motels . i would never make the move if that was the case.
Understood, and I think many people share your opinion. I just find it more enjoyable when everybody has someplace to retreat. It makes for much more pleasant visits in our family. We do the traveling, btw, so the hotel expense is on us, not the other way around.
I reject the idea that Grandma & Grandpa's house necessarily has to be the center of family gatherings. We stay in a hotel when we travel to see family. It's better for everyone's health and sanity.
Glad that works for your health and sanity.
But I would HATE (and I do not use that word often!) a set up that did not have people under the same roof. The most interesting things happen at odd moments, and it is wonderful to be there to enjoy them.
And it is not always the grandparents' house. Even beach and ski vacations happen in huge houses with everyone under the same roof.
We have a 2000 square foot ranch home on an acre which is about the right size for just the 2 of us and occasional quests. We did plan ahead and have laundry on main level so don't really have to use the finished basement.
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. Robyn
