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But with you being in Sacramento, your HVAC load is very small. You can just about leave the windows open year-round.
I do know older people who are heating and A/C 3, 4K ft3, for no obvious useful purpose. It's their money and if they want to spend it on utilities that's up to them. I do see a lot of this in the Old South.
Very true, our utility bills for heating and air are pretty modest, especially considering the size of the house. But our water bills are much higher than they were when we lived back in the East and Midwest.
We went from 1300 sq ft to 800 sq ft. No lawn care. A larger garage was built. We also built a small cabin on the property and rented it for about 50% less than the going rate if they help us out a few hours a week.
I keep wanting an 800–1000 sf house and tried to design something simple in case we sell here and build. I'm curious to see your layout! And what state you're in that has zoning laws allowing to build more than one property on a lot or acreage.
Our 4600' house was too big and we just sold it. Moved into a 1250' that we already owned and completely renovated ( think HGTV on steroids). It suits us for now and have been traveling the last year but may upsize in the future to 2000' or so.
I keep wanting an 800–1000 sf house and tried to design something simple in case we sell here and build. I'm curious to see your layout! And what state you're in that has zoning laws allowing to build more than one property on a lot or acreage.
800 square feet is challenging. I'm in 992 square feet and I had to play all kinds of tricks to make it feel open and roomy. Pocket doors. Vaulted ceilings. I was remodeling an older cottage and it was a real puzzle to make it all work. In 800 square feet, closet space would be the big design problem assuming you want two bedrooms.
Bottom line: The amount of effort required to downsize far exceeds the benefit of downsizing. My guess is that many retirees feel the same. Most of my neighbors are in the same situation. None have moved so far.
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A very interesting thought, Vision67. It's a thought we don't see expressed that often in the Retirement Forum. I think in many cases you are correct. Moving is such a lot of work; I don't want to move ever again.
Of course if people are moving anyway in retirement - and that could be for a multiplicity of reasons - then getting a smaller place could make sense, depending on the circumstances.
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Over the last few months I've been back, I've noticed that most of these ~60 year old couples have way too much house! Many raised their kids in the homes they still live in, with many rooms of those large homes sitting mostly unused. They're still trying to care for these homes - often in failing health going intotheir 60s and those without failing health often carp on about wanting to downsize, but no serious effort is made to do it. These people are going to own far, far more house than they can reasonably take care of as they age, and many have been unwilling to consider downsizing so far!
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I was struck by your comment that you have observed many people "in failing health going into their 60's", which seems strange to me. Is this an area with a high incidence of smoking? Perhaps an area with a couch potato culture? In a general sense, when I think of an age at which it would be normal to have lots of people in "failing health", I think more in terms of going into their 80's.
Lot's of us didn't like yard work/gardening anyway, even as younger people and without regard to declining physical capabilities. I am one of those people. Therefore, at age 57 or 58, three and a half years before my projected retirement date, I bought a townhouse with two bedrooms plus loft and two and a half baths (about 1500 square feet) and a two-car garage, where I have no gardening or exterior maintenance because the HOA takes care of those things. I am divorced and live alone, so it's a little more house than I actually "need", but to me the extra bedroom with its own full bath is well worth it for the occasional house guest. I don't have overnight guests very often (less than once a year on average) but it's still something I appreciate having.
I was struck by your comment that you have observed many people "in failing health going into their 60's", which seems strange to me. Is this an area with a high incidence of smoking? Perhaps an area with a couch potato culture? In a general sense, when I think of an age at which it would be normal to have lots of people in "failing health", I think more in terms of going into their 80's.
This is Tennessee. Smoking, obesity, and addiction are commonplace. I know many people in their 60s in poor health - probably more in bad health than in good health.
This is Tennessee. Smoking, obesity, and addiction are commonplace. I know many people in their 60s in poor health - probably more in bad health than in good health.
Couldn't rep you so I'll do it this way: Very interesting and thanks for the reply, as scary and discouraging as it is.
This is Tennessee. Smoking, obesity, and addiction are commonplace. I know many people in their 60s in poor health - probably more in bad health than in good health.
That's definitely not universal. I live in Colorado where people tend to remain very healthy into their seventies and beyond. Every morning, I see my ninety-year-old neighbors out power walking, wife in a sports bra and little else. Those two are something! Down-sizing at age sixty for health reasons is not common here. People who do it at that age most often want the freedom to travel. Also, people are raising children later and later. My nextdoor neighbors are in their sixties and have a fourteen-year-old.
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Those two are something! Down-sizing at age sixty for health reasons is not common here. People who do it at that age most often want the freedom to travel. Also, people are raising children later and later. My nextdoor neighbors are in their sixties and have a fourteen-year-old.
