Downsizing the Home
 

We currently live in a pretty large house on a large lot.


We are considering our next move now that we are retired. We are intending to downsize the living space and the yard. We have been considering the virtues of a smaller living space. Our main motivation is to reduce our effort for upkeep. In our case, cost saving is really a secondary benefit not the main factor.

But, I have wondered if we might end up with buyer's remorse after the purchase.

Have you downsized considerably (e.g. 1/2 the size of you previous place)? If so, did you find it to be a good decision, or did you regret it?

Definitely a good decision. Our house in Virginia was 9000 square feet...with 7 bathrooms. There is NO special place in heaven for someone that cleans that many toilets. Why I ever thought that was important is beyond me, but at one point I did or I wouldn't have bought that house. Great house to raise kids in but a nightmare to upkeep (we had a one-acre lot). Love my new less-than 3000 square feet home! It forced us to get rid of a lot of stuff and in the process we got the opportunity to redefine what is truly valuable to us. We feel lighter and less weighed down. As for the utility bills...don't even get me started! We love love love having a smaller home and don't miss any of the furniture we never used and the carpets we never really walked on.

We purposefully embraced the idea of downsizing as a liberation of sorts.
We left a 4000 sq. ft home and now are in a CYV under 2000 sq. ft.
Hubby had a tough adjustment with the much smaller garage at first, but now has been able to configure it to his satisfaction and it works well.


Many of the models/pre loved homes here are quite roomy, so you may be able to choose something that will not compromise your space much at all.
Depends on how attached you are to stuff you have accumulated thus far.

If you are both on the same page to simplify, as we were, it can be joyful. We began to eliminate things as we were preparing our home (up North) to be placed on the market. Glad we began early and could do it in a relaxed and thoughtful way!
I wanted our move to be as joyful and stress-free as possible and it was.

I will say that there is nothing I regret getting rid of, nothing either of us wish we still had.... and it was wonderful to know that we didn't drag a whole bunch of stuff down here that we had to get rid of later.

I am doing just what you described. We now live in San Diego in a 4200 sq ft single level home. We are closing escrow tomorrow in The Villages on our new 2009 sq foot home. I am really nervous about cutting my space in half (especially going from a 4 car garage to a 2 car + golf cart ), but at the same time, very excited about this next chapter of our life. Let's stay in touch and I will let you know how we fared. I suspect we will LOVE the change. After all, who really "needs" that much space??? LOL Best of luck! Jan

You decided on a smaller home too like your daughter Angie?

Here is an old thread on the same subject

I have a photogenic memory...;)


https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...e-start-56520/

We moved from 5,000 + sq ft to 1,800 or so and love the fact that we can clean the house top to bottom in an hour, it use to take 2 full days with the old house. When you think about it what a waste of time spending two out of every seven days just to keep your house clean.

I moved from a house with nearly the same square footage. But, I went from a 3-story plus full basement home to a single-level home; with an attic which I purposefully left inaccessible!

That factor was paramount in my thinking, and has proven to be worth every penny! Being challenged with emphysema, the stairs really got to me. Now, since there are none, I can, theorhetically, run everywhere!

:bigbow:

SWR
:beer3:

Figure out how you would like to use each room. Think about its size as you might want to stretch it. You might want t golf cart garage or at least a bigger garage. You probably have rooms in your current house that you do not use so the downsizing might not be as much as you think.

None of us "spring" birds like to think about the inevitable, but regardless of how active we are now in this active adult community, the time will come that one or both of us will experience the inevitable. That might come in the form of a debilitating illness or for sure "death." Whatever the case, think of the difficulties we will encounter contemplating another move once in TV's. On the other hand, I say if you have the money and desire to continue to live "big," you think you can't live without all of the square footage, big yard , large garage, workshop or whatever you once had, then go for it. Buy as big as you can afford. But, if you are smart, your next move (to the Villages) will take into consideration that you are entering the "winter" of your years.

There is a reason for not having steps, elevation levels or second story additions to these homes - and, that reason is the purpose for which they were/are built. Don't let your age and your years of experience go "south" when considering the type or size of home you will need in the "winter" of your ensuring years.

LIFE HAPPENS!!!!!!

Yes... a Ranch is what it is all about IMHO!

We never looked back
 

Went from 4800 sf to 1900 sf, and LOVE it!....Less yard, Less hassle, and now MORE fun!

VERY WELL :bowdown: SAID..............

Soooooo happy with my little house WITH NO STAIRS!!!!!

Another consideration is that over time, if you become less mobile, you will spend much more of your time inside and around your home. We enlarged our home in the areas we will use, both inside and out. I really do not mind maintaining yard, lanai or inside space as long as we use and enjoy it. All depends on what is important to you. We really did not want to feel cramped in retirement, just easy living and having what we need. When one goes, the other can always downsize then if that is best for them. My reasoning may be slightly skewed because I spent way too much cramped time in submarines :).