would you down size your house after...

[ImpatientOne]

We downsized last year, right before the youngest went off to college. We are now in a townhouse condo and LOVE it!

 

[TravelingGal]

I would like to have a forever home too. Kids get attached to a house. When I dream of where I live, it still is my childhood house, even though I''ve lived in my current apartment for 14 years. TGuy''s parents still live in the home he grew up in and he loves going back home to visit.

Since we''re ideally looking for something about 1500 sq feet, we wouldn''t need to downgrade.

 

[HollyS]

Date: 5/4/2009 4:54:36 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/4/2009 2:29:26 PM
Author: HollyS
Since I would never buy the McMansion to begin with . . . No, I wouldn''t need to.

What sq. footage constitutes ''McMansion?''

Well, if you look at the outside, and you think, "Geez, that''s a big house!" . . . that''s probably too much square footage. If you''ve ever done an open house look-see with some of these larger homes, you''ll find a lot of wasted space - - I guess to make it feel . . . well . . . spacious!

I prefer cozy to cavernous. And I believe in the ''forever'' home; especially as a touchstone for your kids, their kids, and your shared memories. So, I wouldn''t go ''too big'' to begin with. I''d look for ''just right''.

 

[Lynn B]

Yeah, we downsized recently when Kiddle #2 was in college; didn''t need the 4 BRs anymore. LOVE the smaller home we bought, it''s perfect for the two of us... with plenty of room for grandbabies one day, but not quiiiiite so big that either of the BIG KIDDLES could move back! haha!

 

[DiamanteBlu]

DD is graduating college next year. We are upsizing.

 

[KimberlyH]

We plan to downsize before kids! I''m sure we''ll move several more times in our life together, but I would like to eventually find a place and settile for good.

 

[Scorpioanne]

I bought this house when I was on my own with my son. When DH and his kids moved in the house was tight but we had financial constraints that didn''t allow us to get a biggger place and i rationalised it because the kids were only with us half time and the rest of the time it works for us. We have done lots of work to it and have more to come but we don''t have any kids at home now so the only thing I wish we had is a formal dining room for fancy dinners twice a year, not enough to want to buy another home. DH says when we have the renos done we should have the contractor make us coffins too!

 

[Dancing Fire]

Date: 5/4/2009 4:54:36 PM
Author: MC

Date: 5/4/2009 2:29:26 PM
Author: HollyS
Since I would never buy the McMansion to begin with . . . No, I wouldn''t need to.

What sq. footage constitutes ''McMansion?''

8,000+ SQ ft. ?

 

[DiamanteBlu]

I think that it is not only square footage that defines a McMansion [I''d say that 8000+ is a good definition, DF] but also the cookie cutter style that they typically have. I know of many very large homes that do not fall into the McMansion category in spite of their size.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Date: 5/4/2009 11:35:29 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
I think that it is not only square footage that defines a McMansion [I''d say that 8000+ is a good definition, DF] but also the cookie cutter style that they typically have. I know of many very large homes that do not fall into the McMansion category in spite of their size.

8,000+??? I was imagining more along the lines of 3,500+. I guess, to me, I feel that more than 4 bed/2.5 bath is overkill and would be a nightmare to keep up and clean, etc.

I''d also love to have a "forever house" for my kids to come back and visit. The house I grew up in was amazing. . .a waterfront home on an island! So gorgeous. I still can remember every square inch of it and sometimes will lay down and visualize I''m back in there. When my mom decided to sell it, I almost offered to buy it from her!

 

[zhuzhu]

I think of ''McMansion'' as a size that is too big for me to clean without help. Gee that would be anything more than 400 sf...

 

[Kaleigh]

We moved into our forever house 10 years ago. It''s not too big and not too small. 4 Bedrooms, 3 and 1/2 baths. One acre lot. I love it, and am glad we didn''t go for something bigger. I do have friends that are down sizing. Many bought houses too late in the game meaning the kids were too old to grow up there. If you buy a big house do so, so your kids can grow up there, and make some memories.

 

[Dancing Fire]

if we are going to down size i want a 3 br,2 bath, 1600 sq ft with a big enough backyard for my koi pond.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 5/4/2009 11:35:29 PM
Author: DiamanteBlu
I think that it is not only square footage that defines a McMansion [I''d say that 8000+ is a good definition, DF] but also the cookie cutter style that they typically have. I know of many very large homes that do not fall into the McMansion category in spite of their size.

Huh. And I always took "McMansion" to be a slightly derogatory term, to mean a house that is a bit larger than the average middle-class home that superficially has some of the characteristics associated with classic bona-fide mansions (wine cellars, sub-zero fridges in entertainers'' kitchens, grand entryways, butler pantries, etc.) but that the construction materials were of the cheap variety/methods used to put up many homes quickly (plywood sub-floors, sheetrock, stock cabinets, limited floorplan/architect involvement)-- because the targeted quasi-nouveau-riche who buy them would have neither the experience nor knowledge to realize the "shortcutted" oversized homes were an inferior product.

 

[fleur-de-lis]

Date: 5/5/2009 12:29:34 AM
Author: zhuzhu
I think of ''McMansion'' as a size that is too big for me to clean without help. Gee that would be anything more than 400 sf...

LOL, zhuzhu!

 

[pennquaker09]

The main identification of a McMansion is that they are always located on lots that are not proportionate to the homes size. And whereas a true mansion is a custom designed, well built home; mcmansions are generally indistinguishable from the other homes in the development. If not in a new development with a high highfalutin name (Highland Pointe or something equally nauseating) McMansions are also associated with "teardowns" in older established neighborhoods. Hinsdale in Chicago is well known for having a lot of teardowns.

Our next house is going to be bigger. I am in desperate need of a large formal dining room.

 

[diamondseeker2006]

We are sort of facing this decision now. We have lived in this home for 20 years and just have one child left at home. The house is about 2600 sq. ft. with 4 br/2.5 baths. I really want a house with a basement and with a main floor master bedroom. I''d like the second floor to be basically guest area. But I do have to have an office, so we still really need 4 br''s. We can downsize the square footage if we gain a basement, but otherwise, I probably wouldn''t go a lot smaller. I have zero desire to go larger even though we could since this one is paid off.

 

[AsscherGirl]

My parents downsized almost 3 years ago after my bro & I had been out of the house about a year or so. They moved from a 4 bed/2.5 bath single family house to a 3 bed/2.5 bath townhouse close to the beach! They LOVE living in the townhouse and not having to worry about yard work (never their forte). And they seriously love the location. Their townhouse is still about 2,000 square feet I believe so it''s not small, but it''s definitely more manageable.

As the kid - yeah I was a little sad when they moved. My hubby''s parents still live in the town we both grew up in and we drive by my old house every once in a while and it''s a little strange it''s not my house anymore! I still think about how some stranger is living in MY room . But on the other hand, it certainly made mine & hubby''s house feel more like home. Also - as time has gone on, I don''t miss the house anymore, but I do miss my parents being closer, and oddly their house feels a bit like home as well.