We downsized from a 3400 square foot home to an attached townhouse (1800 square feet) a couple of years ago. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t an adjustment. I miss our house, but maybe what I miss is the life that we had there when the kids were all home. We have no maintenance and a lot less expenses where we are now so that does make life easier. We do have three bedrooms which is great because my youngest is still in college and is in and out for the summer. There’s a pool here and lots of nice amenities as well as outdoor space. It was the right move for us.
@fauxmaven - yes, no common walls since I get annoyed easily. But second choice would be no one above me!
Now this is downsizing. These units may be a little small…
For certain neighborhoods, people are willing to go small.
We spent three months this winter living on a houseboat with two BRs (one of which I used as an office), 1.5 baths (the half absolutely tiny), and one large room with seating area, kitchen area, dining area and living room area all overlooking a wall of glass doors onto the water. We were amazed at how little we needed. We really only wanted an additional bedroom for guests.
We returned to our 5 BR house and are collecting things to give away or are throwing them out. We’re looking for a smaller place – or maybe a live work loft big enough to live and work in (ShawWife is a painter). However, in finding a new place, we are torn between competing objectives. We currently live in what I would say is an exurb but near enough the town center that we can walk to stores, a library, a couple of capuccino places, dry clearner, hair salon, a couple of mediocre restaurants and one pretty decent one. But, we are in a fabulous place for road cycling, kayaking (there are several rivers in the town), cross-country skiing, etc. There are thousands of acres of conservation land. We really value nature. And now, in addition to being in a walkable area and near nature, she also wants to be on the water and be able to have a live-work space or live in a community of live/work spaces. And, she doesn’t want to pay more for this than what we will get when we sell our current house (and lot next door on which her studio is located). Some of these constraints will have to be relaxed.
Does anyone on CC live in a tiny house? I watch the show on HGTV occasionally and it seems to me that just about everyone doing that is young.
@shawbridge, your DW sounds like some of the people on House Hunters, lol.
I think we all have way too much stuff for a tiny house. 
I’ve never seen House Hunters, @Nrdsb4, but she knows she will have to relax constraints. Plus, it will take us a while to get the house ready for sale. It is a fabulous house for a family with young kids – deeded walkway through our neighbor’s yard to a superb elementary school plus very nice yard, completely safe neighborhood in walking distance to a town center and the commuter rail into the city. We just don’t need it anymore. So, the plan is to have it ready to put on the market for the upcoming spring. Hopefully, we will have relaxed some constraints by then.
I’m not shooting for a tiny house but 1 BR for us, one office for me, and 1-2 small BRs for kids or parents to come visit. I’d like contemporary with glass overlooking the water – I like one big room like on the boat for entertaining. I’m less concerned about walking distance to capuccino as we have our own espresso maker. (Maybe we could decide to just live in California? But, I get ahead of myself.)
One other constraint – she is Canadian and has always wanted to live for at least part of the year in Canada (and now retire for part of the year in Canada). Not clear how we do that, although a Trump election might actually spur something there. But, I’ve always had that in mind as a possibility. We own half a house in the Laurentians and I can’t imagine that is a keeper in the long-run, despite having being of great sentimental value to her and our kids.
@shawbridge, you just spent time in Marin.
Doesn’t Marin have most of what you want? Did you have time to explore Mt Tam, Stinson and Muir Beach, Point Reyes, Corte Madera Creek, etc.
Did you have time to explore some of the towns?
How close do you want to be from an airport?
We lived for years in a small 1300 sqft house, 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath, no attached garage. Now we live in a 2400 sqft house, finished basement, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths and an attached garage. It’s heaven. It is perfect for us empty nesters as the master and laundry is on the main floor.
I would never live in a tiny home, been there, done that. But as we age, we can do all of our living on one floor and it’s perfect. You can’t imagine the luxury of an attached garage. :>
Oh the agony of downsizing! We don’t wan’t to move stuff that we no longer need.
Our plan is to go from our 2000sf (small compared to many people here), 3B/2B to a 600-800 sf apartment above a 3 car garage on the same property. I won’t have any problem with it but H is reluctant. We also want to buy a small cottage or motorhome for the winter months. I can do either of those so long as there is ample outdoor space. At least with the garage apartment we’ll still have lots of land and a large deck.
I have never seen such a small apartment with a 3 car garage. What state is this?
It is an ADU.
We sold our house last year, moved into a transitional apartment, then bought our retirement home in another state. We went from a 50-year old, 1800 st home, to a new construction 4100 sf home. The maintenance is amazingly less, the taxes are a fraction of what we paid before, and I feel like I can breathe. We have one floor living since a lot of the square footage is upstairs in the guest bedrooms. We can absorb extended family without a problem and still have reduced our housework. A house filled with furniture takes a lot more time to clean than expansive wooden floors with the same amount of furniture.
Life is so wonderful when there are so many varied perspectives. Whether it’s upsizing or downsizing, we are blessed to be able to have choices.
I think I am almost to the point where I am done with houses - and I still have one child finishing up high school! I would be content with a 2 bedroom 1800 sf apartment in manhattan. I would be forced to do a major “purge” of our belongings and get rid of 2 of our 3 cars. I am sick of all this “stuff.”
I am a house person. I don’t do apartments; exceptions would be NYC or Paris.
@fauxmaven, town regs say “in-law” apartments can only be 600 sq ft (and then there’s some stipulation allowing up to 900 sf but we haven’t determined if we can fit that criteria). Garage will be 40Lx22W or similar with a full first floor (instead of a dormer) allowing for cathedral ceiling at one end for combination great room/dining. If only 600 sf is allowed, the finished living space will be 28x22 or slightly less and the additional space will then become an unfinished storage area.
Move to my neck of the woods! We have the most liberal ADU codes I have ever seen - 1/2 of the square footage of the main residence. If the big home is 4,000 sq. ft, the apartment above the detached garage can be up to 2,000 sq. ft! As long as the septic can handle 2 kitchens and 5 bathrooms.
@BunsenBurner, wow. I know there’s another stipulation that has to do with size in contrast to primary house, both in square footage and height but I don’t remember them now. When my Dad built my house 32 years ago he said he had never dealt with a town that was so strict. Apparently it has only gotten worse. Its tough to find anyone that’s willing to pull a permit, thank goodness my brother is also a builder 