We’re on about 1/6 of an acre. (7000 square feet) Plenty big for me.
Idea of what constitutes a “big” house may be similar to what is “rich”: Someone making more money than I do.
I like large houses, but I do feel bad about the energy large houses consume, we installed geothermal when we moved into our current house, it really saves a lot of energy (compared with the old system we replaced, we save more than half every month).
It is really a luxury for many Americans to be able to have large houses (way more than necessity) and big lawns (which I absolutely hate and am in the process of changing most of them into gardens).
My apartment in NYC is around 1400 sq ft. It has 2 bedrooms 2 full baths with a lot of closet space. It is plenty big for me. I converted one bedroom to study with a convertible bed.
We’re on 3.5 acres, much of it wooded. We mow the part around the house, but it’s definitely a “yard” as opposed to a “lawn.”
^Our yard is the same, but 3 acres. It’s so nice to be able to rake leaves on the lawn and dump them in the woods!
Where I live, $500k will get you a 4000-5000 sq ft house. There’s lots of homes available for sale less than $500k throughout the country.
Here’s a link discussing the opposite trend: millennials wanting their first home to be larger, eschewing the traditional starter home.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/millennials-are-skipping-starter-houses.html
We live in the city and our house is 2000 square ft plus our basement (finished but we don’t use the space). Its large for where we live. Its an old quirky tall tudor with weird ceilings and funky hidden rooms. Once our one (of two) Ds went off to school the house feels really big. I’d go even smaller honestly. I’ve tired of the upkeep of a house and I totally fantasize about a condo.
Our millennial S and DIL skipped the starter home, but they’re in their 30’s & have a child. They’d been wanting to buy for years, but job changes and the expense of the area they used to live (Bay area) put off the purchase.
For a comedic look at McMansions, in all their badly concieved glory, google “McMansion Hell”
“McMansion Hell is a blog which humorously critiques McMansions, large suburban homes typically built from the 1980s to 2008 known for their stylistic attempt of appearing wealthy using mass-produced architecture. The website is run by Kate Wagner, an architectural writer.”
My sister and her husband downsized impressively when they retired a few years ago… And just bought a larger townhouse in the same golf/ lake community, because their small place, while just the right size for them (large master with another two very small bedrooms) became suddenly way too small when their daughter and son in law had a third child, and the older two grand children became old enough to play without constant direct supervision. They are frequent weekend visitors, and there IS NO SPACE for the grandkids to play that isn’t right in the middle of the open space great room. Also, the bedrooms are not big enough to play in.
LOL So they just upsized.
My husband and I have discussed the idea that after downsizing we may decide we want something different (type of house, location, etc.). No need to think your downsized home is your “live in for the rest of your life” home. The hard part of moving out of your big house - cleaning up and throwing out - is already done. SO upsizing or relocating after your downsize may be the right move for some people. Also, after retirement, you can be so much more flexible with location (no commuting to worry about).
We live in a 1700 sq ft raised ranch. Its small for around here. It sits on an acre of land which is about 2/3 cleared, 1/3 wooded, and is a pain in the neck to maintain. We are considering downsizing to s smaller yard, but keeping the same sq footage in the house.
Another problem we have encountered: we wanted to downsize but stay in our same neighborhood. It wasn’t really possible-there were not any significantly smaller homes/lots in our neighborhood. We had to move a good way away to find the zero lot home we have lived in for the past 6 years. But we miss our old location. If we move back, we will have to be in another situation of having a yard to maintain (more likely pay to have it maintained).
@me29034, what is a “raised ranch”?
A raised ranch is usually a one floor home with a basement floor below. You may need to climb steps to get to the living area.
@Nrdsb4 In a raised ranch, the main living area is the second floor of the house. You walk in the front door and immediately go up stairs to get to the main part of the house. The ground floor level is the garage, laundry room, furnace room and family room. Upstairs its a typical ranch style layout.
we have a 3500 sq foot, non deluxe house in the midwest. it’s been great for our family of 6. Housing prices here are around $100/sq foot to sell. Or less. House prices have risen maybe 1-2% per year the last 20 years. I envy those who bought houses 20 yrs ago in other locations and their values have doubled or tripled!
In a raised ranch, you typically enter the front door and are faced with a stairway up to the living area, usually about 5-6 steps, as well as a stairway down to the lower level, which typically includes laundry room, family room, and often an additional bedroom. The garage is also accessed from the lower level.
Here, “a raised ranch” is a daylight basement rambler. 
What @alwaysamom describes as a raised ranch is what we call a split foyer where I live. Is there a difference or are they the same thing? Split foyers seem to be common in neighborhoods built in the 70s in my area.