Downsizing!

[jsbowden]

No, not work.

We're thinking about moving. Not far. Just across the FFX Co. Parkway from where we are right now. Currently, we have 2800ft² living area for the three of us.

Four bedrooms ( big master, 2 largish rooms, and a third smallish), dining room, living room, family room, kitchen, breakfast cranny, foyer, 2.5 car garage, laundry room, 2.5 bathrooms, full finished basement and the room off that where my computer lives.

Hai, we can haz lotza spase!

That's 900ft² approximately each.

We're looking at going down to about 700ft² each.

It's a whole two minutes from where we are now, but it's walking distance to Evan's school, and it puts him in a better high school (same elementary and middle).

We lose a room, and the ones we keep scale down a little, but it looks like it'll still work just fine.

This is all tentative of course, but if we do it, I still expect people to show up come April.

Comments

[warpedpuppy.livejournal.com]

ya know, I think too many of us occupy dwellings with far too much space. downsizing can be a really good thing.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

We like the space, but we end up with rooms we don't see for weeks on end. This house has a ton of closet and storage space, and I think we'll miss that, but it'll be a good reason to get rid of shit we haven't seen in years and probably don't need anyway.

[robeli.livejournal.com]

You forgot to mention the part that Evan is pupil placed right now which means we have to provide transportation. If I don't return next year he may not be able to stay there and it'd be another school move for him. That, and with what we think we have built up in equity in this house, and moving (although to a more expensive house) our mortgage would go down about the same as my paycheck from working fulltime to parttime.

Funny part is Evan thinks the house we are thinking of buying is bigger than the one we currently have. It's got cathedral ceilings, taller regular ceilings, and a loft so it looks more open.

And yes - there will still be plenty of crash space.

[melallen.livejournal.com]

We have a 2400 sq ft house, and there are 4 of us. So that puts us at about 600 sq ft pp. Right now it works out great, but I think that is only because the layout of the house is so perfect for us:
1) children's area with two smallish bedrooms that open into a playroom
2) master on opposite side of house than children's area
3) Office instead of a formal living room
4) Large family room that opens into kitchen & breakfast area

A huge house with a crappy floor plan can seem smaller than a small house with a good floor plan. So if the new place has a good layout (which it sounds like it does), I don't see a down side. Especially if the mortgage is smaller.

We still plan on trying to make it in April. So save me a bedroom :)

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

The floor plan here is decent; no wasted space at all, but we have a room we never see, and two more that are only used transiently.

[voltbang.livejournal.com]

I'm in for the move. Let me know if I need to line the trunk with plastic bags.

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

We don't move ourselves anymore. That stopped the first time someone else got paid to move us, and we realized just how insane moving our own shit is.

[robeli.livejournal.com]

But thanks for the offer. For us, it really is worth paying to have someone load and transport our stuf.

[culfinriel.livejournal.com]

So I should definitely bring pillows and sleeping bags in April?

[jsbowden.livejournal.com]

That will be a good idea whether we move or not. We have plenty of rooms, but I still have no idea who all is planning on coming. I expect we'll have just as much sleeping space, it'll just be arranged a bit differently.

[ceara.livejournal.com]

We have something like 800 square feet each for the two of us, and the house is *full*. 4000+ books explains part of that. Our manymany computers and my crapton of yarn and fabric explain more.

If we have children, we shall have to move.