quote:
Building a 4800 ft2 living right now, but I have no desire to work less nor does my wife. We both put in less than 15 hrs a week in office, work mainly from home when not with clients. So space is justifiable given the amount of time we will use the space.

Upstairs we've got the bonus, media, & game room for the boys. Definitely prefer to be the house all the kids want to hang at. Potentially gives us best chance to control the environment.

I agree with you, I am just in a different stage of life. I am in the last 5 years of kids in the home and soon will no longer need the space. I loved having my kids friends in my house where I could be peripheral to everything that was happening.

I do not see the need (in 5 years) to keep all this extra space in my home "in case" my adult kids come to visit. The way I see it, the best thing is for mom and I to be "mobile" and go where they are. Once they get full time jobs, get married and have kids..they will be the ones who are busy.

I want less not more these days.

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Posted by hungryone

river parishes

Member since Sep 2010

11987 posts

Posted on 3/1/16 at 2:38 pm to SECdragonmaster

quote:
I do not see the need (in 5 years) to keep all this extra space in my home "in case" my adult kids come to visit.

This is such a smart/forward looking attitude. I watched my MinL hang onto a now-too-big house out of inertia & the idea that she needed space for "everyone" to come home and visit. But no one ever converged, en masse, on her house...and still she clung to it, despite declining health & mobility. It took us 3 solid months to clear it out after her death; I found wedding gifts still in boxes from 40 years ago...china no one ever used; greeting cards from 30 years ago; embroidered tablecloths that never saw the light of day since someone made them. She would have been happier/freer and enjoyed life far more in a compact apartment or condo, rather than worrying over gutters, roof, AC, etc. and paying someone to dust the six rooms she never entered.

Lesson learned: don't live in a house-museum dedicated to an idealized past or imagined/unrealized future.

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Posted by ItNeverRains

37069

Member since Oct 2007

25594 posts

Posted on 3/2/16 at 6:32 am to SECdragonmaster

quote:
I agree with you, I am just in a different stage of life. I am in the last 5 years of kids in the home and soon will no longer need the space. I loved having my kids friends in my house where I could be peripheral to everything that was happening. I do not see the need (in 5 years) to keep all this extra space in my home "in case" my adult kids come to visit. The way I see it, the best thing is for mom and I to be "mobile" and go where they are. Once they get full time jobs, get married and have kids..they will be the ones who are busy. I want less not more these days.

We designed the house with 2 beds/2.5ba down with office on main, so that once kids are grown and gone we can live on main level and have up for when their families come to visit. Right under 2700 ft2 on main which is plenty. We're pretty locked in to the community so if we were to downsize, it would be in the community, but min ft2 per covenants is 3k so never going to go any smaller than that. And moving sucks.

This post was edited on 3/2/16 at 6:34 am

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