Matt:
"Eventually, however, you grow up and just need more space."
Not necessarily. The house I left five years ago after my partner died was 4000 square feet. Three stories, half an acre of grounds, two-car garage. All the space any reasonable person could want.
Except that I was in indentured servitude to its upkeep. It took one entire day per week just to manicure the grounds. Air-conditioning bills frequently topped $400 in scorching Georgia summers. Heating bills were so obscene I'd have to describe them in the DL forum. There were three bathrooms to scrub, a large deck to keep free of leaves, debris and pollen, and two staircases to climb. And climb. And climb. Three vacuum cleaners were needed to avoid lugging the things up and down stairs. There was a fireplace to clean. Oh, and the carpet was silver-white.
You're thinking, "Partner. Two people. Shared work and responsibility." Uh, no. My partner was in end-stage heart failure, so I got to take care of all this
plus provide care for him.
When I relocated to Iowa, I found myself in a smaller house, and I mean a
much smaller house - 480 square feet, with a basement the same size. I can clean the whole place in two hours. The lawn in front is thirty feet by thirty - a half-hour job. Air conditioning season last year yielded bills of $75 a month. Heating season this Winter - the nastiest, coldest Winter seen in these parts for quite some time - produced bills of $140 a month. And those bills are for gas
and electric; the same utility company serves both needs here.
Do I miss loads of space? I do not. I have a perfectly sufficient amount of space for my actual needs, and I do not have the financial burdens or time requirements that having a large amount of space would bring. Do I have to make choices? Yes, I do - I cannot bring everything home I'd like to collect. But that is also a blessing - my house makes it difficult to hoard.
What I have is not the ideal arrangement for everyone, and I freely confess my kitchen is too small, without room to entertain. But it works for me.
As Dorothy Parker once said, "All I need is room to lay a hat - and a few friends."
