Retirees buying 4,000 sq ft houses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No longer the appropriate time of life to be hosting family events, not on a regular basis. Pass the baton, and the control, to the next generation. They should be living in the bigger houses. If they have a family, they need the bigger homes

I'm thisl poster. I'm 60 with married kids and grandchildren.

At 60, you are not a boomer. If you or your male peers were not eligible for the Vietnam war draft, you are not a boomer. Dealing with the draft was the factor that coalesced the boomer generation. If you were too young for the draft, you just are not a boomer.

Wrong. The baby boomer generation was 1946 to 1964. The defining feature was being born during the massive population spike immediately following WWII.

I was a child in the 60s. Anyone who had to face the draft or had same age peers facing the draft will tell you that people too young for the draft had a completely different experience in life. The Vietnam war draft was the defining shared experience of the boomers. If you didn’t share it, you are not a boomer, no matter what year you were born.

Good grief. The name "Boomer" comes from "baby boom." That's the determinative factor. It's not "Namer."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not 70 yet but I could see wanting space for my kids to come and comfortably stay with their partners and kids.

Be realistic. How often will this happen? How often do your kids want to come stay with you for multiple days? I love my parents but I have no interest in spending more than 2-3 days at their house because it's inconvenient not being in your own bed and kids not in their beds for more than few days unless we're on vacation, but grandma's house is not vacation. It'd be different if you have a summer house by the water but that's not what people are talking about here.

And it is much easier for parents to come stay with us instead of the other way around. I am not sacrificing vacation days to spend a week or two in suburban Maryland. My retired parents come see us. And this is the pattern I see among most of my friends and peers. The parents are the ones who visit the kids and grandkids.

I'm seeing fantasies on this thread. Not reality. Rattling around a great big empty house with multiple bedrooms for most of the year just so that your kids can have their own room over Thanksgiving seems silly to me.

NP who provided the list.

I have visitors… friends/family/kids 2x a month. Except when I’m travel to visit them.

Are you an introvert?

People can always come up with the stories and anecdotes to justify their thinkings, especially on the internet. Do what you want to do and certainly there must be some families that live like this. But at the same time let's not pretend this is a normal lifestyle for most retired/senior people even with large families.

[Anonymous]

I skimmed through this thread and I can't say I'm shocked at the replies.

For me, as a Gen Xer that lives in a medium sized house in the suburbs, I can't wait for the kids to move out so we can buy a condo in a denser populated place that's walkable. I don't like owning a SFH. Yes it's nice that there's more privacy and less concern about noise since there's no shared walls but we did live in a rental walking distance to stuff downtown at one point and I liked it. I'm a city girl that lives in the suburbs. Most of the stuff in our house is just that, stuff. It's not things I have a sentimental attachment to or have any desire to keep.

I have a friend that bought a McMansion in the exurbs. The house is nice but it felt cavernous to me. Plus it's 100% car dependent, even worse than the suburbs where I live. There's something to be said for being able to leave your house and get exercise doing errands instead of sitting in your car getting fat to drive to the supermarket 20 minutes each way or an hour and a half each way to the office.

[Anonymous]

We are in our 60s retired...live in a 10sqft home...love it! Yes...it has an elevator..was planned that way. Biggest benefit: our kids and grandkids love visiting the "estate" throughout the year..enjoying the pools, bonding with siblings, cousins, etc. F everyone who has a problem with it. We don't live in Europe or Asia!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not 70 yet but I could see wanting space for my kids to come and comfortably stay with their partners and kids.

Be realistic. How often will this happen? How often do your kids want to come stay with you for multiple days? I love my parents but I have no interest in spending more than 2-3 days at their house because it's inconvenient not being in your own bed and kids not in their beds for more than few days unless we're on vacation, but grandma's house is not vacation. It'd be different if you have a summer house by the water but that's not what people are talking about here.

And it is much easier for parents to come stay with us instead of the other way around. I am not sacrificing vacation days to spend a week or two in suburban Maryland. My retired parents come see us. And this is the pattern I see among most of my friends and peers. The parents are the ones who visit the kids and grandkids.

I'm seeing fantasies on this thread. Not reality. Rattling around a great big empty house with multiple bedrooms for most of the year just so that your kids can have their own room over Thanksgiving seems silly to me.

NP who provided the list.

I have visitors… friends/family/kids 2x a month. Except when I’m travel to visit them.

Are you an introvert?

People can always come up with the stories and anecdotes to justify their thinkings, especially on the internet. Do what you want to do and certainly there must be some families that live like this. But at the same time let's not pretend this is a normal lifestyle for most retired/senior people even with large families.

I think it’s normal if you’re Italian or Hispanic or other family oriented cultures.

I think if you’re a WASP who left your small town never to look back and think that all gathering require top shelf liquor, expensive wine and caterers this world seems wildly odd. (Or if you’re an introvert)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not 70 yet but I could see wanting space for my kids to come and comfortably stay with their partners and kids.

Be realistic. How often will this happen? How often do your kids want to come stay with you for multiple days? I love my parents but I have no interest in spending more than 2-3 days at their house because it's inconvenient not being in your own bed and kids not in their beds for more than few days unless we're on vacation, but grandma's house is not vacation. It'd be different if you have a summer house by the water but that's not what people are talking about here.

And it is much easier for parents to come stay with us instead of the other way around. I am not sacrificing vacation days to spend a week or two in suburban Maryland. My retired parents come see us. And this is the pattern I see among most of my friends and peers. The parents are the ones who visit the kids and grandkids.

I'm seeing fantasies on this thread. Not reality. Rattling around a great big empty house with multiple bedrooms for most of the year just so that your kids can have their own room over Thanksgiving seems silly to me.

NP who provided the list.

I have visitors… friends/family/kids 2x a month. Except when I’m travel to visit them.

Are you an introvert?

People can always come up with the stories and anecdotes to justify their thinkings, especially on the internet. Do what you want to do and certainly there must be some families that live like this. But at the same time let's not pretend this is a normal lifestyle for most retired/senior people even with large families.

I think it’s normal if you’re Italian or Hispanic or other family oriented cultures.

I think if you’re a WASP who left your small town never to look back and think that all gathering require top shelf liquor, expensive wine and caterers this world seems wildly odd. (Or if you’re an introvert)

P.s. we do plan to down size at 80.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not 70 yet but I could see wanting space for my kids to come and comfortably stay with their partners and kids.

Be realistic. How often will this happen? How often do your kids want to come stay with you for multiple days? I love my parents but I have no interest in spending more than 2-3 days at their house because it's inconvenient not being in your own bed and kids not in their beds for more than few days unless we're on vacation, but grandma's house is not vacation. It'd be different if you have a summer house by the water but that's not what people are talking about here.

And it is much easier for parents to come stay with us instead of the other way around. I am not sacrificing vacation days to spend a week or two in suburban Maryland. My retired parents come see us. And this is the pattern I see among most of my friends and peers. The parents are the ones who visit the kids and grandkids.

I'm seeing fantasies on this thread. Not reality. Rattling around a great big empty house with multiple bedrooms for most of the year just so that your kids can have their own room over Thanksgiving seems silly to me.

NP who provided the list.

I have visitors… friends/family/kids 2x a month. Except when I’m travel to visit them.

Are you an introvert?

People can always come up with the stories and anecdotes to justify their thinkings, especially on the internet. Do what you want to do and certainly there must be some families that live like this. But at the same time let's not pretend this is a normal lifestyle for most retired/senior people even with large families.

I think it’s normal if you’re Italian or Hispanic or other family oriented cultures.

I think if you’re a WASP who left your small town never to look back and think that all gathering require top shelf liquor, expensive wine and caterers this world seems wildly odd. (Or if you’re an introvert)

No matter the size or composition of the gathering, top shelf liquor is important. Life's too short to drink sh!tty booze. Plus, if you're drinking rotgut, you just want the alcohol to get a buzz/drink, which is . . . not great.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in our 60s retired...live in a 10sqft home...love it! Yes...it has an elevator..was planned that way. Biggest benefit: our kids and grandkids love visiting the "estate" throughout the year..enjoying the pools, bonding with siblings, cousins, etc. F everyone who has a problem with it. We don't live in Europe or Asia!

An elevator in such a tiny house!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in our 60s retired...live in a 10sqft home...love it! Yes...it has an elevator..was planned that way. Biggest benefit: our kids and grandkids love visiting the "estate" throughout the year..enjoying the pools, bonding with siblings, cousins, etc. F everyone who has a problem with it. We don't live in Europe or Asia!

Can’t tell if this is a troll impersonating a Boomer on the internet or a legit big-energy Boomer without an ounce of introspection (or SpellCheck) 🤔

[Anonymous]

They have $10M dollars and can do whatever they want? They plan to pass it down to their kids?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No longer the appropriate time of life to be hosting family events, not on a regular basis. Pass the baton, and the control, to the next generation. They should be living in the bigger houses. If they have a family, they need the bigger homes

I'm thisl poster. I'm 60 with married kids and grandchildren.

At 60, you are not a boomer. If you or your male peers were not eligible for the Vietnam war draft, you are not a boomer. Dealing with the draft was the factor that coalesced the boomer generation. If you were too young for the draft, you just are not a boomer.

Wrong. The baby boomer generation was 1946 to 1964. The defining feature was being born during the massive population spike immediately following WWII.

I was a child in the 60s. Anyone who had to face the draft or had same age peers facing the draft will tell you that people too young for the draft had a completely different experience in life. The Vietnam war draft was the defining shared experience of the boomers. If you didn’t share it, you are not a boomer, no matter what year you were born.

Good grief. The name "Boomer" comes from "baby boom." That's the determinative factor. It's not "Namer."

You do know that the baby boom was caused by soldiers returning from WWII, right? And those babies were the ones who were eligible for the Vietnam War draft when they turned 18.

There weren’t a lot of soldiers just coming back from WWII by the late 50s and early 60s, and kids born in those years are also the ones who turned 18 after the draft had ended.

Talk to some boomers who turned 18 before the draft had ended. They will tell you that their experiences were very different from those of people who turned 18 after that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I skimmed through this thread and I can't say I'm shocked at the replies.

For me, as a Gen Xer that lives in a medium sized house in the suburbs, I can't wait for the kids to move out so we can buy a condo in a denser populated place that's walkable. I don't like owning a SFH. Yes it's nice that there's more privacy and less concern about noise since there's no shared walls but we did live in a rental walking distance to stuff downtown at one point and I liked it. I'm a city girl that lives in the suburbs. Most of the stuff in our house is just that, stuff. It's not things I have a sentimental attachment to or have any desire to keep.

I have a friend that bought a McMansion in the exurbs. The house is nice but it felt cavernous to me. Plus it's 100% car dependent, even worse than the suburbs where I live. There's something to be said for being able to leave your house and get exercise doing errands instead of sitting in your car getting fat to drive to the supermarket 20 minutes each way or an hour and a half each way to the office.

This just confirms though that everyone is different. I am also GenX and have absolutely zero desire to live in a condo or in the city. Been there, done that before I got married and started a family. I love our suburban neighborhood with plenty of walking trails and lakes. That’s the kind of walkability I want and I’m ok driving for errands.

It’s nice that in this area we all have lots of different options for what we want as empty nesters.

[Anonymous]

OP, do you also wonder why black people buy homes in white neighborhoods? And then call the police when you see them there because it doesn’t make sense? Because I feel like someone who demands that an entire community of people justify why they are choosing to live how they live, probably does do that. Mind your business OP.

[Anonymous]

our kids and grandkids love visiting the "estate" throughout the year

Is it bigger than their home? More expensive? I would want to pay-it-forward instead, to assure that a growing family had the more spacious home.
Imho, it just doesn't seem right to live the way you do as a retiree. Why not gift more money to them to help with their housing?
- signed, a retiree myself

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not 70 yet but I could see wanting space for my kids to come and comfortably stay with their partners and kids.

Be realistic. How often will this happen? How often do your kids want to come stay with you for multiple days? I love my parents but I have no interest in spending more than 2-3 days at their house because it's inconvenient not being in your own bed and kids not in their beds for more than few days unless we're on vacation, but grandma's house is not vacation. It'd be different if you have a summer house by the water but that's not what people are talking about here.

And it is much easier for parents to come stay with us instead of the other way around. I am not sacrificing vacation days to spend a week or two in suburban Maryland. My retired parents come see us. And this is the pattern I see among most of my friends and peers. The parents are the ones who visit the kids and grandkids.

I'm seeing fantasies on this thread. Not reality. Rattling around a great big empty house with multiple bedrooms for most of the year just so that your kids can have their own room over Thanksgiving seems silly to me.

NP who provided the list.

I have visitors… friends/family/kids 2x a month. Except when I’m travel to visit them.

Are you an introvert?

People can always come up with the stories and anecdotes to justify their thinkings, especially on the internet. Do what you want to do and certainly there must be some families that live like this. But at the same time let's not pretend this is a normal lifestyle for most retired/senior people even with large families.

I think it’s normal if you’re Italian or Hispanic or other family oriented cultures.

I think if you’re a WASP who left your small town never to look back and think that all gathering require top shelf liquor, expensive wine and caterers this world seems wildly odd. (Or if you’re an introvert)

It's always fun to resort to cliches to defend yourself, eh? Have a great time with your house, but the point still stands, it's not common nor desired for most retirees to live like this.