What is your perfect size home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a family size of n, the calculation is 500*n+500. So for 5 people, you would need at at least 3000 sq feet.

A family of 5 might enjoy a 3K sq foot home, but they certainly don't need one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a family size of n, the calculation is 500*n+500. So for 5 people, you would need at at least 3000 sq feet.

A family of 5 might enjoy a 3K sq foot home, but they certainly don't need one.

+1 "Need"

That's right DCUM. According to "the calculation", if you can't afford 3000 sq feet you can't have that 3rd child. If you already have a 3rd and need to downsize due to financial necessity, we are coming for your children.

[Anonymous]

We have 3500 sf for 2 adults 2 kids and it's too much IMO. I'd rather 2500 or so.

[Anonymous]

Family 4, we have 5k and 1.2k sq feet homes.

I prefer the smaller home, more cozy family time, less maintenance, but we only live there PT. It would be hard to entertain.

I think 2.5k would be the happy medium.

[Anonymous]

8500 sq ft for a couple. It's comfortable. Plenty of privacy, plenty of dedicated single-function spaces optimized for their intended uses, e.g., individual offices, golf simulator, cardio room, weight room, etc. Can entertain another couple or a larger group comfortably. We hire out cleaning and yard work, so it's not burdensome to own, apart from the real estate taxes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a family size of n, the calculation is 500*n+500. So for 5 people, you would need at at least 3000 sq feet.

A family of 5 might enjoy a 3K sq foot home, but they certainly don't need one.

Funny thing about 3K sq feet it could be a GIGANTIC Home. I looked at a 3K sf home once and it had a 1,500 sf finished basement, a 1,500 sf wall up unfinished attic for storage and a 400sf garage.

That is 6,400 sf worth of space.

Meanwhile I saw a 3,000 sf rambler once, no basement, no attic and no garage and I thought it was tight as no storage or place to put anything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a family size of n, the calculation is 500*n+500. So for 5 people, you would need at at least 3000 sq feet.

A family of 5 might enjoy a 3K sq foot home, but they certainly don't need one.

Nobody "needs" much more than the space of a small walk-in closet per person, but they may be more comfortable with more. Different preferences and, usually, different budgets, result in different amounts of space per person. "Needs" are generally not the defining characteristic of home size.

[Anonymous]

3500 to 4000 square feet for a family of four is ideal. Anything less is too small.

[Anonymous]

Our house is 2600 sq ft plus finished basement for a family of four (in the suburbs). It’s more than we need. When the kids move out I’d like to downsize. I don’t like suburban living or this large of a house. We have rooms that are barely used.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is downsizing after kids go off to college ideal or stay put in chance they come back and have a family and have the same house they grew up in to bring their families to visit? That's like 10-20 years away tho. 2000sq ft for two old people or downsize to a condo
~1000sq ft?

Not worth it unless you don't want your kids to come visit. My parents bought a tiny one bedroom house now and it's basically makes It impossible to visit them. I'm not spending money on 2 hotel rooms just to come visit with the grabkids. It's just too much and it indicates to me that they don't really care to see me anyway or they would have actually bought a place that has room for their kids to visit.

This is so selfish. Mom and Dad, please keep a bigger house than you need in your old age bc I’m too cheap to pay for a hotel a few times a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a family size of n, the calculation is 500*n+500. So for 5 people, you would need at at least 3000 sq feet.

That works for our family. We’re a family of 4 and have about 2300 sq feet. Any more than that would be excessive and we’d spend a lot of time cleaning space we don’t really need.

I know our bedrooms aren’t ginormous and each kid doesn’t have their own en-suite bathroom like in some modern McMansions.

But we like what we have.

[Anonymous]

we moved from 2600 to 3900 (family of 4) and honestly its too much space we dont use. I wanted c. 2800 and spouse wanted larger. Part of this was buying in 2021, coming off covid when we were all at home, working at home, etc, but now that's not the case. When kids launched, I'd like to move to a 3/2, 2000 sq feet with small patio, and garden.

[Anonymous]

2,150 is just fine for us. Family of four. Single car garage. We even have a guest bedroom w/a full bath on a separate level and DH has a study/man cave to himself. There were probably a few years when, for parents and two growing teens, space was tight for all our things. It would have been a good idea to get a storage unit for just those few years for off-season clothes, sporting equipment. I would do that if I could do over. But overall, great size. And now also a great size as empty nesters. No need to downsize.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:2,150 is just fine for us. Family of four. Single car garage. We even have a guest bedroom w/a full bath on a separate level and DH has a study/man cave to himself. There were probably a few years when, for parents and two growing teens, space was tight for all our things. It would have been a good idea to get a storage unit for just those few years for off-season clothes, sporting equipment. I would do that if I could do over. But overall, great size. And now also a great size as empty nesters. No need to downsize.

So, a four bedroom house with man cave, and that's 2150 sq ft total? Are you excluding a finished basement?

[Anonymous]

no. small bedrooms though