Retirees buying 4,000 sq ft houses?

[Anonymous]

My folks live near all the colleges and grandkids have moved in for free rent

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m just curious as to WHY someone in their 70s would need or want a 4000 sq ft, 4 bedroom, 3 level house.

I know there are outliers: grandkids live with them, frequent visitors, but why would anyone without kids want a house so large?

Why not? Living without stairs (unless it’s in a walkable European city where you are up and down them anyway) will end you real fast

[Anonymous]

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

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

ok, I'm 60+ and I'm married to someone 70 ... does that make me a Boomer?

[Anonymous]

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.

this. Many 60+ people agree with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

Here’s an idea. When someone asks a question, you can answer it or be helpful. The person asking the question might learn something.

Name calling isn’t helpful.

Here’s what I’m asking:
Why do 70 year olds buy into neighborhoods with 4000 sq feet houses, large 2 acre lots.
It’s not a TYPICAL retiree area…I lived in Williamsburg for a long time and it was highly desirable for retirees.

Do I mean that all 70 year olds want the same thing? Surely not!

I would think (and many of you are proving me wrong) that if your kids are grown, you’d want less house, less yard.

If you’re a retiree purchasing a large home in a neighborhood with young families, explain why to me so I can learn.

Because contrary to some posts on here, not all retirees have any desire to be in dense walkable areas with shared walls. They can afford to outsource yard care and house cleaning if they like. They prefer to have privacy and love hosting their family and friends and enjoy their beautiful homes in nice neighborhoods.

The ageism is out of control. Now nice neighborhoods are only for young families? Some days I swear it feels like DCUM thinks the entire region is only supposed to be for young people raising families. That is only one phase of life and in the long run it is a short phase.

+1 It's insane to try to normalize hating an entire generation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I had a small house 1,300 when kids little. Three kids and lived there 18 years. I now have a big house. I need the big house more now.

My three kids will be visiting with spouses and grandkids. They need a place to stay over.

Kids today are not taking over holidays. My neighbor has a 7,000 sf and five grown kids 20-33. None are married. Only one lives at home. Every holiday there are 7-9 cars in driveway as they all come

How many holidays are there in a year? There's two, possibly three times out of the year when you'd be hosting holiday gatherings. I find it amusing people want to rattle around great big barns for the sake of a few holidays a year.

Xmas
Thanksgiving
Easter
New years
8 birthdays
4th of July
Baby showers
Bridal showers
Christenings
1st communion
Confirmation
Graduations
Sunday dinner every other week
Super Bowl party
Get together just because

Only five out of the long list of events are holidays. I guess your kids don't share the holidays with their inlaws? Most of the events on your list also don't require multiple days/staying overnight.

It's great you must have a family that likes to celebrate but most people manage to celebrate in smaller houses. Do what you want, but it's not a requirement to have 7k sqft to have parties.

They are reasons we gather together.

We generally do Xmas eve. We sometimes do Thanksgiving Eve or the weekend after. Whatever works out best for everyone.

Actually mine is only 5K sq feet.

We can’t fit everyone even with 5 bars, so yes not everybody sleeps over but many do.

Also the out of town people sleep over even if they are visiting in laws.

Plus I have 4 siblings that come through a few times a year.

My roommate from college stays with me when she has family events, her sister stays with her mom,

I guess when you live your house you do lots of things that involve using it,

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

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.

Why do you care? If PP wants a big house and can afford it, fine!

My dad has a big house on a farm in the mountains, and it is a wonderful place to visit.

[Anonymous]

We have neighbors who did this - they were downsizing from 7500 sq ft, so 4000 seemed right.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

My in laws have two large homes in very different parts of the country and so one sits empty half of the year. They don't help their kids with down payments either. They are in their own little bubble and surround themselves with people just like them. I find both places where they live so mind numbing.

It's so wasteful but whatever.

[Anonymous]

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.