Re: Living in a smaller house
I am really curious how the small house society defines small. Not clear from their website.
We have a pretty large house - 2600 sf, and it didn't really cost us any more than something more like 1600 sf. NEw construction, the price difference was negligible. Maybe $20 or $30k on a $300k house. Plus the lots were all the same, but since ours is 2-story we have more land though we use the same amount of land as the smaller houses. Our electric/gas bill is nil. We don't consume more just because we have a big house. When we moved we had 2 or 3 empty rooms and they have since been filled with kids and hand-me-downs. We don't spend more on furniture or anything.
Overall going smaller to save materials and environmental costs, etc., is probably a worhty goal. I am curious how small they are talking though. A 1400 sf house would do my family just fine.
Living in such a pricey area, I know a lot of families crammed into little 2-bedroom 900 sf homes. I think I Would go nuts! Without the kids though it would be roomy enough for 2 adults. It would also depend ont he size of the land. Living in a teeny tiny house with no land doesn't sound very fun either. Unless you rather not maintain it. wE lived in a condo for a while when it was all we could afford it had many advantages when we were at work all the time - very low maintenance. With a family and spending more time at home, a little more room I think is important though.
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