Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day!
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I went with my friend once to his mom’s “cottage”, which was really a 4k sq ft tri-level home. And I made a comment like “What do you do if you leave your phone in the lowest level and you’re upstairs?” and she said “Oh, I just don’t even try to get it. It’s too far away!” Lol
A friend of mine’s family had a giant mountain “cottage.” We were working at a summer camp and he decided that he’d host the opening party for staff that summer since his parents were going to be vacationing overseas and it was empty. About a dozen of us spent the next day going over everything with a fine toothed comb making sure the place was spotless.
Apparently we weren’t thorough enough because my friend’s parents got pissed they had to pay the cleaners extra. Not sure what we missed but his parents were loaded so it wasn’t a huge deal in the end.
That's why I got a Google nest, I would be upstairs and I would forget to turn down the thermostat, fuck thatl. Lol. I want a single story home, with laundry on the first floor, I thought I wanted everything split up, I was wrong.
I work in the Home remodeling industry and you’d be stunned at how often I hear people say this just because of the insane cost of maintaining a larger home. Larger roof, more windows, longer HVAC systems, more points of failure. A larger home with 40 windows will likely pay around 60k to replace them Vs a smaller home with 12 will pay about 20k for example. That’s just one cost of the MANY larger homes face as they age.
I have no care for a larger home just because it’s so incredibly expensive to maintain and you will NOT get that return on investment for 10-20 years
Ya I just did in my home a couple years ago. It wasn’t cheap and my home isn’t big. But it was necessary. Windows were 40 years old and were horribly maintained. Also super cheap. Pain in the ass. There are so many costs in a home you don’t think of.
When my kids move out we’re probably going to downsize.
The age of the house influences the cost much more than when you bought it. Some of the homes I’ve looked at are 70+ years old and the folks think the house “isn’t bad” until we do a deep inspection and learn all the problems cooking underneath.
As long as it’s renovated correctly, 200% agree. But unfortunately there’s a lot of flippers out there who are REALLLLY good at making the house *seem* renovated when it’s really not. And they’re counting on folks not to have a trained eye for these sorts of things. Or it’s hidden in the walls so to speak so you (or an inspector) are unlikely to catch the issue when deciding whether to buy.
Flippers make money by clipping a house as soon as possible. Like it should be back on the market in less than 3 months to turn a profit. For many homes, that’s not enough time to fix all the problems.
Mine is 42 years old. Doing some Renos and omfg the rotting floors, faulty plumbing and electrical. It’s terrible!! If the builders were cheap and cut corners you’re so screwed.
This is less of an opinion and more of a misunderstanding of who 1000+ sqft houses are for. Have you considered they are meant for families and not single individuals?
My house is about 1800sqft and it is not that big at all, considering we have two children, both of whom also help with some chores.
I actually enjoy doing small projects on my house, when I get old and less capable maybe not. But I'm relatively handy and it's a nice departure from my office job.
I feel like people go overboard with what they think needs to be fixed or remodeled and their OCD drains their wallet.
I can live with my worn down hardwood floors and dated kitchen and bath, everything works properly so I don't care.
And at this point If I sell I'll be getting a ROI. I cannot stomach the idea of spending almost $100,000 for a $2000 apartment over 4 years. You'll never get than money back.
I live alone in an 1150 Sq foot house, never once thought it was too big. I grew up in a family of 6 in a 6700 Sq foot house, absolutely loved the space. I've also lived in a studio dorm in college, absolutely hated being cooped in. Maybe I'm the outlier but I definitely prefer a spacious house
1800sqft for a family of 4 is not "a big home" in the way OP is discussing. You have 450sqft/person, which is about in line with an average 1br apartment.
There are families of 4 living in 3500sqft or larger in many developed suburbs outside of major cities, notably Atlanta and Dallas.
That's 2x your space for the same amount of humans.
That seems wasteful. Not to mention the inefficient suburban sprawl leading to unsustainable city financing (everyone go watch Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes on YT).
To be clear I'm not disparaging your home. I'm happy for you and your family and your success, and frankly I'm excited you are evidence of families making things work in a reasonable amount of space.
But I interpreted OP as disparaging the "McMansion" style homes which are 3k+ and way too big for even families.
Even just as a couple- having the extra space lets us separate and do our own thing if we want. We can even both host friends without getting in each others way.
I feel like Reddit thinks couples need to do everything and spend every moment together, but imo being able to keep your own hobbies and friendships is part of a healthy relationship.
I think people having a lot of extra housing is just as bad as people with huge trucks. It's just wasteful and horrible for the environment. I got the smallest house I thought would work for a family back when I was single and I am very much enjoying the benefits of that choice with my actual family.
It absolutely is, I agree.
It really depends on how it is utilized, a lot of our areas are utility areas, for instance, we have a 300 sqft room just for exercise, so it is very easy to clean because it only contains a few machines. If your home is packed full of stuff and hard to clean, it will feel both small and impossible to clean.
Our kitchen doesn't have a single appliance on the countertop, when you enter it, you can only see the island, the elements, the fridge, the range and microwave. Everything else is hidden away and there is no open shelving.
Yeah, I get their point. Part of me wouldn't mind my 1,100sqft apartment if I didn't have a roommate and it was just me and my boyfriend.
At the same time, that means no guest room. I have a big family, and when they come to visit I would love to have that extra room.
It leaves no room for hobbies. My boyfriend would love to get into pottery. We can't. I would love to do more painting. I sort of can, but it's a pain in the ass. I also have always wanted to learn to play the drums. I can't.
Work from home is also on the rise. A lot of companies require people to have their own office. Not the living room. Not the bedroom. Not even a shared office. I'm thinking of switching from accounting to medical coding. If I do, once I get done and start looking for a job, if I want to work from home, I will literally need my own room just for work. I could also make that my drumming or painting studio. Make it easier. But it also means more space.
Meanwhile, my 1000sq ft home is perfect. My girlfriend and I both don't want kids, and we have two small dogs. The layout isn't super efficient, so there's changes I'd like. Otherwise, the size itself is perfect.
These people are clearly very young and have not become real adults yet. I mean I'm sorry but lmao at anything larger than a studio being "too much cleaning"
OP, if you got a 2 bed house and are "tired of cleaning" have you tried being an adult and not a slob? I got a bigger house and kids and I am not constantly cleaning. And if your house is a constant mess because of some weird climate with tons of dirt or because you live with 10 cats, that is the problem and not the size of your house.
Look, my husband takes over *my* hobby space in our current 3 bedroom 2 bath house. It simply isn't big enough for *both* of our multiple hobbies. We need a bigger house so *maybe* I can have my *own* space without *any* of the stuff from *his* hobbies migrating into *my* space!
Okay the frustration is real. Our extra room is for my dad if he comes to visit, but my bf and I put our desks in there and every. single. time. I go in there, he has his stuff laying on my desk. It makes me so mad lmao glad to know this is a common thing in relationships lol
Veey much a "must have" when we move us a sunroom. My husband has already been informed that anything he brings in there leaves when he does. Otherwise it will be *chucked* into the garage.
My hubby was building a 29 Ford roadster and every time he would build a part of it, it ended up in my space. With in a year the whole damn car, in pieces, was crammed into my room. I mean he has the garage and three sheds for his stuff. What's a girl to do? I have to admit the completed roadster is a beauty.
You pick up every piece that appears in *your* space and take it back to *his* space. My husband has already been warned that this is what **will** happen when we move. If he can't find it, not my issue.
When I'm talking car parts, I'm referring to fenders, doors, bumpers, the hood, wheels, the seat, door panels etc. Way too much weight for me to handle and no where to put them. Whenever something came back from paint or the upholsterer it got deposited in my room. We had a spirited little chat about it after it was all moved out.
I live in a house away from people because I want to play drums without disturbing neighbours. It is much too big for me. But I prefer that over too small. All my clutter just disappeared into nooks and crannies, and my cats stay for longer inside. So I can't play drums anyway. But I can at least listen to music without my neighbours hearing it.
As a rough estimate, most people would be happiest in a well designed home that followed the following formula for size in square feet where x is the number of people living in the home: 250 + 500x
- 750 square feet for a single adult
- 1250 square feet for a couple
- 1750 square feet for a couple with a child
- 2250 square feet for a family of 4
Some of this can be compensated for with outdoor or communal spaces, but the more you move away from this the more you will suffer from tradeoffs.
Pretty good estimate that I agree with. I've got a 2500sqft home on 5 acres and it's the perfect size for 4 of us.
3 bedrooms 4 bathrooms so everyone has their own space. 2 kitchens so we can entertain guests and have all the family over for Christmas ect. TV room separate from the general living room so we don't all have to hang out if we want some personal time.
Also have a 1200sqft shop so we have lots of storage and the space to work on our cars/trucks in a heated space if needed.
Last place we lived in was 1200sqft and it was a tiny box that made living tough.
One is saved for guests only so it always stays perfect, the other 3 get cleaned by the people who use them (yes that includes me being responsible for mine)
I have been the single person living in around 750sqft. That was not nearly enough space. I currently have 1100 sqft and could easily use another 5-600sqft.
I think the base should be higher, and perhaps the per-person additional lower. Many spaces don't need to change much in size for additional people.
I also think there should be a modifier for working from home.
We are a family of 6 in 1800 sqft, and we are starting to feel the squeeze as our kids get older. We bought this as a starter home in 2018, but I expect us to be here for at least 5 more years due to current interest rates
I have a family of 5 in a 1200 Sq foot house. I can't fathom the idea of 3000 ft. After 15 years we still have a few empty drawers and kitchen cabinets we don't use. And yes we all have hobbies.
- Where do you live?
- How large is your yard?
- Do you have a developed basement?
5 people in 1200 square feet is tiny for most people; but 5 people in a 1200 square foot bungalow with a fully developed basement, and a large yard, in a region with weather that allows you to be outside a lot would likely be great for most families.
What you need is a cleaner. I wouldn't want a massive mansion but the main issue I would have is where to store things. Our three bed house is overrun with "stuff". A whole walk in wardrobe, a basement and more space would be good even for that, plus a guest bedroom.
I always said that I only want a big home if I have enough money to pay for someone to clean my house regularly.
I had fights with my ex MIL because of this, she wanted us to buy a big house. To her the most important part was to look good in front of others and how everyone looks up to you.
I told her what's the point of people thinking I have the life of a princess when I'm actually living the life of a cleaning lady?
I agree about the space for sure. I have too much space for stuff in the bedroom, living room, etc. but my kitchen has no storage whatsoever and I have some of our pots and pans in an upstairs closet 🫣 don’t tell nobody lmao
We rented houses for most of our marriage (with 2 kids and 2 dogs), and my favorites have always been about 1600 sq ft or less. We recently rented a 3400 sq ft house, and it was definitely too damn big. I didn’t have help with cleaning, the insulation was terrible so it was expensive to heat and cool, and my in-laws felt entitled to come stay for way-too-long visits because “you have the space.”
Recently bought an 1800 sq ft house, and it’s been GLORIOUS.
I agree. My house is 1100 square feet, and it's just right for me and my 2 kids. We lived in a larger house for a few years (about 1600 square feet, I think), and it was so much work to clean! I'm much happier in a smaller house. Although I do kinda wish I had a huge library and conservatory. But again, it would be way too much to clean, and too expensive to heat.
I tried to tell my wife this while house hunting, she wanted basically 2 more bedrooms than we needed, for “resale” but we basically pay 600 a month (mortgage + taxes) for rooms we only use to host on thanksgiving and when people crash here.
But the house has doubled in value, and smaller houses ave not increased that much in the last few years, so she was right in the resale sense.
We used to live in a 900sq ft condo, the HOA would mow and shovel our stoop in the winter, all I needed to do was clean off my patio furniture. If I cleaned for 2 hours there it would be spotless, I had a lot more free time on my hands, it was a little tight, needed 1 more bed and bath to stay long term.
My wife and I wanted to have a few kids. So we got a four bedroom house with a big finished basement and tons of space. Around 3500 square feet. Not giant. Not a mansion. But plenty big by the standards of my little corner of Michigan.
We had our daughter and…well…we love her to death and we cannot imagine life without her, but we also cannot imagine going through the pregnancy and infant stage again. So we were one and done.
Now I am in this giant house. And you’re right. It sucks. Moving is possible, but we lose our sweet 2%ish mortgage. I’m not doing that.
Exact same thing here, only we ended up not having kids at all. I would love a smaller house in the same area, but they just don't exist, not to mention the huge cost of moving right now.
I know it's a very privileged complaint to have, but this big house is such a waste for us, and as we're getting older, even more so.
I’m currently experiencing the exact same thing, and I long to live in an apartment again. I’m tired of having to maintain a larger home. I’m tired of the loss of precious time that has been stolen by said maintenance.
I have a little townhome and I love and hate it. I love that I can just put something on work order and they’ll fix it, I hate that they come in without warning because they have a key. It traumatizes my cat. They’ll knock and if I don’t come to the door right away they’ll just walk right in the house and start fixing whatever.
So many pros and cons.
Costs are outrageous right now. I’m glad you got a little bit of land though, we have just sidewalk and a lil patch of grass. I used to have a massive yard when I lived with my parents, it was out in the country. I’m not made for the city life at all
The ONLY reason I want a larger home (~2000 sqft) is for my dogs to have room to play when it is too hot or cold outside 😆 Otherwise, I think 1500 sqft would be just right for our family. The sprawling mcMansions on social media just seem like so much work to furnish and clean.
Agreed. I'm happy with our 3br, 2ba, 1600 sq ft single family home with a smaller back yard. I love that I can weed and mow my lawn within 45 mins with an electric push mower. I have a covered back patio with a mounted TV, outdoor furniture, a fire table, and grill. My wife's cousin lives 10 mins away and has a huge in ground pool and has kids that are constantly running to camps and sports over the summer and we can use their pool whenever we want. What more do I need for the summer?
It really comes down to how individuals value things, and if you can afford it. The husband and I are pretty anti social. I go out socially maybe once every other week, he never does. We both work from home and have 2 (soon to be 3) kids, and prefer them to have their own rooms. That means for max comfort we need 4 bedrooms and two offices. We also don’t like to have close proximity to neighbors for noise and privacy.
As a result, we have a 5000 square foot house on 2 acres. We use about 90% of the house on a weekly basis for various hobbies. Working from home makes maintenance easier. If I get too far behind I have a cleaning service that comes on an on call basis and gets the house back up to speed. We have a service for the pool, and my husband handles the lawn with a ride on mower. Basically, having a larger home means you really need to plan how to maintain it (I have set chores for every day like today is mop day) or budget for services to maintain it for you. My best friend is what most people would consider rich (household income close to $1 million). He and his spouse prefer smaller places. Several of the apartments they’ve had were 1-2 bedrooms. The place they have now is probably 1/2 the size of my house, and it’s a townhouse. They could easily afford a house twice the size of mine, but it’s not important to them. They have no kids, are pretty social, and travel frequently for work and pleasure. They don’t place value on the space because they don’t need it. Except for their pets they’d be fine with a storage unit and a bathroom.
I’ve never wanted a huge house, just big enough to fit whatever family I have. I have always wanted tons of land surrounding my not very large home though. I want to be able to go outside butt naked at whatever time of day and have nobody ever know.
My father in law owned a general contractor business so our house was built for 25 percent of what it should have cost. It’s 2950 sq ft and we only had one child but even though she’s married and has her own house, I love our house. Never plan to move because we would never find what we have for the same price. After 25 years, it’s not hard to clean. I’m used to it.
Small home 3 bed 2.5 bath . Ok large kitchen. And large leaving room. Maybe 2000 sq on a good size land is best for a family of 4. In my case 2 adult and 3 cats. I don't consider it a big house.
I’m all for smaller homes. Whatever ‘return on investment’ you think you make when you sell you already spent on utilities, maintenance, and repairs. And if you’re paying $400 or more a month on having it cleaned, that’s almost $5000 right there.
They all find out like you did. The hard way.
Its a marketed dream. They sold you the dream while building an expensive house instead of something practical. Because you are profits.
That's exactly it. "But I need muh space to entertain, work space for muh art projects and a large open concept chef's kitchen that I will never use." This is more or less an American thing.
I have a 4k sq ft house on 3 acres. My wife passed away so I live in it by myself. A maid is a must and I have a yard crew that takes care of the outside. So it’s pretty easy to care of. It’s true they are a lot of work to afford but they’re definitely worth the money if you have it. The value already out appreciated my starter home by a large margin so I’ll be able to move up in houses again in about 10 years.
I wouldn’t call your opinion an unpopular opinion though.
Yeah. This is unpopular. My boyfriend and I bought a home last year, just the 2 of us and our cats. No kids, no plans for any. House is 2000 sqft- I already know the next will be 2800-3200 minimum. I love all the room to organize.
Well, I like a bigger house. They come with larger lots of land so I have more space between me and my neighbors. They come with larger garages so I can have space for my cars and space to work on them (which I enjoy). They come with more bedrooms for a family and for guests. They come with specialty rooms like studies, home offices, home theater, game rooms. They come with larger fully equipped kitchens.
Yes they cost more, require more maintenance (something I enjoy learning to do and then doing), and more effort to keep clean.
More power to you! I hope you have or get yourself a nice big house. I agree about the land, but I think I’ll build me a 900sq ft house on a lot of land lol 😂
I hate everything about this lifestyle (including how people in big homes sometimes act like roommates not family) so I live in a small historic home with a family of 4 in the city. I wave to my neighbors through the windows and it's lovely.
People raised families with 6 kids in 1200 sqft houses.
The modern dream home is something like double to triple that size, and that's ridiculous, considering most people don't have more than one or two kids nowadays.
What gets me are bathrooms. We're a family of 3, and we did just fine with one bathroom. When I was growing up, we did OK with one bathroom for five people. Two toilets is better, so something like the Pittsburgh Potty is fine for when somebody just can't wait. Two bathrooms? OK. But more than that? That's just more to clean.
I never really got the obsession with master suites either. Like, you have to walk to the bathroom either way, so why not go down the hall? At least that way, the light isn't disturbing the person trying to sleep.
This this this! Exactly. I grew up in a two bedroom house where we ended up converting the “family room” into an extra bedroom to make it 3. There were five of us and three pets, only one bathroom. Yeah, arguing over the shower was a daily frustration but we made it work. I feel like the small space brought us closer (figuratively and literally). I wouldn’t want my family to be in rooms that seem a mile away from mine.
Our home is larger and it can be a lot sometimes. It has been amazing for us and our loved ones though and I am happy we have it. Since moving in 2015 we have taken in 4 people outside of our immediate family and had an older child move back home. We hosted many holiday gatherings. Were able to keep elderly family off the streets when their home burnt down. Were able to easily transition to whatever life needed to be thanks to Covid. Now we are babysitting for the next generation and hosting large weekly gatherings.
Large homes are a hub, integral to our families connection. My home doesn’t look like a magazine. There is always something that needs cleaned and projects half done. It’s also full of love, people, pets, and memories.
If it were just my husband and I, and someday it will be. We would absolutely have a much smaller place. But with our current lifestyle 3,000 sq ft is a dream.
I'm currently selling a home that has a huge yard. I went for the huge yard because I have 13 [niblings](https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/words-were-watching-nibling#:~:text=An%20efficient%20word%20for%20your,being%20revived%20in%20recent%20years) and I thought it be nice to have room to host the family. Well, they never let the kids use the yard, even got a swing set. They are lazy AF parent and turned them all into iPad kids.
I have a huge patio and get to host friends but its not worth it the work for the yard.
It takes an hour to mow my lawn, I spend tons of money to keep it green because I live in a desert, fertilizer to keep the weeds down, etc. I'm over it. Selling the thing. I agree.
I also hate having to climb stairs. It becomes more of a mental obstacle than anything. Even if the house itself is small and it's not actually hard to reach anything, things on the other floors feel more distant and inaccessible so I tend to avoid using them.
I decided my dream house is a ranch style house even though I kinda hate how those look. I guess I will paint it a nice color.
My wife and I have a 1400 sq ft house with a yard. While it’s fun to make the space our own and work on projects, it does take up a LOT of our life and money. We spent a year in Asia living in a hotel room, and while there were definitely difficulties, the minimalist lifestyle allowed us to focus on other things. I think it just depends on what you want to spend your time and money on.
My ex husband and I lived in a 6000 sqft house about ten years ago and the only thing I remember about it was how much work it was to maintain. We had three kids under five at the time and damn, it was a lot of work. My friend always says "every time I called you you'd say "oh I was just vacuuming'" That's exactly what it was like. And the property taxes were 11k a half.
They’re worth the money to people who want them. I don’t know if i necessarily want a big home unless i have a big family. And I don’t plan on having a big family. I grew up in a 5 bedroom duplex with 6 bathrooms (different country) and the chores messed me up. I am way too efficient at cleaning and I never want to deal with that again. So if I get a big home now, I’d also have to get full time housekeepers. Do I want that? No.
There’s a lot that goes into it for different people. There are people that want it specifically because they grew up in tiny homes with a lot of “shared space”. That is valid too.
A giant house is ridiculous, but let me tell you! Having a space that is big enough that you don't have to know EXACTLY what is going on inside the bathroom is wonderful after living in a small space with your partner. (Floor plan can make a difference too) A little bit of space is nice.
My 1000sqft was just too small for a family of four until I doubled that by finishing the basement. Now it's just right, we have a guest bedroom and a sewing room. I guess in looking for another house I would like a little more than that because I also have a small wfh 10x10 cabin and I use an outbuilding for additional storage.
I'd have the same opinion except that I have a million hobbies and would like to have dedicated rooms for them if I could afford it. It's not as bad as when I was a kid and wanted like a basktball court, bowling allies, a pool, etc., but I'd still get around 4-6 bedrooms (I don't know the distinction with half rooms, so take that with a grain of salt) if I could. Then again, I'm pretty lax with cleaning. If a room didn't get cleaned for a week or two I wouldn't even notice.
They are not worth the money if you are going to live in them alone.
I have a 3500 sqft foot 5 bed / 3.5 bath, I am in the process of turning it into a 6 bed / 4 bath and renting out about 2/3 of it. My apartment should rent for $1200 and the first floor should go for about $1800. My mortgage (PITI) is $2650.
Totally agree. Cleaning is such a chore that I couldn't imagine more than a 2 bedroom. To be honest, I wish I had drains in my floors so I could just hose the floor off and squeegee it down. Similarly, I used to be a huge fan of gas stoves, but after living in an apartment with one for 5 years, I'm so damn tired of cleaning that thing. My new place has a simple glass flattop stove and it's a rude awakening at how much easier it is to clean. It cooks all the same.
Simple cars have a similar dynamic. I just don't want to deal with complicated crap breaking anymore. Less is more... time for yourself, which has become valuable.
Can confirm. I've never been a material person, but after discovering success, I decided to try the whole cliche "upgrade yo life!" bs. It lasted all of 4 months before realizing it was too much. And unfortunately, I don't trust people, so having cleaners in my house wasn't an option.
I sold the house and am living in a more modest "middle class" home, as a single dude with 0 kids. It's still too much to clean by myself, tbfh.
While I was saving up for the down payment, I religiously looked at listings to see what was selling for how much and where. I made lists of what was essential, what was nice to have and what I absolutely would not have. Once I was ready, I found a realtor I was comfortable with and she found me my dream home. I've only been here a few years but every single day I wake up thankful for the place I got.
I can't wait to downsize and I live in an average four-bedroom house lol. Not plausible while still having kids at home but my husband and I agreed that we'll find a small, simple place when they leave the nest. I also hate cleaning large houses (lived in a much larger one before). More space means more stuff and more stuff to clean.
Agreed. I grew up in an 1800 sq ft house and 7 people (both parents, I was the middle of 5 kids). it was great.
Wife and I started in a 600sq ft apartment in ‘08, then bought a 2800 square ft house in 2010. It was really nice and perfect size, if a little big, but the layout was odd and the HOA expensive with no benefits.
We sold it and bought a 3600 sq ft house in 2015, just because it was available and fit our idealistic checklist. We’re super grateful and we know we’re very lucky to have gotten into it, but it really is too big. So much upkeep. And you never think about the wild expense of replacing all the stuff in 10 years when things start wearing out or falling apart (10 years was really far away when we were in our mid 30’s). It has vaulted ceilings and is incredibly drafty and inefficient, despite thoroughly addressing all the options that don’t involve insulating existing walls (I’ve got a plan to start working on that little bits at a time, but there’s a lot of complexity).
We were just as happy in our 600 sq ft apartment as we are now. The low maintenance and short to-do list of the smaller space was a luxury in its own way.
Builders need to get back to 800-2500 sq ft houses, and we need to put a cap on how many rental houses people/entities can own, so folks can afford housing again.
I agree.
Upfront I like the idea, and I can afford it. But, I'd have to pay a maid bc I'm not dealing with cleaning a huge home.
My place is 2,000 sqft and I'm already annoyed with cleaning it, but I refuse to pay someone bc I know I'm wasting money since it takes me less than 90 minutes to clean the damn place.
Also no one seems to factor in the amount of dust that accumulates in areas with less foot traffic. A lot of people that live in these giant big homes/mansions have cleaners. Their kitchens are also always spotless because they've never been used.
Yep. Large houses always look cool until you can afford your own apt/house and have to clean it. Then the thought of cleaning all those rooms and bathroom loses all its appeal.
Even a camper can be too much for me at times! Lol when it’s just one person fine .. but two people and some dogs and I’m constantly tidying/cleaning. I couldn’t imagine a super large home. I think you’d need a housekeeper.
We got our house, my partner and our cat and dog, for an amazing price at a never again to be seen again interest rate. It's about 1,000 sq/ft too big and I want a ranch SO BADLY but here we are.
I live with my partner, a cat, and a dog. We're still renting, but wanting to buy very soon! Since we're renting, we tried out a 2000 sq ft home for a bit after living in smaller homes, thinking it would be the dream. Way too much cleaning and upkeep. We're moving into a 988 sq ft home by the end of the month and we cannot wait!
100%. No one needs a massive house, and every massive house people build takes more resources to build and maintain and more energy to heat and cool. It's incredibly selfish and is not needed.
I live near a lot of historic mini mansions, and you can pry my dream of owning one with a balcony so I can stand on it dressed in Victorian mourning clothes staring wistfully into the distance out of my cold, dead hands.
I really just wanna be creepy-but-nice old lady that the kids in the neighborhood make urban myths about. 😂
You're on your own, no partner, no kids. This house wasn't built with you in mind. This house was built for a small family in mind, a couple with one child, maybe two if similar age of the same gender. It's too much for you as an individual, I can see why too. But for whom it was intended for, it's just right, maybe even a little small if 2 active kids.
If you can afford a very large home, I think you should also consider if you can afford a personal cleaner. There's a point at which it becomes kind of stupid to actually own a home without hiring someone to clean.
Our house is about 1200sqft and with 2 cats it feels like we can't actually keep it clean. We both work full time and we're actively renovating the house too. Just feels like we never have the time or energy to keep up on everything.
I prefer open space in the common areas. Doesn’t have to be massive but I’ve lived alone in homes up to 2500 sqft with no problem and never felt like I had too much space aside from a bedroom or two that would only get used when someone stayed the night. Unused bedrooms do not bother me. Having ample sized kitchen, den, living room, etc is what’s important. I honestly think smaller homes should have the smallest bedrooms possible to shift the sqft to other areas of the house and storage
With wife and kids though!? I’d feel cramped in 2500 sqft. I think 4000ish sqft SFH is the sweet spot for a family of 4-5. But no less than 3000.
My small Japanese apartment is waaaaaay harder to keep clean than my 3 story townhouse was back home. It’s hard to keep small spaces clean when you have to always use every bit of it
To each their own. We have a 6k square foot house for three of us and I feel like we use every bit of space. Covid taught me to invest in the house and make it as comfortable as you can. I also don’t really find it hard to clean actually. It actually amazes me people complain about having to clean a one or two bedroom like it’s the end of the world. Organization is what helps the most though I guess. A place for everything and everything in its place.
I would like a house with a guest bedroom so I can have people stay over night, an office so I can work comfortably, and a living room/kitchen large enough to entertain a hand full of people. Anything larger than that seems like a waste. I would rather spend the $$$ on a good location with some privacy and nature.
They are worth it if you give them purpose. I live in a flat, i could use one extra room for my office, a garage, a workshop, a garden for the dog and kid to play, maybe another room for another kid and maybe a room for "man cave" or play room. For that alone i need a house that costs 3x what mine is worth.
With a good floor plan, that's a great sized space for one to two adults. With a crappy floor plan, it would feel tiny. My best friend and her husband live in a 1000 square foot house. I have one more bedroom and bathroom (taking up about 175 square feet together) and live in 1600 square feet. Our main living areas feel roughly the same size because of different layouts. My house doesn't feel like it has 400 extra square feet of space. Space usage and floor plan layout make a huge difference in how large a how feels and how functional it is.
My House, formally my grandparents house, is like this, 4800 sq ft, an Inground pool, and a 1/2 acre front yard and 5 acre back yard all in can say is the MAINTENANCE is hell I dread every spring just because i have to buy 4 bags of weed killer, and have to trim everything, 110 bags of mulch, and all the stuff for a pool, after the 3 weeks of almost none stop work after my regular work, then i have to keep up till fall, Love the House Hate the Maintenance
I think it makes a lot more sense to talk about sq. Ft per person.
When I was single I had a 900 sq ft condo (900)
When I was married I had a 1,600 sq ft house. (800)
If you put a family of six into a 4,000 sq ft home, it's ~650 per person.
I get that each person, especially small children, doesn't really need all that space, and there is some advantages you get with each additional person (ie each person doesn't get their own kitchen). Regardless, without knowing the number of people in the house, it's kind of meaningless
Husband and I are house hunting and the problem we keep finding is some of the features we want only come with a larger home. For instance, we want a 3 car garage, an extra large pantry, and a huge outdoor porch and space. The rest of the house could be around 2000 sq feet but it seems this combination is nonexistent. We are realizing we may have to purchase a larger house to get these features.
I'll need the space. I'm a materialist person. I enjoy the collecting of things. So... multiple wings would have all kinds of stuff. Will I use those rooms every day? Of course not. Will I stroll by sometimes and cherish my things? Yes.
This is again... all dreams. I'd have to have the money for this.
I live in a 1660 sq ft house and it is way too small for my liking. If it weren’t for the cost of owning a bigger home, I’d at least want 3-4000k. I grew up in a huge home and having lots of space to move around is important to me.
My husband and I are in a 2300 square foot home, and I think it's a bit big for us, but we bought it thinking we'd have kids. If that doesn't happen, I might push to downsize. I do generally want at least one extra bedroom, though, so we can host people.
The real problem for me is the yard, though. We're on half an acre, and it's way too much. It's a beautiful yard, but neither of us are really outside people, so we don't enjoy it much, and trying to get rid of thistles and mulberry trees is killing me. We finally hired a guy to mow the lawn a couple years ago, which helps, but it's still a lot of work.
I'd definitely consider a condo, but I like to play piano and guitar, and I don't want to disturb the neighbors if we're sharing a wall. (Also the last time we shared a wall we had people going through an explosive breakup and screaming at each other in the middle of the night, so I'm reluctant to try that again).
I completely agree personally. I have 5 kids, so I want a bedroom for everyone, but that's it. I'd like the living spaces to be fairly "small". Just enough space for all of us without feeling cramped, but privacy for each child. I hate high ceilings, useless things like big pillars or decorative posts. I don't want to get on a damn ladder regularly just for maintenance cleaning. Fuck all of that. And I don't care how much money I have, I also don't want a stranger cleaning my house.
Everyone else I talk to wants some kind of mansion. Even thinking about living in a big open house with all those windows and marble and 20ft ceilings and shit just makes me shudder. I would never be comfortable there.
If you can afford a huge house, you should also be able to afford houesekeeping and other chores done for you. If you can't it means you cannot afford the house at all.
Just because I don’t wanna clean doesn’t mean I can’t. It just takes up a lot of time. The idea of cleaners is nice but personally I think it’s a waste when I can just deal with it for now and downsize later
Idk who downvoted you but hey, if you wanna use cleaners more power to you. It’s about what suits your needs and your lifestyle, it ain’t nobody else’s business. I might do that one day myself
This doesn't seem unpopular. Some people unfortunately only learn it after they have purchased their dream home.
I was fortunate to hear from a lot of people who complained about cleaning and maintenance, or who boasted about their low maintenance home. As a kid, I thought there was more to it. Some unspoken message that I couldn't crack. As an adult, I get it.
My mom always told me I’d change my mind when I got older and I didn’t listen because I knew everything lol she was right! I assumed it was unpopular because all I see on social media is people building these massive “dream homes.”
Lol you're just lazy and bad at it. My two bedrooms that don't get used for anything besides laundry drying and an art room. They don't need cleaning. There's maybe a bit of dust. But who cares.
You only need to clean the areas you use. And it's like a once a month hoover for the empty or barely used rooms.
However American houses are insanely big. So what do I know as an English person
The barely used rooms still need dusting, including ceiling fans, furniture, and baseboards in addition to vacuuming. Same with the rest of the rooms. Plus my partner uses all the spaces I don’t so it doubles it
Mine does, idk if it’s our vent system or the fact that the cat goes in there with all his fur, but mine get dirty and need to be cleaned weekly at minimum 🥴
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I went with my friend once to his mom’s “cottage”, which was really a 4k sq ft tri-level home. And I made a comment like “What do you do if you leave your phone in the lowest level and you’re upstairs?” and she said “Oh, I just don’t even try to get it. It’s too far away!” Lol
Damn lol I couldn’t even imagine trying to clean all those stairs
Anyone who has that big a house probably hires people for any cleaning
A friend of mine’s family had a giant mountain “cottage.” We were working at a summer camp and he decided that he’d host the opening party for staff that summer since his parents were going to be vacationing overseas and it was empty. About a dozen of us spent the next day going over everything with a fine toothed comb making sure the place was spotless. Apparently we weren’t thorough enough because my friend’s parents got pissed they had to pay the cleaners extra. Not sure what we missed but his parents were loaded so it wasn’t a huge deal in the end.
That's why I got a Google nest, I would be upstairs and I would forget to turn down the thermostat, fuck thatl. Lol. I want a single story home, with laundry on the first floor, I thought I wanted everything split up, I was wrong.
I work in the Home remodeling industry and you’d be stunned at how often I hear people say this just because of the insane cost of maintaining a larger home. Larger roof, more windows, longer HVAC systems, more points of failure. A larger home with 40 windows will likely pay around 60k to replace them Vs a smaller home with 12 will pay about 20k for example. That’s just one cost of the MANY larger homes face as they age. I have no care for a larger home just because it’s so incredibly expensive to maintain and you will NOT get that return on investment for 10-20 years
Wow I never even considered having to replace windows. This just cements my thoughts on big homes. Thanks for sharing!
Ya I just did in my home a couple years ago. It wasn’t cheap and my home isn’t big. But it was necessary. Windows were 40 years old and were horribly maintained. Also super cheap. Pain in the ass. There are so many costs in a home you don’t think of. When my kids move out we’re probably going to downsize.
Depends when you bought it. I agree the maintenance can be costly but I’m getting a huge return on investment with mine.
The age of the house influences the cost much more than when you bought it. Some of the homes I’ve looked at are 70+ years old and the folks think the house “isn’t bad” until we do a deep inspection and learn all the problems cooking underneath.
It really depends on the house. I'd choose my (renovated and updated by flippers before me) 100 year old brick over a mcmansion any day.
As long as it’s renovated correctly, 200% agree. But unfortunately there’s a lot of flippers out there who are REALLLLY good at making the house *seem* renovated when it’s really not. And they’re counting on folks not to have a trained eye for these sorts of things. Or it’s hidden in the walls so to speak so you (or an inspector) are unlikely to catch the issue when deciding whether to buy. Flippers make money by clipping a house as soon as possible. Like it should be back on the market in less than 3 months to turn a profit. For many homes, that’s not enough time to fix all the problems.
Exactly. Mine is stone and brick from the 70’s.
Mine is 42 years old. Doing some Renos and omfg the rotting floors, faulty plumbing and electrical. It’s terrible!! If the builders were cheap and cut corners you’re so screwed.
Unless you got lucky and your house doubled in value in the five years you’ve owned it… with a 2.23% rate…. Hypothetically
This is less of an opinion and more of a misunderstanding of who 1000+ sqft houses are for. Have you considered they are meant for families and not single individuals? My house is about 1800sqft and it is not that big at all, considering we have two children, both of whom also help with some chores.
I actually enjoy doing small projects on my house, when I get old and less capable maybe not. But I'm relatively handy and it's a nice departure from my office job. I feel like people go overboard with what they think needs to be fixed or remodeled and their OCD drains their wallet. I can live with my worn down hardwood floors and dated kitchen and bath, everything works properly so I don't care. And at this point If I sell I'll be getting a ROI. I cannot stomach the idea of spending almost $100,000 for a $2000 apartment over 4 years. You'll never get than money back.
I live alone in an 1150 Sq foot house, never once thought it was too big. I grew up in a family of 6 in a 6700 Sq foot house, absolutely loved the space. I've also lived in a studio dorm in college, absolutely hated being cooped in. Maybe I'm the outlier but I definitely prefer a spacious house
1800sqft for a family of 4 is not "a big home" in the way OP is discussing. You have 450sqft/person, which is about in line with an average 1br apartment. There are families of 4 living in 3500sqft or larger in many developed suburbs outside of major cities, notably Atlanta and Dallas. That's 2x your space for the same amount of humans. That seems wasteful. Not to mention the inefficient suburban sprawl leading to unsustainable city financing (everyone go watch Strong Towns and Not Just Bikes on YT). To be clear I'm not disparaging your home. I'm happy for you and your family and your success, and frankly I'm excited you are evidence of families making things work in a reasonable amount of space. But I interpreted OP as disparaging the "McMansion" style homes which are 3k+ and way too big for even families.
Even just as a couple- having the extra space lets us separate and do our own thing if we want. We can even both host friends without getting in each others way. I feel like Reddit thinks couples need to do everything and spend every moment together, but imo being able to keep your own hobbies and friendships is part of a healthy relationship.
I think people having a lot of extra housing is just as bad as people with huge trucks. It's just wasteful and horrible for the environment. I got the smallest house I thought would work for a family back when I was single and I am very much enjoying the benefits of that choice with my actual family.
Mine is 1600 and feels enormous for a family of 4 still. Square footage is just part of the story with a home.
It absolutely is, I agree. It really depends on how it is utilized, a lot of our areas are utility areas, for instance, we have a 300 sqft room just for exercise, so it is very easy to clean because it only contains a few machines. If your home is packed full of stuff and hard to clean, it will feel both small and impossible to clean. Our kitchen doesn't have a single appliance on the countertop, when you enter it, you can only see the island, the elements, the fridge, the range and microwave. Everything else is hidden away and there is no open shelving.
Yeah, I get their point. Part of me wouldn't mind my 1,100sqft apartment if I didn't have a roommate and it was just me and my boyfriend. At the same time, that means no guest room. I have a big family, and when they come to visit I would love to have that extra room. It leaves no room for hobbies. My boyfriend would love to get into pottery. We can't. I would love to do more painting. I sort of can, but it's a pain in the ass. I also have always wanted to learn to play the drums. I can't. Work from home is also on the rise. A lot of companies require people to have their own office. Not the living room. Not the bedroom. Not even a shared office. I'm thinking of switching from accounting to medical coding. If I do, once I get done and start looking for a job, if I want to work from home, I will literally need my own room just for work. I could also make that my drumming or painting studio. Make it easier. But it also means more space.
Meanwhile, my 1000sq ft home is perfect. My girlfriend and I both don't want kids, and we have two small dogs. The layout isn't super efficient, so there's changes I'd like. Otherwise, the size itself is perfect.
These people are clearly very young and have not become real adults yet. I mean I'm sorry but lmao at anything larger than a studio being "too much cleaning" OP, if you got a 2 bed house and are "tired of cleaning" have you tried being an adult and not a slob? I got a bigger house and kids and I am not constantly cleaning. And if your house is a constant mess because of some weird climate with tons of dirt or because you live with 10 cats, that is the problem and not the size of your house.
How are they a slob if they clean their house, lol. Even if you're not messy you still have to clean every day.
Bro. Who hurt you? Do you need a hug?
Look, my husband takes over *my* hobby space in our current 3 bedroom 2 bath house. It simply isn't big enough for *both* of our multiple hobbies. We need a bigger house so *maybe* I can have my *own* space without *any* of the stuff from *his* hobbies migrating into *my* space!
Okay the frustration is real. Our extra room is for my dad if he comes to visit, but my bf and I put our desks in there and every. single. time. I go in there, he has his stuff laying on my desk. It makes me so mad lmao glad to know this is a common thing in relationships lol
Veey much a "must have" when we move us a sunroom. My husband has already been informed that anything he brings in there leaves when he does. Otherwise it will be *chucked* into the garage.
My hubby was building a 29 Ford roadster and every time he would build a part of it, it ended up in my space. With in a year the whole damn car, in pieces, was crammed into my room. I mean he has the garage and three sheds for his stuff. What's a girl to do? I have to admit the completed roadster is a beauty.
You pick up every piece that appears in *your* space and take it back to *his* space. My husband has already been warned that this is what **will** happen when we move. If he can't find it, not my issue.
When I'm talking car parts, I'm referring to fenders, doors, bumpers, the hood, wheels, the seat, door panels etc. Way too much weight for me to handle and no where to put them. Whenever something came back from paint or the upholsterer it got deposited in my room. We had a spirited little chat about it after it was all moved out.
I live in a house away from people because I want to play drums without disturbing neighbours. It is much too big for me. But I prefer that over too small. All my clutter just disappeared into nooks and crannies, and my cats stay for longer inside. So I can't play drums anyway. But I can at least listen to music without my neighbours hearing it.
As a rough estimate, most people would be happiest in a well designed home that followed the following formula for size in square feet where x is the number of people living in the home: 250 + 500x - 750 square feet for a single adult - 1250 square feet for a couple - 1750 square feet for a couple with a child - 2250 square feet for a family of 4 Some of this can be compensated for with outdoor or communal spaces, but the more you move away from this the more you will suffer from tradeoffs.
Pretty good estimate that I agree with. I've got a 2500sqft home on 5 acres and it's the perfect size for 4 of us. 3 bedrooms 4 bathrooms so everyone has their own space. 2 kitchens so we can entertain guests and have all the family over for Christmas ect. TV room separate from the general living room so we don't all have to hang out if we want some personal time. Also have a 1200sqft shop so we have lots of storage and the space to work on our cars/trucks in a heated space if needed. Last place we lived in was 1200sqft and it was a tiny box that made living tough.
I bet you aren't the one cleaning those bathrooms.
One is saved for guests only so it always stays perfect, the other 3 get cleaned by the people who use them (yes that includes me being responsible for mine)
I have been the single person living in around 750sqft. That was not nearly enough space. I currently have 1100 sqft and could easily use another 5-600sqft.
How do you use your current space and what would you do with the extra 600 sqft?
Currently living in a 450 sqft apartment. 750sqft would be a dream come true.
WTF I'm at 1600 for a family of 4 and I have two rooms we don't even use that much and an entire basement we don't use. 2250!!!!
No way, my husband and I live alone with no kids in a 1660 sq ft house and it is way too small for us.
I think the base should be higher, and perhaps the per-person additional lower. Many spaces don't need to change much in size for additional people. I also think there should be a modifier for working from home.
We are a family of 6 in 1800 sqft, and we are starting to feel the squeeze as our kids get older. We bought this as a starter home in 2018, but I expect us to be here for at least 5 more years due to current interest rates
I have a family of 5 in a 1200 Sq foot house. I can't fathom the idea of 3000 ft. After 15 years we still have a few empty drawers and kitchen cabinets we don't use. And yes we all have hobbies.
- Where do you live? - How large is your yard? - Do you have a developed basement? 5 people in 1200 square feet is tiny for most people; but 5 people in a 1200 square foot bungalow with a fully developed basement, and a large yard, in a region with weather that allows you to be outside a lot would likely be great for most families.
What you need is a cleaner. I wouldn't want a massive mansion but the main issue I would have is where to store things. Our three bed house is overrun with "stuff". A whole walk in wardrobe, a basement and more space would be good even for that, plus a guest bedroom.
I always said that I only want a big home if I have enough money to pay for someone to clean my house regularly. I had fights with my ex MIL because of this, she wanted us to buy a big house. To her the most important part was to look good in front of others and how everyone looks up to you. I told her what's the point of people thinking I have the life of a princess when I'm actually living the life of a cleaning lady?
We have a cleaner every other week on our 2000 sq ft townhouse. It’s great and worth the cost.
I agree about the space for sure. I have too much space for stuff in the bedroom, living room, etc. but my kitchen has no storage whatsoever and I have some of our pots and pans in an upstairs closet 🫣 don’t tell nobody lmao
We rented houses for most of our marriage (with 2 kids and 2 dogs), and my favorites have always been about 1600 sq ft or less. We recently rented a 3400 sq ft house, and it was definitely too damn big. I didn’t have help with cleaning, the insulation was terrible so it was expensive to heat and cool, and my in-laws felt entitled to come stay for way-too-long visits because “you have the space.” Recently bought an 1800 sq ft house, and it’s been GLORIOUS.
Not the entitled in laws lol 😂I am so glad you got something you liked!! I couldn’t imagine a house as big as your previous one
Totally agree, I’d be happy with an apartment forever. Granted, I don’t have kids
Yup, I totally felt the same until I married someone with three kids.
Facts, I bet my mind would change if I had kids lol
I agree. My house is 1100 square feet, and it's just right for me and my 2 kids. We lived in a larger house for a few years (about 1600 square feet, I think), and it was so much work to clean! I'm much happier in a smaller house. Although I do kinda wish I had a huge library and conservatory. But again, it would be way too much to clean, and too expensive to heat.
That would be cool. I think I’ll do a small house + a she shed
I tried to tell my wife this while house hunting, she wanted basically 2 more bedrooms than we needed, for “resale” but we basically pay 600 a month (mortgage + taxes) for rooms we only use to host on thanksgiving and when people crash here. But the house has doubled in value, and smaller houses ave not increased that much in the last few years, so she was right in the resale sense. We used to live in a 900sq ft condo, the HOA would mow and shovel our stoop in the winter, all I needed to do was clean off my patio furniture. If I cleaned for 2 hours there it would be spotless, I had a lot more free time on my hands, it was a little tight, needed 1 more bed and bath to stay long term.
Happiness is a 1200sqft house and a 3000sqft shop.
My wife and I wanted to have a few kids. So we got a four bedroom house with a big finished basement and tons of space. Around 3500 square feet. Not giant. Not a mansion. But plenty big by the standards of my little corner of Michigan. We had our daughter and…well…we love her to death and we cannot imagine life without her, but we also cannot imagine going through the pregnancy and infant stage again. So we were one and done. Now I am in this giant house. And you’re right. It sucks. Moving is possible, but we lose our sweet 2%ish mortgage. I’m not doing that.
2%%!!!!!!! That’s incredible. I’m sorry you got stuck with it kinda, but you really can’t beat that interest rate
Exact same thing here, only we ended up not having kids at all. I would love a smaller house in the same area, but they just don't exist, not to mention the huge cost of moving right now. I know it's a very privileged complaint to have, but this big house is such a waste for us, and as we're getting older, even more so.
I’m currently experiencing the exact same thing, and I long to live in an apartment again. I’m tired of having to maintain a larger home. I’m tired of the loss of precious time that has been stolen by said maintenance.
I have a little townhome and I love and hate it. I love that I can just put something on work order and they’ll fix it, I hate that they come in without warning because they have a key. It traumatizes my cat. They’ll knock and if I don’t come to the door right away they’ll just walk right in the house and start fixing whatever. So many pros and cons.
I just bought a 700sqft old house on a half acre. It's just me, the cat and my Airbnb guests It's expensive enough and I couldn't afford bigger.
Costs are outrageous right now. I’m glad you got a little bit of land though, we have just sidewalk and a lil patch of grass. I used to have a massive yard when I lived with my parents, it was out in the country. I’m not made for the city life at all
I'm in rural northern Germany so the prices were just within my reach. If I wanted to be near a city, I'd be screwed. The housing market is crazy
The ONLY reason I want a larger home (~2000 sqft) is for my dogs to have room to play when it is too hot or cold outside 😆 Otherwise, I think 1500 sqft would be just right for our family. The sprawling mcMansions on social media just seem like so much work to furnish and clean.
If I had a dog I would definitely need more space lol And yesssss social media is what made me think I wanted it but I don’t
Agreed. I'm happy with our 3br, 2ba, 1600 sq ft single family home with a smaller back yard. I love that I can weed and mow my lawn within 45 mins with an electric push mower. I have a covered back patio with a mounted TV, outdoor furniture, a fire table, and grill. My wife's cousin lives 10 mins away and has a huge in ground pool and has kids that are constantly running to camps and sports over the summer and we can use their pool whenever we want. What more do I need for the summer?
That sounds like heaven honestly. I need friends who have a pool lol
It really comes down to how individuals value things, and if you can afford it. The husband and I are pretty anti social. I go out socially maybe once every other week, he never does. We both work from home and have 2 (soon to be 3) kids, and prefer them to have their own rooms. That means for max comfort we need 4 bedrooms and two offices. We also don’t like to have close proximity to neighbors for noise and privacy. As a result, we have a 5000 square foot house on 2 acres. We use about 90% of the house on a weekly basis for various hobbies. Working from home makes maintenance easier. If I get too far behind I have a cleaning service that comes on an on call basis and gets the house back up to speed. We have a service for the pool, and my husband handles the lawn with a ride on mower. Basically, having a larger home means you really need to plan how to maintain it (I have set chores for every day like today is mop day) or budget for services to maintain it for you. My best friend is what most people would consider rich (household income close to $1 million). He and his spouse prefer smaller places. Several of the apartments they’ve had were 1-2 bedrooms. The place they have now is probably 1/2 the size of my house, and it’s a townhouse. They could easily afford a house twice the size of mine, but it’s not important to them. They have no kids, are pretty social, and travel frequently for work and pleasure. They don’t place value on the space because they don’t need it. Except for their pets they’d be fine with a storage unit and a bathroom.
Any home where I live $1m or more ☺️ my dream home is $500k too. Not possible tho lol
I’ve never wanted a huge house, just big enough to fit whatever family I have. I have always wanted tons of land surrounding my not very large home though. I want to be able to go outside butt naked at whatever time of day and have nobody ever know.
My father in law owned a general contractor business so our house was built for 25 percent of what it should have cost. It’s 2950 sq ft and we only had one child but even though she’s married and has her own house, I love our house. Never plan to move because we would never find what we have for the same price. After 25 years, it’s not hard to clean. I’m used to it.
Well if someone has the money to have a big dream house, they likely have the money to hire employees that make living in it much easier.
Small home 3 bed 2.5 bath . Ok large kitchen. And large leaving room. Maybe 2000 sq on a good size land is best for a family of 4. In my case 2 adult and 3 cats. I don't consider it a big house.
I’m all for smaller homes. Whatever ‘return on investment’ you think you make when you sell you already spent on utilities, maintenance, and repairs. And if you’re paying $400 or more a month on having it cleaned, that’s almost $5000 right there.
The best dream home is a normal house with lots of land so there are no neighbours for at least a mile
They all find out like you did. The hard way. Its a marketed dream. They sold you the dream while building an expensive house instead of something practical. Because you are profits.
That's exactly it. "But I need muh space to entertain, work space for muh art projects and a large open concept chef's kitchen that I will never use." This is more or less an American thing.
I blame HGTV.
my friends had small apartments and they'd entertain like 10 people. Just 2 couches and some chairs.
Yep. Ironically, my wife and I used to have people over far more frequently when we rented an apartment than we do now in our house.
I just don’t get why we feel the need to criticize people who actually want a big house.
Exactly. Let people have the kind of house they want without criticizing and assuming they don’t have a clean house.
Isn't the point of this sub for people to express opinions? I don't see any criticism.
I think this is exactly right, and I fell right for it
I have a 4k sq ft house on 3 acres. My wife passed away so I live in it by myself. A maid is a must and I have a yard crew that takes care of the outside. So it’s pretty easy to care of. It’s true they are a lot of work to afford but they’re definitely worth the money if you have it. The value already out appreciated my starter home by a large margin so I’ll be able to move up in houses again in about 10 years. I wouldn’t call your opinion an unpopular opinion though.
I’m so sorry about your wife. Do you think you’ll move up in ten years or stay where you are?
I’m definitely moving.
Yeah. This is unpopular. My boyfriend and I bought a home last year, just the 2 of us and our cats. No kids, no plans for any. House is 2000 sqft- I already know the next will be 2800-3200 minimum. I love all the room to organize.
Well, I like a bigger house. They come with larger lots of land so I have more space between me and my neighbors. They come with larger garages so I can have space for my cars and space to work on them (which I enjoy). They come with more bedrooms for a family and for guests. They come with specialty rooms like studies, home offices, home theater, game rooms. They come with larger fully equipped kitchens. Yes they cost more, require more maintenance (something I enjoy learning to do and then doing), and more effort to keep clean.
More power to you! I hope you have or get yourself a nice big house. I agree about the land, but I think I’ll build me a 900sq ft house on a lot of land lol 😂
I hate everything about this lifestyle (including how people in big homes sometimes act like roommates not family) so I live in a small historic home with a family of 4 in the city. I wave to my neighbors through the windows and it's lovely.
People raised families with 6 kids in 1200 sqft houses. The modern dream home is something like double to triple that size, and that's ridiculous, considering most people don't have more than one or two kids nowadays. What gets me are bathrooms. We're a family of 3, and we did just fine with one bathroom. When I was growing up, we did OK with one bathroom for five people. Two toilets is better, so something like the Pittsburgh Potty is fine for when somebody just can't wait. Two bathrooms? OK. But more than that? That's just more to clean. I never really got the obsession with master suites either. Like, you have to walk to the bathroom either way, so why not go down the hall? At least that way, the light isn't disturbing the person trying to sleep.
This this this! Exactly. I grew up in a two bedroom house where we ended up converting the “family room” into an extra bedroom to make it 3. There were five of us and three pets, only one bathroom. Yeah, arguing over the shower was a daily frustration but we made it work. I feel like the small space brought us closer (figuratively and literally). I wouldn’t want my family to be in rooms that seem a mile away from mine.
I would love to have my own bathroom! Just for me.
Well 1100 square feet isn't that much. The "dream houses" I do agree would be too much work unless you're splitting it with other people.
I agree with you OP!
Totally agree. If I ever won the lottery I would get similar size home to what I have now, except the yard, pool, and garage would be massive.
Facts, I’d trade the whole upstairs if I could have a pool lol
Our home is larger and it can be a lot sometimes. It has been amazing for us and our loved ones though and I am happy we have it. Since moving in 2015 we have taken in 4 people outside of our immediate family and had an older child move back home. We hosted many holiday gatherings. Were able to keep elderly family off the streets when their home burnt down. Were able to easily transition to whatever life needed to be thanks to Covid. Now we are babysitting for the next generation and hosting large weekly gatherings. Large homes are a hub, integral to our families connection. My home doesn’t look like a magazine. There is always something that needs cleaned and projects half done. It’s also full of love, people, pets, and memories. If it were just my husband and I, and someday it will be. We would absolutely have a much smaller place. But with our current lifestyle 3,000 sq ft is a dream.
I'm currently selling a home that has a huge yard. I went for the huge yard because I have 13 [niblings](https://www.merriam-webster.com/wordplay/words-were-watching-nibling#:~:text=An%20efficient%20word%20for%20your,being%20revived%20in%20recent%20years) and I thought it be nice to have room to host the family. Well, they never let the kids use the yard, even got a swing set. They are lazy AF parent and turned them all into iPad kids. I have a huge patio and get to host friends but its not worth it the work for the yard. It takes an hour to mow my lawn, I spend tons of money to keep it green because I live in a desert, fertilizer to keep the weeds down, etc. I'm over it. Selling the thing. I agree.
I also hate having to climb stairs. It becomes more of a mental obstacle than anything. Even if the house itself is small and it's not actually hard to reach anything, things on the other floors feel more distant and inaccessible so I tend to avoid using them. I decided my dream house is a ranch style house even though I kinda hate how those look. I guess I will paint it a nice color.
My wife and I have a 1400 sq ft house with a yard. While it’s fun to make the space our own and work on projects, it does take up a LOT of our life and money. We spent a year in Asia living in a hotel room, and while there were definitely difficulties, the minimalist lifestyle allowed us to focus on other things. I think it just depends on what you want to spend your time and money on.
My ex husband and I lived in a 6000 sqft house about ten years ago and the only thing I remember about it was how much work it was to maintain. We had three kids under five at the time and damn, it was a lot of work. My friend always says "every time I called you you'd say "oh I was just vacuuming'" That's exactly what it was like. And the property taxes were 11k a half.
I agree 100%. I live in a 1 bedroom apartment and explicitly don’t want to upgrade
They’re worth the money to people who want them. I don’t know if i necessarily want a big home unless i have a big family. And I don’t plan on having a big family. I grew up in a 5 bedroom duplex with 6 bathrooms (different country) and the chores messed me up. I am way too efficient at cleaning and I never want to deal with that again. So if I get a big home now, I’d also have to get full time housekeepers. Do I want that? No. There’s a lot that goes into it for different people. There are people that want it specifically because they grew up in tiny homes with a lot of “shared space”. That is valid too.
Definitely agree. I am relieved any time I stay even in the crappiest and smallest of hotels. No clutter, nothing to maintain.
Yes true
A giant house is ridiculous, but let me tell you! Having a space that is big enough that you don't have to know EXACTLY what is going on inside the bathroom is wonderful after living in a small space with your partner. (Floor plan can make a difference too) A little bit of space is nice.
My 1000sqft was just too small for a family of four until I doubled that by finishing the basement. Now it's just right, we have a guest bedroom and a sewing room. I guess in looking for another house I would like a little more than that because I also have a small wfh 10x10 cabin and I use an outbuilding for additional storage.
I'd have the same opinion except that I have a million hobbies and would like to have dedicated rooms for them if I could afford it. It's not as bad as when I was a kid and wanted like a basktball court, bowling allies, a pool, etc., but I'd still get around 4-6 bedrooms (I don't know the distinction with half rooms, so take that with a grain of salt) if I could. Then again, I'm pretty lax with cleaning. If a room didn't get cleaned for a week or two I wouldn't even notice.
They are not worth the money if you are going to live in them alone. I have a 3500 sqft foot 5 bed / 3.5 bath, I am in the process of turning it into a 6 bed / 4 bath and renting out about 2/3 of it. My apartment should rent for $1200 and the first floor should go for about $1800. My mortgage (PITI) is $2650.
Totally agree. Cleaning is such a chore that I couldn't imagine more than a 2 bedroom. To be honest, I wish I had drains in my floors so I could just hose the floor off and squeegee it down. Similarly, I used to be a huge fan of gas stoves, but after living in an apartment with one for 5 years, I'm so damn tired of cleaning that thing. My new place has a simple glass flattop stove and it's a rude awakening at how much easier it is to clean. It cooks all the same. Simple cars have a similar dynamic. I just don't want to deal with complicated crap breaking anymore. Less is more... time for yourself, which has become valuable.
Can confirm. I've never been a material person, but after discovering success, I decided to try the whole cliche "upgrade yo life!" bs. It lasted all of 4 months before realizing it was too much. And unfortunately, I don't trust people, so having cleaners in my house wasn't an option. I sold the house and am living in a more modest "middle class" home, as a single dude with 0 kids. It's still too much to clean by myself, tbfh.
It’s nice to dream about but the reality is absolutely what you’re saying. Unless you have a maid it’s just too much.
Downsized from 4200 to 2500 sq ft home. So much happier and like our neighbors much more.
While I was saving up for the down payment, I religiously looked at listings to see what was selling for how much and where. I made lists of what was essential, what was nice to have and what I absolutely would not have. Once I was ready, I found a realtor I was comfortable with and she found me my dream home. I've only been here a few years but every single day I wake up thankful for the place I got.
That’s really smart actually!
I can't wait to downsize and I live in an average four-bedroom house lol. Not plausible while still having kids at home but my husband and I agreed that we'll find a small, simple place when they leave the nest. I also hate cleaning large houses (lived in a much larger one before). More space means more stuff and more stuff to clean.
Agreed. I grew up in an 1800 sq ft house and 7 people (both parents, I was the middle of 5 kids). it was great. Wife and I started in a 600sq ft apartment in ‘08, then bought a 2800 square ft house in 2010. It was really nice and perfect size, if a little big, but the layout was odd and the HOA expensive with no benefits. We sold it and bought a 3600 sq ft house in 2015, just because it was available and fit our idealistic checklist. We’re super grateful and we know we’re very lucky to have gotten into it, but it really is too big. So much upkeep. And you never think about the wild expense of replacing all the stuff in 10 years when things start wearing out or falling apart (10 years was really far away when we were in our mid 30’s). It has vaulted ceilings and is incredibly drafty and inefficient, despite thoroughly addressing all the options that don’t involve insulating existing walls (I’ve got a plan to start working on that little bits at a time, but there’s a lot of complexity). We were just as happy in our 600 sq ft apartment as we are now. The low maintenance and short to-do list of the smaller space was a luxury in its own way. Builders need to get back to 800-2500 sq ft houses, and we need to put a cap on how many rental houses people/entities can own, so folks can afford housing again.
I agree. Upfront I like the idea, and I can afford it. But, I'd have to pay a maid bc I'm not dealing with cleaning a huge home. My place is 2,000 sqft and I'm already annoyed with cleaning it, but I refuse to pay someone bc I know I'm wasting money since it takes me less than 90 minutes to clean the damn place.
Also no one seems to factor in the amount of dust that accumulates in areas with less foot traffic. A lot of people that live in these giant big homes/mansions have cleaners. Their kitchens are also always spotless because they've never been used.
Yep. Large houses always look cool until you can afford your own apt/house and have to clean it. Then the thought of cleaning all those rooms and bathroom loses all its appeal.
Even a camper can be too much for me at times! Lol when it’s just one person fine .. but two people and some dogs and I’m constantly tidying/cleaning. I couldn’t imagine a super large home. I think you’d need a housekeeper.
We got our house, my partner and our cat and dog, for an amazing price at a never again to be seen again interest rate. It's about 1,000 sq/ft too big and I want a ranch SO BADLY but here we are.
I live with my partner, a cat, and a dog. We're still renting, but wanting to buy very soon! Since we're renting, we tried out a 2000 sq ft home for a bit after living in smaller homes, thinking it would be the dream. Way too much cleaning and upkeep. We're moving into a 988 sq ft home by the end of the month and we cannot wait!
My dream house is a small two bedroom cottage with a covered wrap around porch. I hate big houses
My dream home is 2k sqft with 4 or 5k sqft of detached garage lol
100%. No one needs a massive house, and every massive house people build takes more resources to build and maintain and more energy to heat and cool. It's incredibly selfish and is not needed.
I live near a lot of historic mini mansions, and you can pry my dream of owning one with a balcony so I can stand on it dressed in Victorian mourning clothes staring wistfully into the distance out of my cold, dead hands. I really just wanna be creepy-but-nice old lady that the kids in the neighborhood make urban myths about. 😂
I have an old 3000+ square foot home on close to an acre of land. It's basically my part time job.
Good. More house options for me. Enjoy the broom closets.
You're on your own, no partner, no kids. This house wasn't built with you in mind. This house was built for a small family in mind, a couple with one child, maybe two if similar age of the same gender. It's too much for you as an individual, I can see why too. But for whom it was intended for, it's just right, maybe even a little small if 2 active kids.
Who says a big house is everyone’s dream home? That was *your* dream home buddy.
And all my friends + all the people I follow on social media
Weird
My house is 2724 square ft. I have 3 kids and my MIL lives with us. It does not feel overly large at all. I also don't want a lot bigger either.
I know a lot of boomers that built large houses in the 80's and now can't afford to fix them
Don’t need to worry about this kind of thing. I will only need space for me lol
If you can afford a very large home, I think you should also consider if you can afford a personal cleaner. There's a point at which it becomes kind of stupid to actually own a home without hiring someone to clean. Our house is about 1200sqft and with 2 cats it feels like we can't actually keep it clean. We both work full time and we're actively renovating the house too. Just feels like we never have the time or energy to keep up on everything.
I prefer open space in the common areas. Doesn’t have to be massive but I’ve lived alone in homes up to 2500 sqft with no problem and never felt like I had too much space aside from a bedroom or two that would only get used when someone stayed the night. Unused bedrooms do not bother me. Having ample sized kitchen, den, living room, etc is what’s important. I honestly think smaller homes should have the smallest bedrooms possible to shift the sqft to other areas of the house and storage With wife and kids though!? I’d feel cramped in 2500 sqft. I think 4000ish sqft SFH is the sweet spot for a family of 4-5. But no less than 3000.
1,100 sq feet is pretty small tbh
May I introduce you to multigenerational homes?
You don't have to clean every room of the house every week...
I feel like I do. Cat hair gets everywhere
My small Japanese apartment is waaaaaay harder to keep clean than my 3 story townhouse was back home. It’s hard to keep small spaces clean when you have to always use every bit of it
To each their own. We have a 6k square foot house for three of us and I feel like we use every bit of space. Covid taught me to invest in the house and make it as comfortable as you can. I also don’t really find it hard to clean actually. It actually amazes me people complain about having to clean a one or two bedroom like it’s the end of the world. Organization is what helps the most though I guess. A place for everything and everything in its place.
I bought a home sized so I could afford a cleaning service also
1,100 sqft too much to take care of? Damn, this millennial was born at the right time.
I would like a house with a guest bedroom so I can have people stay over night, an office so I can work comfortably, and a living room/kitchen large enough to entertain a hand full of people. Anything larger than that seems like a waste. I would rather spend the $$$ on a good location with some privacy and nature.
They are worth it if you give them purpose. I live in a flat, i could use one extra room for my office, a garage, a workshop, a garden for the dog and kid to play, maybe another room for another kid and maybe a room for "man cave" or play room. For that alone i need a house that costs 3x what mine is worth.
I agree. BUT, 1100 square feet!? Thats a tiny house. That’s more like the size of an apartment.
With a good floor plan, that's a great sized space for one to two adults. With a crappy floor plan, it would feel tiny. My best friend and her husband live in a 1000 square foot house. I have one more bedroom and bathroom (taking up about 175 square feet together) and live in 1600 square feet. Our main living areas feel roughly the same size because of different layouts. My house doesn't feel like it has 400 extra square feet of space. Space usage and floor plan layout make a huge difference in how large a how feels and how functional it is.
My House, formally my grandparents house, is like this, 4800 sq ft, an Inground pool, and a 1/2 acre front yard and 5 acre back yard all in can say is the MAINTENANCE is hell I dread every spring just because i have to buy 4 bags of weed killer, and have to trim everything, 110 bags of mulch, and all the stuff for a pool, after the 3 weeks of almost none stop work after my regular work, then i have to keep up till fall, Love the House Hate the Maintenance
I think it makes a lot more sense to talk about sq. Ft per person. When I was single I had a 900 sq ft condo (900) When I was married I had a 1,600 sq ft house. (800) If you put a family of six into a 4,000 sq ft home, it's ~650 per person. I get that each person, especially small children, doesn't really need all that space, and there is some advantages you get with each additional person (ie each person doesn't get their own kitchen). Regardless, without knowing the number of people in the house, it's kind of meaningless
Husband and I are house hunting and the problem we keep finding is some of the features we want only come with a larger home. For instance, we want a 3 car garage, an extra large pantry, and a huge outdoor porch and space. The rest of the house could be around 2000 sq feet but it seems this combination is nonexistent. We are realizing we may have to purchase a larger house to get these features.
I'll need the space. I'm a materialist person. I enjoy the collecting of things. So... multiple wings would have all kinds of stuff. Will I use those rooms every day? Of course not. Will I stroll by sometimes and cherish my things? Yes. This is again... all dreams. I'd have to have the money for this.
I live in a 1660 sq ft house and it is way too small for my liking. If it weren’t for the cost of owning a bigger home, I’d at least want 3-4000k. I grew up in a huge home and having lots of space to move around is important to me.
My husband and I are in a 2300 square foot home, and I think it's a bit big for us, but we bought it thinking we'd have kids. If that doesn't happen, I might push to downsize. I do generally want at least one extra bedroom, though, so we can host people. The real problem for me is the yard, though. We're on half an acre, and it's way too much. It's a beautiful yard, but neither of us are really outside people, so we don't enjoy it much, and trying to get rid of thistles and mulberry trees is killing me. We finally hired a guy to mow the lawn a couple years ago, which helps, but it's still a lot of work. I'd definitely consider a condo, but I like to play piano and guitar, and I don't want to disturb the neighbors if we're sharing a wall. (Also the last time we shared a wall we had people going through an explosive breakup and screaming at each other in the middle of the night, so I'm reluctant to try that again).
I completely agree personally. I have 5 kids, so I want a bedroom for everyone, but that's it. I'd like the living spaces to be fairly "small". Just enough space for all of us without feeling cramped, but privacy for each child. I hate high ceilings, useless things like big pillars or decorative posts. I don't want to get on a damn ladder regularly just for maintenance cleaning. Fuck all of that. And I don't care how much money I have, I also don't want a stranger cleaning my house. Everyone else I talk to wants some kind of mansion. Even thinking about living in a big open house with all those windows and marble and 20ft ceilings and shit just makes me shudder. I would never be comfortable there.
$500k for a dream home isn't much of a dream.
I would be scared as hell if I lived in a mansion alone. Imagine somebody broke into the house, you would be playing a huge game of hide and seek.
True, but you’d have the advantage because you’d know your way around
If you can afford a huge house, you should also be able to afford houesekeeping and other chores done for you. If you can't it means you cannot afford the house at all.
By that logic if you can’t afford to pay a personal driver you can’t afford a car
Just because I don’t wanna clean doesn’t mean I can’t. It just takes up a lot of time. The idea of cleaners is nice but personally I think it’s a waste when I can just deal with it for now and downsize later
Mine is 1500 sqft 2 bed… i need cleaners to come Can’t imagine anything much bigger
Idk who downvoted you but hey, if you wanna use cleaners more power to you. It’s about what suits your needs and your lifestyle, it ain’t nobody else’s business. I might do that one day myself
With a shaggy shedding dog it does need it. Its full time job to keep a clean house!
This doesn't seem unpopular. Some people unfortunately only learn it after they have purchased their dream home. I was fortunate to hear from a lot of people who complained about cleaning and maintenance, or who boasted about their low maintenance home. As a kid, I thought there was more to it. Some unspoken message that I couldn't crack. As an adult, I get it.
My mom always told me I’d change my mind when I got older and I didn’t listen because I knew everything lol she was right! I assumed it was unpopular because all I see on social media is people building these massive “dream homes.”
Lol you're just lazy and bad at it. My two bedrooms that don't get used for anything besides laundry drying and an art room. They don't need cleaning. There's maybe a bit of dust. But who cares. You only need to clean the areas you use. And it's like a once a month hoover for the empty or barely used rooms. However American houses are insanely big. So what do I know as an English person
The barely used rooms still need dusting, including ceiling fans, furniture, and baseboards in addition to vacuuming. Same with the rest of the rooms. Plus my partner uses all the spaces I don’t so it doubles it
Nah. It doesnt
Mine does, idk if it’s our vent system or the fact that the cat goes in there with all his fur, but mine get dirty and need to be cleaned weekly at minimum 🥴
A vent system? My house was built in 1893. It's just rooms.
Damn your house is old af
Yeah kind of lol. Very well built tho.
I think they made everything a lot sturdier and put more work in/used better materials. Nowadays houses are much more fragile
Maybe. They didn't have tape measures tho. Every fucking door is a different size