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Size of home space & amount of living space do you really need?


shootingstar

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we are moving from 3,600 sq feet (1,200 sq m) to 1,000 sq ft (333 sq m). Most of the junk (wife's) is going into storage until we can rent a larger unit (aka April 2018). Storage, 400 sq feet (122 sq m) is $400 (US)/mo. That is a lot of Tim Horton's per day eh? 

 

a. 

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6 minutes ago, Old#7 said:

we are moving from 3,600 sq feet (1,200 sq m) to 1,000 sq ft (333 sq m). Most of the junk (wife's) is going into storage until we can rent a larger unit (aka April 2018). Storage, 400 sq feet (122 sq m) is $400 (US)/mo. That is a lot of Tim Horton's per day eh? 

 

a. 

Couldn't you store this stuff with LAJ? He owes you.

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1 hour ago, Longjohn said:

Couldn't you store this stuff with LAJ? He owes you.

Post of the day  

1 hour ago, Further said:

We live in a 60's three bedroom ranch, don't know the square foots but it's kinda small.

Plenty of room, but a lot of it is full of stuff that should be in a garage, or basement.

I would gladly trade for a smaller house and bigger barn. 

Me too. Big barns are good

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1600 sq ft with 1200 sq ft of basement. It is full but we are in the process of eliminating things not needed. Now that we are empty nesters the house is too big but moving to a smaller home that we would want will cost more than staying here. 

I promised Mom we would be here to help as long as Dad is alive. Given his health, I don’t expect that to be more than a few years. We are looking at moving to the Phoenix area. Our girls are there and I am becoming a big wimp about winter as I get older. Pricing out home here to houses there, we will be able to move to a home around 1100-1200 sq ft for a comparable price. We would be happy with that size. 

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1452 SF on one level. Garage has quite a bit of storage as we bought cabs during the big downsize. The house itself works fine. We did a patio pavers to have more of an indoor/outdoor thing. One bedroom mainly for visitors. One bedroom as Entertainment lounge. I have been lobbying for an 80" TV in there. That is no go zone so far

It fits us well. 

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11 hours ago, Old#7 said:

we are moving from 3,600 sq feet (1,200 sq m) to 1,000 sq ft (333 sq m). Most of the junk (wife's) is going into storage until we can rent a larger unit (aka April 2018). Storage, 400 sq feet (122 sq m) is $400 (US)/mo. That is a lot of Tim Horton's per day eh? 

 

Perhaps you need to gently place the bill on the kitchen counter each month for wife.  I don't think that's sinking in. Having said that I have stuff in a locker where over half of it can go into garbage dump. I just have to get at it.  I own my locker.

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9 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

About 1000 ft, and we would prefer about 900, if it were set up better.  We are a small family, and hardly the norm for living space needs.

You prefer smaller, because it will be cheaper to maintain/heat or ?  It's only about 100 sq. ft. less. Including my 2 balconies, it's actually approx. 830 sq. ft. But we don't live on our balconies in the winter or even at all.

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Our townhouse is ~2000 sf plus 2-car (barely) garage. It's an open floor plan downstairs with a not-too-often-used dining room area. Upstairs we have a good sized master w/bathroom, small laundry room, full bathroom and two BRs above the garage.

Misc. info:

  • The garage is 60% garage & 40% crap storage.
  • The tub in the master bath has never been used (10+ years)
  • The master bedroom is really two rooms joined at the corner. The room currently used as the BR, has a queen sized bed, recliner, 40" TV and stand and there's still plenty of room around the bed.
  • There's a walk-in closet off the master bathroom that's adequate for a construction guy who only has two suits, lots of workwear and some bike wear and about 10 pairs of shoes (work shoes not included)
  • Wo2 uses one of the MBR rooms as a closet/changing area.
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We have a ~1,600 sf 3BR ranch, though that excludes the full unfinished basement.  We are thinking about finishing half of it though.

When we were house shopping I wanted a big two-story colonial but this works for us.  I don't think we would ever need anything bigger, but I don't know if I'd want to go smaller either - even once the kids move out, which is likely a dozen years off.

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2100 sq foot living space.  420 sq foot garage space.  3 bedroom, two bathrooms, two living areas, dining room, pantry, kitchen, laundry room. Single story, single family detached home.  

We could do without the second living area and the dining room easily, but nice to have them when you need them.

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We started out at 1600, but as the family grew, we built another 900 on.  Now 2 of the 3 kids have moved out.  One BR is now  the music room.  Another is a guest room.  Not sure what the 3rd will become when #3 moves out, but we do often have guests.  The once far too small LR now rarely get used, except for parties, everything happens in the FR.  

I wouldn't go smaller, and we don't need larger.  And after all the work, no way I'm moving.  Ever.

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7 hours ago, shootingstar said:

You prefer smaller, because it will be cheaper to maintain/heat or ?  It's only about 100 sq. ft. less. Including my 2 balconies, it's actually approx. 830 sq. ft. But we don't live on our balconies in the winter or even at all.

We prefer smaller, because of several reasons.  

  • We don't need the excess space.
  • Larger means more taxes, more to heat, more to maintain, more to clean.
  • Wasted space means waste of money.  We only want enough for what we need.  

 

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9 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

We prefer smaller, because of several reasons.  

  • We don't need the excess space.
  • Larger means more taxes, more to heat, more to maintain, more to clean.
  • Wasted space means waste of money.  We only want enough for what we need.  

 

Good idea to go with just what you need. We could drop a room and be fine, but then the "library" would also become a guest bedroom which it sometimes does anyway if we have enough folks visit.

In my neck of the woods, taxes are based on home value, not size, so that isn't a factor for us.

Tom

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Just now, Razors Edge said:

Good idea to go with just what you need. We could drop a room and be fine, but then the "library" would also become a guest bedroom which it sometimes does anyway if we have enough folks visit.

In my neck of the woods, taxes are based on home value, not size, so that isn't a factor for us.

Tom

Ours is value based too, and small houses are often worth a lot less money.  

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6 hours ago, Razors Edge said:

:)

Location, location, location. That's the big difference where I live.

Tom

Does  that mean you live out on the edge of town, by an industrial park, etc. :)  ?

Mother's house (a new infill at the time parents bought 15 years ago), has probably appreciated well over $250,000 in Toronto..in past 5 years a marked bike lane is on street. 1 lane for cars in each direction. 10 min. walk to grocery store.  A community garden was created over a decade ago with another park bike path, PLUS artists painting garage doors that face the park. They are professional artists. Oh yea, 10 min. walk from bus stop.  House is across from a public school.

Location, location. This is in midtown Toronto, not out in the burbs.  I actually don't why people keep on pumping the 'burbs.  I did have a condo in burbs in Toronto....across the street from subway station. :flirtyeyess:

 

 

 

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8 hours ago, shootingstar said:

I actually don't why people keep on pumping the 'burbs. 

Because, while your lifestyle appeals to you and your mother's house sounds like a lovely home well-situated, some people prefer living in an area with fewer people per square mile, less traffic, cleaner air, less noise, where they can clearly see the stars at night, and - in many cases - where they feel more secure because there is less crime.

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I have 1632 sq ft.  It is a one story ranch with a finished walk-out basement.  The basement effectively doubles the sq ft.  I'd say about 3000 liveable sq ft.  3 bedrooms, 2.75 baths.  It's plenty for us.  The kids spend a lot of time down in the basement.  

I have about an acre of land in a subdivision.  I really wish I had a barn (for Emmy to pitch in) with a lean-to to park the camper under.  But a barn would have to be big.  At least 45 ft long and high enough to have a lean-to off one side tall enough for the camper.  That is my biggest complaint.  

I also love the house, but hate the layout of kitchen (small galley style) and my master bath is tiny.  I could do a small addition to make kitchen bigger and re-do master bath.  Will prob do that in the future.

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As for the less crime...well it depends. There have been enough home break-ins in suburbs...because no one is around at home during the day.  My hairstylist with her family of 5..everyone was at work.  A number of computers, jewellery, etc. Being quiet is desirable anywhere. It is where we are. Just make sure one buys into a concrete condo building.  For whatever reason, am lucky. Am not in a party building because I think people value living in a quiet building and not many residents with children, because our units aren't huge..except for the penthouse.  We do have some residents with a dog and so far no problems. I actually think it's good to have occasional dog here and there in building from a security point of view ..along with building's security system.

Anyway back to home size...  

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10 hours ago, shootingstar said:

Does  that mean you live out on the edge of town, by an industrial park, etc. :)  ?

Mother's house (a new infill at the time parents bought 15 years ago), has probably appreciated well over $250,000 in Toronto..in past 5 years a marked bike lane is on street. 1 lane for cars in each direction. 10 min. walk to grocery store.  A community garden was created over a decade ago with another park bike path, PLUS artists painting garage doors that face the park. They are professional artists. Oh yea, 10 min. walk from bus stop.  House is across from a public school.

Location, location. This is in midtown Toronto, not out in the burbs.  I actually don't why people keep on pumping the 'burbs.  I did have a condo in burbs in Toronto....across the street from subway station. :flirtyeyess:

How big is your vegetable garden? How about your pool, deck, and barbecue area? Do your dogs run along the fence barking at folks walking by? Did you go with a two or three car garage? Does your hubby's workshop have one of those cool dust filtering systems or a lift for working on antique cars? How about a full set of those fancy reclining chairs in your home theater?

Tom

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Isn't the key finding what works for you and your family? My tiny little place works for me, but would be kind of sucky for most people.

Not everyone loves living in a city or in a rural area. Some prefer suburbs, some small towns, some big cities. Do what works for you. 

Personally, I'm learning to tolerate all you damn roadies. ;) Even learning to enjoy riding on pavement myself. Maybe one day I'll buy my own carbon rocket ship. 

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I live in what started out as a 1250 sqft ranch.  We moved in with 2 children and the 3 bedrooms and 1 1/2 bath was just about right.  Along the years I finished the basement so that there is a utility/storage room, what has now become a 1 room apartment for youngest son and the secret lab which is a studio/workshop for womaxx and myself.  I'm not sure if that counted as doubling the size of the house or not.  Then I took what was the carport and had it turned into a 400 sqft three season sun porch.  Again I'm not sure how this adds to sq footage.

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36 minutes ago, parodybot said:

jsharr keeps me in a footlocker with a hole cut in the side so that he can stick an extension cord in.  And all he gives me is 110v, which is sort of like Coors Light for robots.  

Do you have to wear the shirt? And do you get a "friends and family" discount? Those places are usually reasonably sized, so I don't feel bad for you. And if your Footlocker is next to a Sharper Image, I bet there are a few bots you can mix and mingle with.

ff42b7a0c21dfb32d350f0e8de78690f.jpg.5ea031b910f9caebad802f27ebfb4c6b.jpg

Tom

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No matter how much space there is, there should be openness and that feeling of spaciousness, at least in a main room.  I would love a big open loft the size of a basketball court, with a bed in one corner, a bathroom in another, and maybe a a space in another corner for living room type activity.  

The center should be open, and natural light should pour in.

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On 11/21/2017 at 10:37 AM, Razors Edge said:

Do you have to wear the shirt? And do you get a "friends and family" discount? Those places are usually reasonably sized, so I don't feel bad for you. And if your Footlocker is next to a Sharper Image, I bet there are a few bots you can mix and mingle with.

ff42b7a0c21dfb32d350f0e8de78690f.jpg.5ea031b910f9caebad802f27ebfb4c6b.jpg

Tom

Square Wheels laughed at this.

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