I'm 33. I'm probably not a lot older than you (I'm the bleeding edge of the millenials, the "Oregon Trail" generation if you will). Trust me, you think you have it all planned. You don't.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1Z91YkPatw
LOL--Thanks for posting that! I'd never seen it, and it's hilarious!
I agree with this 100%. I have no desire for a 3000-4000+ sq ft house, but there are certain characteristics I want in a house and in order to find all of them in an existing house, you need a fairly large house. Decent closet space, enough bedrooms, storage, a decent sized kitchen, etc. My last house was 1800 sq ft plus a basement (also 1800 sq ft) and it had a lot of the ammenities we wanted, but it was still only three bedrooms.
This is sad but true. We're looking for a retirement home, and we essentially want something that doesn't exist: We want something "starter size" -- we
don't want a rec room or a home theater or bedrooms large enough for seating areas -- but we want it to have walk-in closets, a huge pantry, and storage in the specific places we want it. We want this house to have some aging-in-place features such as a barrier-free shower, one entry with no more than one step, and low maintenance.
This house doesn't exist, so the choice is to buy a larger house ... or to build. We're opting for building.
[/quote]In some areas, it *does* exist. In our housing development, one section is dedicated to "age-targeted homes," i.e. homes designed for the lifestyles of retirees. They typically have two bedrooms and 1.5 baths on the main floor, with the option of a third bedroom plus a full bath on the second floor. No home theaters, rooms sized nicely, well-laid-out, and the entire neighborhood has a shared lawn mowing and snow removal service. Of course, you have to deal with nosy neighbors and a strict HOA, but the type of house you're looking for is out there.