Ever downsize to a house on the same street?

[rob in cal]

I like living in our neighborhood.  Its nice, and its really close to my work.  But once the kids are out of the house it might be nice to have a smaller house, and invest the roughly 80k difference in house costs between our current home and a one third smaller one which it might make sense to buy.  There are some such models on our street, or just across the way. I'm wondering if anyone here has done such a minimalist move.  Logistically it would be so easy to accomplish the move, and then we'd avoid the disruption of  getting used to a new neighborhood, and I could still be two minutes from work.

[Gray Matter]

We upsized by doing this (facepunch) so why couldn't you do it in reverse?  Twenty years ago, we started in a one-bedroom apartment, then moved to a 1200 square foot house five blocks away, then moved into a 2400 square foot house in between the apartment and the first house, all in the same neighborhood.

When I think about downsizing, I'd want to stay in the neighborhood.  We've got deep roots here now, wonderful friends and a strong sense of community, close to downtown, public transportation, a few blocks from the elementary and middle schools, walkable...yeah, they'll need to move me out of this neighborhood on a gurney!

If you're satisfied with your neighborhood, I think downsizing in the same street is a great way to go.  If you could literally carry your furniture and personal items from one house to the next, it would also be a cheap way to move.

I vote for yes!

[iris lily]

People in my neighborhood downsize within the neighborhood all the time, that is, when they can find something smaller. Of the last two couple in their 60's who did this one had to build a new, smaller house, and the other renovated two small side-by-side houses and put them together. Both came from 4,000 sq ft Victorians.

People love our neighborhood and if they were original urban pioneers, they will not leave it.

[johnintaiwan]

We did this my sophomore year in high school. My parents got a great deal on a huge house (way to big for us) because it was the last one the developer had to sell before he could start his next neighborhood. it was like 5 rooms with a den and bonus room and huge yard on a corner lot. My parents hated it. They had their eye on the only 1 level in the whole neighborhood which happened to be just across the street. It was a 3 bedroom with no bonus room, but also on a big corner lot. It was owned by an older couple.

The husband died sometime in the fall, and mid december the widow decided to sell it, handed the keys to the realtor and took off to retire in florida or something. My parents signed the papers the next day and we spent winter break carrying all our stuff across the street to the new house. They got a great deal on it and an even better deal on the house they sold. Also saved a ton of money by not having to get a moving truck or anything.

[AccidentalMiser]

I like living in our neighborhood.  Its nice, and its really close to my work.  But once the kids are out of the house it might be nice to have a smaller house, and invest the roughly 80k difference in house costs between our current home and a one third smaller one which it might make sense to buy.  There are some such models on our street, or just across the way. I'm wondering if anyone here has done such a minimalist move.  Logistically it would be so easy to accomplish the move, and then we'd avoid the disruption of  getting used to a new neighborhood, and I could still be two minutes from work.

We are in the process of doing this now.  We are buying a 1344 sq ft house about 5 miles from where we live now since all but one of our children have moved out.  We'll invest the difference and have more freedom to do what we want.

Good luck!

[MBot]

I have not, but I have my eye on the 1750sq ft  home three houses away. Our 1300 sq ft one is about one bedroom too small for the eventual family. I'd love to own both, live in the bigger one/rent out the smaller. And then later on downsize back to this one, and rent the other one out.

it might take a bit of work, but it's also nice to let neighbours know if they ever sell, to give you a call :)

[jugglingcontinents]

We moved a couple of months ago to a property just down the road (1 mile away) from our old place, to save about 24% on rent. We did have to spend the first few months of savings though (the old place was furnished and the new place needed a fridge, washing machine, stove, etc. Plus we didn't have a sofa or a dining table. A couple of visits to thrift shops and Marktplaats (the dutch version of ebay) and now we're set and can start investing the savings :)

Moving is indeed a pain but once you're done, you still have all the benefits of your old neighborhood plus lower rent, lower utilities, etc. It's amazing how fast you will get used to the new place!

[deborah]

A guy I worked with moved from one flat to another on the same floor of the same building.