I've heard a few times now from others that my husband and I live in a very tiny house; essentially a "starter home". Our home is 1,260 sq. feet with 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, dining room, living room, kitchen and an additional 350 sq ft finished basement. At a little over 1600 square feet of livable space I don't think we'll have any problems when we have our 1st child. Am I being naive?
The only issue I see with even 2 children is the bathroom situation might get a little difficult. We are thinking about paying cash for a family room addition in a few years (and trying to do most of the work ourselves) that would include a half bath in it. Is it so ridiculous that my husband and I plan to stick it out and try to pay off this house in 15 years while raising a family? Sorry to rant, but hearing the word "starter home" makes me feel like people are implying we're a failure for not moving to something big and grandiose once we have kids.
How big is big enough?
August 11th, 2009 at 04:28 pm
August 11th, 2009 at 04:38 pm 1250008706
August 11th, 2009 at 04:48 pm 1250009333
Since when was 1600 sf a "starter home"? Since we come from an expensive area we hardly know anyone back home with more than 1300 sf. (No basements). & Land? Forget it...
I think it's time to tune MIL out. You'll be FINE!
August 11th, 2009 at 04:57 pm 1250009851
August 11th, 2009 at 05:06 pm 1250010364
I grew up in a closer to 2000 square foot home with only 1 bathroom (it was an older house to begin with) and there were 6 of us. My parents and 4 kids.....we all survived just fine.
That's why I *love* to watch all the house buying related shows on HGTV. The people who bitch about th e bathroom that is 20X20 and the half bath that is 10x10 and woes them, the bathrooms are just too small. @@
Apparently, I am/have been using the bathroom for all the WRONG reasons.
August 11th, 2009 at 05:20 pm 1250011238
In my opinion -stick with the smaller house! Less to clean, less to baby-proof, less to maintain, and more wiggle room for the future.
August 11th, 2009 at 05:26 pm 1250011579
I have to interject here speaking from experience. DH and I had four children and two dogs in a 900 square foot house with a basement. We had three kids in one bedroom, us in the smallest room, and the baby in the 3rd bedroom/dining room for the first few months. (I had four children in six years at that point).
The benefits to a small house:
(1) You always know where your kids are.
(2) You cannot acquire a lot crap/clutter because there simply isn't room
(3) This small house had a small mortgage and I was able to stay home and not worry about money.
Granted by the time that #4 outgrew his basinette at about five months we moved on to a house three times as large. We've been here for five years and have added another child to the mix. We still travel in a herd/pack/group/clan in this big house. My kids share rooms and can get along well in small spaces.
We definitely didn't need this large of a house.
I think you are fine, even with two kids, in your present situation. Just my opinion ...
August 11th, 2009 at 05:44 pm 1250012647
But then, my mom thinks that way too. She thinks her house is only just big enough, and her house is like 2000 sq ft. or more. Two floors, tons of bedrooms.
Me, I'd be happy in a closet.
August 11th, 2009 at 06:46 pm 1250016390
August 11th, 2009 at 07:24 pm 1250018642
August 11th, 2009 at 08:35 pm 1250022949
August 11th, 2009 at 09:53 pm 1250027633
It sounds like you're examining each baby expense to see if it's necessary, which is GREAT! There are several helpful articles to be found online that can dispense with other mythical "needs" and help you save valuable money.
August 12th, 2009 at 12:27 am 1250036825
That is a marketing term cooked up by the real estate industry to convince people into thinking that they constantly need to upgrade and move to a bigger place every few years, each time they have a kid, etc. Do you know that the average new home today is about two and a half times the size of the average new home in 1970 even though the average family size is smaller. It is insane.
Your home is fine. I grew up in a row home in Philadelphia. I don't know the square footage, but there were 4 of us with 1 bathroom also. We managed just fine.
August 12th, 2009 at 07:40 am 1250062817
August 12th, 2009 at 02:50 pm 1250088612
As far as houses go, it's the quality not the size that matters to me.
August 13th, 2009 at 12:18 am 1250122705
August 15th, 2009 at 08:12 pm 1250367160
August 28th, 2009 at 01:16 pm 1251465398
Jerry
September 17th, 2009 at 09:59 am 1253181583
February 20th, 2010 at 06:24 am 1266647060
People used to live in tents and teepees with three generations living there. I think you will be fine.