We down sized about 7 yrs. ago when we moved from 3600 sq.ft. to about 2400 sq.ft. in our over 55 community. This is a perfect size for us. Two bedrooms two baths ranch. Very energy efficient. Small lot so minimal care. Provides lots of free time to enjoy life. Actually going to formally retire on 12/13/13.

Kids live in Texas and come to visit. With 3 boys our home is too small for them to stay but, even if we had the room I think that they would opt for a motel stay. There is only so much family time that one can handle.

 

Two bedroom, 2400 sq ft? That is a big house.

What other rooms do you have? Any special purpose? Home theater?

We're currently in a 3 bedroom plus den, 2200 sq ft. I was thinking that a 2 bedroom, 1500-1800 sq ft would be nice.

 

So Dave, how does this young single woman repay you
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Not what you were thinking. A simple thank you would be nice but apparently she thinks somehow pixy dust is sprinkled over her yard and it cleans itself. My other neighbor and I get fed up with what we have to look at and end up doing it ourselves.

 

I agree. I have two 2-car garages plus a fifth garage for a boat, riding mower, etc. and storage. And, when winter comes and everything goes inside there's hardly room to walk in any of them. I'd be lost without them. And, besides that we have two other outside storage areas for yard supplies, etc.

 

Office, formal dining room (can open the table to seat 12), very open eat in kitchen /good sized living area. Master bath / bedroom is large and have a good sized walk in closet. As an aside we opted for upgrade on low e windows, radiant barrier, and 36" of insulation in the attic (house is a ranch style). Have not had a gas / electric bill over $120 since we moved in. We use a set back thermostat so during the winter days are at 70 and nights are at 62. Summer is 78 and down to 70 at night.

 

Office, formal dining room (can open the table to seat 12), very open eat in kitchen /good sized living area. Master bath / bedroom is large and have a good sized walk in closet. As an aside we opted for upgrade on low e windows, radiant barrier, and 36" of insulation in the attic (house is a ranch style). Have not had a gas / electric bill over $120 since we moved in. We use a set back thermostat so during the winter days are at 70 and nights are at 62. Summer is 78 and down to 70 at night.
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You must be TX tough… 62 at night in MI and I would be freezing my ass off. I keep ours 72 twenty-fours a day. I know that's high but with my arthritis I like warm.

 

I retired in May. I haven't enjoyed my house and yard as much in the previous 20 years as I have in the last 6 months.

When I was working, yard work or house projects were in competition for my limited leisure time. There were other things I preferred to do with my limited time away from work. Now, I can schedule yard work and house projects around my leisure activities. I love it.

In fact, I spent a couple of hours yesterday afternoon raking the last of the leaves from the flower beds and shredding them. There's snow on the ground today, so I have an indoors project for the afternoon. By Wednesday night, all the fall cleanup tasks I used to have to complete over the long Thanksgiving weekend will be done. It's great!

I never understood people who maintained a yard when they had limited time away from work, then want to live in a condo when they have plenty of time on their hands. Yard work is tedious when it interferes with your leisure activities; it's not so bad when you schedule the yard work around the things you'd rather do.

 

Office, formal dining room (can open the table to seat 12), very open eat in kitchen /good sized living area. Master bath / bedroom is large and have a good sized walk in closet. As an aside we opted for upgrade on low e windows, radiant barrier, and 36" of insulation in the attic (house is a ranch style). Have not had a gas / electric bill over $120 since we moved in. We use a set back thermostat so during the winter days are at 70 and nights are at 62. Summer is 78 and down to 70 at night.
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You must be TX tough… 62 at night in MI and I would be freezing my ass off. I keep ours 72 twenty-fours a day. I know that's high but with my arthritis I like warm.
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Is this your retirement home? I've always heard that the two bedrooms just don't have the re-sale value vs a three. Was that not a concern of yours or in your area? On the flip side, your downsized two bedroom home is almost twice the size of my three bedroom home.

Dave, I/we like a warm house too, but I could not sleep with the heat set at 72. We kick it down to about 63-64 and that works. I like it cool to sleep, not too hot when moving, about 68, but 70-71 when we are sitting around doing nothing. Since we converted to gas heat, I have no fear of how much $$$ we spend keeping warm. Folks are still paying $3.46+/gallon for heating oil.

We used to go to a friend's home in the winter time, but they were so cheap with the heat, I told Rick I wasn't going back until spring.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

 

Office, formal dining room (can open the table to seat 12), very open eat in kitchen /good sized living area. Master bath / bedroom is large and have a good sized walk in closet. As an aside we opted for upgrade on low e windows, radiant barrier, and 36" of insulation in the attic (house is a ranch style). Have not had a gas / electric bill over $120 since we moved in. We use a set back thermostat so during the winter days are at 70 and nights are at 62. Summer is 78 and down to 70 at night.
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You must be TX tough… 62 at night in MI and I would be freezing my ass off. I keep ours 72 twenty-fours a day. I know that's high but with my arthritis I like warm.
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Is this your retirement home? I've always heard that the two bedrooms just don't have the re-sale value vs a three. Was that not a concern of yours or in your area? On the flip side, your downsized two bedroom home is almost twice the size of my three bedroom home.

Dave, I/we like a warm house too, but I could not sleep with the heat set at 72. We kick it down to about 63-64 and that works. I like it cool to sleep, not too hot when moving, about 68, but 70-71 when we are sitting around doing nothing. Since we converted to gas heat, I have no fear of how much $$$ we spend keeping warm. Folks are still paying $3.46+/gallon for heating oil.

We used to go to a friend's home in the winter time, but they were so cheap with the heat, I told Rick I wasn't going back until spring.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
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It may not be 72 upstairs where we sleep. I'll have to check it out, since we only one thermostat for the entire house. Yep, we have a couple friends like that. One had 3 homes (main, MI cottage, and FL condo) but he wouldn't spend the 2 cents to keep his main home warm. We refused to go there.

 

Office, formal dining room (can open the table to seat 12), very open eat in kitchen /good sized living area. Master bath / bedroom is large and have a good sized walk in closet. As an aside we opted for upgrade on low e windows, radiant barrier, and 36" of insulation in the attic (house is a ranch style). Have not had a gas / electric bill over $120 since we moved in. We use a set back thermostat so during the winter days are at 70 and nights are at 62. Summer is 78 and down to 70 at night.
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You must be TX tough… 62 at night in MI and I would be freezing my ass off. I keep ours 72 twenty-fours a day. I know that's high but with my arthritis I like warm.
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A few blankets and mama keeps me warm