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FAQ: Understanding the 100 Square Foot Paradox in Downsizing
TL;DR
Downsizing strategically can provide a competitive lifestyle advantage by trading maintenance for walkable locations and family proximity.
The process involves moving to similar-sized homes with better layouts and locations, requiring early decluttering and proactive planning for optimal timing.
This approach to housing transitions improves quality of life by reducing maintenance burdens and increasing family connections and community engagement.
Most downsizers only reduce space by 100 square feet, focusing instead on lifestyle redesigns like trading lawns for walkable downtown locations.
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The paradox refers to the surprising statistic that the average downsizer reduces their living space by just 100 square feet, which contradicts the common assumption that downsizing means significantly smaller homes.
People downsize primarily to reduce maintenance burdens, enable easier travel without home care worries, and stop heating unused rooms, rather than to simply have less square footage.
Lifestyle redesign involves maintaining similar square footage while changing everything else about the home - such as switching from a five-bedroom colonial to a three-bedroom ranch with a first-floor primary suite - to better suit changing needs.
Empty nesters prioritize walkability to downtown areas, access to restaurants and cultural venues, and shorter commutes to grandchildren, whereas families typically value quiet neighborhoods, large yards, and top-rated school districts.
The pull of grandchildren consistently outweighs other factors like lower taxes or better weather, with many retirees who move to Florida or the Carolinas returning to New Jersey within two years to be closer to family.
The biggest mistake is waiting too long until mobility issues or health concerns force the move, making the transition more challenging than if done proactively before maintenance becomes genuinely difficult.
He recommends starting decluttering early, beginning with attics, storage closets, and file drawers, since deciding what to keep takes more time than moving furniture, and suggests starting even if moving is 1-2 years away.
Ryan Bruen is a real estate professional with The Bruen Team at Coldwell Banker Realty in Morristown, New Jersey, who specializes in working with empty nesters and retirees in Morris County communities.
The article focuses on Morris County, New Jersey, specifically mentioning Morristown, Madison, Mendham, and Chester as communities where Ryan Bruen works with downsizers.
The ideal time to downsize is proactively before you need to, not reactively after maintenance becomes difficult, as preparing a home for sale and sorting through belongings requires significant energy that diminishes with age.
Curated from Keycrew.co
