Living in a Small House – Benefits & Challenges

Drive around many new neighborhoods, and you often see the same thing: street after street of behemoth homes, most that look like they came off an assembly line. Oddly, these homes are often occupied by small families, spreading everyone out into different rooms, limiting interaction. Even in older neighborhoods, especially in larger cities such as Austin and Atlanta, smaller homes have been torn down, wanted only for the lot they sit on. In their place, gigantic structures are erected.

While the McMansion boom of the last decade appears, for the most part, to be waning, the result is that there are now millions of families living in these large, palatial homes, which often come with enormous mortgages to match.

However, since the recession hit, more people are realizing that small is beautiful. With energy billsand living costs constantly rising, living small also means living affordably. And for many, this is the most appealing aspect of living in a smaller home.

Benefits of Small Home Living

According to the U.S. Census, the average size of an American home was 983 square feet in 1950, and 1,660 square feet in 1973. In 2010, the average had climbed to almost 2,400. But in spite of the dominance of large homes, more homeowners are remembering the many advantages to living in a small one.

1. More Energy Efficient. Smaller homes are often more energy efficient because they have less space to heat and cool, which means they have a lower ecological footprint.
2. Less Cleaning and Maintenance Required. Fewer rooms means less time spent on cleaning and home maintenance. This has been a huge perk for my family, since it means we spend more time outdoors, doing things we love.
3. Cozy and Intimate. Unlike the often gigantic rooms of a McMansion, small homes have small rooms. This gives each room, as well as the entire house, a feeling of coziness and intimacy that larger homes lack.
4. Less Expensive. Smaller homes are less expensive to live in. For instance, my 1920 home doesn’t have air conditioning, and I wouldn’t use it even if it did. Most small homes built before the 1940s were designed to stay cool using shade and cross-ventilation. During the summer months we live on the front porch, keep the windows open day and night, and use fans. During the summer, I spend less than $15 per month on electricity.
5. More Unique. We also chose a smaller home because we didn’t like the feel of the neighborhoods containing bigger homes. There are few trees, and the homes have a “cookie-cutter” appearance. Furthermore, the houses are set far back from the street, which means it would be harder to get to know the neighbors. Few, if any, have front porches big enough to sit and visit on. And none of them are within walking distance to town; we would have had to drive everywhere we wanted to go. Big and grand just isn’t our style.

Real Stories

My own home is half the current U.S. average; I live in a modest, 1,200 square-foot home two blocks from a smart little downtown. My neighborhood is a pleasant one that makes you feel as if you’re going back in time when you walk down the street. The homes are compact and well-built, they’re situated close to the sidewalk, and almost all of them have deep front porches.

This is why I love small-home living. But I’m certainly not the only one who feels this way.