A Large Home Can Be An Unfulfilling Status Symbol

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Are McMansions Making Some Americans Unhappy? More Americans are eschewing the “bigger is better” rationale and are purchasing smaller homes, writes Scott Lindlaw for the Associated Press. according to the American Institute of Architects, the size of U.S. homes is leveling off. The average is expected to level off at 2,500 square feet, In the article, Mr. Lindlaw highlights one New Jersey couple who sold their 6,100-square-foot Victorian, which cost them $20,000 a year in property taxes and maintenance. They bought a home for half the size in Connecticut. The couple now has more time to share together because they spend less time working around the house, Mr. Lindlaw says. This got us thinking: Do bigger homes makes us less happy? In a column on happiness and income in Wednesday’s Journal, columnist Jonathan Clements noted, “Despite the sharp rise in our standard of living in recent decades, Americans today are little or no happier than earlier generations.”

I think a McMansion would be a cause of unhappiness if someone had to work too many hours to pay for and maintain it. Better a smaller home full of great relationships the extra time not working and maintaining the larger provides to nurture them.

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