I really like my house - after all, I designed it and selected every material and furnishing that went into it - but I'm disappointed at how my rural neighborhood has developed. For some reason I imagined retirees building nice homes on what were fairly expensive 15-acre parcels...instead, every neighbor family has many children (a total of 14 children between just two families), all homeschooled, and all running around with firearms and dirt bikes. After only four years in what I thought would be my last home, I'm planning to sell this year. Unfortunately, in the American west people seem to think that rural areas are places where anything goes...after 33 years in the area, I'm ready to move back to a city.

In 1982 my wife and I built our architect designed house on eight wooded acres. Over the following three plus decades we raised our children together with many pets and gradually made numerous changes large and small to our home. We built a barn, a terraced kitchen garden, multiple flower beds, a summer house and a large deck with a spa. We added an apiary, a stall in the barn for our three adopted sheep and a chicken coop for our four adopted chickens. We love our place more with each passing year, but we do realize our ability to care for it is starting to diminish. “[She] and I set out to turn our [home] into the kind of place [where] we thought we wanted to live, and we ended up meeting it halfway, by becoming the kind of people who, it turned out, would live in a place like ours.” (Paraphrased from "Sheetrock & Shellac" by David Owen)

Our house is not beautiful, but when we were looking, we had a checklist of must-haves and nice-to-haves and this house met each and every one of them. Everything else is cosmetic, and we're working on that bit by bit, and are making progress toward it becoming beautiful.

I love old houses. I didn't have any intentions of buying this house when our neighbor asked us to buy it from him. My husband liked the house (particularly the fire pit in the backyard, a train that ran behind our house and a backyard that was larger than most city lots that was quiet and made you feel like you were in the country). It wasn't my ideal home. It was across from our rental property. It was an ideal location. We new we loved the neighborhood. The price was right. The house is cute and we are making it our own. I will love this one once we can get through my renovations plans. According to my husband, it doesn't need any work. He also knows it will look spectacular when I'm done with it. (I have issues blowing all my money on renovating old houses). : ) I'm too cheap to buy another house so we will be here for a long time, making this our forever home. Am cheap or just broke because I keep buying and renovating?!

Isn't it wonderful how different we all are? I love that some people like old homes and renovations and some want to build new; some love their low-maintenance condo and others are delighted with acreage and wildlife; there are those who love the four seasons and folks who want to be warm year-round. Do you want to walk to the market or do you want to wake up to nothing but birdsong? Do you want to spend your time making a house your own or do you want to move in and get on with your "real" life? Do you want a grand space for family and entertaining or are you looking for quiet, cozy and quaint? Everyone loves something different! How marvelous we are in our diversity!

We chose our West Nashville home for the expansive views and quiet surroundings. We see hawks, herons, a bald eagle (twice), songbirds - and out our back windows, no other houses! We love the light coming into our home & lots of hardwood flooring. The location is amazingly convenient to grocery, library, parks, and greenways. But I dislike the McMansion-looking exterior of the home, which I consider overdone & somewhat vulgar, with no particular style. Home prices have accelerated such that, from this point, it's either downsize significantly OR swallow the upkeep costs and wallow in the positives.

Downsizing was a real challenge for us. We wanted one floor but in the greater Vancouver area, one floor is not common unless you have unlimited dollars. So we chose a Townhouse with stairs and quite love it. We make a wise choice with the location, where we are one block from shopping. The setting where we back onto a passive park.and the size which is 2000 square feet.

I have a love/hate relationship with my house, but if I won a million dollars I wouldn't buy a new house, I'd make this house my dream house. It's where I raised my son, where I garden and where I learned it's okay to be me.

Depending upon when asked, I could be a Yes or No; so I'm an "Other." The timing of purchasing our beautiful, solid, well-maintained 1865 Italianate house and moving back to my home town to open it as a b&b was, I feel, providential. An older brother was diagnosed with a fast-moving terminal cancer right after we moved in, so we had loads of space to accommodate family and friends coming to visit him. Not long after his death and our getting the business up and running, my elderly mother came to live with us after back surgery. We easily turned the family room off the kitchen into her living space and that worked well for 6 years. Upon deciding it was time to sell, relocate, and downsize to a low-maintenance place (my own health, arrival of grandchildren a long day's drive away, needing to hire more and more help to maintain the house and one acre lot's landscaping, finances) my mother moved to another brother's house where she passed on a year later after a broken hip. The house has been on the market for a few years now in a college town of 15,000 and a market that sells few "high end" houses and even fewer historic houses. We love our house, all the ways it has sheltered us, and what we have been able to do there. Plenty of space inside and out for our kitties, family and friends, wildlife to observe, character and the good vibes given off by a home loved for many generations. It definitely is a first-world problem that it's so hard to sell without practically giving it away. I hope to convince my financial guy (hubby) to release enough funds to do at least a couple much-needed improvements for ourselves and possible future owners.

We raised our four kids in our home and now it is the home that our six grandchildren run into, feel it to be each of their second home....run into the back yard to play in the playground Grandpa built for their generation.

Our children's and their children's hand prints are right next to ours in the concrete patio. Our additions to the home grew as our family grew :-)

Our dining table now seats 16,two boosters and a high chair rotating children as the new ones are born and the toddlers grow out of it.

We have lived here now for 25 years.

No, we will never leave our home. For all of those reasons, we will never leave.

However....if we had it to do all over again, we would never have begun our wonderful 4 generation life in this house.

In hindsight, we would have chosen a SINGLE STORY house to turn into our 'home'. In our late 20's and early 30's we just don't understand what turning 60 yrs old brings with it, making the second story difficult to always be able to use the second story, in the years to come into our 80's, I can see the second story only being accessed by our younger family and company. :-)

We love our "Family Home"! And as I said, we won't be leaving in this lifetime.

But.....to begin all over again, and to those of you beginning by choosing a house to become your home, and make your memories in, consider single story!

Good Luck :-)

I love my home but I do not like living across the street from an elementary school. The parents and staff park up our street, throw their trash on my property and are not at all responsible.

All these posts about living in a single story home is very validating! In 20+ years of marriage, we have lived in many homes, and I loved all of them. Most of them were two story, colonial type homes. I loved that style home as a child and dreamed about grand staircases. None of our staircases were grand, but we lived in and loved a handful of colonial style homes.

The last time we moved due to a job upset, we were in our 40s, and old age and illness was on my mind. I had lived through one parent's death at home, and illnesses among friends. I knew we needed at least one bedroom on the main level, and a full bath. Mr. Hammer was not on board. He wanted to stick to what he liked.

We bought a ranch, with 2.5 baths, laundry and 3 BR on the main level. He hasn't complained once! And I feel comfortable that we can grow old while living here. There is even space on the wall in the master bath for a grab bar to get off the toilet when we need one.

Handmethehammer, We too have a ranch style home. We have three bedrooms, two full baths, a large living/dining room and kitchen upstairs. We have a little bit of a twist from most, however, in that we have a full lower level walk out that leads to a lovely outdoor living space - patio, deck and gazeebo. The lower level has a large bedroom, a full bath, a kitchen/craft room, a large family room, and a hobbie room for my husband's model railroad layout and puttsing.

We fully finished the lower level so that in case any of our children needed a place to stay with the economy being what it has been we could help them. Recently our youngest and her family needed to do just that. We were happy that we could help them out (it was a bit of a strain on a couple used to having the place to themselves but we managed). They now own their first home!

We could easily grow old in this place because everything we need is on the upper level, though neither my husband or I have any problem with navigating the stairs in our 60s.

we built our home 24 yrs ago...my husband is a custom home builder in san antonio, texas and i love my home....it is situated on 2 1/2 acres in what was a rural subdivision. i am an active designer and 7 yrs ago remodeled our home, basically updated and refreshed inside....left its' red brick curb appeal alone. it is a very traditional/plantation style. unlike todays' modern/contemporary style, i love my warm and inviting home, compared to modern, cold, sterile and fish bowl living. our subdivision has mainly traditional homes which is a plus....no ones' home, when put on the market, lasts long. my only complaint...the city has moved out in our direction and the traffic is awful...we love where we live just not what we have to put up with coming and going. until we find a subdivision that fits our life style and home style....we're not moving. being a designer, for the past 24 yr., i have seen alot of changes...some good, some bad....it's always good for the textile, furniture and designers.. good for the economy too....lots of business because people are always changing!!! what goes around, comes around....traditional is classic and will be back!

Bought our place for the view! 4 years later we are still renovating and adding on to make it ours!

Absolutely!

When we bought it, it basically hadn't been touched inside which left us free to make it our own. That was 36 years ago.

Started with a 1915 Craftsman, 1200 sf, with an acre of land.

Now, it's 3600 sf, still the same acre. One thing we liked about the land in the beginning was the fact that no one can ever build behind us. Going down the small hill, 400 ft is the creek, and all in between is flood plain. The water has never reached our yard.

We've worked on it over the years, it's 'us' now.

It's set up now that if we wanted to add a bedroom and full bath downstairs we could,so I really don't see us moving. Ever.

Considering we just bought it, definitely yes!

I love my house. As we built it and put in "our" touches, I loved it even more. However, I am ready to be done with stairs. My knees are too sore to go up and down the stairs 3 million times a day. So, I am ready for the next chapter in our life. A single story.

No. After living here for 5 yrs now, more and more needs fixing, our HOA is a pain in the tail and my back yard has serious drainage issues.

Melanie, your comment shows that happiness with home can be affected by governing entities. HOA rules are often counterproductive to best practices. States have had to step in and say HOA rules could not trump water rationing laws, and that the benefits of solar roof panels outweighed aesthetic opinions. It often appears that HOA leadership is more interested in control than in providing a stable neighborhood.

We have lived in a mid-century modern for over 50 years. It was the 1953 Canadian Home of the Year for what became Chatelaine Magazine. No basement but good storage and of course lots of light. We've modified and upgraded and still love it.

I love the home, wish I had more property and was on the lake. But the home owners association is not user friendly and it is a bully. But having a properly run HOA helps keep the community maintained.

We designed and built our home 20+ years ago and we still LOVE it. Financially, we are feeling the pinch of retirement, and know we should downsize, but not until and unless we ABSOLUTELY have to!

Hands down! Love it!

Without a doubt! We were so fortunate when we found our house.

I love my house...it's the perfect house for living in, having guests stay, and entertaining. I stuck with my guns and found a one-story white brick modern with laundry on the first floor and a killer floor plan. It's at that point in its life when it needs a few replacement casements, some tweaks to the exterior to make it a little less ungainly & two new decks in back, but other than that it's pretty darn stupendous. I keep looking at the enormous unfinished basement & thinking...."hmmmm"

I love the location just outside a small town in Amish country. Peace, quiet and friendly is wonderful after living in NY, Atlanta & San Francisco ( all wonderful cities but we're retired now and we go back for visits when we want). I love my house because it has 4 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths on 2 1/2 acres. With seven grown children and four grandchildren we can accommodate large family gatherings. I love my house because it's only a few miles from Chesapeake Bay and my husband can sail his heart away and that makes him happy. I could go on & on but you get the idea. A game room in the basement would be nice.

After having moved at least 20 times, I am retired and living in my favorite home to date. It is the perfect size for me and my spouse. It was new when we moved in and the empty garden a blank slate. Today the trees are mature in my shade garden and my fenced yard protects my flower garden from intruders. I continue to add lovely shrubs including gardenias, camilias and hydrangeas. Inside, my aging country french furniture and oil painting collection imbue a sense of elegant comfort. Yes we have stairs but also, a full bed and bath on the main floor should we become unable to climb up. I never dared to love a house due to corporate moves. But now I am finally home to stay.

I voted no, we bought this property for our business the house is to small, 3 bed 1 bathroom, although I have renovated the kitchen and bathroom I still struggle with storage issues, the only plus is the land which is 2600sq metres the river is at the end of the street, and only 7klm to the city. I dream of having a Hamptons style home, I love American design, oh well maybe one day!!

I would absolutely choose this place again. It's beautiful and laid out perfectly for me. Of course my husband and I bought it less than a year ago. Unfortunately, my husband died recently after a long battle with a variety of health issues, and it gets lonely sometimes. But then, I would be lonely anywhere. Here I'm still lonely but in a beautiful home we both really loved in a community we were both excited about being a part of.

That beats what's in second place.

I'd move in a heartbeat. Moved to a new area of the country. Bought where we did because the schools rated 9 out of 10. Come to find out thats because the 9 is based on test scores. They teach to the test. Kids rarely go outside, 2 hours of homework in 2nd grade, 1st graders not even getting snack, more kids on ADHD drugs then I have ever seen in my life. Now paying out the nose for private for one child. Having to teach my other all AP/honors classes child how to write research papers etc so he will be ready for college.

We bought our current home when space was needed for 3 generations at once. Nice neighborhood with great neighbors. Now, it is too much house and the nice neighborhood requires a lot of yard maintenance. One design flaw is the laundry is tiny and on the opposite side of the house from the bedrooms. So you get your exercise on wash day.

Building a retirement home in the middle of a forested lot (with winding pathways through the woods, hopefully no grass and very little yard maintenance to consume every weekend). The laundry is next to the master bath (with pass-through cabinet for the laundry baskets). Looking forward to being able to enjoy this new space!

Met some great neighbors when we were searching for the lot. Dream house is often the focus. I've come to feel that if you don't have good neighbors, it doesn't matter how nice your house is.

I bought my 65 square metre appartment 3 years ago in a neighbourhood built after WWII in the German city where I live, i.e. nothing fancy and at a reasonable price. It's big enough for 2, walking distance to the city centre, with plenty of green spaces around, no parking issues and friendly (and quiet) elderly neighbours. I'm only in my 30s but I love coming home after work and enjoying the sense of peace looking over the tree tops from my balcony.

yes yes, a thousand times yes! We love our farm!

We have downsized twice now and no, I probably would not by this townhouse. It is a single story, which is good for old knees. However, I do not have a view of sunrise or sunsets. My front room looks out across a busy street. Granted there are lots of trees, but I need a view and the street is noisy. I don't mind the downsizing would like a little more property.

I would absolutely buy my home again! I was put off by the outside but when I walked in the door, my breath was stolen. It’s a 4 BR traditional and checked off pretty much everything on my wish list. The only thing I didn’t like was the master suite. The closet is small and so is the master bath but the rest of the house makes up for it in spades! We sit on a beautifully landscaped 1/2 acre and the neighborhood and neighbors are wonderful! We’re 2 blocks on either side from a main road and shopping but feel like we’re in a rural setting. The kitchen has been recently redone and the house was lovingly cared for by the original owners who had the house built in 1969. I wake up every morning (after owning the house for nearly a year) and still can’t believe I get to live here! This is my dream house and even if I have to turn the formal living room into a bedroom suite when I’m older because I can’t do stairs, that’s fine. They’re gonna cart me outta here in a coffin. This is my forever home!

I would absolutely buy my home again! I was put off by the outside but when I walked in the door, my breath was stolen. It’s a 4 BR traditional and checked off pretty much everything on my wish list. The only thing I didn’t like was the master suite. The closet is small and so is the master bath but the rest of the house makes up for it in spades! We sit on a beautifully landscaped 1/2 acre and the neighborhood and neighbors are wonderful! We’re 2 blocks on either side from a main road and shopping but feel like we’re in a rural setting. The kitchen has been recently redone and the house was lovingly cared for by the original owners who had the house built in 1969. I wake up every morning (after owning the house for nearly a year) and still can’t believe I get to live here! This is my dream house and even if I have to turn the formal living room into a bedroom suite when I’m older because I can’t do stairs, that’s fine. They’re gonna cart me outta here in a coffin. This is my forever home!

Although at this point we have updated everything in the house from roof to current remodel in basement, I would choose this house again. The original structure of the house was done very well and the house sits away from the road. We love the street we are on! We are close enough to walk into town. You can change the house but you can't change the location so you should love where the house is!

I bought my house because it's 3 blocks from the beach. The neighborhood, however, was not so great. It's improved slightly but I still don't know any of my neighbors...everyone keeps to themselves. I love what I've done with the place but it is far too big for me. Would I buy it again? Yes. But only for financial reasons. It's increased considerably in value where if I had bought a 2 bedroom, 1 bath home which I considered, I wouldn't make near as much when I sold it. And it's just about time to downsize to a place without stairs.

YES! I love my home! From the first time I saw it, needing renovations and updates all over, I had the feeling that I was home. That feeling has never wavered, though we haven't yet completed all our projects. I know this is where I belong.

In a heart beat! Almost 5 acres of forest plus 100s of acres of abutting crown land on a quiet dead end road. A cozy 900 sq ft house ($40,000) with a wood stove, a wrap around deck and pleasant sunroom. My dream home I found 'by accident'.

No. I don't hate our home, and we've been here for almost 10 years, but I wish we had researched more. Our realtor was a joke. He knew nothing about the area HOAs and he didn't seem interested in even selling us a home. I wish we had researched him and our HOA more.

I voted no, that I would not buy this house again, even though I love it. The reason is that I would like to live closer to my cousin, who is unable to move.

Yes - I love our home. We chose this home because it was close to my mother who babysit all three of our children so we could avoid daycare. Also nice to be close to her to help her with things. After she passed away, we decided our house was the perfect size and affordable and chose not to move. Many of our friends bought new larger homes and now are selling to downsize as there kids move out. We avoided that step.

I love my home but my body no longer does, too many steps and too many aches and pains. Hope to build a single level for the remaining time. I live on just the ground floor now but still four steps up to the door and two more steps up to the kitchen. Hopefully someone will love it here as much as we do.

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Yes - I love our home. We chose this home because it was close to my mother who babysit all three of our children so we could avoid daycare - local movers near me. Also nice to be close to her to help her with things. After she passed away, we decided our house was the perfect size and affordable and chose not to move. Many of our friends bought new larger homes and now are selling to downsize as there kids move out. We avoided that step.

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we also))

I like the house but not the next door neighbors. Also, shortly after we closed on this house (which is our vacation house), the city put a ban on short term vacation rentals, and I was counting on that for additional income. If I had it to do over, I would buy in Palm Springs instead of adjacent Cathedral City, even though PS is slightly more expensive. We would not be able to afford a house or private pool as large as we have now, but we would be able to have rental income.

One neighbor we have now has a basset hound that will occasionally bark for hours without stopping when the owner is away from her house. I called the police, but they said they could not determine where the noise was coming from, and so that was pointless.

The neighbor on the other side has grandchildren that visit almost every day, and they scream loudly whenever they are in the yards playing. Screaming children are worse than the barking dog, but the children do not play outside for more than an hour at a time. One day they were playing in my front yard, screaming, and so I went outside and told them to stay out of my front yard. That night they stole some of the outdoor lighting that lit my sidewalk, but they no longer play in my front yard, and so it was worth it. The little girl used to climb up on the wall and look at our swimming pool, but I glared at her enough times that she no longer does this. We need to increase the height of the wall separating our houses.

Lars, I don't know if you are serious or being sarcastic..I am hoping the latter..

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I like the house but not the next door neighbors. Also, shortly after we closed on this house (which is our vacation house), the city put a ban on short term vacation rentals, and I was counting on that for additional income. If I had it to do over, I would buy in Palm Springs instead of adjacent Cathedral City, even though PS is slightly more expensive. We would not be able to afford a house or private pool as large as we have now, but we would be able to have rental income. Here tax accountant near me from company YBL. in Virginia.

One neighbor we have now has a basset hound that will occasionally bark for hours without stopping when the owner is away from her house. I called the police, but they said they could not determine where the noise was coming from, and so that was pointless.

The neighbor on the other side has grandchildren that visit almost every day, and they scream loudly whenever they are in the yards playing. Screaming children are worse than the barking dog, but the children do not play outside for more than an hour at a time. One day they were playing in my front yard, screaming, and so I went outside and told them to stay out of my front yard. That night they stole some of the outdoor lighting that lit my sidewalk, but they no longer play in my front yard, and so it was worth it. The little girl used to climb up on the wall and look at our swimming pool, but I glared at her enough times that she no longer does this. We need to increase the height of the wall separating our houses.

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what about taxes?

This was perfect for who I was and what I wanted 15 years ago - no regrets. Now I have different priorities and so I'm moving somewhere else. Would I buy this place again? Not now, but if I was who I was 15 years ago, I definitely would buy this place again.