As someone who lived happily in about 400 square feet for 10 years (in the European capital where it was located, this was a good-sized apartment) only each individual can answer this question for themselves. People tend to be like goldfish, acquiring possessions if their "pond" increases. As a designer I can make a tiny house work as easily as a mansion if that's what the client wants. Neither one will work if the client thinks "ah, well, I really wanted more space...."

Your post sounds like you want permission for the bigger house. Two of us live in a house that is about 3200 square feet and we have a dog. The dog really could care how big the yard is. We have a weekend home and he is as happy there with a huge lot as he is in a smaller urban lot with nice "walks." Don't foist this decision on having a dog or the dog's psychological state. If you want more yard and a big old house, that is no one's business but your own.

Sadly our animal companions don't live forever and our health and well-being aren't always a constant. Decisions made on the basis of what is happening today may not fit 10 years from now. FInd the house that makes you the happiest in your price range and go from there.

If the smaller home is located in an area with lots of parks and is very "walkable" for both you and the dog, it would be easier, I think.

Do you WANT a bigger home? Do you have hobbies, guests? There are so many reasons to choose a location or home style...I'd go for something that would be easily accessible if my mobility was suddenly impaired. The remaining considerations are almost bordering on fluff, for me at least.

Your heart is calling for #1, go for it! :-) You won't be happy with #2.

Thanks...the problem is option #2 is farther away from the public park spaces. And if I go with a bigger yard/home, then both the pup and I won't need the public spaces quite so much. I hate feeling hemmed in (I got spoiled living at my home in Boston).

Maybe it's just this particular Option #1 house that I have my eye on that is the problem. It needs a lot of 'underwear drawer' (aka mechanicals/big ticket maintenance) plus stripping of all the public area woodwork. That, plus the big house price, seems a bit daunting (even tho it's financially very doable).

There is always another house...if this one is not the one, there will be another along shortly.

I have had clients who bought a house because they had the itch, we did work on it, and they sold it in short order because it still wasn't what they wanted all along. Don't settle. These are not the only two options.

I hate to throw another variable in your decision process, but if you plan to live in the house awhile, consider one with the large bedroom/ bath and laundry on the first floor. I went to this configuration in my early 60s as knee replacements were necessary. Although I was very mobile a few years later when I bought what I presume is my last home, it had to have everything I needed included garage on one floor. It has a great basement for storage and a great second story with two more bedrooms and full bath for visitors and temporary residents (like a family member between jobs or recovering from health problem). These can be found in some single family homes and increasingly in 55+ communities that have both singly family and townhouses.

ceh4041, most of the houses I'm looking at have an ability to expand the 1/2 bath down into at least a 3/4, room for a W/D and a sunroom or DR that could easily be converted to a bedroom. With a broken ankle and 2 ACL replacements (not to mention a elderly mom) I have always considered aging in place :)

Greta Interiors, agreed. I have the luxury of being in a very nice rental for the time being, so there is no huge rush...except the aggravation factor...and sometimes my emotions get the best of me. I may even resort to handwriting a few letters to folks whose properties I like....in the hopes they'd consider selling off market. I don't want (or need) a fully renovated HGTV mansion...I'd actually prefer to buy from someone who has not remuddled but rather, one who has taken basic care and maintenance over the last 30 years, rather than aesthetics.

If the house is too large, are there areas or rooms you could close off, with only minimal heating and cooling. That's the primary issue with 'too large', isn't it?

Second consideration: how social is your dog? When we moved from a large-lot subdivision into a town, our older dog was overjoyed. She could lay at the fence and see activity! When we walked, we'd meet people who petted her! She thrived in the new home despite the yard being much smaller than before.

nickel_kg, Yes, I've already researched individual 'thermostats' for the steam/hot water radiator heat so that I could minimally heat the finished attics and several of the bedrooms. I am the family holiday house now, so those bedrooms would come in handy several times a year. My dog is social, but this overall area has lots of dogs, but is very much 'on leash'. This would allow to him to run (he's used to an hour of off leash exercise in my Boston backyard park ) pretty freely without having to schlep to a park every morning. Then, have a nice spot near a window to watch the world go by :)

Any time you move, everyone in the house has to adjust to the new normal-- humans, dogs, cats, guinea pigs etc. I am really confused that all this emphasis is put on what a dog is "used to" when looking to make a major purchase. I love my dog more than life, but he doesn't pay my bills. Therefore he doesn't get a vote about where we live or what sort of features its has. Sure I have thought "oh the dog would love that yard" but I have never put cash on the table for a house because of that. My dog will not outlive me, nor my mortgage commitment. Thus, he is a treasured family member but not one whose habits drive decisions, nor one who can't adapt to whatever new situation we are all in.

OP, it sounds like you just aren't ready to give up what you used to have, mentally or emotionally. You seem to be looking for the exact thing you used to have in a different spot only bigger (but not too big.) This is not a thread about the choice between two properties. This is a thread about you trying to accept the parameters of your move and the new area. I see this with clients who buy a new house but maybe didn't truly want to leave the last one. There is difficulty making decisions, wistfulness, and even an effort to re-create with decor or remodeling what they used to have. There is often projecting ("the kids want it this way" or "my husband can't get used to this kitchen being different from the last one.") and comparing everything to the old place. These are all red flags because I can't recreate with precision what they left. If I attempt that, the end result will fall short and they will be disappointed. That is when I encourage them to embrace the new, try what's new, remember the past house fondly but let it go.

Take some time-- you have the luxury. Say goodbye to the old house and your old lifestyle. Stop blaming everything on what the dog wants and is used to! Start recognizing that this is what YOU want and were used to. Open yourself to the newness of your situation. Don't shop for something as important as a house (and as expensive) until you are 100% ready to move forward. Good luck!

Greta Interiors, fair point. I've communicated that the large yard is about the dog. It's also me...I like having space in between neighbors. and, the option to put in a pool someday. Do I need acres, no, but I like lots between 1/3 and 1/2 an acre. They feel right and have the added benefit of running room for da dog. It's just easier to make it about the dog ;)

Greta, that's great advice.

Navi Jen - I love my dogs more than a lot of people love their human children. Yet I 100% agree with what Greta said. The dogs will be happy anywhere as long as they are with you and you are happy. :)

One of my standard lines - half joking, half not! - is that a mortgage is harder to get out of than a marriage. LOL. I feel bad when people pull the trigger to buy a home and then regret it. Of course nothing is ever "perfect" and buying any home requires some compromises too though.

We have dogs, not kids. They happily adapt. We've even lived in a monthly stay hotel at one point with three rough collies in the middle of a snowy Upstate New York winter. They adapted. Your dogs only concern is to make you happy.

The better house/smaller yard will force you to walk the dog more often. In turn, this will force you to interact with your community as you walk the dogs. You will become a part of the community rather than an observer. As we age, after the accessibility issue, we need community and social interaction more than anything else.

We just moved back into town after living on four acres. The new to us home is large on a very small lot. There is only enough room for the the two dogs to run out for a quick business on a rainy night or some time in the sun on the patio. Out of necessity we walk the neighborhood. We came back into town because we felt isolated on the four acres. We know everybody in our neighborhood because we walk the dogs. People who can't have dogs come out to walk with us and the dogs. It creates community ties.

Find a small house in the neighborhood you like a lot on a smallish lot and become part of your community. It will be good for you in the long run.

homechef59, thanks...but I think our definition of large lots is very different. I live in an inner belt suburb. I'm talking about the difference between under a quarter versus a half acre. Still very small, comparatively. Thanks

A 1/2 acre level lot is better for privacy, if you're able to afford the landscaping/yard maintenance/mulching/watering costs. Looking for a home with first floor bed and bath/laundry is recommended, as it only takes one accident to inconvenience you (and who knows for how long). If you need more privacy/sound abatement, Green Giant Arborvitaes grow rapidly and do not have shallow root problems other evergreens exhibit.