Down sizing means not only reducing space but work. Half the square footage means less house work. DH and I downsized the house by half but found another we liked and unfortunately it has 2 acres to keep up. The area we moved to has 1/4 the taxes that our other home had and from a financial standpoint we are way ahead but the yard is more work. We looked for over 6 months and this was the only one we found that didn't require a complete gutting to come close to meeting our needs. We live in every room every day so no wasted space. Ann in TN