The Up Sides of Last Year's Down Sizing

After cramming the last load of stuff in to my car, I closed the garage door and did not look back.  No wistful side glance, no peak in the rear view mirror.  It was more of a drive with the knees, wave the hands out the sun roof , blast Bruno's Happy on the stereo kind of moment.

Friends and family offered opinions of my home and wondered why I would want to sell it. The house had its bells and whistles: volume ceilings, custom cabinetry, solar tubes, sky lights, screened pool, four bedrooms, fussy bushes, hard wood floors, classic suburbia neighbors (the kind you never see).  It also took a lot of time and money to own it, or have it own me.

The ambitious young couple smiled as I slid Baldwin keys across the closing table then stood to flee. I sped away to my new life in a very small house, near the ocean.

My tiny home had been a rental for the previous fifteen years and the yard had little more than a few sprigs of something and sand.  Perfection!  

Built in 1953, there are no volume ceilings!  Hosanna! The back yard has no pool, providing ample space to do the cartwheels when my $60.00 electric bill arrives.  

The neighbors are a mix of veterans, retirees, young couples, Northerners, Southerners, black, white, and a couple of hoarders. They smile, talk, wave and interact with each other. Children play outside. In the fussy bushes neighborhood, children/teens stayed in doors.  Top rated school districts come at a price.  

And.....cue the trumpets....there is NO HOA in this salt-aired hood.  Praise.The.Lord. While there are some upsides to living in a community with Home Owner's Associations (home value retention, etc) there are some people who should never, ever, ever reside in one.  If you do not wish to argue with association folk about what type of fence is allowed on your property, or if fence installation is allowed - at all - on your property, you may be one of those people.

All of my housing expenses have gone down.  There is less to clean and more time to enjoy life! I bought a bike, and a basket, and a flower bell for the handle bars!  There are sidewalks for miles along the river, and outdoor cafe's aplenty.  And the beach!  There is the beach!!!  "If you are lucky enough to have a house by the beach, you are lucky enough!"  True!....so, so true.

After a year of packing, donating, selling and leaving behind thousands of square feet in suburbia, I am living my biggest and best dream yet, in less than 1100 square feet, by the sea.