House large enough?

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House large enough?
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Forum -> Inquiries & Offers -> Moving/ Relocating

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amother

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 2:57 pm

I have no frame of reference as I don't live in the USA.
Is 4000square ft considered a large house for a suburban area outside of NY? Large enough to comfortably suit a family with six children?

Either 4000square feet with a large backyard, or 5000square feet with a smaller yard -- which would you choose (for an 8-person family with young children)?

amother

Goldenrod

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 2:58 pm

Both are HUGE in my opinion (and I live in Lakewood)
I would take the one with a yard, especially considering that it's 4000 sq ft (I would take the one with a yard even if it meant that it's 3000 sq ft, or 2500)
Just for comparison, We are a 5 person family and live in 1600 sq ft.

amother

Wine

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 2:59 pm

4000 sq ft is very large IMHO. We are a family of 11 in under 3000 sq ft and it's plenty big for us.

4000 sq ft with a yard sounds wonderful.

amother

Aubergine

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:02 pm

A 4000 square foot house is a very nice size. A 5000 is even better. Regarding the yard, are you outdoor people? Is it very hot/cold/buggy or beautiful? I have the most under utilized back yard in the world as my kids don't like to go out without me and I am very sun sensitive, always feel the need to putter around my kitchen, and get bored outside easily without other mommies like in a park. My sister loves her yard and spends all waking hours from Pesach-Thanksgiving in it.

amother

Blue

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:04 pm

I live in a 3600 square foot house and I feel like I'm rattling around in here Smile

.

We have eight kids.

If everything else is equal, I would take a large yard, but double check that everything else is equal. You may like the layout of decor better in one house over the other.

mha3484

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:04 pm

I have 1400 sq feet with a yard and 4 kids and its more then adequate. We have a full basement which we plan to finish and make more living space which will make our house 2800 sq feet of living space in total.

sky

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:06 pm

Both are very large.

amother

Lawngreen

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:10 pm

Both are large. Aside from whether you will use the backyard, consider the location (which can't be changed) and the layout (which sometimes can be).

amother

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:13 pm

This has all been very helpful -- thank you so much for your responses!

Raisin

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:19 pm

My house is something over 2000sq feet and its not quite big enough for our 6 kids. (5 bedrooms) The living area is big enough, but we have 3 large bedrooms and 2 tiny ones. The large bedrooms are big enough to sleep 3 people comfortably, the small ones only 1 person. So as a result I have 3 kids sharing one large room while 3 other kids each have their own. 1 large (master) and 4 medium bedrooms would suit us much better.

4000sq feet sounds plenty big enough but look at the bedroom configurations.

A larger yard is great but also requires more maintanence. My garden is small but big enough to hold a treehouse, a trampoline, some hammocks and to sit outside and relax.

amother

Aqua

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:20 pm

We have a 3100 sq ft house and feel like I'm living in a palace.
Of course a lot depends on the layout too.
I'd for sure take the one with a bigger backyard if the houses are more or less equal.

Amarante

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 3:48 pm

Both are large but all things being equal I prefer larger indoor space to a big backyard. Unless you are planning to host football games, how much backyard do you need for normal activities.

Layout is much more critical for gracious living than square footage. A large home can have wasted space and be poorly designed so that it is not comfortable to live in. When I look at real estate listings, I see many homes with better layouts

amother

Ivory

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 4:21 pm

You need to compare indoor living spaces. How many bedrooms? How many bathrooms? Are the bedrooms tiny?

amother

Sienna

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 4:25 pm

OP are you from Europe and moving to the USA?
WE are and we're looking to move to somewhere with big properties and quality of life. May I ask where you are moving to?
Any other ideas welcome too...

amother

White

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 4:28 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Your frame of reference is that 4000 square feet is 372 square meters.

I assume you live somewhere now.

What is considered a 'large house' depends on where the house is.

Are you moving to Texas? Everything is bigger in Texas.

amother

Peach

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 4:29 pm

Quote:

You need to compare indoor living spaces. How many bedrooms? How many bathrooms? Are the bedrooms tiny?

I agree with this. Layout makes a big difference.
My house is just under 3000 sq ft but it is only 3 bedrooms. There is so much wasted space - huge bedrooms, huge bathrooms... yes it's spacious, but with 4 kids ka"h we are completely out of space. I already have two kids in each room and when we have guests it means either 4 together in one room, or putting 2 in my room. Putting up walls and reconfiguring would be too complicated with the layout.
So although the square footage sounds large, we seriously are thinking of moving soon

SingALong

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 4:33 pm

I’m in 3600 sq ft house, 5 bedrooms 3 bathrooms with 6 kids. In 2 bedrooms I have 2 kids each, 2 bedrooms have 1 kid in each, and then the master. (I have s 6th bedroom and bathroom in the basement for guests. )
Dr/lr space is huge, and kitchen is large too. But the seating part of the kitchen is too small, we squish around he table when we all eat together, while the cooking area is huge. So layout and how things are spaced are really important. But the room of the kitchen should really be large enough for us since square footage wise it is big.
Also does either or both homes have a garage? That’s a big plus for storage for bikes, sukkah, other stuff, etc.

amother

Gray

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 6:57 pm

For context: We're in the NYC suburbs. Our house is slightly less than 3000 sq ft. It is considered medium-size. We have a large living room, separate dining room, eat-in kitchen, powder room and large family room on the first floor, plus the entry hall. Upstairs we have a master bedroom with a small bathroom, three other bedrooms and a full bathroom. We also have a finished basement and a two-car garage, but I don't think they are included in the footage. 3000 sq ft is often considered the largest anyone would want to keep clean without hired help.

What's more important is the number of rooms and their configuration. Our bedrooms could hold two kids each, but not comfortably. They are designed to hold a bed, desk and dresser with room to spare, but not two of each. Our dining room is designed for a table seating six, eight with leaves (but a little cramped), ten if you double up at the ends. If the room were a little longer, and the living room a little smaller, it would be more comfortable for a large family without adding any space.

Either 4000 or 5000 sq ft would be a large house. You would probably have enough bedrooms, but look at the floor plan for details. Some kids really love to play in the yard, but often the yard is underutilized. I have observed that kids don't mind having a smaller yard. Look at safety factors such as proximity to busy streets and bodies of water, and whether there's a convenient place for a sukkah. These are more useful than numbers.

amother

Pearl

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 8:20 pm

Amarante wrote:

this. I just moved into a 4000 square foot home and while it is very difficult to clean so much, it's really not so big because so much wasted space. For reference, I have 3 kids kah.

dankbar

Mon, Sep 09 2019, 9:39 pm

Both are huge. I live in Bklyn. Family of 6. 1400 sq ft. Kitchen/dinnete nice size. Dining room small. Living room/playroom small. 3 bedrooms small. 2 full bathrooms. Laundry room is a closet. Pesach kitchen is a closet. 2 small porches.
They pushed everything into this minute space.
Don't feel like I have enough space or closets/storage in my home.

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