Obviously, the ideal house and the ideal location/lot don't always go together. I absolutely LOVE my house, and could not replace it. My city neighborhood is fine, but a little more space around the house would make it perfect.

I've seen so many crappy houses on great sites - and so many great houses compromised by their locations - I often wish I could just play Monopoly with the real world.

Always wanted an older home, but after looking in our town, and realizing the maintenance that comes with age, we opted for a newer home with a traditional look and floor plan. My husband is not "handy" except for painting, so we would be having to hire everything.

In Fl, most newer homes all look basically the same with the same basic floor plan. While our home is more traditional in its layout, it does have the open floor plan in the kitchen / family room area. It also has a large bonus room over a garage which is now a "man cave".

I see issues as we age with all bedrooms upstairs. We are already trying to figure out where to put the elevator, but we love our new "old" house.

I love reading these comments. Each is such a profile of the people living in the home whether happy or not so happy and it's obvious we all love talking about ourselves. I love my home in the Midwest, a 1955 ranch with only one previous owner who sold us the house when he was 92. Lovely corner lot, red oak hardwood floors, fireplace and my husband dug a pond and I landscaped to my heart's content. Now we're retired and moving permanently to the Gulf Coast of Florida to a little 2-bedroom home on a lovely little lot with 3 huge oak trees. Sold our Midwest home in 5 days (yes, I'm bragging) and we're ready to go on to a new life of doing more of what we love with no mortgage, lots of sunshine, shells on the beach, busy shorebirds, screeching gulls, and time to devote to our Etsy shop and eBay store. Life is beautiful.

Our house sits on the boundary of the Sierra National Forest. We remodeled and I now have my dream kitchen and master suite. The only thing I wish for would be evergreens and the ocean! But, I love my home.

I loved my house at first sight 45 years ago.It was 100 years old It had amazing potential, and awesome yard and original pine floors. It is even better today after much remodeling and TLC. And now I am moving to a brand new house and it was love at first sight ,too. I can't wait to move in.

When we bought our house 43 years ago, it was intended to be our "Starter Home". It had absolutely no charm, but charming possibilities and great bones. The former owner had recently installed copper plumbing throughout and had made other expensive mechanical upgrades. As we added out own touches to the house, we grew to love it. When we were expecting our second child, we needed more room, so we shopped for another house in the same neighborhood. We also considered buying a lot in a hilltop area that his partners were developing. When it was time for the decision to be made, we realized that we had a significant attachment to our home, our neighbors, and our sense of community here. We added a great room, a mud room, a master bedroom with two walk-in closets and an en-suite bath. As it happened, my husband had an aneurysm several years ago and can no longer drive a car. Aren't we fortunate to have stayed in the same place! He can walk to the bank, laundry, grocery store, restaurants, hair stylist, spa, florist, post office,etc. Yet, we live on a tree lined street in a true 1950's neighborhood. Sometimes, I think it would be nice to live in a one floor brick rancher in which there is little upkeep. However, I would miss the charm of my dear Cape Cod

@jalarse Your house is SO beautiful!! What state do you live in?

Streator and ptowncook, thank you for your lovely comments. At times I look at the all the things that need to be done and it becomes overwhelming. Need to slow down and just do one thing at a time. Ptowncook I live on the Olympic Penninsular in Washington

I sold a larger home that my ex-husband and I had built about 19 years ago. I searched for a smaller home in the neighborhood that was in a patio home community so I wouldn't have maintenance issues. I found the perfect place. 1400+ square feet. 2 bedrooms 2 baths plus and office all on one floor. It is convenient and cozy. It was left in great shape by previous owners and had a neutral palate so almost all I had to do was decorate it to my own taste and create a bit of extra storage in the 3 car garage. I have lived here for a year now and I wouldn't trade it. I loved my "old" home but this one suits me perfectly in my current lifestyle. I love having less "stuff" to keep track of and maintain. Give me the simple life!

To the lady in AR, why not sell your current home and get another one (or rent) in the same area?

Separately, I am with those who wonder why people retire to cold/snowy places. Some years ago, I read an article about young retirees (55 to 60) moving to the Denver area and how 10 to 15 years later they were slipping on the ice and breaking bones or afraid to leave their homes in the winter.

For the most part I love it, but there are several features I wish we could go back 30 years and change. Biggest is that we didn't allow enough room for our den yet have a living room that is hardly ever used. Another is the stairs -- I know they have to follow a formula, but the risers are so short that people are always tempted to try to take two stairs at once. Another big thing is that we live about 20 minutes from town, which results in a $5 round trip gas cost.

I love my house but I would definitely change the location. I would put it by the beach or a lake right now I'm in the high desert.

would have sacrificed longer time to find the right one story house instead of settling for a 2 story that sort of works for us.

I'm a person of changes and although I love my present home but given a new opportunity I definitely would love to have a different home just for a change.

We built a 2 story log home with 5 bedrooms + back in 1981..now that all our children are grown and in different states this house is way to big for us. Being in our 70's we now want and need a single story home. Our 5 acre property is great but more suited to a family. Would like a nice ranch with a great kitchen.

this is a tough one, I like our home but it's too big with so much unused and wasted space. When we built, on a subdivision, my husband was working from home and our family was far so we needed both an office and a guest room. Now both rooms are clutter magnets since they are no longer used regularly. I'd chop them off in a snap to have a larger kitchen.

We're in our 50s and were tired of our (beautiful) three story house on a large lot in the countryside. Now we live in a big city, and our home suits us extremely well. We chose it because it's a bungalow, no stairs, no basement, and although the lot is small (which is what we wanted), the atrium garden is completely private and easy to maintain. Had to put a lot of money into the renovation, but now it's the perfect place to live, and we can age in place. Plus we have no mortgage, which is absolutely wonderful.

We live in a condo development for 55+ and although I love what we have done to the house, I do not like living in an association. They are very parental, and the dues can go up in a heartbeat if they need the money. It is a lovely development, now all sold out, but I wouldn't do it again. In fact we are looking to move.

I feel fortunate to have our house in a small town with the friendliest neighbors. We live near many of our children and grandchildren. We were able to transfer to a larger but handicapped-accessible home in the same cul-de-sac when we became empty nesters. The floor plan of our home lets us use the bedroom with a comfortable sitting area, kitchen, bathroom and laundry room on most days. Our dogs use a doggy door into our fenced yard for the many hours we are away from home. We still have large areas for entertaining and family gatherings and have help maintaining these areas. In this area we have many services at reasonable prices and can make changes as we want, but have been very content with our original remodel. We anticipate living here until we need to move to an assisted living facility although hospice and nursing services are readily available. Driving will become our last hurdle if we can't depend on children and neighbors to meet this need.

moved to AZ in 2003 market was hot ,purchased townhome ; bottomed dropped out, market value also dropped and has not recovered . I keep hearing from realtors that I should just wait until next year ,well that was four years ago. Still waiting Pablo1947

Having raised my small children in a poorly designed bungalow with all bedrooms off the living room, I despised the layout, especially when entertaining. Many years later, my future hubs tried to convince me that we should buy a bungalow and I dug my heels in and said no. Three years have passed since we purchased our two storey and as I make my daily trek up and down two flights of stairs my knees wish they had of listened to him. In the future, we will only consider a side/back split or a bungalow. Just say no to stairs.

I love our house and I guess I am stuck with the neighborhood. We will never be able to sell until some of the foreclosed houses are bought up. I do like my neighbors so it's not terrible but it makes me sad to see so many neglected properties.

We knew it was a risk when we bought it -- a small 1920's cottage smack in the middle of an area undergoing rapid development. It was also in need of major repair.

Firstly, we were concerned that it could be taken by eminent domain, given the development in the area, and started the home repairs conservatively. We spiced it up with elements that could come with us - like a chef's stove - in case the house was taken.

Lately, the land surrounding has been mostly repurposed. Depending on how it continues, either we will have gotten in on the ground level of something special, or the development will ruin the feel of the home.

The house itself is bright with good south and east exposure, leafy views, and historic wood windows and built-ins. The layout lends itself well to a planned addition, which will extend into the very generous back yard. The hope is to add square footage as well as indoor-outdoor flow. The yard is my favorite part and where we spend most of our time.

So the jury is still out. A threat still exists, but fingers crossed, we will end up with a nicely customized home with historic character and an amazing yard within walking distance of great shops and restaurants. If so, the end product would be something we never could have bought.

i don't like mine right now. semi-detached with no soundproof nightmare.

Yes! After 5 years of waiting for the perfect model to be build in the Brownstones at Park Potomac, it was being built. Now 5 years later, it was the best choice! Especially on holidays with family and friends.

But I may change the place
I wish if i could just take my house it self just to better aria

I like having an association, as long as the board members know what they are doing. The worst part of being an owner where there is no association is that you have little to no leverage over your neighbors - rusting cars on the lawn, barking dogs, strange paint job, etc., you generally have no recourse unless you have an association.

Absolutely!
It was solidly built with unpainted Oak woodwork, in a 1918 house, on an acre of land. To us, perfect for remodeling
It's in the school system I went to, and my Dad went to. My kids went there too

I voted "No" based on a few realities: 1) My husband promised to buy me a house in my hometown after our wedding (at age 60, my first), and made good on his promise; the life we share in this house has been wonderful. 2) We bought what we could, based on our finances and the real estate market at that time. 3) Despite things related to size, location, age, etc. that make this house challenging, our life in it is the best ever.

So .... If money was not an object, I could be ready to move this weekend. But only if I got to keep the things money can't buy.

I love my house, (now that I painted over the garish two bedrooms...except for the gaudy powder room wallpaper that I am procrastinating taking out, by simply covering it in antique textile hangings and wood carvings)...

Hindsight being 20/20, I would not have expected the seller to be a gentleman of his word. The sellers did not keep their promises, and I did not anticipate they would be lacking in character.

That said, once the small faults were corrected...I do love my home!

i've bought 4 residences, i'd buy the last 3 again, they were right for us at the time. the first one was a mistake, and by coincidence my husband's job changed and we needed to relocate shortly after buying it. (happily a go go real estate market meant we actually made money on it in 3 months of ownership). 3 months was long enough to know that split entry homes are not for me. tri levels, yes. colonials, yes. victorian village houses, yes. split entry, no no and no.

our current (and probably last house) is perfect beyond our wildest dreams. we wanted to shift from suburbia to urbia to be closer to the city and concerts and many friends and be somewhere our adult children would like to visit. i wanted to "ditch the car" and be able to walk everywhere. now i have car trips down to every other week for a big grocery shop at a suburban style supermarket. life is very good. location location location.

and the house is adorable in a historic district and a front staircase and a back staircase and sloped ceiling bedrooms on the 3rd floor. what more could i want.

(and i'm loving reading all of these stories folks posted)

Hi nnigrt... Just curious what city you relocated to. My husband and I are just starting to think where we might one day want to move to. We also want someplace friendly, with fun things to do, and someplace our kids will want to visit. Hopefully by some water as well. You're not by chance near Charleston, SC or Savannah, GA?

I voted no because we bought our property to train racehorses, it has everything we need for the horses, but sadly i dont like the house.

I voted no because, if a tree or tornado destroyed my house today, I wouldn't shed a tear. (as long as my pups were okay!). I hate plaster walls and all the water issues. I do, however, love my neighborhood and my lot. Lots of green and privacy. Great neighbors. If only I had the funds to completely redo this money pit.

I'm laughing because I have often thought the same thing. As long as all living creatures were safe and sound, I would welcome the cathartic relief of watching this house and all its memories burn to the ground.

No- - - I sure wouldn't buy the same home again. Our garage is definitely too small even though its the standard size. its also across the street from a middle school and the realtor lied concerning the traffic. Also, wanted a home that the back wall of the garage was facing the back yard but those are hard to find. Small garage and lousy traffic are the main reasons for not purchasing this home again. The way things are going in Texas, I'd have loved to bought out in the country.

Well, this is an old thread but I would buy our house again. Big enough but not too big, 1 story, well built! And cute. Of course after all this time ( 2+ decades) we've fixed lots of stuff! Replacing cracked pool surround is project for this year. Or bathroom. Or, or, or.......

Hands down!

No! Mainly, because for the first time in 25 years it's in a town and we both hate it. Looking forward to, one of these days a rural home. 20 acres so we can grow our own hay.

My parents however, are 86 and still living in the first home they bought in their early 30's. Dad's job kept them moving around for the first few years. I look at some of these homes and watch HGTV and wonder how we survived with 5 kids 1 full and a 1/2 bath, no playroom, omg. Lol.

Happy St Patrick's Day to All even if your not Irish I am not lol..yes I love my Home it changed from an ugly Duckling to a very Beautiful Home alas the neighborhood is changing and it sickens me , it is my first home since I came to this Country but also have a second one in New Hampshire where I have the Mountains with a Log Cabin and a view forever with no one in sight and the Hills come alive

AnAhitA: It's a beautiful home. I am sorry that the area is changing and not for the better. The only good thing is that if the prices come down as a result, that some middle/upper middle class people who were priced out will want to buy there and fix up the older homes such as you did. I hope it all works out.

Thank you goodwyfe , I surely hope so after so many years of rehab the City typically turns it back on you, 15 yrs ago we where made a Historical District so how does one then get Clearance for Multi Family housing in big Victorian , This neighborhood was established in 1844 ..Now when you call City Hall it prompts this, If you want English press 2 REALLY, Really are they NUTS ..no Espanole for me Guacamole or friole sigh..

Yes everyone guess we are all in the same Boat , My Home we purchased when I was 19 instead of spending money foolishly we invested , I ask my self was it worth it ? Yes ..it was maybe I should look on the bright side I will hire some as a maid and a gardener hey I just created a Workplace wish me luck

Keg_52 sorry to hear your Husband passed may he rest in Peace Mine passed on too he walked out with a JLo and I never looked back seeing I had the House , is this a group session for healing ?? LOL I think it might be ..We bonded on the Internet Highway and so shall it be Have a great Day all of you many Blessings

Yes I would buy the same house. It has always just felt right. I can think of several features that I would like to be different, but overall I really love my house. Been in it for 23 years. When I drive up my heart still quickens as I think "this is my house".

I currently live in a 2 story. I like 2 stories but would choose a floor plan that would accommodate converting a room on the 1st floor room into master bedroom

I love historic-looking houses very much. I am a young woman and grew up in one. Although my brothers and sisters are going for modern houses, I am sticking to my old-fashion one.

Actually, I am in the process of building my own house, and guess what; I am building one just like what I saw on Houzz over a year ago. Nothing can take away the beauty of the houses from the past.

Why build restore those abandoned mansion through out the USA ..like rescue Animals, recycle and why do people need such huge mansions new and shiny