De-influencing you from getting a big house

that's been really interesting in my moving from Texas to California saga is people's reactions about me giving up my big house for a condo or townhouse situation and the clutching of pearls that's come with that. I've just had a lot of comments that are like, wow, like not mean comments, but just like, you're really going from that to that and you're really going from that big beautiful house to this condo and wow, that's a big difference. And I just want to say, if you are younger than me, I'm 31, if you're in your 20s or even if you're older than me and you feel like you need to earn more, you need a bigger house, you need a bigger house, you're constantly on Zillow, the bigger house will make you happier, the bigger house will be better. I just want to offer you that I've done the big house. I had a starter house, then a slightly bigger house, then we ended in a big old lot, Dallas house, five bed, five bath, added on, renovated the whole thing, backyard, pool, the deck, the and it doesn't make you happier. Not only do you spend so much money maintaining a large property with a large lot and a pool and stairs and just all of that stuff that comes with having a large property, it is also the time and stress. The bigger the house, the bigger the problems. We had a nice house and I couldn't tell you how much time, energy, weekends, my husband and I spent dealing with the problems with the house. And I feel like it's very ingrained in Western culture here that like a big house is the family dream. And not that I'm saying that, I'm not saying I'll never have a big house again, my girls are going to get bigger and need more space as they become teenagers. So I'm not saying that. I'm just offering the perspective that bigger is not always better. So if you are living in an apartment, if you're living in a condo, and if you're living in a townhouse or like a small house and you feel societal pressure to like make more money, go get a bigger mortgage, sell your small house and get the bigger one. You don't need to do that. All that will happen is you'll buy more shit and that shit will accumulate and take up space and you'll spend so much money maintaining the house and so much time, even when you hire help, you're still spending time finding people to help you maintain the house. So I hope this encourages someone and someone needed to hear this. I'm not saying I'll never have a big house again. My girls are going to get bigger and need more space as they become teenagers. So I'm not saying that. I'm just offering the perspective that bigger is not always better.