Bigger isn't always better

My husband and I are going house hunting this weekend.

We've been toying with the idea of ditching the suburbs to be closer to New York City. I would love to move to "the city," what folks who live in the Jersey suburbs call NYC, but my husband enjoys a more relaxed, less crowded environment. So, we compromised: If we can't live in the city, let's at least live close to the city. Right now, we're about a 45-minute train ride from NYC. We'll be looking in the Jersey City/Hoboken area, which is about 10 minutes outside of the city. And both are easily accessible to the city by the train and ferry.

We have a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house now. It's about 2,600 square feet if you include the full, finished basement. Unless we get lucky and find a steal, we'll be downsizing to a two-bedroom condo. For the sake of our sanity, we'll need at least 1,500 square feet and a garage for my husband's new motorcycle. And because the area is right outside of New York, we'll be paying twice as much for about half the room.

In a era when bigger means better, some have asked why we're downsizing. It's just the two of us now. We don't need our backyard; hardly ever use our deck; never use the fully-furnished office and only use the guest bedroom when someone is visiting. For us, right now, it's too much space.

And some say we're foolish to pay more for less, but I say you pay for what you get! I love the appeal of the city - bright lights, big city! My eyes light up whenever I see the New York skyline on TV. I love the culture, the food, the eclectic people. There's nothing like it. There's a vibe about New York that's unmatchable.

It took seven months and about 60 houses before we could agree on the house we finally purchased. There was so much overpriced crap for sale four years ago, that we had to wade through the sludge to find something in our price range that didn't need a major overhaul. I'm hoping the process the second time around won't be so painful.

The housing slump will be a double-edge sword for us: Sellers are desperate, so they will hopefully be flexible. But this time around, we're sellers, too, and will want the best price for our home. But fortunately, we don't have to move. If our house doesn't sell, we'll just take it off the market until the economy is better. New York City will always be there, waiting for us to move closer to reap its benefits.