You can also add that with a fixed single-retiree income, I am way more frugal than in the days when I was living in a bigger place, with a spouse who had a good job, and raising two kids. Financial considerations helped me decide to downsize from over 1600 square feet to just under 1300. My energy/water consumption went way down and I moved to a town with more user friendly services. Like public transportation and greenways that connect neighborhoods. The lovely thing about life is the choices we get to make. Not all my choices would resonate with everyone. But they make me happy & that's not nothing.