The idea of “living small” has blanketed TV and social media for the past few years. The “tiny house” has surged in popularity. But now a new survey suggests that people may not be happy living in 400 square feet or less.

Forty-four percent of more than 2,000 adults recently surveyed by the real estate website Trulia said they had housing regrets—and the biggest regret among homeowners centered on the size of their home. One in three homeowners surveyed said they wished they had chosen a home that was larger. Only 9 percent of owners surveyed wished they had downsized.

Gene Tempest wrote a personal essay for The New York Times about the struggles living in a 492-square-foot tiny home that she shares with her husband. She says they chose the lifestyle out of financial necessity more than as a way of life.

“Deep inside the expensive custom closets and under the New Age Murphy beds, the pro-petite propaganda has hidden some unseemly truths about how the other half lives,” Tempest writes in the essay. “No one writes about the little white lies that help sell this new, very small American dream.”

She says the items in her tiny home seem more imposing than they would otherwise in a larger space. The inside of the home also gets more wear and tear because of the smaller square footage. She also explains how the building of a tiny home can be challenging in complying with business codes and securing a loan for it.

But there are still plenty of tiny-home proponents who continue to emphasize the perks of this way of life. They argue that living tiny has several benefits, including being more budget-friendly, requiring fewer materials, and allowing for more simple living.

Source: “Are People Actually Happy in Tiny Houses?” Country Living (July 20, 2017)