My wife and I were raised in the suburbs in Colorado, in relatively large homes/condos/apartments and we owned a decent sized home in the suburbs for a bit. We've steadily moved into smaller and smaller apartments, in denser and denser city areas until now when we live innthe heart of SF in a pretty small apartment. We're much happier. We also own an RV for when we need to get out of the city for a respite. If you look at total quality of life, at least how my wife and I see it, it's not really about maximizing your square footage and acreage, it's about maximizing your community and activities you love to do. The latter often points to a smaller more modest home, and more community and opportunity.