Small house? Small Land?

Start small or not at all?

This may be a controversial one but I don't care. I'm not here to offend anyone nor am I attacking peoples life style. This is a personal opinion that I just want to share with anyone who would like to listen.
 I have a problem. A little niggle that makes me feel unsettled and restless and a little disappointed. So lets start.
I have been very blessed to have grown up in the Western Australia Perth Hills ( The Hills us locals call it) and I loved it and still do. I remember growing up and ours being the only house on the street with acres of uncleared neighbouring sites. We would climb on stumps, up trees and balance on logs meters from the ground. We were forced to use our imaginations (we didn't have play stations or laptops or even mobile phones) and they took us to places that our friends still live. 
When it rained our dirt drive way turned into a massive 'lake' and I would make a boat out of Aluminium Foil and place my Barbies in it. I would play out in the cold with those tin boats for hours until I was sopping with rain! I loved that time. 

Exploring the outdoors

My childhood home isn't big. It is an open plan four bedrooms, two bathrooms home. It's spacious enough but not big in comparison to some of the homes built around us. Over the years we have watched houses around us been built on land that has been cleared unnecessarily of all trees. The newer the house the bigger the house. The newer the land purchase, the more trees cleared to put the big house on. It seems as though over time we are told that we must live a particular lifestyle, have the big house and the stuff that goes in the house. The more stuff the better. The more expensive even better! Buy the big house and spend your whole life filling it with the newest and greatest thing to come out. This will last ten minutes then there will be something else to replace it that is even newer and more clever. Ok, I do have a point. I promise. 

Couldn't resist adding Louis

I have been looking at buying or building a house for many years now (since I was about 13 years old, I started young) and I have made a discovery about myself and my tastes.
In my current circumstances I would have to save for a while and I would be able to afford one of those cheap house and land packages. You know the ones where there is acres of cleared , sandy land and you can pay heaps of money for a morsel of it and build your dream home? I have seen tonnes popping up all over the place and quiet rightly they are a great stepping stone into the housing market. But this is where I have my problem. There are tiny slices if land and great big houses plonked on them that there is no backyard! What the? I recently moved out of a house that was in one of these estates. Big house, small land. There was only a strip of grass out the back and limestone where the washing line was! Seriously! No trees no plants, nothing. What's the point of having a backyard when its so small you can't even fit an outdoor setting?
My mum was telling me the other day that if I wanted to buy my own house I would have to start in a similar situation. The thought of it made the blood drain from my face. Personally I need some land. For a garden, chickens and a veggie patch. She said I had to start on a small scale and work my way up. That's fair enough. I certainly couldn't afford a five acre piece of land first up. But I would much prefer a 1/2 acre and a dingy house than a large mod-con house on no land at all! And even if we were told to move out tomorrow and we had the money to buy an estate house. I wouldn't. I have tried it and I think its too much money and time to move to a place that I wouldn't be happy in. So I suppose when people say start small I will think a small house not a small piece of land.

What are your thoughts?

Have Fun!

Renee x