Op-ed by Borka Schuster
In the middle of a housing crisis, I know exactly how lucky I am. I own an apartment where my daughter and I live, and I'm grateful for it every single day. Especially now, when I keep hearing stories of people with perfectly average incomes for whom even the idea of owning a home feels completely out of reach.
So I won't pretend I'm not in a privileged position. But there's one decision I made years ago that I still wouldn't change today.
When I was looking for a place to live, I didn't ask myself how big a home I could technically afford to buy. I asked how large a loan I could pay off, month after month, with a clear conscience. Even back when property prices were nowhere near where they are now, I chose a smaller apartment over a larger one that would have left me anxious every time a bill arrived.
I never dreamed of my home being the most impressive thing in my life
Of course, I know everyone's priorities are different. Some people, with three kids, simply don't have a choice. For others, a separate home office or a garden really matters. I don't believe there's one single right decision.
But I'm increasingly convinced that — partly, though not only, because of our consumer culture — we've completely lost sight of what "enough" actually means.
Overconsumption didn't just convince us that we constantly need more things. It also planted the idea that you can't truly live well without an ever-larger living space. As if it were only natural that everyone needs a separate walk-in closet, a guest room, a laundry room and a storage room just to be comfortable.
But my own experience told a very different story
As a single twenty-something, my first place was a 15-square-meter (about 160 sq ft) studio. Looking back now, it seems almost unbelievably small. But at the time, it never even crossed my mind that I couldn't live a full life there. I cooked, worked, read and hosted friends in that space. I learned to arrange it so that every single centimeter had a purpose — and honestly, I loved that little apartment.
I've since moved somewhere a bit bigger, and I'm glad I did. But I've also noticed a strange habit we all seem to share: however much space we have, sooner or later we fill it up.
If we have 15 square meters, we learn to live on 15. If we have 90, we live on 90. And when we say "we've run out of room," very often it's not us who don't fit — it's our stuff.
Yes, there are situations that genuinely call for more rooms or a bigger space. But I think it's often worth taking an honest look around. How many pieces of furniture do we barely use? How many boxes have we been hanging on to for years without even knowing what's inside? How many things take up space in our home that we should have let go of long ago?
Sometimes I ask myself: do I live in this apartment, or does my stuff?
Because if a bigger home mostly exists to store even more things, then maybe the size of the home isn't the real problem at all.
Maybe the problem is how much we've convinced ourselves we need.
For me, a smaller mortgage has always been worth more than a few extra square meters. Not because I particularly enjoy living in cramped quarters, but because I love the feeling of having room to breathe — however ironic that sounds in this context. It reassures me to know that one unexpected expense won't derail my entire month. That I don't have to shape every decision around the size of my monthly repayment.
Sure, a bigger living room would be more comfortable, and yes, a home office would be wonderful. If I had unlimited money, I'd probably choose all of that. But when I ask myself whether these things are truly necessary, my honest answer is no.
That's exactly why, if I had to choose all over again today, I'd most likely make the same decision. A smaller home I can comfortably afford, rather than a bigger one I'd pay for with years of quiet anxiety. Because in the end, the question isn't just how big a home we want — it's what kind of life we want to live inside it.
Is a smaller home really enough to live well?
For many of us, yes. As the writer describes, a small space can hold a full life — cooking, working, hosting friends — as long as it's arranged so every corner has a purpose.
Why choose a smaller mortgage over a bigger home?
A smaller loan means more financial breathing room. It reduces the stress of unexpected expenses and frees you from shaping every decision around your monthly repayment.
Do we actually need all that extra space?
Often, no. As the article points out, whatever space we have we tend to fill — and when we say we've "run out of room," it's frequently our belongings, not us, taking up the space.
