[cmarschner]

I've grown up in a spacious house and am living now on about 800 sq ft with my wife and a baby. That's more than those people in Hong Kong but, given where I am coming from, it is constraint. My wife is coming from a former communist country. There, 60 sq m were regarded enough for a family, and she feels perfectly comfortable in our space. She wouldn't want more. And in fact it does have some merits: I can clean the apartment in an hour. I am forced to throw things out that I don't really need, which makes my life simpler. And since it allows us to live right in the city I don't really need a car. We can do all grocery shopping by foot, and we have all amenities nearby. That's something you'd miss out on a ranch.

[will_work4tears]

I don't live on a ranch, and don't really have any desire to, but let's play devil's advocate.

With a ranch and lots of land, you can grow your own food, raise your own animals and not be tied down to requiring (as much) other people. You don't have to deal with traffic (foot or road), generally anyway, and your neighbors are probably pretty friendly - probably because they don't have to deal with masses of people on a daily basis and aren't stressed out / overly stimulated.

You get the night air, the country views and peace and quiet. That goes a long ways for some people. That is something you don't get in a urban setting.

[eropple]

> You get the night air, the country views and peace and quiet. That goes a long ways for some people. That is something you don't get in a urban setting.

Country views, not so much, but I live in a city on Massachusetts's South Shore and I get fantastic night air and the place is quiet as a grave after about 9PM.

[vecinu]

You've just described why I want to live in a low population area. Thank you.