One benefit of having CAD experience is that I can easily concept plan home renovation projects. Rather than move into a larger house and blow up our budget, I’m looking at expanding the kitchen and converting the garage into living space. Much easier to communicate ideas and troubleshoot this way.
@bryan I wish more people understood this — or even thought about spending more on furniture, even custom furniture, to use their existing spaces better.
@ablerism Disruption might not be worth it to some, but I agree. Where we live, stepping up to a newer, larger house would more than double our payment and would put us further away from the light rail we can walk to now. Aging in place is important to me, and transit is one reason I want to stay where we are. In 2021, I also added a half bath to our first floor since all bathrooms were upstairs. Side bonus is that older neighborhoods have mature trees!