Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

They claim it "pays to wait", but that determination depends on other variables obviously, one of which is your life expectancy relative to the SS actuarial standard.  The amounts are adjusted to pay the same amount over the mean expected lives of recipients.  If you live longer, taking it at 70 may be better.

And then there is the variable of how one might invest the monies, if one can, at 62 for 8 years.

And then there is the possible cut in benefits in 11 years.

To be honest it depends heavily on floorplan, of course. And like Badge says, outdoor spaces can make a big difference. Especially in places like here where you can use them year round.

I like a big open concept flow, including flow to the outdoor space. My brother's place in San Clemente is like this. Big open concept and then the ability to open an accordion window from the kitchen right out to the outdoor space where it's very much like there's no distinction between indoors and out. I think you can get away with a lot less square footage if you have a setup like that. My last house was a little similar. The kitchen wasn't near the living room and outdoor space, but the main living area was open and cleanly flowed to the [excellent] outdoor space, and it really worked well.

My house in Atlanta was the opposite. Very much a "defined spaces" house. It made it feel smaller but also like you needed more of it because it felt smaller. You were either in the living room OR the sun room OR the kitchen OR outside, and everything was closed off from one another.

So when I say 1700 is great, it needs to be the RIGHT 1700 sf house. Because poor design can make 1700 sf feel very tight.

Our house is in the defined space category, though with young kids I came to appreciate that much more than I initially realized. We plan on opening up the downstairs some time in the next five years, but having more rooms for the kids to go to was a godsend.