After my husband and I bought our dream house — a 2,100-square-foot ranch-style property in a peaceful Connecticut neighborhood — we never thought we’d rent again. Owning it felt like the culmination of everything we’d been working toward.
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But at some point, our house stopped aligning with what we wanted. With increasing frequency, my husband and I talked about wanting a more balanced, simple life for ourselves and our two young sons.
So, less than five years after buying the home, we sold it and moved our family to a 1,345-square-foot rental apartment in Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain.
I hadn’t rented a property in over a decade, but it made practical sense for our move abroad. We’d never been to Spain before booking our one-way flight, and renting gave us flexibility in case we wanted to change course later.
After 14 years as a homeowner, renting again terrified me. Thankfully, it’s turned out to be one of the most liberating decisions we’ve made.
Going from a home I painstakingly curated to a nearly empty rental apartment was an adjustment
Rebecca Cretella
When we closed on our Connecticut house in 2021, I wanted to make it perfect. We upgraded the windows and doors, customized the bedroom closets, and chose every piece of furniture and decor as if we’d have it forever. That was always the plan.
Moving to a rental apartment abroad with only a few suitcases (and none of the furniture or pieces I’d curated) was daunting. I wouldn’t describe our apartment in Las Rozas as beautiful — it’s dimmer and more enclosed than our bright, open Connecticut house — but it has everything we need.
When we arrived at the largely unfurnished apartment, it had two single mattresses, a few pieces in the living room, and a bookshelf. We got almost everything we needed — furniture, trash cans, cookware, and more — from Ikea and selected the pieces based on functionality.
Although the apartment lacks aesthetic interiors and has furniture I probably wouldn’t have chosen before moving here, it has perks that our house didn’t.
For example, it’s located in a walkable, bustling neighborhood rather than a wooded, quiet one. When we exit our building, we’re steps away from public transportation, parks, cafés, and the suburb’s main street.
Where we lived in Connecticut, we had to drive everywhere. Here, we’re always on foot. That shift has been one of the biggest adjustments and greatest gifts of our move.
Apartment living has forced us to embrace minimalism, but downsizing has its challenges
Rebecca Cretella
For years, my husband and I talked about wanting a more minimalist lifestyle. Yet somehow, we still managed to fill every room in our house, including the attic and garage.
As we prepared for our move to Spain, we finally achieved the pared-back lifestyle we’d talked about for years, getting rid of most of our belongings.
Our apartment here doesn’t allow for accumulation, and having four people in one apartment has quickly taught us what we actually use.
Of course, the day-to-day realities of downsizing with a family aren’t all roses. Counter space is limited, so I’ve had to keep only the kitchen essentials: a coffee maker and an air fryer.
And we’ve had to get creative with storage, finding nooks for Christmas stockings, Halloween costumes, winter coats, and school supplies.
Because I don’t have to maintain a house, I have more time to do activities I enjoy
Although we gave up square footage during the move, we’ve gained so much more.
Since I no longer feel like I have to maintain a sizable home, I now spend weekends walking to parks, taking the train to Madrid, lingering in cafés, and going on adventures with my kids rather than working on the house.
Seven months into the move, I rarely think about the Connecticut property we left behind. The furniture I agonized over, the custom closets, and the sideboards I hunted down feel like distant memories. Items that I once placed so much importance on turned out to be just stuff.
Downsizing was worth it. Our apartment isn’t better than our house by any measure and isn’t saving us money — our mortgage payments cost about the same as our monthly rent — but we gained so much during the move that I don’t mind.
Maybe one day we’ll buy a property in Spain, but for now, having the freedom to pick up and go anywhere feels like a dream.
