Given your ages it is likely that one of you will spend several years alone in the house. Sadly, none of us lives forever. I recommend choosing the house that would work best for one of you alone in potentially declining health. Nothing is worse than losing a spouse then also losing your home because you are unable to take care of it or it is to far away from family to be truly safe and comfortable.

The questions below are for you AND your spouse:

What are the ages/health of your siblings, kids, & grandkids?
How good is your relationship with your sibs, kids?
Who is most willing/likely to be able to help care for you if your health takes a turn for the worse?
Would anyone be willing/able to move in with you if you need care, and which house would better accommodate them?
How far away are the closest, best medical facilities to the smaller/larger house?
Can you afford to pay someone to help with the upkeep of the larger house/lawn if you become unable to do it?
Which would be easier to sell & would you get a better price for if you had to move into independent/assisted living?
Which is closest to the types of activities you will be doing?

Can you tell that I'm in your age range? ;o)

Anne

Who owns the view?

We are around your age range (I'm a little younger, DH a little older). We recently bought a house on 1 acre (3000 SF) about 9 miles from closest shopping. In our case, we have pets and needed to be in an area without pet restrictions so this worked the best. Some of the things we thought about:

1. How do we want to use our space? We still have teenagers at home so needed more space than those without would need. But even looking ahead, DH and I each want our own office (for our computer use) and so something below about 2500 SF wouldn't work for us. Can you do everything you want with the smaller space?

2. Which house is easier for upkeep? We sold a 4500 SF 2 story house. Now we have a 3000 SF on one story. That is a lot less upkeep. Not having stairs is so, so, so nice. You don't mention on the houses you are looking at if they have stairs or not.

3. How far away is a hospital. I absolutely wanted to have a hospital within 30 minutes. While I hope to not need it that urgently you never know.

4. How far away are other amenities? I hate that I am 20 minutes away from a grocery store I don't like and 25 minutes away from the one I do like. So we have to drive more than I would like. Overall, I'm OK with it.

5. I decided not to worry about what would happen in really old age if DH and I couldn't drive. At our age that is probably 20 years ago (sure it could happen sooner but I'm just basing on what I've seen with other relatives). At that point, I probably want to be closer in with better non-car transportation options or at least close to a taxi. However, that time isn't now and probably won't be for many years. So we decided not to buy based upon that. We can always sell and move later on

6. Based upon 5 - resale value is important.

I am having a similar dilemma. Though I am trying to downsize from my one acre. More land, that is lower maintenance would be great and private. My current acre is high maintenace with lawns, fruit trees, and many deciduous trees that dump literally a ton of leaves in the fall. I am ready for less yard and a view. Who do you want to be closest to? If you need conveniences of town daily, metro area is good. If not, privacy is a plus. Is it safer to drive in the more rural area? traffic in town may make a shorter drive as long. I agree resale is a factor, as well as if you can imagine it being a forever home versus a now home. I would visit both several times at different times of day if possible to get a better feel. Good luck!