Myito your posts are pretty much in line with what everyone else has posted… I don’t see how this could be the “flip side”.

Real estate is cyclical. Check.
You have equity to work with. Check.
You are financially in the top 2% of Americans. Check.
You have a lot of money and can weather a downturn in the market. Check.

You can afford a huge downpayment, you don’t need 100% financing, etc. etc. etc. You fit all the characteristics that people are blogging about.

I also lived in CT as a youngling for 6 years (Gales Ferry, near Ledyard, Groton, New London) where we had a 5-acre place on the river with 3 stories, 8 bedrooms, a basement, a separate garage, a separate barn-like structure, woods, and our very own ice-skating pond.

CT is the richest state in America. I can easily see how your idea of proper 4-person family raising is with 3000sf on 1/2 acre but around here it’s a luxury that is going to cost you. I’d like to raise financially responsible children who won’t throw money away; however, I don’t think you got where you are by being foolish (unless you are an heiress like Paris Hilton).

Just FYI there are perfectly balanced families who rent and/or live in much smaller spaces. In fact, personally I think people who learn to live with very little are more interesting, less shallow, and happy. Just my $0.02