I found that it didn't have much to do with socializing at all. It was that physical space is just much easier to access in a smaller house. X is only 3 steps away instead of 30. Kitchen, bed, book, TV, toilet, computer, etc. Home repairs and renovation didn't involve huge teardown decisions. And because of the smaller physical footprint, the living space was a huge limit to what you could keep. Justifying junk removal was much easier.

A couple things I wish the article had noted:

- The Realtor-Homebuilding Complex spends lots of $billions every year, trying to convince people that bigger is better.

- In modern America, house size is often used as a proxy metric, to select against being stuck in a neighborhood where "the wrong sort" can afford to live.

Smaller salaries can lead to happier lives. Lower standards of living can lead to happier lives. Spending less on food can lead to happier lives. Less education can lead to happier lives.

There's just so much valorization of poverty going on.