By Clyde Noel

Town Crier Correspondent

For one Los Altos couple, move to smaller home means more freedom, security, less work

Wayne and Connie Chittenden are tired of the chores required to take care of their large home in south Los Altos. So they are downsizing.

The Chittendens have lived in their present home for 17 years. They still work part time, but they have so many things they want to do, the large house has become a burden.

This is the second time the Chittendens have downsized in Los Altos, each time for a different reason. They plan to take the equity they have built up for almost two decades and enjoy life more fully.

“We love Europe and we want to go to Australia and New Zealand while we’re still young and healthy,” Connie said. “We are moving to a small condo to do this and giving up this beautiful house.”

As the dynamics of their family has changed, the Crittendens have found there is less need for space. Their interest is in more private time spent traveling and visiting with friends. Being able to reduce the time and expense of maintaining private gardens and surplus space is important, they said.

Downsizing from a large home can also increase one’s personal security, often at a time when one wishes to feel more protected, they added.

“Our neighbors think we’re nuts and say they won’t let us go,” said Wayne, a management consultant who works with small and medium-size companies to improve their business operations. “I work out of my house and I can continue that from a smaller home.”

Like many homeowners who downsize, the Chittendens’ children went to Los Altos schools, moved out and left them with an “empty nest.” Their lovely updated house is in a great neighborhood and now available for another homeowner for the same reasons the Chittendens moved to the neighborhood 17 years ago.

“We updated the kitchen, built a larger master bedroom and bath suite, and updated a larger hall bathroom,” Wayne said. “We redid the deck and landscaped the front, side and back yards.”

“We enjoy being able to entertain on the deck. We’ve had many parties with family, friends and neighbors there,” Connie said. “The kitchen was redone and it now has everything I need with lots of storage space. We made the entire house bright and airy.”

When the Chittendens landscaped the back yard, they updated and planted numerous fruit trees. They landscaped everything except an existing large orange tree.

“I love the fresh orange juice from our tree on Christmas Day. That has been one of our family traditions. The sweet oranges are available well into July,” Wayne said. “In the spring I’ll miss the wisteria that is always so beautiful in our area.”

Several real estate agents said downsizing from large homes is very common in Los Altos and Los Altos Hills. Homeowners who downsize report many benefits. Besides having more freedom to travel, they appreciate not having to worry about caring for a lawn and other landscaping.

Walking distances to stores and restaurants are easier and there isn’t a long list of projects that need to be done to the house, those who have downsized tell their agents.

There will be a change in lifestyles for the Chittendens. Connie is a native Californian, (straight out of Hollywood) and a software engineer who still works part time. A Stanford graduate, she has varied interests and is looking forward to exploring her new lifestyle.

Wayne is a New Englander with a background in mathematics. Much of his career was spent in Silicon Valley so he, too, is ready for a new lifestyle.

“One thing I am going to miss is the spaciousness of the house,” Wayne said. “(Here) I can play the piano in the family room and not bother people in the other parts of the house.”

Many little things make the home comfortable for the Chittendens. The three bedroom/two bath home has a large breakfast area with a bay window and the family room has French doors. The windows are double-paned and floors are hardwood.

Both Wayne and Connie love to hike in Rancho San Antonio as often as possible and do it on weekends.

“We love Los Altos. It’s a family oriented neighborhood and town. It has a lovely downtown and a great school system, and we will miss those things,” Connie said.

The Chittendens know there is a lot to look forward to when you downsize. A fresh start with new appliances, carpet, finishes and modern accommodations is intriguing. There’s also comfort of knowing the new home will require less maintenance and have seismic protection designed to meet current standards.