Is it wrong to want a bigger house? It feels like showing off.
Wanting room isn't showing off. Showing off is buying for an audience. You're allowed to buy for the inside of your life — the work that finally fits in a real office, the table everyone lands at, the quiet. Same square footage, completely different purchase.
The guilt usually isn't about the house anyway. It's about being seen to have money, by people whose opinions you can name. That's worth noticing, because an imagined audience makes bad decisions in both directions — the monument bought to prove something, or the too-small place bought as an apology for the number. Neither one is you deciding.
This is a major life shift, and the square footage doesn't change that. Take the time to figure out what you want, not what looks right from the street. When you want to walk through it with someone who has no vote, just call.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.