big house, little house

So, I'm selling my house (yay! i'm in escrow!), and have just started the search for my new house.

My current house is in the country - far enough away from San Francisco as to be impractical for anyone who commutes. As a result, the prices here are pretty dirt cheap affordable.

I am moving much closer to the Big City, and accordingly, house prices are ludicrous a lot higher.

I'm experiencing a bit of sticker shock. Met with my realtor for the first time yesterday, and drove around a bit. We walked through a couple of houses, both of which need a *lot* of work, and are smaller than my current (big, bright, pretty new) house. The thing is, both of them are priced SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS more than I'm selling my current house for.

yikes. I don't know how people do it.

I'm just a single working gal, people! I haven't won the damn lottery.

I'm going to have to re-adjust my expectations. Now looking for a 2 bedroom, 1 bath place. Not sure where all my crap from the 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath place is going to go... guess I'll be making more runs to Salvation Army. :-)