Also throw in the fact that we like SPACE.
I remember being out in Tokyo and staying at this chiks studio apt. Was thinking the place was pretty small in American standards, but goddammit it was practical as hell and she was totally fine with it.
Sometime I catch myself second guessing why I would even think about wanting a bigger place than my house now, when we have a whole extra floor with 2 bedrooms and a bathroom. Plan to just have my kid move up there when she starts wanting her own space though. Also, the bigger the space the more maintenance. My next door neighbors (Mexican) on one side has the same size house and use it as multifamily. My other neighbors (White) also have the same size house, never had kids but their house is just filled with so much shyt.
I think also out here, we equate more people = more crime. We commit way more crime here than Japan.