It's not really a matter of money. In fact, the bigger the house and the bigger the property, the more work it tends to be to keep things up. A newer well-built smaller house should be less upkeep than some old, rambling farmhouse would be.

A big problem is that it's hard to outsource things that aren't repeatable regular tasks like lawn mowing and housecleaning. Of course you can outsource anything. But before you know it, you're spending a lot of money somewhere like the US for a reliable property manager and, as my neighbor was reminding me just yesterday, managing people then brings its own set of issues.