Melinda French Gates said she loves her new neighborhood, having moved from ex-husband Bill Gates' $183 million compound

• Melinda French Gates is excited about her new lifestyle post-divorce from Bill Gates.
• French Gates told Time that she loves walking to local spots in her neighborhood.

Melinda French Gates is loving her new neighborhood.

The philanthropist, who divorced Bill Gates in 2021, told Time that she spent a lot of time on Redfin researching the right home for herself. French Gates reportedly found just that in the house she's been living in as a divorcée.

"I live in a neighborhood. Now I can walk to little stores. I can walk to the drugstore, I can walk to a restaurant," she told Time. "I absolutely love it."

While French Gates didn't specify where she currently resides, she bought a cottage in the North Broadway neighborhood of Seattle weeks before the former couple filed for divorce in 2021. The four-bedroom, two-bathroom home cost $1.2 million, according to documents previously viewed by Business Insider.

It's a significant downsize from Xanadu 2.0, situated on the about 10.5 acres of land Bill Gates bought in the Medina suburb of Seattle, which is worth north of $183 million.

According to Time, French Gates was never a big fan of the sprawling compound, outfitted with a 60-foot-long swimming pool, over 18 bathrooms, and 2,100-square-foot library.

Instead, it appears she prefers the simple life of strolling to her local shops, neighbors who aren't tech titans, and a home that doesn't feel "like arriving at Jurassic Park," as a former Microsoft intern once described Xanadu 2.0.

French Gates stepped down from her cochair position at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in May to "move forward into the next chapter" of her philanthropy. Her resignation went into effect on June 7.