It is a personal choice, and the folks answering your query have done a great job pointing out the pluses and minuses.
So I respond just from our personal experience. We were retired and lived on our 22 for twelve years, most of the time. We had no house to maintain, just our easy to maintain 22. She was easy to trailer and launch and retrieve. So we traveled to most of America's "best" (in our opinion) lakes, rivers and coastal areas. We cruised tens of thousands of miles and lived aboard thousands of days and nights. We cruised (and anchored) in waters where larger boats feared to tread (due to depths). Our G'kids "grew up" with vacations aboard our 22. They experienced the "Inside" to Alaska (some several times), the wonders of Yellowstone Lake, the 'gators of the Everglades - and many other bits of exciting water. They often were with their siblings (or cousins).
She was trustworthy, economical, and easy to live on. We (and the kids) loved the solar shower, the choices of great anchorages, and we rarely used a marina (except when G'Pa would dump the porta potty in the early am before anyone aboard was awake).
We were never tempted to move "down" to a larger boat that would have made trailering more difficult, more beauty spots less accessible, or more time spent repairing heads and stuff. Life was simple - yes, close, but sharing. The G'kids love to bring up special memories with their "homeless" grandparents. It was exciting and adventurous - and they could help steer, anchor, choose routes, find bears or pelicans - it was a kid's life - free from the restrictions they felt in a house.
So - one couple's experience on a 22. We are all different - no size fits all. Most important, we think -- know yourself, and match to you. Not to what the culture says -- we find bigger is certainly not better for us, with boats, houses, or vehicles - we enjoy freedom of choice and flexibility. Others choose more space and 'comfort' -- but that comes at a cost (and not just in dollars).