Place A or Place B - which would you go for?

[Blondie1984]

Place A -
Currently a bit dead but is close to a couple of areas which have a bit more going on
Good schools
Slightly easier commute to work
Could afford a decent sized house
Fairly good prospects for the area becoming more popular as people continue to move out of London so chance of property value increases are good

OR

Place B
More lively with a nice buzz about it -some nice restaurants, nice shops and "feels" a lot nicer - more friendly
Schools are OK
Commute to work would be a bit longer
Could only afford a fairly small house (at best) or, more likely, an apartment
Area is already well established so any property value increases would be minimal - if any at all

Which would you choose? Help!!

[Undercooked]

B. I would want to love the area I moved to and not move there hoping and waiting for it to change.

[Spickle]

B - Location, location, location!

[Blondie1984]

Thank you! I guess I could be waiting forever for its time to come....

[HerRoyalNotness]

A, good schools, Bigger house, prospects of up and coming area

[ExtraHotLatteToGo]

I (sort of) did A, I wish I'd done B.

A drives me batshit because there's nothing to do, it's bland.

It's 'sort of' because it's a 'naice' area but no prospect of getting any more lively.

[Qwebec]

A if areas around are not too far.

[QOD]

A

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

B. If it doesn't become the 'new' area whilst you own it, it will still be the next new area when you sell. Daily life being easy is better than a 'buzz' as a parent IMO.

[GiddyOnZackHunt]

Oh Jesus sorry, I meant A!. A

[HoneyDragon]

I've recently done a. No regrets.

[snowspider]

A

it sounds like where we moved to and feel like it was a "best kept secret"

[Jaimx86]

A: smaller commute means more time for you to do things you like.

[Creampastry]

If a is not a crime ridden area, then defo go for a.

[Teaandcakeat8]

A, I would always choose a house over an apartment especially with a family.

[HeadTilt]

Probably A. Having a shorter commute and bigger house would swing it.

[TremoloGreen]

A. Schools are a top priority for me, and a bigger house and shorter commute will make life much easier. If you can drive, you can still access the more fun areas.

[ineedamoreadultieradult]

A, you can always pop to B to visit the nice shops but you can't change the small house into a big house or move it closer to work.

[AesopsMables]

For me it would be B = Couple
For you I think A = family

[bigTillyMint]

If A is definitely looking like it is on the up, plus you have DC and want good schools, then A.
We moved to an A area (in London) which became a B area about 5 years later. There are at least 2 areas bordering ours which were A areas up until a few years ago and are now B areas.

Where exactly is it - people could give better advice.

[catbasilio]

A no doubt.

[specialsubject]

A.

define 'nothing to do'. ??

[Trills]

How close is A to places with more going on?
Are we talking 20 min walk or 30 min drive?

[nemno]

A , schools would be my top priority followed by shorter commute and bigger house. Any savings made can be used on taxis to buzzier areas for nights out.

[EnriqueTheRingBearingLizard]

According to what you write, A scores best on 4/5 factors and B scores best on 1/5.

The factor where B scores better isn't the most important one for a family. You have to travel to work for over 45 weeks of the year, work the biggest portion of each day and DCs are in full time education, or will be? Therefore priorities should be the better home, schools and commute - you can travel a little further afield for entertainment.