I’m being bonkers, aren’t I? Level heads required...

[ticklemyboobsofsteel]

Looking to relocate to the Chichester area ? the idea is to rent for a year or so to get a feel for the place and then hopefully buy somewhere (finances and deposit allowing, of course!)

There is DH, my 20-month son and me. I work from home four days per week, commuting into London once a week (this can sometimes on rare occasions be twice per week). DH is currently a SAHD but will be looking for full-time work once we?ve moved.

We?ve looked at numerous flats/houses in Chichester, up to about £800/month. A couple we want to view that look really quite nice, but they are having some work done/improvements made so will have to wait a while to see them.

Most have been damp/unsuitable/tiny. Predominantly permit parking (but shouldn?t be too extortionate). One or two are in lovely areas but most of them not so much. To be fair there are others that we've seen, but they've not really floated our boats. But they all obviously have the convenience of being near the railway station for my commute day.

By chance we searched the area my mum lives in (about a 20 minute drive from Chichester) and have found an amazing 2/3-bedroom house about a 10-minute walk away from the nearest high street. It is perfect and it is on for the same rent as the flats in the town centre. Only on-street parking, and a lower council tax band than most of the flats we?ve seen. It would mean a bus/lift into Chichester and back on my commute days, with the associated cost.

I?m being a bit nuts to consider the house, though, aren?t I? I work in the publishing industry and, despite talking things through with my boss, I worry about losing my job ? not because of any particular threat or anything, but just because of the climate at the moment). Money would be tight while DH looks for a job, but we could just about manage I think. I guess what worries me most is that, if I lost my job, I think there?s more chance of me finding work in Chichester or one of the surrounding towns. But then, if it only takes 20 minutes to drive in, is the house?s location really an issue?

Utilities are another consideration, as I imagine it would be a fair bit more to heat a house than a flat ? although the house does have a wood burner as well.

I?m terrible with decisions about anything, but this one had me awake all night last night. Do we take on the house, have a beautiful albeit temporary home and take a leap of faith that DH will find work quickly and I will not lose my job, that utilities will not cripple us, and that once settled we could start putting bits of money away for the house deposit (as the end game, if that doesn't sound too wanky, is to buy and saving for the deposit is very important to me).

Or do we hang on to see these other flats and other ones that come onto the market, risk losing the house in the process. Pay out the same rent as we would have on the house, but have much less space (and maybe no garden) and no room for friends/family to stay over when they visit (not sure how often this would be anyway though). But be closer to 'civilisation' and the rail station.

My heart is crying out for that house. But my head is telling me to be cautious - I worry terribly about money and would hate to be in a situation where ridiculous bills come in even when we're being frugal. But I can't seem to let it go - mainly because the rent is identical to the flats but with soooo much extra space and garden - and I think I'm driving DH insane...!

What would you do? I wish I had a crystal ball!

[annh]

If you have decided to relocate, go for the house! Your concerns seems to centre more around the city/country move in general rather than specifically relating to the house/flat dilemma. If you lose your job, you will be no worse off than if you are in London, yes, you may have more chance of getting a better-paid replacement job in London but the extra cost of transport, housing etc will more than wipe out the savings. You will also be closer to family who may be able to help out with childcare.

On utilities, a well-insulated house (is it double-glazed, loft insulated, terraced etc) may well cost less than a single-storey draughty flat.

[AliceWChild]

I don't understand the dilemma. House you really want or flat you don't. The only difference with the house seems to be a bit more travel etc cost but they're not massive in the whole scheme of things are they? A lot of the things you're worrying about seem to be the same with both options, if you lose a job it would impact on both wouldn't it? I think you should absolutely go for the house as its what your heart wants, but I feel like I'm missing something

[ticklemyboobsofsteel]

Thank you both for the fast replies. Alice Yep, DH agrees - says I seem to over complicate things in my head far too much.

I realise the additional travel costs and so on might not be huge in the scheme of things - but I think it might all add up, particularly while we're relying on my income alone.

[AliceWChild]

We've just put an offer in on the family home we really want. It's a potentially risky time for us with all the problems with the economy. May well be fine but who knows. We took a view that we have to take some risk at the moment, else we'll be stuck in our shoebox with a growing baby. We're not taking massive risks at all, but if several things went pear shaped at the same time we'd struggle. But you can't progress without any risk. Seems to me you'd have 80% (as a guess) of the sane risk with both options. Surely it's worth the relatively small extra risk?

[PigletJohn]

Chi is frightfully fashionable, so expensive. You will have to practice braying, and a honking laugh. You will get more for your money in one of the nearby more common less picturesque towns or villages, or in the duller outskirts of the city. It depends what you want.

Look at the bus and train timetables very carefully, there are not as many as you might expect. The S coast line will enable you to get to places like Portsmouth and Brighton, for example for work or schools.

[ticklemyboobsofsteel]

Ah well - it may all be moot now anyway as I think the house might be taken. Bugger - that'll teach me to procrastinate! Thanks all for your advice :)

[AliceWChild]

Well in that case it wasn't meant to be.

[tiredaftertwo]

Fabulously named OP, I would be really wary, unless you know your DH can find a job easily.

If you lose your job, you will not only have to find a new one, really hard at the moment, but it will probably be in London or at least as far away, so you will have to find one where you can work at home most days. I'm sure you know how tight things are in publishing at the moment - you'd be restricting yourself to a tiny minority of the few jobs that there are as the timing will also depend on the London office being near the right mainline.

[claracluck71]

Don't forget that John Wiley is based in Chichester if you do need to find other publishing work!