Which house/life? Choosing today

B. Better to have smaller space as you get older, as long as everyone has a room you will be fine. You will quickly adapt to a new area, so what if you or others have to travel a bit more, and you will have some cash to spend instead of watching the pennies trying to get some savings back. It's a no brainer.

Option b

B

B

Totally Option B !!

Bonus if this place has the potential to extend

you want to do B

This with bells on!! Option B

B without hesitation!

we moved about same distance away from friends last year & go to much more effort to actually see them!!

B!

I agree! B wins hands down but make sure you don’t have to move again very quickly eg amenities are in place. Also, that you like the people in the village and it is welcoming to newcomers. Some villages can be a bit strange like that!

B of course. You won't be far away from friends

Option B. Life is short - enjoy it whilst you can and are able to 😊

Why? They are not living there or paying for it.

Sounds like you are very invested in option B so go for that! It sounds idyllic.

If this is your forever home I would just consider a few thing. Does the village have all the amenities you need that can be accessed without a car (if needed), shops, pharmacy, doctors, good local buses? Train station to bigger towns with hospitals etc? Just things to think of as we live somewhere where there is nothing in walking distance which can be a drag.

Option B sounds the best option. House in pretty village will go up in value, too.

B

B, definitely.

Option B 100% no ifs no buts - go for it!

This is a chance for you & DH to start the next exciting new chapter. You’ve already been debating it for 3 years - why wait another 3 to really start living? You can’t base your decision on what your kids & your friends might want to do with their lives in the years to come.

Option A certainties:

• you’ll be financially strapped/stretched

• your DH will have to continue work full time in a stressful, intensive, tiring job for 3+ years or worse still find something else approaching 60 if made redundant which is possible in the current economic climate

• you’ll be living in an area you’re bored with & don’t particularly like anymore & can’t escape from but for “basic holidays”

• you’ll have the upkeep, maintenance costs, energy costs, cleaning/gardening of a large property taking up time & money

Option A variables:

• no guarantee that your DC will come home to live after university - a lot work abroad or go travelling (which also rules out Option C - a move nobody wants based on them possibly working in London)

• no guarantee that your friends will stay together & in the area - they might all be planning moves to villages or overseas retirement/holiday homes or have to move to look after elderly parents etc.

Fast forward a year to living Option B:

• you’re living in a pretty village in a beautiful area with a community feel

• you’ve got lots of new stimulation - loads of new places, restaurants, people etc.

• yet you can comfortably nip into your old familiar town in just half an hour (only an extra 10 minutes!)

• you can enjoy the hobby you love much more easily from there

• you can still see all your friends, meeting up in town like before or adding 10 minutes to visit their houses

• your friends may well love coming out to your pretty village for visits - when we moved several hours away to the coast friends & family visited more often not less!

• your smaller garden is plenty as you’ve got countryside on your doorstep

• you increase your reception rooms if you need to by using the freed up money to add a conservatory or summer house/garden cabin or by converting the teen den back when the kids leave home

• with your new qualifications you’re working fewer hours at something more lucrative & presumably enjoyable - from home

• your DH is less stressed purely by knowing he has the option to quit work altogether or scale it back to part time or maybe he’s quit already & is doing part time or occasional consultancy to keep his hand in & brain working & ease the transition to full retirement (my DH did this)

• you’ve got the time and money to travel, have experiences & adventures & to make new memories as a couple & as a family

• you’ve got good physical and mental health (touch wood) to get the best out of life having reduced financial & work stress

Can’t believe I’m so invested in someone else’s move but I’m excited for you!! We’d like to do something very similar which explains my over enthusiasm but we live in a tourist area which has been clobbered by massive taxes re second homes/holiday homes which has virtually destroyed the property market overnight so we’re in quicksand for a while - don’t underestimate external forces & their impact on your plans.

Very best of luck with whatever you decide - life is short - go with your gut & do what makes you all happy xx

It seems unreal to me that a trip of 20 or 30 minutes is possibly too much for your friends.
Many of our friends live an hour away or more.
Your true friends will still be available.

Option B: nothing in life is guaranteed so I would support DH to retire as soon as he can

B!!

Option B all the way

Option B, I'll bet when you decide you'll know it's the correct choice.

B all the way - it gives you the option of two lives: your current one with your friends; and another one as part of the village. 30 mins is nothing!

Option B. Imagine if you stay where you are and then your friends move (divorce, job, whatever - people make decisions that will surprise you). You'd be gutted!