Moving away from family

[GothicRainbow]

I'm currently facing a dilemma and feeling really torn.

We have a 2 year old DS and have recently found out we are expecting again - this was a complete surprise.

We live within 5mins of my DM and DF, 15mins of my DSis & DNephew.
Plus my MIL and FIL are 10mins away too.

We are currently living in a small 2 bedroom mid-terrace with parking a short walk away. We have looked in this area for a 3 bed or slightly bigger 2 bed with parking and currently at the moment we cannot afford anything on the market.

If we wait until the end of the year (due to my DH's employment) we could very likely get an increase on our mortgage and afford a small 3 bed in this area.

Whilst discussing this with my SIL when they visited this weekend she suggested we look further north from where we are in the town she lives in. The town is 1 hour 45mins away from here.

We had a look and we've found a lovely large 3 bed semi detached house with a garage and driveway which we could afford now as its the same price as our 2 bed terrace.

So my question is would you stay local and hope you can afford a bigger house in 6-12 months time or would you up sticks and move now to the bigger house but further away from family and friends??

I would stay put, but it really depends how important having family around you is to you and your DH.

6 months isn't that long to wait imo. How does your DH feel about it?

45 minutes away is local...! I think it's a non issue and I'd move

Just seen it's 1 hour and 45 mins away, sorry. I's still move though; it's not that far.

Too many possible variables

Do you both work FT or are you or your DP a SAHP? If you both work FT or plan to, then I'd sit tight. Grandparents and siblings who are available quickly in an emergency are a god send.

Do you or your family provide any childcare / babysitting on a regular basis that it would be financially difficult to manage without?

Your family live near by but do you see a lot of them? If yes, and you like this then don't move. If you dislike it, then its a great reason to move.

1hr 45 is a fairly hefty commute for work - will your place(s) of employment be that far away.

I'm the SAHP and my DH has a job in London which he already commutes to.

We are currently living an hour south of London and we'd be looking to move an hour North of London.

So for family to visit it would be a journey on the M25 and then M1.

I see my DSis a lot, usually once a week minimum so not seeing her would be tough.

My parents and my DH's parents have lived in their houses for going on 30 years each so to them anything more than an hour away is far!!

WWID? I'd post about the town you are considering in the "Property" Forum for a warts n' all view

With both sets of grandparents nearby, and all that will mean as they age I'd be more inclined to hang on despite the space issues and hunt around to see what you can do a bit closer to home before thinking "wowwee - that's a lot of house for the same cash". That's a sod of a regular trip if any of the parents become ill for example?