Holidays vs living in an interesting place

[JonSnowKnowsItAll]

We currently live in a cheap area, about an hour to a major city but plenty of one horse towns close by. It's not an unattractive area but besides walking/cycling and a few parks there isn't much to do. However the low cost of living means we can go on plenty of holidays/weekend breaks to places where there is more to do.

Looking at moving to somewhere much more built up, with more to do close by (though not into a city itself so we can still do the outdoorsy stuff). Trouble is this will more than double our mortgage repayments so we would have to cut back on holidays - but would we miss these much if we had more to do at home?

We do enjoy travelling but I'm not sure if that's about seeing new places or just having different things to do. It's hard to work that out.

We have 2 early primary aged children.

Has anyone made a similar move, either to or from a busier place?

We lived in an area we weren't entirely happy in for a long time due to it being cheap. It was the other way round though, a busy city suburb. We moved to a small village about 30 minutes away and added about 50% to our mortgage. We love it and don't regret it. Our quality of life has improved. House prices are rising slightly more here than in the city so for us we feel it's also a good investment.

Have you checked out schools etc? That needs to be top priority. Secondary may seem a long way off but it will creep up before you know it.

I live in a holiday destination area and it doesn’t stop me wanting to go on holiday! I think that’s just one reason for moving. Travelling is much more than having something different to do. I think if you move even to your ideal location you’ll still want to travel.

I live in a holiday destination, it does stop me 'needing' to travel so much. Before when we lived in the city centre, I felt we regularly needed weekends away, some time in the sun etc. Now I feel like we have plenty to do here, and the weather to do it, so never feel the need to escape.

I do still like travelling to see new cultures and places though. But holidays now are more cultural or to see family and friends, than sun and beach.