Would you move house in this situation?

[Iampondering]

Ok first of all we are very lucky to be in this position, but regardless it's still a BIG decision.

Three of us in the family, won't be having any more children. We have just found out that the field behind our house has been proposed as a site for 600 new houses, may not go through but if it does it will totally change how we feel about this house. 4 bed, 2 minute walk to school, lovely friends in walking distance, we are mortgage free (early 40s.) Not our dream home by any measure but we have a nice, simple life here.

We are considering getting out before it's too late and it's goes to planning etc, to the house of our dreams (I can't describe how beautiful it is 5 mins drive away.) 6 bedrooms so we can both have an office, and child a playroom, balcony over the fields, games room for a pool table (all my DH has ever wanted,) outdoor swimming pool etc etc.
BUT it's more isolated and a 5 min drive to school not walk. And would need a £300k mortgage (which we can currently afford no problem but still it feels scary to start on that again)

WWYD?

I wouldn’t want to live with the noise for months of that much building but I wouldn’t be taking on such a big mortgage in my forties. I would move but somewhere less expensive.

As someone who has lived in the big house with land, 5 mins drive away, with preteens and teens, I would say stay in town. We have now moved into a much smaller house in town and I love it. We no longer spend all our weekends doing the house/ garden/ land etc, pouring money into it, spending a fortune on bills/ maintenance. Don't underestimate how much more it will cost you to live in a bigger house- not juts the mortgage. Also, your child will not get the freedom or independence when they are older; you will constantly be ferrying about, or worse, they will be going into town on a bike and coming home in the dark late at night on a bike when they are a bit older. I would say, don't do it. BUT, there is also part of me that thinks you need to do these things once and make your own mind up...Could you not find a beautiful house in town?

Once your child starts secondary school, they will be begging you to move back into town.

Oooh a really mixed bag.

Trying to answer all I can remember- you couldn't walk anywhere as it's one car wide country lanes with massive hedges and no pavements.

We are currently in a small village, but has everything we need - local school, pharmacy and docs, 3 x pubs, constant bus service. So it's ideal really especially as DC gets older and more independent (7 atm.) But it's an ex mining village so the only bigger houses are new build estates (which is what we are in now) so to move to a dream home we would always have to leave....

I would only move somewhere your child could transport themselves independently. So important when they are teens.

Much as I'd love a pool, that house sounds too big for a small family and as your DC is already 7, time flies fast and before you know it they'll be wanting more independence not a playroom or rattling around a big house needing lifts. If there's a way around the transport - walking/cycling routes - then maybe... but I still don't think it sounds so dreamy, just a lot of house to clean, heat, upkeep.

@Snaiksareslow I was a year ago when I wrote my last post! I'm now living with my partner of three years - but we didn't move in together until last summer. Not that it has any relevance to this post!

How is it both 'so remote' and a 5 min drive from school? I lived in a village much further away from schools than that and I still wouldn't have called it remote. If it's 5 min drive from amenities it can't be remote.

I'm not sure your child would thank you for moving somewhere that curtails their independence as a teen. And you'd have to drive them everywhere. Be further away from friends. Pay a mortgage again.

Yes, you'd have more space but much less convenience day to day. I would rethink.

OK, so my advice would be to look for the house of your dreams in the town where DC will be going to high school. Or just stay put for a few more years and then move to the town where they go to secondary.

Where we live we had the same threat . My house doesn't actually face the field but the neighbours do plus houses that run alongside it.

To stop potential house building the houses that face towards the field all purchased it and has elongated their gardens and been fenched off accordingly .

By the sounds of how many houses are due to be built I guess the field is pretty big so that might not be affordable ?

@Snaiksareslow look at the dates, someone has asked what I decided which is why it's been bumped into active again. And yes he is.

It's just where we live in regards to the so remote thing. New house is 1.7 miles away but literally down tiny cart tracks all the way where you have to reverse for about 30 seconds if you come across another car!

I would not move, it’s not good to be having to drive your dc everywhere. The houses probably won’t seem as bad when they’re built as the prospect of them seems. There might be new friends for your dc there too.

And the other house will be too big, loads of rooms unused and expensive to run. I’d keep your very good financial situation as it is.

I wouldn't move. Your child is coming up to the age where they will want to be out with friends, clubs, socialising etc I'd be more comfortable them doing that within a housing estate and being able to walk everywhere they need to be. The new house sounds amazing from an adults perspective but very isolating for a child and teenager.
If space atm isn't an issue then I'd probably put money into savings where you can with the intention of moving when dc is off to uni/moved out instead.

The thing is, this will all come up in the searches which solicitors will do during conveyancing. So a potential buyer will be buying on the basis that this estate is possible.

Given your current home is so well suited, I think I’d wait, plant some fast growing shrubs / trees at the end of the garden and see how things go.

I'd probably move. A key factor though is access for the housing estate - how near to you is the entrance, both for all the vehicles involved in the build and then when it's ready traffic flow into/out of the estate.

I’d stay mortgage free and enjoy all my masses of excess cash!

a 6 bed house with one child seems a little depressing to my mind. Like you’ll be rattling around in this huge family home. Also being out in the middle of nowhere with a teen will be a pain in the arse.

Friends of ours have a very large 5 bed house and no kids. Their house is perfect but it’s not homely in the slightest. They come to our slightly scruffy 3 bed homely house more often than we go to theirs as they actually enjoy sharing our busy and slightly chaotic family events with us.

im sure all the fun you can have with the money you won’t be spending on the mortgage will more than make up for potentially having a few houses over the road.

I would say no. I wouldnt want to take on such a huge house and accompanying mortgage personally and although it seems like a dream house, there is always another dream house popping up on rightmove 😁 i would keep the teens in situ within walking distance of their stuff and keep my eye out for something smaller, amazing and not too big a mortgage for after that phase.

Really sensible advice all and I think I'm leaning towards not moving. Would be perfect for us, but not for DC as he grows up...

I have a 6 bedroom house and it's far too big for our family of 4. We just don't use a lot of it and bigger house, bigger bills more upkeep. We're downsizing atm. Bigger doesn't always mean better!