My family and I currently live in a 2 bedroom 1st floor flat. My husband and I both work in the same company in the same branch (he works nights and I work days). My 4 year old son attends school and is picked up by the school bus from our village. Our village is the last stop. We have a cat and a dog. We have one car. We live in a rural area but not so rural that there are hardly any transport services.
We have come to the realisation that our flat is now too small to accomodate us all and we are now looking to rent somewhere bigger. Unfortunately, we are in a pickle about our priorities due to the rental cost as well as school. Rental prices in our area are phenomenal and we can only afford anything under £1000/month. We have applied for two properties and have been given offers:
1st property is £875/month, Council Tax Band C, furniture all included, beach front, has a garden, village has a local school, corner shop, pharmacy, doctors, and a vets. The downside is that it takes 30 minutes to commute to work each way and with one car, we would need to travel 120 minutes each day for both of us to get to work. Very little public transport. The road can also be tricky during icy/snowy conditions. Bigger/budget friendly shops or supermarkets are about 25 minutes drive.
2nd property is slightly over budget at £1050/month, Council Tax Band B, unfurnished, has parking at rear, only 20 minutes to commute to work so 80 minutes average for both of us, son can stay in his school which would be ideal for us but plenty of other reputable schools nearby, busier atmosphere, located in a town with everything needed within 5-10 minutes driving distance. Main train station only 5 minutes walk down the road. It has a small front garden and its very big. Downside...we wont be able to save much...possibly even scraping by, but it will be much easier to manage our time, work and school lifestyle and we can keep in touch and regularly visit friends and family.
My brain is telling me to stick with the cheapest one despite rising oil prices and infringing already built up relationships but another part of my brain is telling me to risk it and go for the more expensive property. What should I do? Are there any other factors that I should be thinking about. My husband and I both love the properties (son included) but we are stuck in limbo. There are no other properties close to our work place that is as cheap as this which offers a lot. All of the properties within our budget are so far away which would mean changing jobs, schools, etc. which we really dont want to do.