We live in a small villagey town, where accommodation to rent can be hard to find. We moved here from a large town in July 2015 and lived in that house for a year. Owners decided to sell, so we were in the shit as not many options. We eventually moved last July to a bungalow, built in 1960s/70s, it'd been empty for 2 years. Landlord is an old farmer who's quite affable but knows lots of work needs doing to the house (leaky roof, bathroom needs total redeco job as tiles are old and some are falling off wall; kitchen is all original from when it was built; kitchen sink housing needs replacing as mouldy and sh*t; damp in some rooms; the list goes on). When we were looking for a place to move to, this was the only place free with 3 bedrooms, so we had no choice really. It has a vast living room, which is quite nice to have but is hard to heat. the windows are all old-style and the glazing is not very effective.
I could go on, but my point is this: a lovely house, about 12 yrs old, has become available just up the road in the centre of the village. 4 bedrooms (1 with ensuite!); across road from gorgeous pub; beautifully appointed; new kitchen; lovely fresh deco; other kids live in the same terrace (as opposed to now which is retirement-home central); a bit nearer to dd's school; energy rating is 81%, so lower bills. And it's the same rental charge as where we are now, and we would get £275 back in deposit, as the deposit for where we are now was £900 and it's only £625 for the other house.
I haven't mentioned anything to dh or anyone, just asked dd what it's like living where there are no other kids, and whether she'd be happier with other children nearby - to which she said it's really boring and she would love to have playmates.
We really should move, right?