To want a bigger house if DH continues to wfh?

[toodlesmoon]

Not really an AIBU

Is anyone else looking to move from their smaller city located house as a result of Covid?

I already wfh 2 days out of 3 so it wasn't a huge change for me (home educating & childcare at the same time was!). DH used to do about 3 days a month from home but like many city firms hes now looking at just 3-4 days a month in the office. There is not enough space for us to both wfh long term so thinking we should perhaps take the plunge and move further out.

Anyone else done similar or thinking of?

surely depends all on your circumstances and what you can afford.

Is anyone else looking to move from their smaller city located house as a result of Covid?
According to the news, hundreds of people.
Small towns and villages are becoming most sought after apparently.

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.independent.co.uk/life-style/people-leaving-cities-london-manchester-coronavirus-pandemic-lockdown-a9612116.html%3famp

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-53670199

I have clients in the mortgage and surveying business and they both say they’re in on dates with business, because so many people want to move to bigger or more rural properties. I would too, if I were in your circumstances. If you can afford it and it looks as if you’re both going to be working from home in the long term, then go for it.

you and the rest of the world apparently - if you can afford it then you can move to somewhere with more space if its needed

@Dohorseseatapples Ha, I've seen headlines & articles & this has made me think I should do it before we get priced out however I wasn't sure how much browsing etc had translating into sales.

@angelfishrock budget would be about 900k.

We are currently in Z2 London & I'm not particularly interested in outer zones but like the idea of another smaller city eg Bristol, the home countries like Hampshire or the coast.

@LillianBland that's interesting it feels like the right time as we are in 30s with young dc but I was born & raised in London so I never even considered leaving so it's weird adjusting to my new mindset if that makes sense.

You just know once you do that there’ll be a miracle cure and it’s all back to normal and you’re faced with a longer commute 😬😏

There is that @Thewiseoneincognito!

But then I think we will face more pandemics & DHs firm is realistically looking at smaller hubs dotted about in the future & the rest of the industry seem to be doing similar.

We’re lucky in that we live in a nice suburb of our Northern city and have enough space for both of us to wfh comfortably. In your position OP, I’d definitely be thinking about it. HOWEVER a lot of firms are talking the talk now but when and if things are back to normal (I mean once there is a proven vaccine normal) will they follow through with this 3 or 4 day a month in the office model? Especially if they have a massive office space that they can’t unload? That’s what would make me slightly nervous of taking any action now.

We're in the process of doing this - moving from city centre to small town 20 miles out. I've managed to get work to agree a specific long term 3 days a week wfh agreement though; I'm expecting that this will become the norm anyway (our office is still closed) but didn't want to take the risk of waiting to see what the company did. They used to be quite opposed to anything more than 1 day wfh so the fact it was approved shows the change in mindset.

Not needing to be in the office 5 days just totally changed the balance for us. At the moment I'm a 10 minute walk from work, lovely house but small with no outdoor space. 30-45 minute drive out gets us a detached house with a garden and more than double the floor space.

We've been discussing this at work and can see it happening massively, yes. Lots of central London businesses have realised their staff can work productively from home and I know of at least two businesses that are either not renewing leases or are moving to smaller premises when their lease expires.

Unless you have an active social life in a city (which is also now less likely due to covid) and your work is home based, I can't see the benefit to being based in a city any more.

I can see it having a significant effect on property prices inside and outside of cities.

I've WFH for a couple of years, but following Covid Partner's company have agreed he can go in once a month for a day or so. Therefore we are finally taking the chance to move a couple of hundred mile north to get a bigger house and garden. We can't get what we want where we are, but by keeping our current salaries and moving we can.

@Calic0 I am slightly nervous about that. We would probably stick to somewhere within 1.5 hours just in case & I've no doubt 1 days travel will soon cost the same as 4.

However it does seem that this will be a long term trend as it often saves companies loads. DHs company although still paying rent has saved ££££.

I’d be cautious of doing something so drastic now. If there’s a vaccine we could all be looking back on this as a big anomaly in 12 months time. No harm in looking at houses and getting a feel for different areas though. See how the land lies in 6 / 12 months time.

@StatisticallyChallenged good for you.

@DistinguishedCarrot
We do have a fairly active social life within our area due to neighbours & family however all our closet friends moved out some time ago (we were lucky & were helped onto the ladder early). As you say Covid has restricted a lot of that so I want more living & garden space to socialise in.

Not sure if it's Covid or getting older but I have found some joy in the last few months gardening, baking, walking which I didn't really do before & I would like to continue.

OP - we’re in a similar position. We sold a city centre flat at the end of last year and are currently renting in the suburb we planned to buy in. Glad we weren’t stuck in the city centre for lock down but we are discussing where we want to buy. We’ve decided to look at some of the villages on the outskirts of our city too but we aren’t going to offer in anything until things are hopefully clearer in the new year.

@theemmadilemma

Although we’ve got Brexit pending too. God knows what impact that will have on house prices, supply etc.

@theemmadilemma good luck

If there’s a vaccine we could all be looking back on this as a big anomaly in 12 months time

A vaccine isn't going to change the fact that many companies are taking it as an opportunity not to renew office leases though. I would strongly advise that anyone who does move has their WFH arrangement fully written into their contracts though before they do move.

OP Many of our friends have done (pre-covid) and continue to do so - more now I would say. Most have thought it was a good move, but they are the type of people who didn't really make the most out of living in London anyway.

@TazMac part of me agrees to wait but if everyone else does it & as you say Brexit who the f knows what will happen.

Small towns and villages are becoming most sought after apparently

I wish they were; my mum's bungalow has been on the market for nearly 2 months with no viewings

I have made the state agent add, summer house suitable for home office/gym/artist studio/workshop but still no interest

We're having the same discussion on a smaller scale. Basically whether we want to trade good transport links for a bigger house/garden.

I wouldn't make a big change such as London to Bristol without contractual home working in place.