Bigger house or location? Stretch or small mortgage?

[PerpetuallyUnderwhelmed]

Would you stay in a smaller house in a great, desirable location; think great schools, loads of parks, green space but close to city centre for all amenities? Or move to a larger house with a big garden but have to drive to any amenities?

The smaller house we are currently in also has a comparatively small mortgage, well within our means. Moving would probably entail a much bigger mortgage for a less desirable location but much more space. We would sacrifice quite a lot of financial freedom and flexibility.

How much of a priority is a 'big' house for you vs location and financial freedom?

Location every time.

We started in a lovely (big) house in a shit location.
Moved to a shit (really, really small) house in a lovely location.
Now finally in a lovely house in lovely location.

However we were MUCH happier in house number 2 than number 1. It was tiny and we were crammed in with 3 dc, no garden, no space to swing a cat. But it was on our perfect area. Driving home every day still gave me joy. It made up for so so much.

We're now in a much nicer house in the same perfect area but if I had to move back to our first or second house, I'd still choose to cram inro house number 2 every time, as long as we could stay in the same area!

If you love the location and have access to outside space with parks and grandparents, staying sounds best. Just extend and make it so you love what you have!!

Definitely location. I've appreciated living in the middle of everything more than ever, this past year. We used to live that 20 minute drive away and I think I might have completely lost it if I'd still been there.

Well nobody has said the big house so far so that's very interesting!!

I would stay put.

Personally, with children, I'd go for the bigger house. But I also don't see close to the city centre as a selling point (though it very much was when I was single). Everyone is different.

Location. At your stage of life i think amenities are so important. If that means city centre for your area then so be it. However, is there really no suburban option with amenities and slightly bigger houses?

If you can extend your current house then absolutely stay where you are. My DH grew up in a village, and hated it as a teen. He couldn't go anywhere unless his DPs drove him there.

I am not sure it's a clear either or scenario.
We have opted to have a house that is big enough to meet our needs but not very big, in a location that suits our lifestyle (outside of a big city but not isolated, decent schools, plenty of nice walks, good commuting distances etc).
For me it was important not to have a very big mortgage as we like travelling and eating out. And I want to be able to afford it on one income if we needed it for a bit. So our current mortgage is about 12percent of our net income and isn't too long (will be done before we're 50). But our childcare bill (4 children) is much higher (it will be double our mortgage soon)...
Our house could be bigger, it is common for people with our salaries to have much bigger houses but what would we do with it? The kids are happy, we're not squashed, we can have my parents over for a couple of weeks without too much hassle and my MIL for longer. So it works. I'm also glad that, as it turned out, it was still big enough for us to be comfortable this past year with 2 adults home working and 2 school aged kids home schooling (and 2 little ones playing)... it's a balance really.

I can't see us in suburbia which is the logical choice I suppose. We love living in older houses can't see us in anything newer, really so that's a factor purely down to taste.

We have 3 beds, one currently an office. Not sure how I feel about children sharing but lots around here do when young. I do have a mental block about it. Our house is not tiny by any means but outdoor space is tiny and the room sharing question is an issue....

I can't contemplate getting a toddler and a baby into the car to go anywhere. I love just stepping out the door and walking anywhere

Everyone says location, but it depends on what location you want. Someone’s location will be “must be able to walk in to town” others will be “must be able to walk to fields” both thinking location first.

We have thankfully plumped for the middle. We’d have loved to stayed in our town centre suburbs near where we rented but it meant buying a much smaller house than we’d had up north (relocated last summer) with limited parking and possibly a semi, but we’ve gone for a big detached with space around it in a village just out of town. We can still get takeaways and the bus into town for evenings out. We’ll probably move back into town into a smaller place when we downsize when older, but for now space means more for us, esp’ as we’re both working at home.

Only you can decide this OP, get making lists to help nail down what you most need. Good luck

If you don't need the space (more bedrooms for more kids) then I'd stay in the small house, primarily for the good schools.

I'm in an area with great schools but as a result the property prices are ridiculous. We could afford a much bigger house in another area but scarified space for location and schools.

We moved for a better location and upsized at the same time. We didn't really need extra space but to get somewhere with parking and safe for the cat in the new location, it just was bigger. My husband wanted more storage but the location I wanted was not a factor for him, so for him size was more important. I felt more strongly about everything, so it was my choice.

I am glad we moved as it has really cut travelling time, but the additional space has not contributed enough to our lives to have been worth the cost. Though it is big plus.

I’ve just moved from a big, semi-rural house with a huge garden to a smaller house in the middle of a small town. My children are 12 & 15; they lost interest in playing in the garden at least a couple of years ago. But they love being in town (even in lockdown) and we all agree we wish we’d moved years ago. I love having a smaller garden and smaller house; I think the time when you want a bigger house/garden for children is actually a very short length of time.

It depends on whether the small house is adequate. how many bedrooms do you have? We have a pretty basic three bed in a location we love and are here for the long haul although we could probably afford bigger. It suits us.
That said, I did remodel the downstairs swapping two rooms about and it has given us so much more useable space, without increasing the footprint at all. So if you have any potential that way, I totally recommend

You don't sound like you like the idea of the bigger house.

Location for me. I’m ten minutes from anything, I’d love more space and luckily there are larger houses within the same area although I’d sacrifice a garden tbh.

Same here @PerpetuallyUnderwhelmed. I could have written your post except my dc are older.

Walkable to independent shops on high street (under 5 min walk), amazing schools, excellent transit links, very friendly community with lots of local events, beautiful city parks on doorstep. But I long for a garden and more bedrooms. Could never afford that here, would need an extra 250k or thereabouts. Very hard because I know several people who have made the move to suburbia and have told me how much they lost and regret as a result. No easy decision but I will say I have been very glad my children experienced primary and now secondary here. Really excellent, diverse schools. Met wonderful friends with good life goals and strong values. No regrets but desperate for more space highlighted by the pandemic!!!