Does the novelty of living in a nice house ever wear off?

[Havanna1]

Before I start, I promise this isn’t a stealth boast, and actually, to a lot of people, our house won’t even be that nice.

We moved 2 years ago to a decent sized house with a big garden in a ‘chocolate box’ rural village. I feel so lucky every day when I drive home to live where we do.

However, I was sitting in the garden just now with a glass of wine, looking at the pretty (field) views, it was so peaceful, silent apart from birdsong and I just felt this overwhelming sense of gratitude.

I get it every time I drive into the drive and after 2 years I’d have thought the novelty would’ve worn off by now. DH said the same, that he feels so happy every time he gets into the drive, when he’s sitting in the back garden etc.

For those that live in pretty much their dream home in their dream location, does the novelty ever wear off? In 10 years time will we be pretty apathetic towards it all?

I worry so much that it’s all going to come crashing down so I’m really trying to enjoy it as I know I might not always feel as fortunate as I do now.

@SneezyGonzalez, not quite so much no. The house is large which affords us space (which during lockdowns has been a godsend) we have a big, open plan kitchen diner which I love and it has bifold doors across the whole of one side which give us views out to the garden. Also have a log burner and sofa in the kitchen/ diner and really enjoy sitting by it in the winter and looking out at said garden. Living room is cosy (also with log burner) but no views or garden or anything so we just tend to spend the evenings in there. So yes, it’s definitely the house I love rather than just the location and garden but those are both great too, hence feeling lucky all round in terms of housing.

When the house is nice enough, no it doesn't.

It's not just the novelty, plenty of people live in a family house and are never bored of it.

Every single day I pinch myself when I walk through my house. It’s by no means a mansion, but we emigrated from Surrey to Australia 2 years ago. Went from a lovely but small 3 bed (at the top of our budget) to a much larger 4 bed, en-suite bathrooms, double sinks, playroom, laundry room, walk in pantry, garden and POOL!!!! For the same price.
Every morning when I walk into my open plan kitchen and see the sun streaming through the windows, the green grass, the blue sky and the pink galahs eating their breakfast on my lawn, I say a prayer of thanks that we moved and can now call this paradise home. I love my house, my children are so happy in it. The novelty won’t wear off anytime soon!

Happy for you OP that you love where you are!

I love my home increasingly. Some things have fade into the background. For instance, I moved from a noisy place to a quiet one and I do just now exoect that quiet. But otherwise we sit in the garden every year and do just as you describe, have an overwhelming sense of good fortune.

Your place sounds fab @CakeyCakeyCakeCake and is making me mutter ‘you flamin’ galah!’ in an Alf from Home & Away voice

We spent years in flats without gardens, bringing up two small children in cramped conditions, so when we finally got our house with a garden I was on cloud 9.

We've been here 11 years and although the novelty has definitely worn off, I can still evoke that huge sense of gratitude and joy.

Lucky you. I don't think it's unusual to feel immensely happy with where you live even after many years.

We have been living in our ideal location for 13 years and have a wonderful view from upstairs of the city landmark and farm fields, and never tire of walking/cycling route into town.

We live in a very pretty, Georgian house in a pretty village. I love the elegant proportions of the rooms and that the garden is small (hate gardening) but south facing. Our house has a very tranquil atmosphere and feels cosy in the Winter and cool in the Summer.

@ZooeyS

Your place sounds fab *@CakeyCakeyCakeCake* and is making me mutter ‘you flamin’ galah!’ in an Alf from Home & Away voice

ha ha ha ha!! My husband says that a LOT!!

HmmmmmmInteresting

The reason I love my south west facing garden is because I get the sun in my back garden until it goes down , so in the summer we can still be in the sun till nearly ten, north east Scotland so sun sets late!!
I get the sun in my back garden from about 1pm till sunset so great for when you get home from work and BBQ’s , the front of the house get the sun in the morning!!

@Nanalisa60

HmmmmmmInteresting

The reason I love my south west facing garden is because I get the sun in my back garden until it goes down , so in the summer we can still be in the sun till nearly ten, north east Scotland so sun sets late!!
I get the sun in my back garden from about 1pm till sunset so great for when you get home from work and BBQ’s , the front of the house get the sun in the morning!!

South facing - you get it all day

We're fortunate to have a house and 20 acres in Scotland.

We had to leave friends, family and work in the South of England so it wasn't without some sacrifice.

I love it and that lifestyle we were seeking.

It doesn't stop me cursing the place at times especially this winter. Cold in mornings, water system in an outbuilding froze so no water to house.
There's normally something going wrong somewhere.

It's been around 5 years now and there are frequently moments where I say out loud fuck me we're lucky.

Those of you living very remotely - how do your teens fare?

I grew up in a village. Sensational chocolate box village. Surrounded by glorious countryside.

As a teen, I would have given my right arm to live more centrally. And I suspect my parents were quite fed up of the ferrying around too

Those of you living very remotely - how do your teens fare?

We moved.
Rural life was fantastic when my children were young, and a surprising amount going on for little ones- toddler groups art and music groups, yoga classes, concerts, even in a small village of 500 people.

But public transport was rubbish, and nothing for teens.
So when my kids hit the teenage years we moved to a place closer to the city- still quite rural, but good transport links, near to the secondary school etc.

Once everything else is going well in your life/marriage then no it may not ever wear off completely. I've lived in a "dream house" with views that people travel to see (lots of weirdos have poked their nose through our hedges over the years ) and it can still take my breath away from time to time. My marriage is on the rocks though and I already have one foot out of the gate and can't wait to leave this place behind. I never thought I'd say that!

I don't think a nice house is the basis for happiness.

I grew up in a nice house with horrible parents. I now live in what MN would see as a horrible house with my lovely kids and husband.

I feel happy when I put the key in the door because I know the people I love are waiting to see me. My tiny kitchen is where I cook really fab meals for my family and the fold out table is where we sit, chat and eat after a busy day. The roof doesn't leak, the walls are sound and the boiler heats it all up nicely.

It isn't a good area, not near good schools and the back yard is small and dark.

I love our house because we can afford it and it is a warm, welcoming home, but mostly I just love the people in it.

I don't think a nice house is the basis for happiness.
It's all relative, but I think most people are quickly miserable when they have to put up with bad accommodation, space too small, can't breath, can't move and worst, have to put up with neighbours from hell.

It's an extreme circumstances, but generally people who suffer the most from the lockdown are not the ones with the nice houses.

I don't think a nice house is the basis for happiness

Nice is subjective. There isn’t a general MN consensus on what is considered a ‘nice’ house. Everyone will have different views on it... there will be people on here who think your house is luxurious, I’m sure. Poor living conditions can cause misery.

I think this thread has happily shown that a “nice house” can be anything! Very few people have posted a description of what you might describe as a luxury home, just that their house is perfect for them and how they appreciate it. I find it really heartening. Home should be comforting and a happy place. The sad part is that so many don’t have that.

There are many things in of themselves that you could say don’t bring happiness, but a lack of those things often causes unhappiness.

I don't think a nice house is the basis for happiness

I think you may have misse thr point, no one is saying a house makes you happy if you’re in a terrible relationship and it’s filled with people who don’t care for you then no amount of lovely ness will make it a happy home

A house , the actual property, can add or subtract from your happiness, based on it’s location, your finances and it’s condition. No amount of love will change that,

The discussion what makes a home happy, but does your physical property bring you happiness.

I HATE our current house, DH does as well. But we are in the process of buying a beautiful house and I just cannot wait to live somewhere that gives me the feelings you describe

I love our house because we can afford it and it is a warm, welcoming home, but mostly I just love the people in it

You don't appear to understand the post, does that lovely feeling of having a nice home (interpret nice how you will) ever wear off?

That's the question, the homes people are talking about on here could range from a studio flat to a mansion, our experiences and expectations are all different, but when you realised you were lucky, does that stick, or do you eventually want more. That's how I interpreted this thread anyway.

We lived for many years in houses that were in need of work, with terrible neighbours, no parking, and latterly, just too small for our needs.

A few years ago we moved to a big 3 bed semi that needed a lot of work and had a huge garden. It's in a quiet street but near everything we need.

Our life is so much better. More space for DCs, we both WFH and it's now possible, space for parties... Potential to still do things to the house. Actually, just space to do things ous the best thing of all! It's a nice house, not amazing, but I am thankful that we made it here literally every day. I don't know how we would have coped with lockdown where we were living previously.