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.

It’s nice to feel contentment. I do not own my home but am no longer privately renting and I’m grateful everyday for that as I know how bad that is. I feel for younger generation who may never feel this contentment.

We live in a bog standard 3 bed semi, it's certainly not my dream home but it was a bit of a fixer upper and I'm pleased with what we have achieved. However, oddly I would be sad to leave it if we were to move.

I am very happy overall due to location, the neighbours are fine/no bother/ pleasant enough as obviously neighbour issues are awful, but also we can easily afford it and whilst we could afford a bigger, detached house we decided to prioritise a quality of life with plenty of disposable income (plus paying extra into our pensions). This also allowed me to be a sahm for DS until he went to school, I'm now back at work.

Quality of life has become even more important this last year where opportunities for travel etc that has been curtailed and we want DS to have lots of experiences and have time together.

...I would like a utility room though!

I love my house. We've been here for 3 years and the novelty has not worn off. Although it's near the middle of our town, it is so quiet and peaceful here. I hope it's our forever home.

It’s so nice that you feel like that op!

I feel the same, we’ve been here for 7 years and I count my lucky stars to this very day that I get to be the person that lives here.

My DH and DCs love it too, 5 minutes from countryside walks and streams, village school, nice community....

Enjoy it op

I lived in a house on a big estate ( the estate was like a village) everyone knew off everyone, I LOVED that house, after a divorce I kept the house, met someone and then we brought a house together. I sold my house to a family at less than I should off because they loved it, I cried when I dropped the key through the letter box for the last time. So really enjoy loving your house/home your very lucky as was I. The house we moved to and still live in ( a tear has just run down my cheek thinking about it) I sort of like but I don't love it. In my old house I would walk down the stairs and say I love my house. Now I've made myself sad!!

I lived in a lovely small but perfect house pre second child. Had second child so moved. Now my house is larger but less perfect and I fantasise about moving back to 1st house when kids leave home

This is such a lovely thread and I don’t think it’s stealth-boasty at all, it’s nice to see people happy and content with their lot!

We bought our first home last year, ‘just’ a flat and nothing as incredible as some of the places here, but it’s a gorgeous flat and so much better than anything we ever thought we would be able to afford. I turn to my husband several times a week and say ‘I love this place!’ and I hope that never changes!

@Havanna1

I have to say that Switzerland is a really beautiful place and paradise if you like mountains! 🏔

@FirewomanSam

This is such a lovely thread and I don’t think it’s stealth-boasty at all, it’s nice to see people happy and content with their lot!

We bought our first home last year, ‘just’ a flat and nothing as incredible as some of the places here, but it’s a gorgeous flat and so much better than anything we ever thought we would be able to afford. I turn to my husband several times a week and say ‘I love this place!’ and I hope that never changes!

If you possibly can, never ever sell it! Keep it even if you move house. I sold my first flat in London back in 1999 and I regret it at least once a week

Your house sounds lovely. Hope you always enjoy it. Mine is a 2 bed terrace so nothing special really but it suits me well & I get a lot of contentment from being there- even more so after 15 years.

When DH & I lived in our first flat, we couldn't ever imagine being able to afford a house. Then a tiny rundown terraced cottage came up in a nearby village and we bought it and fixed it up. It was so cosy & characterful and felt like Santa could have lived there.

When we were expecting DC1, an estate agent approached and told us he had a buyer willing to pay 30% more than we had bought it for 18 months prior. It really wasn't practical there for a baby so we agreed and grappled around trying to find somewhere suitable.

We found our current 3-bed but it was very neglected by the previous owners. We didn't have the funds to do everything so it's a long project but is now getting to a place we are very happy with and I'm so pleased we made the move. The views are incredible, we have restored a lot of the original character and it has a lovely warm feel to it. Twenty minute walk into town. We have two DCs and can lift them in the air without bumping their heads on the ceiling!

We still enjoy driving past our old cottage and reminiscing but so proud to get home to our new place. I think getting the kitchen done next year will be a game changer!

What a lovely thread
I love my home, its more than I ever dreamed of. It's large enough that we all have our own space, has a big garden with fields next to us, I love listening to the wildlife life while I fall asleep . We can see the sea. I honestly feel grateful every day
It took a long time to get here but it was worth the struggle

We bought our home 5 years ago and I still get a warm, fuzzy feeling when I pull onto the drive at the end of a long day and look at it. Our first house was a lot smaller, the area was a bit dodgy and the schools weren't great but we thought that was all we would ever be able to afford so we tried to make the best of it. I don't think the novelty of having a house we truly love will ever completely wear off. It's definitely my sanctuary and DH and I often remark that we're lucky to live a short walk away from good schools, lovely parks, a couple of nice pubs that do good food etc. But it's not just that the house itself or the location is lovely, for me my house represents a feeling of stability, security and safety that I never thought I'd have when I was in my teens/early 20's for various reasons. We've been lucky but we've also worked very hard and made sacrifices over the years and it's definitely been worth it.

@Havanna1 as someone who is currently stuck in a hellhole I've never liked. Seriously enjoy every minute of your forever home. Sounds idyllic.

Me and DP are in the process of completely renovating our home. When we moved in it was reasonable but every single room needed decorating, and it needed new windows/doors/drive/garden landscaping.

It was habitable, which is why we bought it with the aim of doing one room at a time. Lockdown has slowed us down a lot, but we've done the kitchen and the garden, and every little thing we change brings us so much joy, because it's ours, it's what works best for us, and we love it. I sit in my garden whenever I have the chance, and I've never grown tired of the new kitchen even though it's now two years old.

Next up is the bathroom complete with jacuzzi bath and walk-in shower and I'm SO excited.

I recently posted on the property board as I really love my house and there’s a chance we may have to move for secondary schools. Just the thought of it has made me so unsettled and I’m hoping the school we can get into does better in the next few years!

We bought this house as I just had a feeling from seeing it online that we had to view (we had offered on another house a few days before). From the second I was through the door it just felt like home and I knew we would be happy here. I never thought we could get a house in this road and it has amazing views as well as decent plot size and house spacing. I always said I wanted old old or very new, but this is 1950’s and we are only the third owner. We’ve done so much work and have loads to go, but it’s not felt like a chore.

We are now doing the bare minimum for a few years so if we move we haven’t over spent. If we stay then it’ll be a last push to finish the bigger renovations that are more want than need.

I can’t imagine finding a house we love as much in our budget and I’m so very grateful to live here. In fact since we first moved in I’ve given money regularly to a homeless charity to try and pay some of my good fortune forwards.
So for me the feeling of happiness hasn’t worn off, but circumstances may force our hand anyway.

@FloconDeNeige
Beautiful :)

What a lovely thread.

I’ve just been on Rightmove looking at a beautiful but expensive house wondering what it would actually give us over what we have currently and it would give us some extra rooms that I couldn’t find a use for and a compromised kitchen. I love my house and now we’ve finally done the kitchen if feels done. Got a couple of odd projects here and there like replacing some rotten decking, changing the carpet on the stairs etc but overall we’re good.

We live in a great house in a great location. It's not hugely fancy, an extended semi but very well designed so everything just works for us. We know it's our forever home and I feel a huge sense of contentment so many times a day.

I never felt it in previous houses because we've moved around a lot, and I knew they were never going to be a really long term home so perhaps wasn't emotionally invested.

It's a lovely feeling.

My home isn’t anyone’s dream home by any means. It’s a council house but a gorgeous little seaside cottage.
After going through the system I still f eel so lucky here after 10 years

@FridayNightAtTheBronze

I think it depends on if your house 'ticks all the boxes' or if there are any things you had to compromise on.

For instance, I'm in a townhouse. I love my house, and I loved it when I bought it. However there are so many stairs! In order to get the space we needed we compromised on getting a house that was set over 3 floors instead of two, as the house is generally very narrow.

As time goes on, the stairs are becoming more of an issue, and once mobility is a problem then the love for the house will definitely wear off.

My husband and I have already agreed our next house will be a bungalow!

We moved from a large Victorian semi to a three bed detached bungalow four years ago. We bloody love it. We had to completely gut it, but it’s beautiful. We feel like we’re living in a holiday place.

We also made the move for mobility reasons. I would highly recommend bungalow living.

I got council accommodation at 17 (issues in childhood/family problems and it was much easier to be housed back then) and a combination of a secure tenancy and not being in a position to buy has meant I’ve stayed in SH all my adult life. I’ve lived in some crap places. I lived in one of those flats once covered in mould and damp (they’ve been highlighting similar places on tv recently). I did actually get rehoused from there but the next place was horrible for different reasons.

I exchanged many times (8 in total) to finally move in 16 years ago to my current home. I truly love it. It’s a Victorian conversion with lots of original features (which was always my dream). The rooms are spacious, lovely high ceilings etc, but cosy. I have a nice little secluded garden. It’s on a normal street rather than an estate. The area is nice and it’s convenient for everything I need. I’ve redecorated top to bottom over the years and have everything just how I want it. I love being here. I appreciate it every day. I could never have afforded to buy it (the location means it’s worth a lot!) so I wouldn’t be able to live here any other way. I know most people’s dream/goal is to own but I feel very fortunate. I work and pay all my rent so it’s not “free” but it’s affordable.

No, we've lived in a lovely 3 bed, 3 bath rental with amazing outside space for 13 years. I still love it and thank god I have an amazing landlord.

I think this is a lovely thread, it’s so nice to see some happiness in the world being expressed for a change.

I live in a very functional house and I’m realistic enough to know that I won’t be able to live in anything nicer. But I live in a beautiful location and my child is in Yr5 at school and despite having walked her to school for years now, I still sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed by how beautiful our walk to school is.