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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you regret moving to a bigger house, or if it was the best decision you made?

63 replies

Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 08:50

My husband and I bought a small house when we were in our mid twenties. We have spent a huge amount of time and money making it into our home. We have a good sized garden, character features and as much space as the two of us need. What we don't have is parking (though on street is available) and at the weekend the local pub can be a bit noisy.

We have been talking about moving to a bigger property, maybe in a big village rather than the small town we live in now. Our house is worth probably around 230ish, a bigger house would be 350.

I'd be interested to hear from others who have faced the same dilemma. Is it worth financial stretch? At the moment we are able to save quite a bit with a good lifestyle so I worry that will go and we might not gain much.

Thank you for reading.

OP posts:
Accidentgirlfriend · 31/07/2021 08:53

I guess you need to factor in the extra costs aswell . Maybe an increase in council tax ? Higher energy bills , more cleaning , more rooms to furnish . Increase in water bills if more toilets . It’s all adds up on top of the increase of the house price .

Getbehindme · 31/07/2021 08:57

We did and then separated. So do make sure your relationship is on solid ground (as much as you can obvs).

As above, it's more to clean and more to pay for but it's nice to progress. Get a mortgage broker, you might be able to afford it more than you think.

Porcupineintherough · 31/07/2021 08:58

Why a bigger house, rather than one of the same size in a better location? And is it extra rooms you want of larger versions of what you have now?

KaleJuicer · 31/07/2021 08:59

Are you planning on having children? Do you have guests or family to stay often?

EnglishRose1320 · 31/07/2021 09:03

We have just moved into our bigger house, have been here for 3 months now and so far we are loving it. We do have to be a bit more careful with money, less spending money, but we are still able to save, just have to stop and think about purchases a bit more.
The extra cost we probably didn't factor in enough was fuel, now we live further away from everything we definitely have to refuel far more often.
The sense of space we have now though is great and we spend more time together because we aren't in a house with cut off rooms anymore.

Essentialironingwater · 31/07/2021 09:03

We don't regret it but we moved to a cheaper part of the UK so went from a 2 bed character Victorian with no parking to a 5 bed on 5 acres with a small guest cottage. So no extra financial stretch.

We bought ours for the land, wasn't bothered about a huge house, I think location and garden are our priorities. I don't think the larger house gives us anything extra apart from more room to host and less incentive to declutter really! The gardens, however, have really improved our quality of life and being able to park outside the front door is great

Iknowthiswillendbutwhen · 31/07/2021 09:04

Depends on how the space works for you. Whether you would be using every room and whether the layout "flows" well. I personally wouldn't recommend going up as in thin and tall, but would think about moving to a house that has more horizontal space.

Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:05

Thanks everyone, really helpful.

You can probably tell I'm team stay, other than having a drive I'm struggling to see of any major advantages. No children, no guests. I like the idea of being mortgage free quite young.

OP posts:
GOODCAT · 31/07/2021 09:06

We did, but the motivation for the move was to be in a more convenient location for me, but to still have parking (and for my husband to find it worth doing) we also upsized.

The convenient location remains a massive plus. The down side is that had we stayed I would have paid off the mortgage by now. Also the new place needed a lot of work and so we have spent a lot of time and money doing it up and like you we had already done that to our old place. I would rather have spent our time and money on doing more fun things.

That said the location has saved me about 40 minutes a day of my time but at a cost of about £150k. If I had looked at it like that originally I probably wouldn't have moved. However, on balance I don't regret it.

I still want to be in an even more convenient location, but can't afford the extra jump up in prices. That would also mean downsizing, which my husband wouldn't be so keen on yet.

I am not bothered about extra space, we really don't use it and it just costs more, but my husband really likes it, so I doubt I would convince him to move again until I retire when we will go for a bungalow and will definitely downsize to free up some capital to live on in retirement.

Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:08

I should say, our current location is much more convenient for work, and we have all the supermarkets in walking distance, whilst also having stunning countryside on the doorstep.

OP posts:
SmokeyDevil · 31/07/2021 09:11

Would you even use the extra space? You said you have all the space that you need so what would the extra rooms be for?

If you have no idea or they will lie empty most of the year as a 'guest' room, then don't bother. You won't use it so what's the point in paying extra for something you don't use?

DoubleTweenQueen · 31/07/2021 09:12

Why don't you just look for a similar -sized house that's better located with off-road parking?

Each house can be quite different, and if you're aiming for a large village, there should be a decent range of housing types.

Are you anticipating extra expense simply moving to a village, out of the town?

I would keep an eye on the market and see what comes up?

In answer to your specific question - no!

FreeSpirits · 31/07/2021 09:13

Stay X

Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:13

No we wouldn't use the extra bedrooms, not regularly anyway. I guess we'd have a spare room but like I say we have never had a guest!

OP posts:
DoubleTweenQueen · 31/07/2021 09:14

.....but we moved with two young children and now a dog so our requirements changed and the additional space was necessary

SmokeyDevil · 31/07/2021 09:14

@Movingonupnowww

No we wouldn't use the extra bedrooms, not regularly anyway. I guess we'd have a spare room but like I say we have never had a guest!
God no then. Extra outgoings for nothing. That's just stupid.
Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:15

The problem is, the housing available which we both like is characterful properties - which are in short supply here, and almost never have parking. We could probably move to a 3 bed in the same area with parking for maybe 300, but it would be a 70s house, which provides a lot more space but not the same feel. Maybe I've answered my own question?

OP posts:
Proudboomer · 31/07/2021 09:17

I moved to a large house some years ago mainly as I have children and my mother needed care so came to live with us.
The children are now grown and will stick out on their own within a year or two and my mum won’t live for ever.
I will want then to downsize again as quite frankly I am fed up of the cost of running a large house and the never ending cost of maintaining it. Top rate of community charge, large gas and electric bills, high water charges and even things like a window cleaner cost twice as much.
I want to see out my days in a small two bed, with a small garden and parking. It will be enough for me with the added benefit of I will have a pot of cash I can use to help my adult children down pay their mortgages and still have money left.

Neverrains · 31/07/2021 09:17

Well we moved to a bigger house and didn’t regret it as we needed the extra space for our 3 children. We’ll go even bigger again when we can afford it.
In your situation, however, I’d stay put.

Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:18

I think it's partly because we are worried what other people think.

OP posts:
AnotherMarvellousThing · 31/07/2021 09:18

But it doesn’t sound as if you need, or want, more space — why wouldn’t you keep an eye out for a similar sized house close to where you now live, but with off-street parking and further from a pub/noise sources?

Why would you move to a bigger house you don’t need in a village when your current location sounds perfect?

There is only DH and I and our 9 year old, and we moved to a big, 5-bed Victorian that needs a lot of work last year, but our situations aren’t similar.

Neverrains · 31/07/2021 09:18

@Movingonupnowww

I think it's partly because we are worried what other people think.
About what? Moving, or staying?
Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:18

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences.

OP posts:
AnotherMarvellousThing · 31/07/2021 09:19

@Movingonupnowww

I think it's partly because we are worried what other people think.
What do you mean? That you think people think you should buy a bigger house you don’t need or want?
Original poster
Movingonupnowww · 31/07/2021 09:21

Because a similar size house with parking would mean a newish house, which I don't is us. I will definitely keep an eye out though, thanks. It's a very quaint old town with victorian terrace packed in the middle and then pretty much nothing but newer estates and a fair few mansions!

OP posts: