We have recently moved house and are now fortunate to be mortgage free. We would never have paid off our interest only mortgage and would have had to sell at some point in the next five years anyway. To do this we have left an affluent area with lots of restaurants, shops, amazing links to London and the airport. The house prices are very high so we sold at a decent profit paid off the mortgage and cash bought a new build.
I know we are very very lucky.
The area we moved to used to have a bad reputation but not anymore although people are still very critical of it. There has been a lot of development and there are many beautiful houses here. Sadly the town is dreadful. Hardly any shops and it’s just depressing. The people are lovely, and we have lots of clubs etc. But it’s incredibly run down and not somewhere you would want to go. Hence the cheaper houses. we are on the edge of some lovely countryside with stunning villages. But nothing nice we can walk to and a 25 minute drive to the train station.
We have our son his wife and their two boys within walking distance as well. Which is the biggest plus for us.
AIBU to feel we have given up an area people are desperate to move to and are now stuck in a crappy town with none of the niceties we have enjoyed?
I know this isn’t the end of the world but I would be grateful to hear if others have made similar moves for financial security and that it’s worked out well.