To ask whether I should move or not?

[ShouldistayorshouldIgonob]

Merry Christmas all.

I grew up in rural (but not remote) small village. A lot of my family lived locally, you know all the same families, you know the sort of place.

I moved to a city for uni and a few years after and eventually moved closer to home, about 35 mins. I live in a small market town, which I like very much. However, I have been thinking about moving to somewhere more rural, but definitely not somewhere as rural as where I grew up. I need at least a stumbling distance pub (actually that's basically it...) no children so no schools to consider.

There is a house for sale in a lovely village, really pretty chocolate box setting (but the house itself isn't one that would require huge maintenance, I live in an old house at the moment).

Here are the pros and cons as I see it:

Current house pros
Small mortgage (90k)
Easily walkable to amenities
35/50 mins commute time to our work places
Family often pop through
We have spent a lot of money on it so it's how we want it, especially the garden
Kitchen is big (house is small) and bright

Cons
No parking - stressful at weekends as town is very busy and it can be hard to find a spot
We have two bedrooms, the second one is an office so no room to host people
Can only just about fit all immediate family on sitting room, cannot easily seat all family in dining room (but we do squash in)
Not the most attractive road
Can walk from door on countryside walks, but takes a while to get to 'countryside proper'

New house pros
More space in living and dining rooms
Parking (though it's not a drive)
Beautiful setting
Really nice looking house
Closer to family
Stunning walks from the door

Cons
Mortgage would increase to around 200k
Kitchen looks nice but not as bright
Much smaller garden and the aspect doesn't look as good as our current house
1 hr 10 commute for me, husband's would be the same as now.

Sorry that was so long and thanks to anyone who has got this far!

Not saying you shouldn't move from your current house, but this house doesn't seem to have enough extra benefits to justify the rise in costs and commute times. You mention 2 bedrooms being an issue in the current place but it doesn't seem like the new house has more bedrooms, so that's not much of an upgrade. It's just got more space downstairs, parking but not an actual drive and some aesthetic plusses which wouldn't be worth it for me. Also wouldn't esp need to be nearer family as it's not that far from either house. Only you know if it's really where you want to live and if so, then move and no one can tell you otherwise. But on paper, I'm not really seeing the 200k value compared to your current pad. I'd sit tight and keep looking for a 3 bed that ticks more boxes.

Thanks for replying! Sorry, I missed that. It does have three bedrooms but a downstairs bathroom. However it has a big separate dining room which we could use as an office which is what our current second room is used for. Hope this makes sense!

Ah well I can’t stand downstairs bathrooms so that’d still count it out for me. Up to you though.

stay put for now and look for option C

that does not sound to me like the house you should be upping your mortgage for

keep looking!

Thank you!