Move from Dublin to Kildare

[Pennyhill22]

We currently live in a very central,sought after area,about 3km from Dublin City centre. We have great transport routes, hospitals,pubs,restaurants,kids school is a 15 minute walk etc.

We had toyed with the idea of moving to Kildare for a bigger house but we didn't go through with it. A house we were very interested in 5 years ago as come back on the market and DH is very interested in moving. I'm not so sure. Our current home needs renovating and we have full planning permission granted for an extension and extra building in the garden for multi purpose use. We are finding it very hard to remortgage though as DH is the sole earner. I am on an invalidity pension but that is not considered as means. The house depresses me as I'm in it all the time.

We could sell this house and buy the house in Kildare with a very small mortgage,circa 50k and then 50k to decorate,no big renovations needed.

Our DC are 10,12and 14 and I would want to keep them in their own schools in Dublin. It's 42km from the house in Kildare to their schools in Dublin. They don't socialise much where we live as its quite a mature area so not many kids their age. I do worry though that as they are getting older they won't have the ease they have now if they want to go somewhere.

Advice please?

Personally unless you absolutely hated where you live I think you are nuts to consider it if you aren't planning on changing schools. I know plenty will come on and say they drive x to y distance to school every day but personally I found commuting a long distance every day soul destroying. Mine wasn't even long it was just full of bottle necks and traffic. If they aren't going to school where you are living they will want to be constantly brought to things as their friends will be all in Dublin so they won't have any local connections at all. I'd really thing long and hard about it. I know it seems a no brainier a bigger house etc etc but think long term.

Sounds crazy to me. My dad spent the majority of my teenage years running me back and forward from my friends at that was tough and time consuming being 5 odd miles away. 3 kids and that distance would be a nightmare. Is it not an option to change schools?

Seems insane.
Can you improve the house without going for full extension?
In a few years that 14 year old will hopefully be in college and won't be thankful for a commute from Kildare, nor really is there much to recommend driving kids in for schools in Dublin.

Anywhere within 40km of Dublin is going to be a commuter route - there is no way I'd choose that for kids going to school. It just takes one lane closed due to an accident or break-down and the delays are huge. I'm from Kildare and travelling to Dublin when I started working was bad enough, I wouldn't put that on a child if you don't have to.
I would do the necessary repairs and refurbishment to get your house to a state that you are happy to live in - and hold off on the extension and extra building if they are not essential, until you can save more.
Or move - but then I'd change the schools as well, certainly for the 10 year old and the 12 year old if they've not started secondary yet. I wouldn't move schools for a 14 year old until they'd finished the JC.