have namedchanged for this...
We are currently staying in Knightswood, in an end-of-terrace, 3 beds 1930's house. The plot is nice, with a shed, the view is good (if you blink out the towers in the background and focus on the golf course); we're not overlooked at all. Would be great to get more use of the garden, but the weather is, well, a bit wet.
We've recently converted the loft to make a bedroom for us, with en suite. On first floor, there is DD's room, plus a spare room where we've happened to accumulate all our junk. downstairs is a gallery kitchen, which is in bombed state (DH's part DIY job - work in progress - 3 years on); a smallish not very practical lounge, plus a dining room which is quite dark and cold.
So not bad. No period features at all. Just a house.
But knightswood drives me mad. I don't drive, I don't find the bus very practical with DD, the train station is approx 20 minutes walk, and inaccessible to pushchairs. I miss the busy West End, the opportunity I had to nip out to the shops for a short walk etc. I also worry about schools for DD (2yo) - not sure where we'd go, what schools are like, and how we'll cope with having to pick her up mid-afternoon after school (far from work if in Knightswood). Have no clue about the placement route, and whether it is feasible.
I rarely work from home, because DD's nursery is in the West End, so when I've dropped her, it's easier to just go on and go to work.
We have just about the finance to extend the house (corner plot makes this ok), knocking the kitchen wall to make it a dining kitchen, and extending to the side, to get a better lighting, view of the garden, plus side office. That would improve our current quality of life in term of the house itself, but I worry that it won't be enough to make up for the access problem, and schooling concerns. The building work would also probably push the house cost past it's true ceiling value.
On the other hand, we could rent our house (can't sell at the mo), and use the money as a deposit to buy a flat in the west end, where I'd be able to walk to nursery, work, shops, have a social life (none at the mo), and go to the gym with friends who live there.
We will never earn enough to get a fancy west end house with garden, so we would have to compromise for outdoor space :( which seems unfair to DD. Schooling would however be more straightforward for me / work (hillhead or notre dame).
I am very concerned that the idea of living in the WE sounds better than it truly is. We have seen a few flats, all do compromise in some way, either in state, space or absence of garden / parking or crap communal areas.
But staying in Knightwood truly drives me mad, so may not be a long term solution either.
Any advice, insight?