Location or space?

[noddyholder]

Our house is on the market atm and we are looking at places to move to.We have always lived in this area although tbh it has always been a bit expensive as I don't work(health)we now plan to sell and buy somewhere cheaper to get rid of our mortgage.Our dilemma is do we buy a small hous ein the same area,or do we buy a similar house or even bigger in a less desirable area.Schools etc no prob as ds is in the best local school anyway.The cheaper areas are a mix of ex local authority and bungalows but nice gardens and big rooms the only down is slightly further for ds and school and dp is so snobby!I am keen to move cheaper and have a life tbh rather than paying a huge mortgage each month and am not as snobby as dp.

I'd always go for location 1st.

If a smaller house won't compromise the lifestyle you want then personally I'd put area first. Started a similar thread a few weeks back !

The thing is dp teaches drums to a few pupils from home and he could expand this if we had a bigger garden to build a small studio.In our area it is all 2 up 2 down period houses with yards(patios)The houses further out are twice the size and really more suited to how we live but all ds's friends live in the area we are in now and so its difficult.I hate little poky rooms but know we have to compromise somewhere

Is it likely that the less desirable area will 'improve' in the next few years? new developments / shopping centres / transport links?......or become even less desirable than now?

hmm tricky one , you don't want to have to move again in a few years or live somehwhere where any of you would be unhappy or inconvenienced. Personally I'd sit down and think about what you can accept as a minimum and see how close to your present area you can get that.

The area we are thinking of is already on the up It isn't rough or anything just a bit boring but is near good schools just not so boden middle class yummy as where we are now Feel a right w**ker saying that but it is the general concensus round here.When we bought this house I hoped to go back to work but doctors have said very unlikely unless I make some major recovery or a miraculous response to medication neither of which have happened so dp is under huge pressure and I hate seeing him stressed We could have such a good life if we weren't such snobs

Noddy I think you live near me (new tin drum?) and I know where you are coming from - we would like some more space and the alternatives for us are to go into the loft (which would add a room but not make any more space downstairs IYKWIM) or move. Am loathe to move out of this area as DS is settled at infants school and want him to go to the juniors with his friends. But i really want a bigger garden and there is no chance round here, except for mega bucks as you know.

In your shoes, with schools not an issue I'd be tempted to move.

Thanks puddle we bought this house for the schools even though it was out of our budget because I really thought I'd be able to work and although my reiki is taking off I still think we would be better off.I too would love a garden and have seen some great ones about a mile up the road!I am v near the tin drum although after all this time I don't really like it much!

I know it's a bit rubbish isn't it? I'm still die-hard for the deli (although have been to North village on occasion....) Where are you looking?

Hollingdean hollingbury and patcham Lovely houses big gardens It is getting really stressful I wish we had never bought this house,we can afford it just but it is tight and we have already spent 30k on it and it still needs work!I just can't see an alternative adn i really like Patcham its just some of our friends have turned their noses up but they are all mortgaged to the hilt too and don't seem to mind I want holidays and peace rather than the right postcode!You must be so near me there are no gardens around here though I've looked

i would go for space over location any day. we (4 of us) live in a small 2 bed house and im constantly spending hours clearing cupboards and rooms trying to make more space and at some point our loft is going to cave in from the ammount we keep up there.

quality of life noddy thats whats important, anyone who judges you on where you live isn't worth knowing anyway.

I think that you pay so much more for the Victorian and Edwardian houss around here but that are not ideal for a family are they? Not unless you have one of those massive jobs on Rugby Road...We have more or less made ours open plan downstairs.

I'm thinking that I'd like a 30s house next, the ones I have seen have really big rooms and are light and airy, plus BIG HALLS - I am so sick of squeezing into my house past bikes, scooters, coats and bags and bashing my elbows in the process, would kill for one of those big square halls. I also dream of a really cool 60s house with big windows and minimal decor.

I think we have become victims of other peoples views of us.We have always live the typical middle class type life and I was the main earner tbh as dp is a musician so usually skint Since I got ill my priorities have changed but everyone still sees us in a certain light and I feel like we are scared to disappoint them by living the life we can really afford

I think we have become victims of other peoples views of us.We have always live the typical middle class type life and I was the main earner tbh as dp is a musician so usually skint Since I got ill my priorities have changed but everyone still sees us in a certain light and I feel like we are scared to disappoint them by living the life we can really afford

i would say go for space and a lower mortgage. we've gone for space over location and don't regret it for a second.

Thanks for all your messages it is really helping as I am so stressed out atm about this because it is essentially my fault as I could earn a good salary if I wasn't such a crock

btw, if your friends get snooty with you because you're moving then they really are not worth knowing.

are there other things you could compromise on? when we bought our first house (pre-kids) it was on a main road - but we got a lot more for our money cos we were prepared to do that. I'm not suggesting a main road particularly but that are a number of things that you might be able to compromise on - size of garden, ease of parking, no of bathrooms, (ludicrous how these days everyone seems to think we need one each) style of house - (esp as you say Victorian and Edwardian which are massively overpriced and not that family friendly), proximity to school (doesn't matter to you in terms of getting in to the school whereas it probably matters a lot to some and adds a bit to price). But - if it really had to come down to size or location I would go for size - as long as the location wasn't teaming with guns and drugs.

personnally I wouldn't move into a rough area. However if the cheaper area is just a bit boring then possibly if I were to get more space.

We have just moved because of the location of our last house even though we had lots of space. So at the moment my prefernece is location first then space!

Move to the cheaper area and buy somewhere really nice. Then your friends will come around and see all you have gained. They will probably want to move too! Buying in a less pricey area will probably be a good long term investment too if there are reasons to think that it will improve. But most of all you will be less stressed, and that is worth far more than the snob value. You never know if you are less stressed, you may get better quicker too.

also if the less nice area is on the edges of/close to a nice area then I think it will almost certainly get nicer as more and more bodenites have more babies/want more space/get priced out of the posher bit.