Hello all,
What would you do in this situation; some things to consider about our back story:
Our children are now moved out so we do not need to consider schools etc.
We are both in our late forties and this is important considering a future mortgage.
Basically, my foreign husband and I moved back to the UK 4 years ago. We have done extremely well since moving back and we consider ourselves very fortunate considering we had to 'start' again when moving back. My husband is Military retired, so on top of wages, he also collects a pension.
We lived in Suffolk about 15 years ago, have a few friends here (many have moved away now though) and presently reside here. When we first moved back to the UK, we wanted to live in Tunbridge Wells, Kent where family are but my husband's new job moved us to near St Albans. Well, we fell in love with the St Albans area, so not living in Kent near family was okay for us. When it came to buying a home, we could not afford to buy in the St Albans area unless with lived in a pokey flat and that isn't an option for us as we have dogs.
My husband's company is global, so when Stamp Duty was scrapped during covid, we jumped on the housing market and chose Suffolk to buy due to it's affordability, we knew people here already having previously lived here and it just made sense at the time. However, since moving back here, we have not settled at all and regret our decision. Don't get me wrong, Suffolk is beautiful but we miss being near London and being able to 'hop' on a train there and we feel quite rural. We also feel a lot of our friends have 'moved' on with their own lives and we hardly see them. I've made new friends but still, I constantly talk about moving.
Basically we are torn and don't know what to do. We could afford to move back to St Albans and rent (but never be able to buy) but would save as I could get a great job. Or, move to Kent (we love Kent too) where buying is more an option, we could be near family but slightly less opportunities for my husband, although he could transfer to Kent too but harder.
What would you do? St Albans but only rent where there are slightly more job opportunities for my husband and I or Kent where we will be near family, hubby could transfer there but harder and again, I can easily get a job?
Thank you, it's so hard trying to make a decision.