Did your dream home / move to a new area really change your life for the better?

[cruusshed]

...if so was it physically the house or actually the area?

I have been fantasising about a move to the coast for sometime for a fresh start after a difficult few years (cant do it immediately due to schooling) and worried that my expectations of joy are unrealistic.....

Anyone regret uprooting and moving away - or did the novelty wear off?

I think if you think a move anywhere will fix something, then that is unrealistic and probably doomed to failure. However, if it is something you really want to do and you treat like an adventure and have concrete ideas of what you are going to do, then go for it.

I moved from London to Glasgow for the cheaper housing and to get out of the ratrace.
I instantly liked the place BUT after the initial novelty wore off there was a loong period or relative loneliness. It is quite hard to pull together a new friendship group.

If you are feeling delicate- this is something to bear in mind

Thanks both. The move would not require creating a new friendship group as we would not be going too far away - so minimal risk there. Yes wow if we approach it as an adventure and to live a better lifestyle that would be realistic rather than expecting it to be a magic wand to make us "happy".

Yes absolutely but I think it depends where you're moving from. Our previous area was supposed to be temporary, a couple of years maybe, and the sole reason we picked it was because it was halfway between our jobs - both did a commute in opposite directions.

So it was always on the cards that we'd move again, it was just a question of when. We ended up there for about 7 years, and moved here 7 years ago.

Loved it from the start. Just felt right, I instantly felt settled, able to put down roots. Knew we wouldn't move areas again for 20+ years. Did help that I had a baby 5 months after moving here so tapped into antenatal / baby groups etc to build up a social network.

But I would say it would be different if that's the set up you already have. I suppose the question is why you want to move and what you think a new area would give you. Good luck.

Just like name above, we moved into a temporary "for a few years house" as the market was moving so fast at the time we couldn't get the 4 bed we wanted so ended up in a 3 bed but just had a toddler at that stage.

Roll on a few years, we had another baby, the market crashed, and we got stuck there. The house just felt too small in the end.

The move to this house meant we got the 4 bed as Dh desperately needed a space to be able to work from home. We needed a better secondary school for Ds1 when the time came. We got a much bigger house for our money due to a change of area and the okay primary school is less desirable than the other outstanding ones. We have more amenities here and I genuinely look forward to coming home.

So yes, this move was life changing. The house is big enough for our needs until the children leave home.

We have been in our present home for 17 years - it has been amazing for family life - incredible semi rural community with quick commute to London for culture etc, did loads and made many friends through ante natal, nursery, primary, secondary, scouts, book groups, village committees, etc.

Oldest goes off to uni in Sept, next one in 2 years time which is when I would like to move. Next dc would be going into 6th form and youngest starting secondary. We don't need to be this close to London now for work and would like another dimension to our lives as we hit 50 which we think that life on the coast would give us.

I feel a bit trapped by the prospect of staying here for another 9 -10 years just to see the youngest through school.

I have itchy feet!!!! Need a fresh adventure for a new phase of life.

We moved from city to coast when I was pregnant with dc1, it was slightly different as we desperately didn't want to bring him up in the city & I'd only been a few times before we moved, so it was the area for us. Found a house we loved and it went off the market just as we sold the city house, then viewed another round the corner and just felt right so now we live here.

Making new friendship groups is hard, but if that's not an issue (in fact even if it was) is say go for it. Coast is a great place to live.

I'm not sure it's changed our live but we're a lot happier here. We haven't moved far but everything about the location (apart from lack of commuter links) is perfect. It was never where we thought we would end up but after living somewhere quite different we soon learnt we wanted in a location and we're slowly beginning to put down our own roots here. I'm glad we took the plunge and hope we can stay here for the foreseeable.

Thanks for the encouragement .... we do want the added dimension that living by the coast brings - invigorating blustery walks and the opportunity to take up new water based hobbies etc

We surf, have woods literally at the end of the street, beach, etc. it's a far cry from where I was brought up but it's definitely a better life here. Much slower paced too.

We are actually about to head out to the woods to look for bears (2&3 year old insisted). Don't get those in the city (or here but it's a little more believable ).

I am sold storybrooke ! we already live in a beautiful semi rural area and my kids have had the freedom of the run of the village/woods/hills/fields etc for their childhood which has been brilliant. Even as teens they are off mountain biking through the woods.

I can actually put a value on it as yesterday in the Sunday Times property section there was a feature about some one who bought their house in central London at the same time as us (1997) for the same price as us (£300k) and are now selling up as kids have flown the nest. They are selling for in excess of £3m - ours might scrape £1m .... so looking back it was a property lottery .... we are technically £2m worse off -- but if I had my time again - I would do exactly the same thing....as we have had a much better quality of life here and they have had a wonderful childhood - where the walk to school is in wellies, across fields, through a bluebell wood, past Shetland ponies - last summer we tracked the birth of 12 calves in the field which backs on to our garden - my youngest had me up at 4 am to watch one of the births!

Life enhancing natural joy - priceless! Enjoy the bear hunt...I will continue planning my move to the coast...

I moved to the coast nearly 200 miles from my old home after some terrible years which had left me on my knees.
I moved alone to an area which I didn't know at all and where I knew no one.
I am happy and settled here over 2 years on, in fact it felt like home straight away. I enjoy the pleasures of living near the sea surrounded by beautiful countryside. I have made lots of new friends. it hasnt been easy but I have no regrets.
I think its one of those things that you would regret if you didnt try it.

Redhound that is a really inspirational story and I am impressed that you took the risk to go - and delighted to hear how well it worked out for you. I think when you have been battered emotionally sometimes you need nature's forces to get perspective and feel again.

I moved two miles to get bigger house and bigger garden and near to better school.

It meant buying a dump and fixing it up.

Yes it has completely transformed our lives and we plan to stay forever. The previous house was never going to be a long-term place, and we didn't put down as many roots with neighbours/community involvement.

However it did not involve any real upheaval as so close!

Similar story to hippospot, moved 4 miles to next village, doubled our house size and trebled our garden size, this is our forever home. the kids are so much happier and occupied here, at the old place my boys would start getting stir crazy by lunchtime, at our new house they run around from bedrooms to playrooms to the garden and just repeat that all day long. I'm happier as I have so much more space to organize our belonging, I'm no longer nervous to open the airing cupboard door! My husband is happier (he has a pub in the garden) town, station, park, woods and swimming pool all under ten minute walk away. Life is good.