Staying in first house?

[Bigbongos123]

Does anyone ever stay in the first house they bought?

Is it inevitable? That you get bored/outgrow (even if you don't plan any more children?)

I can't see how we will ever afford to 'trade up' but I also love the house anyways. It's not huge, nor fancy or in the most amazing area.. But it's right for us. My husband thinks I'm silly to think we might never move because we can't think of a single person we know who has.

Just thinking outloud really, but keen to hear thoughts!

My uncle & aunt have - they brought it just before they married, just over 30 years now. Early 50's.

I had a flat and then I bought a house with my husband. We have been in it 11 years and I cannot see us moving. We have just done building work to add an extra bedroom so I think we will sTay here now. The price difference to get something I would like is huge and the extra amount of space we would get is not worth it.

My friend's parents are in the first house they bought fifty years ago. They added a small kitchen extenion, but that's all.

Well, we bought our house with no plan to move. It is the size of a flat but there is scope to extend the living space if needed. I lived in flats all my life and don't see the appeal of something bigger (just more rooms to keep clean). It is by no means perfect, but I love it and see dealing with smaller rooms as fun challenge to use the space in the best way possible.

If I hadn't moved city, I don't see why I would have moved out of my last house. Maybe to get a bigger garden? But I loved that house and saw myself in it for a very long time.

My parents are still in their first house - they've just had their 50th wedding anniversary and moved in as soon as they got back from honeymoon. My PILs stayed in their first home for 33 years and only moved when they left the area on retirement. I suppose if you are able to buy a house in the right area that meets your needs - especially space if you plan on having a family - why not? Not many people can afford that as their first purchase now though.

We've been in ours 11 years. No plans to move. Quiet street, big garden, plenty of room for the 3 of us. DD's school and other amenities walkable.
We're hoping to pay the mortgage off quickish and retire early.

two sets of friends have - one set of friends bought their house about 20 years ago - close to family / work etc. Couldn't really afford to move up, but not a big issue. Still happy there and a couple of years away from paying their mortgage completely.

2nd set of friends - kind of jumped the first house stage because they'd lived rent free for a year so had a big deposit when we were all buying houses. They've extended since, no plans to move.

When we moved from our 3 bed semi to 4 bed detached up the road, a couple of the neighbours made it plain we were barking! They'd bought their houses when they got married, on one salary, raised their families there and were happily long retired there. They couldn't understand why we'd pay so much more for anything bigger. For us we'd started with a flat, and I guess growing up in slightly bigger detached houses ourselves, you want to give your kids something in that ballpark if you can.

It's not inevitable to move on at all, it's just much more common these days when FTBs often can't afford more than a small flat and we've had the 80s which have left us with the remnants of an "upwardly mobile" culture. I loathe the whole "forever house" thing though. Mostly we end up compromising somewhere with our long term home - it's that or perpetually extend the mortgage!

My friend's parents are still in the small semi they bought as a new build in around 1970 when they married. Her mum wanted to upsize during the 1980s when they had their third child - by this time, her dad was a company director on good money, and she wanted 4 bedrooms in a leafier part of town. He refused to move, though. Nowadays, it's a good manageable size for an elderly couple - if they'd upgraded, they'd probably be looking to downsize now.

My mother lives in the house my father bought in 1948, and has done since they got married 61 years ago. I still go "home" to see her in the house she took me home from the local cottage hospital to at one week old. None of my close friends have stayed in the same house, except for the two farmers and their wives who moved into the "ancestral" home when they got married and their parents moved out. I do know two people who bought back the family home they had when they were little - all seem very happy.