What prompted you to move?

[3girlsmama]

I'm wondering what inspired you to move? We are in our house 15 years, have upgraded it somewhat in that time. It's fine, affordable mortgage, very nice neighbours, kids can walk to school, family nearby. I know that all counts for a lot. But, I don't love it, it's a featureless semi-d, the area will become increasingly built up in the next few years and lockdown has removed many of the benefits of living here and made me reconsider what I want from daily life, plus significant crime issues in the last few years were very off-putting, but hopefully rare. I've felt like this for a few years now. So many people presumably stay where they are for convenience or lack of options but I'd love to know what sparks the decision to actually make a move.

Two reasons really. We want to move nearer to my parents, who are slowing down as they are late 60's/early 70's.

Also want to move boroughs for DD who has SEN, and there's much better provision for her needs there.

I love love love our current Edwardian house, and wish I could lift and transport it to the new area. Due to the price difference, we'll have to move to a smaller, most likely 1930's place, that can be extended in a few years, to get the space we want.

Putting our house on the market in the next few weeks

Over the years - schools, horrible neighbours, wanting to live in a more chi chi part of London, and various combinations thereof. Has never really had anything to do with sizing up, although our next move will be a downsize if and when the dc manage to leave home - won't be their fault if they have to live with us longer than any of us had planned.

Schools and needing a bigger house but not being millionaires. Escaping a very frantic corner of the south east has had other benefits too: safer roads, beach after school, sailing, wilderness to escape into, more things to do as a family. Very pleased we were brave and did it. We did masses of homework and found somewhere practical for work but better suited to the family.

DP wanted to be more rural, less suburban and wasn't keen on the area where we lived, which was okay, but not the best.

Space. I need an office, husband needs an office in addition to the three bedrooms required. Plus I wanted a huge kitchen and plenty of entertaining space. We're moving to a house that ticks all the boxes very soon, just counting down the days.

We had a 5 bed and a 3 bed between the two of us. So we sold both and downsized into a large 2 bed home with enough left for a tiny holiday cottage and a rental each, mortgage free. It's enabled us to go part time and we plan to retire early.

Lots of reasons.

I had a promotion and we were both earning more, so could afford more.
We drew up extension plans and realised that we had hit the ceiling price for the road and wouldn’t get the money back on the work unless we lived there for 20 years, which we didn’t want to do.
Absolutely detest our neighbours.
House is on a main road and we wanted a cul de sac/ set back from the road.
We’re on a new estate and wanted a non-estate location.

I cannot wait!

Husband had been out of work for five months - no furlough. I was on unemployment benefit. We were living in rented accommodation. Basically, we were about to run out of money.

We decided to capitalise on the stamp duty holiday and buy a house.

Last time, it was wanting a more flexible, accessible location as the kids got older. Where we were, buses were hens teeth and always the really old, shaky buses with narrow steps, the roads had tiny pavements (and large parts of roads didn't have them at all!). We got an opportunity and took it.

Now, 12 years on, this place is driving us nuts with problems and I need a house that's as accessible as the area. We found a rare gem of a place that fits all the needs and most of our wants so we're in the waiting on the bank and searches stage with everything crossed.

I have moved several times for work, once to buy, once to change areas, once to get away from noisy, selfish neighbours that wrecked my mental health and I wanted one floor living. I am still not over it. We are currently renting but will be buying a detached bungalow in the spring.

Preemptive move for a secondary catchment and needing an office for Dh in the house. I am partially disabled and on the occasional really bad day I needed him to do the school run, I am a SAHM.

Best thing we ever did. It was 11 years ago now. We wanted a house that was big enough to cope with the children being little with all their toys to being teens. We made sure it had enough storage and a playroom which is now a room they do their home schooling in. So they have their own space.

@3girlsmama I literally could have wrote your post, my house is lovely we've been in 20 years so many happy memories, family so close, friends, neighbours great, ideal for schools and lovely area BUT I have now decided it's time for us to have a change, our house is on the market and I have been stalking rightmove and thinking about it for about 6 years so certainly not rushed in, we have always stayed as like I say so many good things but i just feel like we need a new challenge now, our house is all done and i would love to do another house up but detached this time. Just struggling to find one as we have so many things to match on this house and area it's so hard but really hoping something comes up for us.

Do you feel like you will move? Everyone was so shocked about me and family are gutted but I'm not looking at far literally 2 miles at most!

Good luck, keep me posted on what you decide and inbox me if you want a private chat about it x

We moved in the main because of DD’s high school being quite far and we’d wanted to move for sometime. We just needed to see where she was going to go to focus our location search. Our old has was too small downstairs for us all and we’d never liked the road it was on, long rat run and very built up, it had lots going for it and we weren’t financially ready to move before then, we lived in the old house 12 years

Being widowed and a sudden change of finances forced me to downsize from my 5 bed house to a 3 bed bungalow. I really loved my house and garden and would have stayed if I had had the money to run it.

Thank you all, each comment was useful and interesting. The push & pull factors are quite similar in many examples and I think in our case some issues would have likely triggered a move, if we had nightmare neighbours etc. Our neighbours are lovely and I appreciate how important that is. The crime incidences were close to being a push factor but on balance, we figured the issues were no less likely elsewhere.

It really suited when the kids were young, near family, beside a park etc, and in a way it would be madness to move further away from aging parents now.

I'm in Ireland so the market is different. For a while we were in negative equity which meant no chance of a move though thankfully that has changed in recent years but I'm keenly aware of ceiling prices as some of you mentioned, we've done enough now to this property, we'd hopefully recoup our investments but I wouldn't extend further.

There is little scope for character property where I am, it's mostly new builds or rarely, very high cost period property and as I mentioned it's a developing area which will eventually be incredibly built up. Id love a bit more space to breath. The flip side is that we are easily commutable to a city for Uni/work etc for the kids in a few short years.

I just think after 15+ years I'm bored of the area and would love a new environment but of course it's not that easy and the costs to move are huge.

I feel we may have missed the boat as our kids are now tweens/young teen and the best chance may have been before the eldest started secondary, the younger two start this Sept so I suppose that has brought up the 'maybe we could move before then' vibe again.

I think it's also partly mid life crisis feelings - is this it? Then I feel bad because were lucky in many ways.

DH thinks the next move should be more of a rural one, in a different part of the country which would tick some dream boxes - by the sea etc - but is also impractical for the kids in the coming few years.

Someone mentioned their move being brave and I think that's what I envy - that leap into a new adventure. It shouldn't be such a huge deal to move but I fear I've made it one!

I am a similar situation to you, maximised my property to the fullest, ok village, grandparents round the corner, 2 mins to school, but I am in a box standard 70s looking home down an average street, my mortgage is cheap and I’m only 30.... we decided moving to a area in the country that is more expensive and our house will continue to increase plus renovating it, where as the house we are in now we cannot create anymore money out of it, we are basically climbing the ladder to get our dream home but we are about to exchange on a property that is the same size as ours much smaller garden but is in a conservation area with wisteria growing up the house, cotswold garden walls, opposite a grade 1 listed church and my neighbour is the village hall where they host table tennis 1 a week for an hour (fine by me).... I’m definitely paying for the postcode and that country vibe, but if I sit in my house any longer I will scratch my eyes out with pure boredom even though this buying and selling of homes is the most stressful thing I have ever done 😅

Many reasons:
To be nearer family (we relocated from England to Ireland)
Bigger house in better area
Mortgage free
Near the sea
Better schools

A change has been great for us all after being in previous house 15 years