How important is location v space ?

[quinquereme]

Trying to weigh this up. We could do with a little more room (had one more child that we had planned !). Have enough bedrooms and they currently share (in normal times we regularly have people staying), but it's more about living space. It's possible that we could extend, but complicated. Have been looking at moving and have realised we have an unusual location - we are last house on a no through road, so it's very quiet, our garden isn't materially overlooked and we have parking. But at the end of the road in 2-3 minutes walk is three bus routes in different directions, a great supermarket, hardware store, pharmacist, florist. Outside of this we are five minutes to a park ten minutes to cinema, pubs, restaurants. Basically I've been looking for hours over the past 18 months and nothing comes close. Are we hooked on convenience ? Has anyone moved from a great location for space and regretted it

We moved from a great location to an okay one. I really miss our old location but the space has been such a bonus in lockdown. We'll have to move locations again to upsize some more, I'd definitely go space over location.

I think you should look to re configure your space in this home first. Can you get a floor plan on here ? Or post it on the advice section of Houzz. There's loads of people happy to help there. A poster called Jonathan seems to have lots of good ideas.

You don't mention schools etc. We are in the best possible location for us (schools, work, socialising etc) so went for a smaller house and then subsequently extended. If you can add space and keep a location you love, that seems like a much better solution that moving to an less desirable/convenient location.

If you haven't seen anything better it's because your desire for more space doesn't outweigh your desire for all these amenities. If you really really want more space you will be prepared to sacrifice some of your conveniences.

Everyone has different priorities, some people are happy to live in a tiny flat in a city, some want a big house in the back of beyond. What is important can change over your life. I have lived on a small island and in the biggest city in my country and everything inbetween. Where we live now suits us now, my children might want to live somewhere completely different when they grow up, DH and I might want something different when they have left home. There is never one right answer for everyone.

I don’t see why extending is difficult if you have a garden unless that is tiny.

By your comments on bus routes and walking I assume you don’t drive or have a car. If that’s the case then you will have to stay very local. The rest of us who are not attached to bus routes and walking routes get more choice.

We compromised on location for more space, some aspects of our life are less convenient now, but the daily convenience of more space far outweighs less regular convenience of what we used to have on our doorstep. I guess weigh up what you love about your location, and work out how much you benefit from that and compare it to how much you would benefit from more space. Also on your location list work out what your priorities are, out of garden, shops etc what could you compromise on and what couldn't you.

Get an architect around to discuss how you could reconfigure your space/extend/add a garden office etc. Your location does sound perfect (especially if you don't need to move for schools or any other reason) and it would be unlikely that any spend on extending etc. wouldn't be money well invested. It costs so much money to move and in many ways that is wasted money.

How complicated is complicated on the extending front?

I went for space over location... but not in the same way you describe. Where I live now is slightly more rougher round the edges than the more expensive locations I'd have preferred... but I still have all amenities on my doorstep. I wouldn't have considered making that compromise. So the area I live in now isn't regarded as the nicest, but I live in a lovely little culdesac, with fantastic neighbours. The space I have now far outweighs the nicer locations, I have an extra bedroom, a playroom and massive garage that I'd never have got in my budget otherwise. In your situation though, I'd say if you can extend and have enough garden and don't mind losing some then go for it. You sound happy there.

We have chosen a larger house in an absolutely okay location over a smaller one in a better location. I don’t regret it one bit.

We live in a small house in a great location. My children are small so it's not an issue atm. I see it may be more difficult as they become teenagers, but on the plus side we live in town centre so it may be great for teens!
We looked at moving last year and I was so stressed and upset by it, the larger houses we could afford were well out of the way & it actually made me realise I value our location more right now. I felt bereft at selling my cute little home!
Do you feel very attached to your current house? What are your motives for more space? A growing family? Are your children upset about sharing? I think mine at this point would be sad to not share a room.

We're having the same dilemma, with dd2 on the way and a 2 bed house.

When we bought this house, we chose to over another 2 bed house that was bigger and we liked this location so much.

Now we need a 3 bed house! To afford that, we could stay in our area but in a less pleasant location with less amenities.

We've decided to stay put for now and investigate a loft conversion. But it's a small house so it will be small room.

If it was up to me I'd probably move (maybe), but dh's heart is not in it. He works from home (pre covid too) so he spends a lot more time at home than me, so it's fair enough. Also the hassle and stress of moving is putting me off.

We’re going through the same process. We bought a house we love when expecting DC1. It’s a 10 min walk into town, with a supermarket, baker, chemist, pool and primary school at the end of the road. We do nearly everything on foot.

3 kids later and it will not meet our needs longer term. We could reconfigure rooms to add another bathroom and bedroom but we won’t be doing the house any favours that way and later with 3 teens in the house it will be cramped.

We’ve found an amazing plot to build on 1km further out which we’re looking to buy, so will choose space and a better quality of living over location.

I think it’s important to think how your needs will change mid to long term. For us it was great being able to walk into town when the kids were tiny. Now they are 6, 4 and 2 so will soon be able to cycle in, or not need a buggy unpacking if we drive in.

Also property prices are sky high now and I think with 3 kids, there is a good chance that one or more will live at home (or leave and return) into their 20s. With 3 teens / young adults it will be nice for them to have a decent amount of space each.

It will mean driving them to primary school but with COVID we will both be working from home much more anyway. We’ll have to make sure we don’t run out of milk though!

Your location sounds perfect! If you have decent neighbours I would be tempted to extend up or out to stay there.

I moved to a better location and a bigger house and it was terrible.

We had exactly the same dilemma - extend or move. But we have an unusual house that made extending complicated. We had spent 13 years wondering how to do it and hadn't come up with a solution. We hired an architect. Within a week, we had 3 different designs that all would have worked but we'd never thought about. We extended.

It might be worth getting an architect involved to see if your extension issues can be creatively resolved.

It's balancing priority's. We chose a three bed over four bed in a better 'school zone'. There are compromises on the bedrooms, but living space downstairs is good. Only thing it's really missing is a second bathroom which we would have liked, or even a second toilet!

Thanks all, didn't expect so many useful replies!

So to answer a couple of question (and trying not to drip feed). We have a car and do drive but the bus routes and a 20 minute walk we use for work or when we try not to use the car).

Schools will always be a bit of a commute as DC will likely end up at different schools. We are as much in the middle of the various schools as we could be. Catchment not really an issue.

The internal layout is brilliant, we have four double beds and two baths on one floor. We also have a good sized garden.

The issue is any extension would mean we are technically building forward of the property line (ie the front of the house (on property owned by us), to create a L shape. This wouldn't particularly impact any neighbours (who are all nice) but the architects we talked to have told us that the local council don't favour these type of extensions.

I guess my question is more am I just hooked on the convenience of the location, and that will disappear over time.

Could you do an attic conversion?

I'm not sure if you've stated the age of your children, but I'd assume as they get older the need for amenities on your doorstep would become all the more important? Unless you're happy to play cab driver for many years?!

I'm assuming extending to the rear is totally out of the question then?

Is there a rear garden? Do you have a garage? Could that be converted? Built over? Do you need more than 4 double bedrooms? Is the space issue more about guests than family needs?

Yes, building out from the natural building line is an issue. Often not allowed.

Thanks all. There is a tiny garden to the rear, and a much larger one to the side and front hence wanting to extend that way, which may not be possible). I think it's about bedrooms but also more living space. We don't have a garage but do have a garden room with offices.

The more I think about it the more the location is winning for me (and maybe a battle with planning) I so recall as a child wanting to be close to things (we weren't).

We could go up but that would mean raising the roof and losing some space to get a stairway in, but what I really want is a utility room !

No advice but just wanted to say sounds like you have a lovely house to me OP, good for so many reasons

I can see why its a hard decision for you! I would stay and make the most of the gem you already have.

Why would a side extension be problematic?

Thanks @alwayslearning789 , that's a lovely thing to say and I think you're right. This thread is really helping me realise this.

Ok folks. I'm going to try and draw a diagram (drum roll).

Holding breath and place marking for a diagram.....friends are about to go up and out and have to raise their roof to do it and were told ballpark 60-80k including plumbing but not kitchen and bathroom.....from what I see of Phil and Kirsty LIOLI - similar to moving costs.....
But you sound like you want more living space.
How many kids and what are their rough ages? - teenagers and convenience sounds wonderful.