I'll try to keep this short-iash as it's quite a complex lot of circumstances that led to us moving in the first place, but not all relevant to my post I guess.
We live in a tiny hamlet in an individual new build, it's big enough for us but we don't love the area and there's a practical issue with schools. We didn't have DD when we bought it (she was an unexpected bonus). House was built in 2018, has air source heating with all sorts of fancy smart tech which keeps running costs down. EPC rated C. Everything is new so maintenance free.
We are close to exchange on a thatched cottage in our most perfect village, we've wanted to live there for years. Slightly smaller than what we have now, but schools are perfect. It has oil heating, single glazed, needs a new kitchen and we are waiting on a thatchers survey as well as RICS level 3 to come back to see what sort of state it is in (ridge was done recently and the oil boiler is fairly new so house is E rated which could be worse for a cottage). It is stretching our budget to the max. It's also beautiful.
We knew running costs plus mortgage were going to be higher and kitchen will have to wait but with everything going on it's now looking insane to buy it. We are stretching ourselves to buy it and we have 2.5 years left of nursery fees. After that we will be much more comfortable, but we are now really worried about going ahead with all the uncertainty over energy and the economy. Heating oil costs are terrifying and it would not convert easily (house is not listed, but even so).
Houses where we are looking to move to are a rare as rocking horse poo - this is the first one that's come up in 9 years so it's not like we can defer it for 12 months and try again. If we stay here we will have to run the gauntlet of applying for out of school catchment as we can't use the local school (long story but it's an absolute no for practical reasons). The new house has guaranteed excellent and suitable schools at primary and secondary so it is a long term move for us.
I feel sick at the thought of pulling out but also sick at the thought of the costs to live there and the risk it places on us. Do we stay here or take the risk that things settle in a year or so and it will all be fine? We don't have long to decide as the mortgage is in place and the searches etc all done. I know wobbles are normal but this is not your usual wobble.