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Original poster

Bigger house or more central area?

50 replies

Elastigurl · 07/01/2023 14:44

Just that really. We live in a city and right now we rent a house somewhere very central - can be in city centre in under a 30 minute walk, extensive high St on our doorstep etc. DH drives but I don't and won't ever be able to. So we won't be looking at anywhere out in the surrounding countryside for that reason but we are considering looking a little further out in the the city itself. So we either stay where we are and get a small 3 bedroom terrace, no driveway (the house we currently rent has 4 bedrooms and a drive but we definitely couldn't afford to buy it), or we move a little further away and get 4 bedrooms and a driveway etc. New area wouldn't be miles out but would require bus travel rather than walking etc - there are small local shops in walking distance though.

Finding it v difficult to choose. DH and I both WFH, plus we have regular visitors and need the space, but OTOH I'm very conscious that if I can't drive and am fully reliant on buses that aren't particularly reliable (especially with small DC), the bigger house may not be worth it.

Would appreciate insight from others who have made the same choice!

OP posts:
pavillion1 · 07/01/2023 15:46

is their a reason why you dont drive ?

Original poster
Elastigurl · 07/01/2023 15:48

I have a seizure disorder so I'm not medically able to drive.

OP posts:
Sleepychicken · 07/01/2023 15:55

I had this decision to make 5 years ago - I also don’t drive. I chose the bigger house but it’s very close to reliable public transport links - it’s the best thing I could have done. I absolutely love my house and the space DC have here. Good luck!

banhmi · 07/01/2023 16:28

Could you cycle? A decent ebike might be a great solution here.

Original poster
Elastigurl · 07/01/2023 17:10

No, unfortunately my seizures mean cycling isn't safe for me either. It's walking, public transport or taxis only without DH!

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OnlyFoolsnMothers · 07/01/2023 17:12

In your scenario I’d stay in the city- freedom and independence is so important to mental health

OneCup · 07/01/2023 17:17

For me location is key and I hate public transport so on this basis, I would go for the central house.

How often would be going into town? This would be a factor too.

LillianGish · 07/01/2023 17:36

If you want to have people to stay you should go for the bigger house - especially with small children. You will be at home more - and also you work from home. I also think downsizing is difficult with small children. Personally, like you, I prefer a central location (and indeed live very centrally which with teenagers has been fab), but the downside is we haven't really been able to have people to stay until this year when DS went to uni (so his room now doubles as a guest room). It's hard without knowing where you live. If you had local shops you could walk to, how often would you realistically need to go into town? I live in Paris and the whole point of living here for me is to live in the centre. When my kids were little and we lived in another European capital, we lived slightly farther out to have a house and garden instead of a flat and had visitors all the time. There's nothing wrong with taking buses and public transport and it's good for your kids to grow up learning how to do so.

pavillion1 · 07/01/2023 17:39

i would try and stay nearer to the city and buy a property that you could extend in the future .

FuckabethFuckor · 07/01/2023 17:44

Personally, I would stay central. I live in central Edinburgh myself and really appreciate being able to walk (or get a quick bus) pretty much anywhere in the city. I'm occasionally tempted by bigger houses out in the 'burbs or in the Lothians but I know myself well and I will always find excuses not to get on a 30-minute train, or a long bus, in a way I don't when it's a 10-minute walk.

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 07/01/2023 17:59

I would look at the long term, thinking of what is around the area that is further out. Right now your default is coming back in to town but would it stay that way of you moved further out? Are there local groups and clubs? Schools? Exercise classes? Where is the doctor, dentist, post office etc? For the dc how much independence will they have in each area where would they pay out? Are they likely to have local friends to call on? That sort of thing.
You might find that actually you would very rarely go back in to the centre and find more value in the space of a bigger home. Or you might do that and think that your life is likely to remain focused on the centre so ease of access trumps space.

Original poster
Elastigurl · 07/01/2023 18:55

To clarify, I haven't got any kind of issue whatsoever with public transport - I've only ever used public transport, I'm completely comfortable with it. But I live in Bristol and the buses are notoriously crap as they all go into the centre and then back out again so, for instance, if I wanted to take DC to an activity that was less than 10 mins down the road in the car then it might take me 45 minutes on the bus. The area we'd move to would still be in Bristol but would simply be less central so the compromise would be me having to suck up the bus journeys, which I'd do maybe 3 times a week.

One of my DC has SEN and is home educated so I take him out and about quite frequently to activities, so that adds another layer. It's such a hard decision to make!!

OP posts:
Volterra · 08/01/2023 08:50

With both of working from home I would personally prioritise space at the expense of convenience. I’d be hard pushed to give up a drive too.

After my Dad’s funeral a 6 minute drive turned into a complete nightmare as City were playing at home and it was impossible to park back at the house and incredibly difficult to even drive down a road as everyone was driving in circles . Had to drive to a different part of the city and get a taxi.

RidingMyBike · 08/01/2023 09:02

We are similar (DH doesn't drive) and chose to be more central over the type of house we wanted. We could have had large detached with garage if we'd gone further out of the city. It would have cost £30 a week in bus fares for him just to do the schoolrun otherwise and he'd have been totally tied to unreliable buses to do anything. And just 'popping to the shops' would have become really inconvenient.

We have some space for visitors but there is a Travelodge round the corner and a Premier Inn being built - cheaper to put guests there than pay for an extra bedroom!

RidingMyBike · 08/01/2023 09:03

The £30 a week for the schoolrun would only have been for another 4-5 years but that's a huge amount of hassle and inconvenience during that time so we decided it wasn't worth it.

Judgyjudgy · 08/01/2023 09:06

Could you try renting further out first to see if you like it?

LizzieSiddal · 08/01/2023 09:10

One of my DC has SEN and is home educated so I take him out and about quite frequently to activities, so that adds another layer. It's such a hard decision to make!!

I do think if you have a home educated child, being central is really important. It will be so much easier for you if you’re based close to the city and it’s amenities.

MrsMoastyToasty · 08/01/2023 09:11

@Elastigurl I did wonder if it was Bristol! Fellow Bristolian here.
I moved out to Keynsham and can be in Bristol in 10 minutes by train and 20 by bus. Have you considered this or one of the other satellite towns with a station like Nailsea or Yate?

Didicat · 08/01/2023 09:23

In the past I lived in Bristol with a seizure disorder and kids, we lived in the burbs near to the Bristol cycle path with multiple choice of bus route to both yate and the centre. [N.E]

we had a 10 minute walk to the leisure centre, online food shops with top ups from the high street, different baby groups I could walk to everyday of the week.

I wanted to move to winterbourne or Iron Acton because I love the countryside, but recognise that with my limitations where we chose in the end was better for us.

Oher · 08/01/2023 09:27

In your situation I would stay central. Relying on buses absolutely sucks, here some are one an hr and sometimes they just don’t turn up. Also a good service now may become a terrible service ina year. If you could drive I’d say go for the bigger house but as this isn’t possible, do stay somewhere that you have good access to the places you need to go.

Sorry about the medical condition 😔

Remember, 3 beds is fine unless you have a lot of children.

OneRingToRuleThemAll · 08/01/2023 09:29

We live in a city centre (not Bristol) and it means a flat rather than a house. I've asked the children if they would prefer to move out for more space and they say no, they love the city centre.

Original poster
Elastigurl · 08/01/2023 10:06

Didicat · 08/01/2023 09:23

In the past I lived in Bristol with a seizure disorder and kids, we lived in the burbs near to the Bristol cycle path with multiple choice of bus route to both yate and the centre. [N.E]

we had a 10 minute walk to the leisure centre, online food shops with top ups from the high street, different baby groups I could walk to everyday of the week.

I wanted to move to winterbourne or Iron Acton because I love the countryside, but recognise that with my limitations where we chose in the end was better for us.

I think this is probably a similar area to the one we are looking at!

3 beds is a struggle for us because we have one DS and one DD and there is a large gap so they can't share. And DH and I both WFH so we do need some kind of space to work in that isn't a bedroom or in the kitchen etc.

OP posts:
Didicat · 08/01/2023 10:09

We lived in S.H. Near a very square park…. It never had the best rep, but we never had any problems.

Original poster
Elastigurl · 08/01/2023 10:09

MrsMoastyToasty · 08/01/2023 09:11

@Elastigurl I did wonder if it was Bristol! Fellow Bristolian here.
I moved out to Keynsham and can be in Bristol in 10 minutes by train and 20 by bus. Have you considered this or one of the other satellite towns with a station like Nailsea or Yate?

Keynsham and Nailsea are both areas we are definitely considering given the train links.

I really love where we live now (BS3), but what we can get for our money is small. We could look at buying somewhere and doing a loft conversion perhaps.

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Original poster
Elastigurl · 08/01/2023 10:12

We wondered about somewhere like Bishopsworth which is a little bit further out but still well connected by bus.

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