Bigger house or more central area?

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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!

What is your budget? I wouldn’t be in a hurry at the moment. I’m part of a house sale in BS3 currently that fell through as second owner died just before exchange. It had sale agreed 30k over asking last spring. It will need reducing once probate through and I am expecting it to go for a lot less, 50k would be a good scenario In my mind currently though I expect other family members will have something to say about that but they will have to get used to the idea.

I would stay central. Could your dh work at a local hub so not needing space in the house. As the children grow they will need activities and so much easier to walk them there and later they can make their own way depending on your dcs difficulties. If people are visiting could one of the children pop into your room on an air bed? As your school going child grows they will be able to walk to school/ meet friends etc. I know it's tight but your own life will greatly change moving out and that will affect not only you but your whole family unit. You being independent..walking..is so important so you don't become isolated.

Budget is circa 500k, would have been more but not with interest rates as they are now.

DH wants to hang on for a bit in case prices fall further and we can afford something a bit bigger in our current area.

I think you are pretty close to being able to afford something where you are now and doing a loft conversation if you wanted. My uncle has recently retired as a builder and said he thinks loft conversion would be 50 to 60k.

Without driving? I'd probably say stay nearer the city, although I did live in an area I never used my car because I lived near the train station. I had a car but parking was a nightmare so I walked everywhere and then got the train when I needed to go into the city. That area was a tourist one so I found so much to do and enjoyed it, so I suppose it depends on how you envisage your lifestyle being without a car in the bigger house area. Could you air bnb for a month and see how you all get on?

I now have a big house and the space is making my life so much calmer.

Also keep the secondary school issue in mind in Bristol unless you’re looking at private. Not many I’d want my kids to go to!

I would stay central if at all possible. However, it sounds like you actually need four bedrooms if you wfh and have more than one child?
I’d try and think about buying a house that suits your daily needs, rather than for others’ convenience, in terms of them staying with you. There are always air bnbs.

I’d go central. Location is key. I think you can ask guests to stay elsewhere like airbnb

I wouldn't feel OK asking my mum and sister to stay in an air bnb or hotel tbh as neither have much money. They don't live nearby but they visit once every couple of months. Probably if we had a smaller house the kids would just have to share a room whilst visitors were here.

My SEN DS will be home educated and it's more than likely my DD will be too so this shouldn't be an issue.

We do definitely need 4 bedrooms (or 3 bedrooms plus an additional small room downstairs) irrespective of visitors. The compromise would be shelling out for a loft conversion, garden room or extension if we stayed where we are.

I’ve been here and have 2 dc, decided to stay central and I’m so grateful. As they get older they will be able to be in the thick of it all, meet friends and have some independence without relying on me to get them anywhere. Also for myself, as I have more free time as the kids grow there’s so much more for me to be a part of in the city.

Would it be worth looking at 3 beds that have the possibility to extend further down the line or perhaps even enough space in a garden for an outdoor home office / bedroom type set up? Location really is key.

I also recommend holding out for a few months to see if the market drops as predicted and you might find the space you need in the area you want suddenly looks much more attainable

I definitely agree the most sensible thing is to wait a few months and see what the property market does. Worst case scenario we are in the same position 6 months down the line as I can't see prices rising again any time soon with interest rates as they are. And our mortgage payments would be slightly more than we pay in rent.

It does make sense to stay put and see what happens as prices been dropping quite sharply there I feel.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/130416626#/?channel=RES_BUY

This is the kind of thing I was thinking when I said about loft conversion. Lovely garden and you could put a home office out there and have the garage for storage or possibly convert that. Then the small bedroom on 1st floor could be second office and a study bed in it for guests, small but would be somewhere. With the loft done that would leave you 3 other bedrooms.

volterra We have actually viewed that house and it's lovely but the road it's on is not one I would want to live on, it's very busy and parking is absolutely nil. But I totally take your point and the house itself is ideal.

I did think after posting I wasn’t sure of the road! You are in a good position and very sensible to hold out for what you want 😊

I'm in a suburb but it is very well connected. I can walk to school, doctors, park, supermarket in less than 10 min. We have a train station and bus service to local towns. I lived further out when my dcs were smaller (approx 40 mons walk to most of the above if using the pushchair) and I'm so much happier now. We forgo a large garden for a yard though rather than a bigger/smaller house (our house is small and fine for two dcs but I have to wfh in my bedroom)

We are actually happy to compromise on garden size in exchange for house space, we have a tiny garden now and it's fine - we hardly use it as so near to other large green spaces.

Have you considered the area around Bristol Parkway? Cheaper housing, lots of shops, lots of local stuff going on, 25 min to Temple Meads. It has the added benefit that it is in S Glos so you don't have to deal with the captured bonkers Bristol council.

You can pay for a lot of air bnb stays for the cost of an extra bedroom in a house though.

We need the extra bedroom/room regardless due to working from home so the visitors are not really the issue - it's more do we get a smaller house and extend or do we buy somewhere that's already bigger.

Driveway/parking doesn’t sound important for you - you don’t drive and DH wfh so how often do you really use the car.

However I can see why the extra room is important especially with wfh.

I agree with DH that prices may well drop.

I think easy access to the centre of town is not so important with DC (as long as access is possible) but access to a good local high street and local activities is really important. Is there an area that ticks these boxes where you could afford 4 beds and never mind the drive?

Oh I was just replying to this bit

“plus we have regular visitors and need the space”

but if it’s more about the wfh then that makes sense.

We have an absolutely amazing local high street less than 3 minutes walk from our house right now, hence reluctance to give up the area...