Am I mad to be even considering this?

[Heatherbell1978]

DH and 2DC (6 and 8). We live in a 4 bed detached with garage in a nice suburb about 8 miles from city. Bought it new 8 years, extended downstairs and built a garden office in that time. House looks great, meets all our needs and kids are happy in local schools etc.
But...DH and I often gave this nagging thought that we'd like to live 'in town'. We do at times regret not buying originally in town particularly given how prices have rocketed in that time.

We've been tempted a bit by a new development which would essentially mean we could both walk or cycle to work, we'd be much closer to lots of friends, kids would go to a brand new school (and better high school in a few years than current catchment). So some nice lifestyle changes.
But, the most affordable option for us would be downsizing. We'd still be paying more but we'd lose the garage, potentially a bedroom and just overall space that we have now.

Things have changed since DC were small - we don't have as much clutter and toys so there are things we could manage there. But are we mad? We're in our mid 40s so this would also extend and increase our mortgage...

Will you have sufficient income to do all the things you want as well as paying the mortgage? I would be concerned if moving towards the action, may mean that I am unable to enjoy it or pay for the kids to have fun. Bear in mind that interest rates may increase further as they’re still pretty low in comparison with the past. If one of you lost your job, could you manage?

I know some of this is worst case scenario but it’s worth considering as money worries can be a big deal when something crops up.

There is a reason its called location location location..

We did the same, live 5 minutes walk from our local town, 5 minutes walk to tram links, down to 1 car.. couldn't be happier

Would you really want to walk or cycle in the pissing rain , dark , cold, ice? Which quite frankly is about 5 months of the year?

I’ve lived in both and I find all this we will do all this stuff often goes out the window when faced with pissing rain first thing in the morning or after work.

I think the pp was wrong, everyone gets it, just not everyone wants to do it; it’s down to what you value more personally. More space, lower costs or being in a town centre.

for the kids I think it’s better if they are ok with school changes, but I prefer bigger house and more space.

We are planning similar in a couple of years time. We will move from
a 4 bed detached on a very quiet private gated estate, to probably a 3 bed semi to be closer to town.