Buying a very expensive property close to school

[Barnabyby]

Our DD is due to start reception, and currently we live a 5 minute drive from school. I'm worried about driving to school, as I know parking can be a nightmare there. It's a tiny road.
Our current house is lovely but we're outgrowing it a bit. We need more space (inside and outside) and there are parts of the house that frustrate us and can't be changed due to the design. We're in a village which has nothing nearby you can walk to. You have to drive everywhere. Not really any children living nearby for my daughter to play with. She's an only child, and that will probably stay that way.

We've found a stunning house in the village my DD will attend primary school. In fact, it's a 5 minute walk. It ticks every box for us, in spades. The interior is stunning. Everything is top of the range - kitchen, bathrooms, etc. Decorated beautifully. Hardly anything would need changing inside. It's a 5 minute walk from school, the local shop, a great local chippy, GP/pharmacy, village hall, park, everything. It's also a 10 minute walk from the local high school, which could be very useful in 8 years time.

The problem is, it ticks every box a little too much in the other direction. It's much much bigger (6 bedrooms), with very high ceilings and would cost a quite a bit to maintain/heat. The garden is huge, and I'd need a lot of help to keep on top of it. We'd need to update/rebuild the garages outside as they're falling apart.
It's also very, very expensive. It's three times the value of our house. It's not out of our budget, we can afford it, but it might stretch us a little bit and we may have to compromise on other things. We need to properly work out what but it would certainly erode our savings/investments quite considerably.

I think my head is telling me that more of an 'in between' house would be better, however that could potentially mean moving schools. Not many houses come up in this village, especially the sort of size we're looking for.

I'm just looking for some outside perspective, particularly those who have primary age children. How important do you think it is to be close to school? Is there anything I haven't considered? Is it worth stretching yourself a bit to be close to school, shop, potentially school friends, etc? Has anyone done it and has it worked out well?

Thanks.

If it's a 5 minute drive to primary, can you not walk/cycle?

I guess it depends long term. Would this be your forever home or are you going to have to move again for secondary? If you're set on staying in that village and can afford it, I'd probably go for it. It is nice being within waking distance if school and primary friends but if you're quite rural, friends may be spread out anyway. Depends on the catchment.

We live 10-15 mins walk from school and it has been very handy but we're in the city so the catchment is less than half a mile.

Oh you poor thing what a dilemma having to buy such a massive house with all the gardens 😂

But seriously, they're not at primary that long are they. Is secondary close too?

We live walking distance to the infants and junior and secondary school and it has been lovely. But we do live in a small bungalow!

Forever home, until retirement at least. The local high school is luckily in the same village (albeit a very small one). The village is actually quite large, so it's likely most of the kids will be close by. There's one or two smaller villages that feed into the catchment.

If you can afford the house, buy it.

I love living super close to everything. Are you currently running two cars? Could you go down to one? That’s what we’ve done, it’s great!

I find living walking distance from school is fantastic it is the one thing I would not swap. I have a few children no arguments over anyone being late/slow ... Once you ready can head off wouldn't have that it driving.
The exercise morning helps settle them into school and by the time get home they have relaxed.
Nice independence for children walking to shop or playground
Perhaps if house too big you could look at sectioning off some it rent out so get some income ?
If you can buy now and smaller convenient house comes up could downsize
Good luck

Sorry, 1st world problem I know. Seriously though massive gardens are a pain in the arse, especially when you're not a gardener.

It depends on what you would have to give up to afford it and how much you’d have left in savings

I’d say to do it if you can comfortably afford it.
My DD currently lives a 3 minute walk from my DGS’s Primary and it’s worth it’s weight in Gold. I take him to school and collect him 4 x a week , parking is horrible all around the school - it’s lovely to be able to roll out of the door at 8.45.
Unfortunately it will be coming to an end, she’s having to sell due to splitting with DGS’s Dad and she can’t afford to buy him out as it’s a big 4 bed detached. There are no 3 bed houses coming on the market on her small estate and the wider area is all HA houses.
The thought of having to get him in the car then find somewhere to park when it’s raining/snowing is awful, then there will still be a 5 minute walk each way. I’m dreading it.

Walking is so nice. Can’t be underestimated! I’d go for it.

We're moving for the exact reason of being able to walk to school.

Them school runs, twice a day every single day! It's so very stressful if it's not easy!