Moving from a detached with parking to terrace with parking permit

[Theleftflipflop]

Would you do this? I currently live in a detached house, garden, with a large driveway for around 3-4 cars, in a village with lots of fields for dog walking and safe for the kids to go out and play.

However, the school catchment for 2ndary schools is pretty bad / shocking (the main schools near us have been in the news as they are so awful - I'm talking prolific drug use, attempted stabbings, regular physical bullying of the kids etc). There are 2 Outstanding / good schools in the town nearby, and we would need to move within the catchments for those schools (they are always oversubscribed, so you have to be living within that area, or have a military parent / be fostered etc, to get in if you live outside the catchment area).

So... with one of my DC's in year 5 currently, my DH and I are looking at houses within the town (we have never lived in a town before - we are rural folk!). One house that appeals is a 3 bed terrace which has been upgraded and looks stunning. It has a long garden, and no back garden access for the other houses. Parking out front is permit only (we have 2 cars). There is only a tiny garden area at the front, which would not allow for it to be turned into a driveway.

Would this appeal to you?

Don't believe what the estate agent says, their idea of "easy parking" may differ from yours. As you need 2 cars in use on a daily basis, it may be hard to manage with no parking at all, and no garage for storage either. Will it be expensive to get permits, will your car insurance go up if you only have on street parking in a town, will you be driving longer distances costing more in petrol, on top of the moving costs?
If you don't like your current house then yes, move. But I would also visit all the schools in question, sometimes gossip isn't representative of reality. Bad schools can get turned around if they get a new head, too. A good school can also go downhill. Children can get bulllied anywhere too unfortunately, private schools included.

Agree with this and agree that your kids will like living more centrally once they are tweens and teens. They will be able to meet up with mates easily which is so valuable. If DH doesn’t like where you live now it seems a no brainer.

I would not go down the renting out and renting closer route 1) because as I said above, a lot of schools are wise to this strategy and won’t allow a rented address if you own elsewhere - check the admissions criteria carefully 2) renting out your home is a major burden with lots of admin and regulations 3) rural homes aren’t that easy to rent out especially if the catchment schools are crap and 4) why have all that hassle for a house you don’t both love.

Permit parking isn't always a bad thing, as it prevents commuters parking outside all day

Suggest you look at -

• when the permit zones apply eg Mon to Fri or all week, and set times only or 24 / 7
• cost of permits
• limit to no of permits you can buy for your household
• can you buy temporary / day passes for visitors or contractors
• is metered parking available for visitors
• can you park directly outside the house long enough to unload the car and then move the car to a parking space
• where is the nearest free parking
• And check google maps or ask a taxi driver about parking availability. Don't rely on the selling agent

I'd move without hesitation. But I am quite fond of a characterful terrace! And prefer walking to driving

Personally I would be very reluctant to loose "Off Street Parking" for the following reasons:

1. You can charge an EV cheaper and slower, possibly saving £1K pa if you're doing a lot of milage.
2. OSP will become increasingly more desirable as more people move to EVs
3. The cost of Residents parking can be significant, especially if you have multiple vehicles, or commercial ones.
4. In my area finding a space is horrendous at certain times of the day.
5. Loading, unloading and cleaning is easier with OSP
6. Damage to vehicles is very common
7. Insurance is usually lower if you have OSP.

Good luck with your decision.

I would rather just drive the extra distance, but tricky if the school catchment area won't cover your postcode. I used to live in a row of terraced houses and people used part of their gardens to turn them into private parking. Is that possible at the rear if you say its a long garden? Otherwise I think its a no. I'm renting a house with a driveway now and there's no way I'd go back to that type of house.

Me too. I don't have a driveway and now that my kids aren't young it doesn't matter that I may have to park up the road a bit (though I can't remember the last time this happened). Moving to be closer to the school and town would also have more advantages re. The kids being able to be independent and walk to friends' houses. I would do it.

Well tell that to the many councils that have rules about it whether you agree or not

And an oversubscribed school in a tight catchment will have plenty of people watching and reporting.

You do you but personally I don’t feel it’s right to buy a house with no parking when you own a car, and especially not more than one.

I’m not saying don’t move, I’m saying look for something that actually meets your needs.

There are a large number of mums net posters who are obsessed with off street parking, but in reality life is full of compromises. If I had to choose between a driveway and sending my children to a better school then the school choice will win every time.

I quite enjoy a parking thread, but in an almost anthropological way because it's a completely different culture depending on your area. Where I live, it's completely normal not to have private parking, unless you live on one of the newbuild estates, so people have absolutely no issue with parking further up the street, or even on a different street, or other people parking outside their house. If OP is considering moving to an urban area where no-one in her neighbourhood has a driveway and they all use parking permits, it's very unlikely they'll be as territorial about it as some of the MN threads. And as they've all got front gardens too small for a driveway, as I do, they probably won't be precious about seeing other people's cars from their front window either.

It doesn’t matter if you can prove you live in the rented house. The councils that have these rules say that you cannot apply from a rented address if you also own a house locally. So if they see two sets of council tax/electoral roll etc on their records, one owned one rented, they will take your address as being the owned one, unless you can prove you’ve sold the previous address.

this is because they know some people will rent a different address temporarily just to get in catchment. So they have come up with rules to stop this working.

Of course this may not apply to the OP’s school, I don’t know, but it definitely applies in some places.

I would not move from a detached with plentiful parking to a terraced house with permit on street parking.

Of course the agents will tell you there is no issue with parking - they are out to make money from the sale! Go and check it all out yourself at very different times of the day and night.

Even if you do move to this house, there is never a cast iron guarantee your child will secure a place at one of the secondary schools.

Another thing that would put me off is it being a terraced house. You have absolutely no idea what the neighbours are like, and if they are noisy feckers, you will have to put up with the noise through the walls. (There have been plenty of threads on that subject on MN over the years!)

Rather than plough a load of extra money into moving, would you be able to divert funds and use them for private education instead?

I have family members who lived in a terraced with on street parking - and when they moved to a house with their own driveway, they felt like they had won the lottery!

It's a tough decision, and I completely understand the reasons for you considering this move. Good luck!

Indeed. The idea of sending my kids to what sounds like a really dreadful and dangerous school, just so I could park my car off street? That’s bonkers to me.

and the posters saying well find a different area so you can have off street parking and a better school… do you think the OP hasn’t tried??

Would you definitely get in the schools ? Because that is not always the case nowadays.

I have a terraced house with no parking which I actually decided was preferable to (tight) permit parking. I can't park in front of my house, but I can always park about 150 yards away. It's worth considering if you'll end up half a mile or more away sometimes, as that is what happened to friends with permit parking. Check it out on a weekday evening as that's usually the busiest time, we found when looking at houses.

The parking is just 1 issue. The EA doesn't live there and will tell you anything to get a sale!
Moving from a presumably quiet, rural, detached house to a terrace would me my biggest concern re noise!
Having to haul everything you want in the garden through the house!
No way.

I feel the same. If you look at it from a risk point of view then it is quite clear. Risk of moving into a terrace with no parking = irritation with finding a space and the need to be excellent at parallel parking, worst case scenario - beef with neighbours.
Failing school = poor education, frequent disruption to lessons, compromises ability to achieve full potential, worst case scenario - bullying, poor mental health, self harm, drug taking, school refusal, county lines.

What you don't say is whether there is an option of a detached or semi within the town with parking but slightly less 'finished'.

We changed our mind about moving for this very reason, OP. In fairness, we have 4 vehicles between us and one is a camper van which needs to be plugged in, but the prospect of having to battle for parking every time we come home was just far too stressful to contemplate (first world problems, I know)

For those saying "no", please can I ask you to expand on your reasoning? I really want to hear both sides of the argument, so we can be fully aware of the pros and cons

Do you think that you will be happy living there? Surely that’s the most important question you need to think about.

I have just done the opposite however for the schooling reasons you described I think we (and you) need more info about the parking situation.

• what is the extent of the CPZ? If it's weekdays only and you're near town will parking be a nightmare on the weekends? If it's 8am-10pm 7 days a week (ours was) then it's a real pain in the arse for visitors, or if you ever have tradespeople/builders.

• are you prepared to deal with people being shit at parking, leaving half a space between cars meaning you have to drive around the block for a space?

• are your children helpful? One of our reasons for moving was having to trek halfway down the street with a baby, three year old and shopping in the pouring rain. Hopefully you won't have that issue.

-are you amazing at parallel Parking?

-do you have side or rear access to your garden or would everything have to go through the house? This is such a pain for garden waste and again if you want any work done in future.

If you can, drive down the road at the sorts of times you'd usually be getting home and see how often and how close to the house you get a space

Many of us have already mentioned things that might be a concern or something to think about. These may not affect you at all, but many others might have issues with them:

-Moving from detached to a terrace- NOISE could be a major issue, not only within your home and hearing neighbours snore, sneeze and fart but also within your garden. No privacy if overlooked.
-No access to the garden other than through the house, so all garden waste, plants, furniture, garden equipment etc goes through the house!
-Despite what the EA says, there is no guarantee of getting a park nearby
-Parking further away, you might be wrangling younger children plus going back and forth trips to get the shopping in from the car
-Every day there is a post on MN about parking, neighbours in front of my house, they are entitled and have 2 cars, blocking the cul-de-sac etc etc
-You mentioned dog walking fields near your current home. Do you have a dog? Don't underestimate how unsettled they can be from moving from a quiet, rural house to somewhere with neighbouring noise!
-Potential lack of not being able to extend if needed
-Already mentioned in my earlier post, but check the cost for the resident parking. Ours was £478 this year for 1 car!

I realise your reasons for moving, and I'd want a good catchment too. Surely this can't be the ONLY house for sale in the town though?