Love it or List It
Help! We need to make a decision! We are highly sentimental people. Chris is probably worse than I am. He cannot part with any baby toys or clothes. I'm a little better, but still easily attached to things, people, and places (we always go to the same beach, same restaurants, etc). For the past year we've been planning a move. The problem is we're starting to get cold feet.
This has been our house for over ten years. We bought it two months before we were married. Our sweet dog and all our babies joined our family here. It is a place so attached to our memories that the thought of leaving brings tears to our eyes.
It's a pretty good house too. We love our kitchen layout, have a great sized yard, a big playroom, live about 3 minutes from 5 Harris Teeters (grocery stores), and 5 minutes from 2 Targets. Our schools are amazing and we love our neighbors (last Sunday one of them sent us a pizza and cake!). The boys can run outside and find multiple buddies to play with almost any afternoon.
Then there are the drawbacks. Our guest bath/kids' bath is tiny. The kids' rooms are also tiny. Our back yard has a huge hill (which is good for sledding and slip n slides, not so good for baseball games). Our area is growing rapidly and traffic is a nightmare. And the biggest drawback is the commute time for Chris.
It's really time for us to make a decision. We would list our house in the spring hoping to move over the summer (so the boys don't switch schools in the middle of the year). Slowly we've been updating our house to make it more marketable. In looking for a new home, it will most likely be a major fixer upper with a good sized yard (fingers crossed) and closer to Chris' office. But decisions and change are scary. Maybe it's easier to stay. Maybe the greener grass is an illusion. Or maybe we make amazing new memories at a new place. I have no clue how we will ever decide!
We are going through this same decision right now. I love everything about our house - except the commute. I understand!
ReplyDeleteMy mom is a real estate agent so we moved a ton growing up, I seriously think we lived 5 houses before I turned 16 and we never left our town ;) I was a real estate agent before I started staying home so I'm probably the wrong person to ask because I'm always looking for our next house lol. I think you need to do what's best for your family. If being closer to Chris' work is going to make things easier for you all then making a move might be the answer. May sure if you buy a fixer upper, you're ready for the unexpected. All the houses we've owned have been fixer uppers (they aren't super old, most from the 80s) but they have all been in good but original condition. So we've had to replace things like AC units, skylights, hot water heaters, and had a lot of little things break down over time. Those are things a lot of times a home inspector can't predict. My biggest suggestion to see if you think you're ready to move is to go see some houses in your prospective area. Drive around the neighborhoods at night and on the weekends. See what it's like at different times during the day. See how much work might be involved in a fixer upper. If you go look at other houses the first time go without the kids so it's just you and your husband looking so you can really get a feel for them without being distracted by them. Good luck!! Whatever you decide you will know feels right for you.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a hard decision! We moved like 3 miles down the road, and I was tearing my hair out. Good luck! Have you started scoping other areas? That is what got me excited eventually. Then when we found our new space, it was much easier letting go of our first house.
ReplyDeleteI can imagine how tough this is for you! The house Bryce and I are in, is the house he bought just a few months before we met. It's where we've fallen in love and made a life together. It also has the most beautiful big yard and is in the perfect location, BUT, it's a total starter home. We're already outgrowing it in terms of storage. Just thinking of the thought of moving down the road breaks my heart, though. I can only imagine bringing a dog and babies home makes it even harder!
ReplyDeleteOur house is totally a starter home. We're going to have to move out in the next couple of years. I'm ready; DG isn't. I get the sentimental thing though. I'll have a hard time with that too! xo, Champagne&Suburbs
ReplyDeleteI can see us going through this at some point. I love our house but we have a big master and two tiny other bedrooms upstairs. Dan wants a bigger house if we ever have more kids. I'll admit, a basement would be nice - somewhere for the toys and kids to go that isn't our main living room. But I love SO much about this house, I don't think we'd ever get as much as I like in another one. Such a hard decision, but if you are too hesitant, than the timing / new house isn't right. When the right opportunity comes along, you guys will know!
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