If You Have Moved--not Related to Job Change

Well I am one that would love to move. Not because of a job change or anything but simply because this house is too small for us now. We have simply outgrown it and our needs are different now. But unfortunately, we don't have the option to move at this time. So we are making do with what we have. But I could see all kinds of reasons why people would move when it's not job related. Like us, you could simply outgrow the home, it no longer fits your needs, some people may need to downsize, etc. Some people just need a change. If they can do then, great! If not, like us, then you have to make the best out of what you have. :)

I haven't yet but likely will someday. And my mom always wanted to move into a nicer house in our hometown growing up but my dad dragged his heels and she'll always regret not pushing him. I'd see if you can get him to compromise a few of his must haves...

We moved because we wanted to. No job change. Nothing. We lived in quite a small town settled in between two larger towns/cities. We found that we were constantly spending 30 minutes on the road (each way) to go out for dinner, to go to the movie, to go shopping, to get a haircut, etc. It was just becoming kind of a pain. Our kids were in private school, and there was a better private school in the town we were doing all our traveling to.
The kicker was, that when we built our home, it was in a brand new neighborhood/development and we were like the 2nd house built in it. Over the 7 years we lived there, it got more and more claustrophobic for me. I'd go out on the back deck to take the dog out and my neighbor on the next lot over would wave and call out to me. Now, I'm not an unfriendly person at all---but EVERY TIME I stepped out the door, I wasn't looking to have a chat. Ya know? And I was out a lot, b/c we had small kids and a dog.

We moved to the north end of our county to a smaller development with bigger lots and more space in general. Very nice. The new private school was great. Only problem became that we couldn't keep up the private school tuition and ended up placing the kids in public school. Since we are still in the same county, we are now doing the opposite commute. We are relatively convenient (15 minutes?) from all our shopping needs (Target, Publix, mall, movies, restaurants, etc) but the closest middle school in the county is back in the town we moved out of. 25 minutes away. And there is only one high school, in that same town 25 minutes away. :(

So, not really good planning on our part, I guess. But we do love the new area we are in. Just wish that our county had another school to service the folks who live at this end of it. Both of the middle schools and the only high school are less than 6 miles from the STATE line.. so they are not centrally located land-wise in the county. The county spreads out a lot farther west and north and all the schools are in the south and east portion of the county.

But if you decide you want to move, do your research and take your time. You might be very happy with a change. We are. Despite the commute issues.

We have moved because of jobs and because we built a new house.

We built the new house because he needed more space and a different floor plan. We sold our house and our new house wasn't ready so we moved into an apartment. I would NEVER do that again. We fit a 4 bedroom house in a 3 bedroom apartment for 3 months. We had my husband, myself and two kids plus a dog. UGGG! Just thinking about that I get hives! Thank goodness for friends! So of them still complain and this was 8 years ago!!! Good luck!!!

We've moved so that we could buy a house. We moved from Oregon, where it was pretty pricey, to Texas where it was much more affordable. We are able to get a lot more house for our money too. So, he had to change jobs, but it wasn't the reason we were moving.

We are considering moving again. Five years ago when we moved into our 1859 sp ft, 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, we had 1 child. It seemed huge for us. Now we have baby #5 on the way. We could stay here if we needed to, but it's starting to seem a little crowded. We're hoping hubby will get a promotion and we'll be able to buy a bigger house and some land.

As for your hubby's desires in a house, I would listen to what he wants so that he's happy too. Of course, if his desires are completely unrealistic and make it impossible to move, then there needs to be a compromise on his part.

Good luck!

Originally from New Orleans, I moved to the MS Gulf Coast in the early 90s b'c I thought I was in love and this was where he got a job. So, that was an epic fail, but I liked the area and stayed.

I bought a small, older house in the late 90s for my Grandmother and I to live in, had a baby, and stayed in the house until about 2001. By that time my Grandmother was in a care home and my son and I just didn't need the space - plus the up keep was killing me. So I sold it and became an apartment dweller for several years. Stayed in the same school district though - that was important to my son.

In 2007, post Katrina, when the apartment complex had gone downhill tenant and management wise, and the real estate market was beginning to come down in price again, I decided to purchase another home.

I could not afford the post Katrina housing prices in my old area, so looked into other areas on the Coast. Settled on a home about 15 miles away and in a different school district. We like the area and the neighborhood, everything is very convenient as we live close to the center of town. And only about 7 miles away from the next city over. So we have an ample variety of shopping and entertainment. The only drawback, for me, is the new post Katrina High School campus for this district was built 15 miles north of the city. So my son has to take the bus - which he doesn't mind - since I don't want to burn the gas.

Is this my forever home? I doubt it. Once my son is out of high school and college and starts his adult life, the house will just be too big for me. So, most likely, this is a 10 -12 year home for us. Then I hope to sell and purchase something smaller for my "golden" years. ROFL.

Whatever you decide to do, house wise, remember "home" is always where your loved ones are.

God Bless

I've done this twice.
The first time was to move closer to family - 2h away to 20m away. Then it just made sense. I had found out I was pregnant. As soon as I told hubby he said that's it we're moving. Moving closer to family also got us closer to our regular doctors, hospital and shopping.

The second time was 'just cuz'. We were not happy with our neighbor and our house needed a few touchups as well as a rebuilt deck. I found out that the house across from the inlaws, family friends, was going on market. The house was just like our parents' houses, more solidly built, bigger bedrooms, more room between houses, bigger lots, etc... I told hubby, he said, yeah? I just nodded. So we called the sellers, talked to bank, and listed our house. The whole thing from 'hey..' to 'having a contract' on OUR house was 6 days!

My neighbor's just moved because they found a house that was newer, bigger house, bigger lot, and a SMALLER mortgage!

Good luck,
M.

Our first home was 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1800 sf. We absolutely loved it, but then our first 2 children arrived and it began to feel very cramped. As it turned out, most of our friends at that time lived in a different area of town about 20 mintues away from us. We decided to move to be closer to the majority of our friends and for a larger home. We bought a 3000 sf 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home in a gated community where we had friends and there were children our own kids' ages. I loved the new house as much as the old. We left behind our next-door-neighbors in our old neighborhood who were the only people there we were close to, but we remain close to them. It was a good move for us but I think it is a very personal thing. We've now moved to a new city because of a job promotion, but that's a whole different thing. Best of luck to you, and happy house hunting if that's what you decide!