Hmm.. which option would you go with?

[mrsmac]

Having older children i would take closer to the city, the less you have to drive them around to see friends/PT jobs etc the better. This would only be if you are planning on staying there a few years obviously!

[Snacks]

Just a comment on adding value to the asset, I guess I see the asset as being the land. That's what's going to appreciate in value - the house itself will depreciate. So personally, I'd go the bigger block. But that's coming from someone who is looking to one day buy a house we like rather than one to 'do up' as we'd be one of those couples who never gets the renos finished, LOL.
GL with your decision, mate.

[feeb]

hmmm good and bad for both but I think I would go smaller house more land under flight path!!

[luna moth]

Launnie airport doesn't get that much traffic compared to other airports. Something to consider.

I would go for option A, because that's something that's really important to us - being close to town and close to work. But everyone has their own priorities, so I think you need to work out what's more important to you.

Financially, well, you could't go either way. Launnie's still got a bit of space to sprawl out into, so I don't think a big block has as much chance to appreciate as one with proximity to town.

Maybe flip a coin/use a dartboard/rock off with DH. Use some ridiculous arbirtrary method to get an outcome. If you feel disappointment when you get a result, then go the other way. But if you feel elated, you've got your answer.

[Arimeh]

There are just so many things to think about. We had a good size block in queensland (837sqm) but the house itself was only 93sqm - so we were absolutely busting out of it with two children, hence why we had to move.

So I think my main problem with getting a smaller house is that we may not have bothered to move ya know? If we are just going to be squished into a small house on a good block - may as well stayed where we were!!

DH is just all over the place with his decision making - one moment he doesn't want the committment of having to do renos to get our money back if we decide to sell, and, well, to me, its not all about money ya know? I do like the fact that we made 70 grand by selling our house in Queensland, but I'm not expecting to make any money on property, I just want a house that doesn't give me the absolute irrits by being too small, with absolutely no storage space. It doesn't help that I live with a hoarder and we have sooooo much CRAP its unbelievable.

Plus, Astrid is right - there is a weird mentality here that if you are more than 10 minutes away from the city - thats wayyyy too far to live out there. Its very odd. Ourselves we don't mind too much, we lived in Nambour and that was a good 20 minutes away from anything on the coast. Riverside is a good suburb and close to the city so definitely has its advantages there. I'm also looking at other properties now - because DH isn't sure if he wants to just get a place to get us out of the rental crap and then we'll just live there till we are ready to move (ie, when I go back to work and start bringing in an income) and thats when we get the house that we want.

[New Dawn]

flight path or power lines I would say neither keep looking !

been someone with older winkies they DONT use the land ! how much bigger are we talking, is it acres or just like 800sqm 550 sqm is tiny as far as land goes, but you will be close to work / city, if you are planing on saying there in Tazy forever and this would be you forever house, you should check out schools in the area, see what the towns are like, you might find the one which is better than the other... ( I know small towns can be very hard to break into when your not a local unless your born and bred there so keep this in mind too )

Also check out what the PT would be like witht he house which is out of town, as when you have older children they will want to be dropped off and picked up a fare wack, look at if there are things for the kids too do in the smaller town ie out of school sports, places for them to get a part time job when the time come for it... just loads of stuff that isnt on your mind right now but you might regret if you stay forever and didnt think about it now...

I know in Tazy 20min drive is HUGE and everyone will think you crazy for driving that far... plus if you choose to go back to work once the kids are at school it would mean you driving in to...

Ok I know I havent been much help, the decion is yours and DH's to make, I hope some of my ramberling has made sence and given you something to think about...

[Astrid]

Quick answer for astrid cos I gotta cook dinner - the option A is in Riverside - option B would be someplace like Hadspen or Evandale/Perth/Longford.

Ah, now that helps.
I would go option A. Riverside is quite nice and the schools are good. The buses there were reasonable for Tassie standards.

If you were to go option B, you would need to check out which highschool each town goes to. If it is Cressy, then no way. I would just never go Longford, but that is personal, DH grew up there. Never got good vibes from Perth for some reason. Evendale is nice, so of the 3 I would pick Evendale. Not too sure about Hadspen.

Ok, my main recommendation. Wait. Get to know Tassie a bit better first before jumping in. There are lots of great little places about. There are some great spots down the Tamar River.

Have fun deciding. I know when we looked at moving back, there was always someone who did not like the areas where we were looking in.

[MantaRay]

I think it's a decision you have to make hun - but a smaller house would mean less cleaning

[Inanna]

I think I would keep looking too.... I think the proximity to town is a really really big draw card. He could walk you only need one car, If the schools are good - which usually the closer the cBD the better the schools...
I wouldn't go flight path - too much pollution both noise and aviation fuel. Not good. The power line thing... Are they high voltage? If not thern they are probably the run of mill ones that most of us are subject to.

I would go larger house smaller land. Less maintnenance and there are lots o parks. Good luck with your decision...

[MummyTummy]

Personally I would wait. If neither really float your boat they just aren't right. There may be something just right come on to the market in the next couple of months. I would research where you really want to live (area wise) and focus your attention there until you find the house that is just right.

But if you are really set on one of these houses my opinion is go the flight path over the power lines. I live in an area with powerlines, which also happens to be in the flight path too. We can't see any power lines here, and I know when we bought we put an offer in on a house that you could see powerlines in the distance, and it really put me off. I was actually really happy when we didn't get the house, which really told me something. That was waaaay more than 150m away. We did buy a house under the flight path but we really barely notice the planes (we are 20mins drive away from the airport though, so they aren't too low) and the times we do, we get the opportunity to point them out to Jett!

Also some advice we were given by a friend who is a builder about whether to buy a house needing renos or as is, he said that we are better off working the full week, earning the money to pay for a place that needs no renos, rather than working the full week, and then working for the weekend on renos, that drag on and on for months sometimes years always feeling like you are in temporary accommodation IYKWIM. And also doing it yourself you lack the skills, so you will always have to get tradies in for bits and pieces (electrician etc) and you may find you make mistakes and waste money in correcting them. If you are paying for someone to do the renos in one fell swoop that is a whole other story. We ended up buying a house that needed no work (updating the bathrooms is on the agenda, but not necessary) and it has been great. I like the idea of DIY, but if it wasn't done quickly I think it would really get me down.

HTH and Good Luck!!

[Sterla]

I would say the bigger house, simply because you have the option of more space without having to do any building, etc. Riverside is nice, and I've heard only good things about the schools too .