Moving further in or moving further out..WWYD?

[sangie]

I'd also do a test run of the commute before deciding and if its feasible I would go with the bigger house in Croydon North. We are not too far from there (Lilydale) and its a lovely area. We have friends who recently moved to croydon north from essendon and they love it. Writing a pros and cons list for each house might help too! Best of luck and how exciting!!!!!

[anney]

Stay further in would be what I would do, my personal view is that space inside home is overrated and free time is more valuable.

I agree with this. I think as time goes by when you work and have kids your time with the kids becomes more valuable. So having a bigger house to clean and more commuting would take time away from being with the kids.

[FabFiona]

I would buy the house closer in. I don't know the various pros and cons of those suburbs as I live in the inner west, but for us, we love living close to public transport and the city.

The commute might only be 15 extra minutes one way, but is that with everything running smoothly? Car crash or late train can add more time.

We were prepared to pay the extra money for the house in the spot that we wanted, rather than a cheaper house in a less desirable location.

[Nai]

We have 2 kids and a 3br house - the kids share a bedroom and the 3rd is the toyroom/spare bedroom which works out fantastically. I'm sure they will want their own rooms one day but until then they are more than happy to share.

I personally prefer to be in closer but an extra 15min commute is a big deal for me as I hate commuting with a passion! Also do a trial run in wet weather peak hour conditions to see if it really is only 15min. I have friends who live in Croydon North and they love it but all their family is out that way too. However I regularly see that the commute to the city cna take 1.5hrs or more at least once a week due to traffic/train issues etc.

[LionsandBears]

We're moving out east too. It's what we can afford. In our case, I'm not currently working & DH works at home or travels a lot. So whilst his commute will increase, it wont be every day.

For us, it's a 4-5 year house as it's a unit without much land. We can see us moving further out to get more land, but we're homebodies and want room for kids & dogs & to grow our own food. We both used to be inner city people, but it's not what we're into anymore.

What do you value most? I'd do a list of pros & cons.

[Janie71]

I'm another that would stay closer. I like all the city has to offer and having easy access to it is important to our family.

Janie xxx

[mambo]

Thanks everyone for all your tips and advice. I have a bit of homework to do before I make the big decision. If I go by what my drive home with the kids was like today i'd be saying Donvale (my DS started whinging about 5 minutes into our drive ...hence why I didnt bother testing the drive out today ...but I realise its not always going to be a problem as when they start school I wont be driving them all the way to the inlaws. This is meant to be our 'forever' house so I want to make sure we make the right decision. Will keep you posted on the outcome!!