Cold feet re_moving house

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galway_blow_in

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Think I mentioned before that my fiancé and I plus our two young children live 30 km from Galway city in a five bedroom bungalow, house was bought cheap in 2012, other half from outside Limerick city and worked there prior to us meeting

We have talked on and off about selling our rural dwelling and buying a semi in castletroy in Limerick but only began viewing houses quite recently, houses are brand new and beautiful but I've grown used to so much space in our current home, I was left slightly claustrophobic by suburbia, also left wondering if while under twelve, kids might be better in a rural setting, our three year old is obsessed with the farm machinery which pass right by our property and loves the 2 acre space we have

I suppose what I'm asking is has anyone found the move difficult and did the kids adapt relatively quickly, we don't see ourselves living where we are in twenty years but beginning to wonder should we delay for the kids formative years, teenagers tend to hate the countryside but love it when under twelve etc, just to add such a move will make no difference jobs wise, nor is it financially challenging as long term, rural dwellings are likely to be worth considerably less than urban properties, current home is mortgage free and worth circa 230 k, new house would cost circa 300k, would be going from 2500 Square foot house to 1300 but
 
Hi Galwayblowin. You appear to be comfortable and were lucky enough to buy property when it was not so costly. You'll probably never get that chance again. You now have options that are not available to most. I reckon you can buy property in Limerick and live there if you wish. Keep your old home and rent it out (win/win). You'll probably end up living in Limerick, but will have the option of returning to county Galway. To me this is a no-brainer.
 
The question is impossible for anyone else to answer.
Some people love living in rural areas and can't stick suburbia, some are the opposite.
The kids will adapt really quickly, much quicker than when they are older, (If your kid loves tractors, their head will spin when a bus passes down the road multiple times a day).
Dont move unless you both think it will work.


Things to consider

If you and your fiancee work, then are practical considerations of balancing work and kids for the next ten years (who will drive the kids to school and who will mind them, who will drive them home from childcare).

If your current house is very rural, Are there GAA clubs / Guides and scouts / Basketball clubs etc etc near where you currently live and are you happy to drive them to friends houses, and activities all the time.
 
NoRegretsCoyote said:
When your kids get a bit older you will love the fact that they will wander out to play with other kids.

You won't get that in a rural setting.
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True but I'm sort of wondering if they would prefer to live where they are for their small kid years but as others have said, kids adapt quick, I'm pretty intolerant of noisy neighbours and that is an occasional possibility in suburbia, it's probably myself I'm most concerned won't adapt
 
As others have said, there are pros and cons. Only you and your wife can really make the call on which works better for you. It's probably worth doing out a list of all pros and cons to consider everything. As huskerdu said, consideration needs to be given to being able to transport the kids around to school, play dates, clubs, etc. versus the benefits of the freedom and space you currently have.
 
I usually do a [broken link removed] on big decisions. Kids do adapt but I'll rather move while they are aged 10 or younger. Also, if I was to move, I'd do all I could to get a detached house.
 
We dd the opposite a number of years ago and never looked back. However I agree there are pros/cons. I think a rural setting is great for young kids and I personally don't mind dropping kids for playdates and so on. Everyone is different of course but I think the big risk is regretting the move if it goes wrong (kids not happy, not getting on with neighbours etc) and therefore if possible you should consider renting out current house as you will always have a backout plan. With 2 acres you have so many options compared to living in much reduced home size in an estate. Living rurally you get to enjoy the piece and quiet versus running the risk of having noisy neighbours
 
We did the same move due to annoying neighbours. It was the best decision we ever made and one big advantage of living in a rural location with kids is that they will require you to ferry them around which is a good way of knowing where there are most of the time.
 
Why not look for an airbnb for a week in a similar housing estate and "holiday" there for the week.

Only you can make that decision, but you might look for middle ground and find a detached house a little further out of Limerick within your budget.

I just can't see the semi working for you.
 

A detached close to the city ( inside five miles) might be the best of both worlds and its crossed my mind before , I used to walk four miles a day every day

I'm pretty introverted, don't need to be surrounded by people
 
galway_blow_in said:
A detached close to the city ( inside five miles) might be the best of both worlds and its crossed my mind before , I used to walk four miles a day every day

I'm pretty introverted, don't need to be surrounded by people
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Looks like you are the classic rural dweller. Happy in your own skin and don't need people about 24/7
So what does herself want?

As you have a property, there's no rush to make a decision.

You may find that perfect middle ground.

I moved from semi (Dublin) to detached Kildare) to semi rural detached. (Kildare) Love it and here 13 years. Can't see myself moving. About 20 houses on a lane a few km from Kildare town.

I'm sure something similar may be available in Limerick, but you might have to wait. Took us two years of waiting, but we knew it would be the long term home.
 
You haven't got to the root of the problem. You haven't identified why you've started looking at Limerick, which is I presume because your OH wants to be nearer family. We moved with young kids from a massive house in the countryside into the city. We had mega fights about it. I wanted to move and he didn't because he'd never lived in a big house and was delighted with it. He's never move back there now, delighted we moved. All I could see was problems, costs, things to do endlessly, driving everywhere. We moved into the city but we are detached with plenty of space and a nice garden. Still smaller than the previous one and relatively speaking a tiny garden now, but not to people who live in cities and large by Irish sizes. Now we're getting older I'm wanting to downside again.

It took a while to adjust, the size, the noise. Now we don't want to live anywhere else. We have everything on our doorstep without using the cars if we don't want to. It made everything easier. Doctors, schools, shops, dentists, traffic, things to do. Less gardening and less space that is not needed in the house.

The weather in Galway is atrocious, Limerick is bad but Galway surprasses it. I've lived in many places. You also can't get around Galway city for traffic. We'll be there in a couple of months and we reckon less than two hours from the airport and then anything up to an hour depending on time of day to get into Eyre Square. It's a great city it has to be said. And though I've heard people knock Limerick, what many don't know is that it's a great place to live and it's on the up. You'll get more for your buck there than in Galway or Cork. I have a relation lives in Limerick country.

You make me laugh with your two acre garden. All that work and how often is it actually used. Five bedrooms for 4 people. Why? How often are the two spare rooms used annually (I have this issue about our spare room - do I really need it).

Castletroy is a good area.
 

The lawn itself isn't two acres, a farmer has sheep on the field around the house
 
There is no right or wrong decision. You make compromises and try to make it work. If it doesn't, you accept this also and change again.
 
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