We all know the cliche about real estate (location, location, location); but what do you do when your heart is pushing you towards a gorgeous home that offers everything you could possibly want... *except* location?!?!
Has anyone (successfully) chosen house *over* location?
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This post made me giggle small town of 30,000 to me that is bigger than the nearest city. I couldn't imagine living in a place that big. We built our dream home 4 years ago and it was a beauty we loved it but after 2 years couldn't wait to get out DH hated the town and location. We built a new one 2 years ago and it also is a very nice house but I still long for the other but DH is much ahppier here so location to us is very important. A house does not make a home it is how you feel about the place that will make you happy. I think location is first and the most important part of buying a house.
Your biggest decision seems to be whether you're willing to drive a bit further to go to work. Consider this. Tomorrow you could lose you job, and the new one you find could actually just as far away from where you live now. Or even closer to where you are thinking of moving. Where you work relative to where you live is actually one of the least controllable aspects of chosing a home, because jobs are not for life anymore! It sounds like you love the house (and it is a beauty, for sure!) and the commute is pretty reasonable (I work with lots of people who commute 1, 1.5 or 2 hours each way every day). And I can promise you, in a town of 30,000 there will be plenty of plumbers, electricians and everyone else you need to work on your house. You aren't moving to the north pole for goodness sakes! And with your fairly short drive to the city you'll get all the urban advantages along with the perks of a smaller-town lifestyle. Its a very good thing!
i am getting it too!
Here are a few photos of the place if that helps people to understand why we're so smitten (or maybe I'm just biased here...). :D
Yep! I'm gettin' it! :D
It would be worth finding out about local trades people in the area before things escalate. Are there plumbers and electrians, etc. for your renovations? Phone and speak with them. Would any of your exisiting tradespeople contacts be willing to drive to the new place to do work? No harm in checking these things out.
These are definitely the concerns we are wrestling with. The "worst" thing about the location for us is that it's 15-20 minutes outside of the city and about 30 minutes from our places of work. Not such a big deal, probably, but a lifestyle change nonetheless.
Here are a few photos of the place if that helps people to understand why we're so smitten (or maybe I'm just biased here...). :D
I think there is a distinction in the "location" question, and that is whether the location is bad, or whether its just not one you previously considered living in. If you are getting a great deal on a big beautiful house in Toronto becasue its in a scummy, crime ridden neighborhood, then I'd be inclined to say that the trade off is not worth it. On the other hand, buying a house that sings to you in a nice area you had never thought of living in, well that sounds more like a happy adventure to me! Will you pine for this house for years if you pass it up? There are probably a lot of people reading here that are chuckling at the idea of a city of 30,000 being described as a "small town". I grew up in central Ontario, on a county road roughly half way between a village of about 200 people and a town of 2500. A town of 30,000 was the big city to us! And of course there are plenty of folks in Toronto who would consider London itself a small town. So its all in the perspective. I can tell you that in both the villages I lived near there were restaurants, stores, recreation facilities, gas stations, schools, libraries, liquor stores, doctors, coffee shops and take out food! I live in the big city now, and I enjoy it very much. But I also loved living in a small town environment, and we often vacation in small towns now. You find terrific independant businesses, new recreational activities, and lots of interesting people both local and imported. Sometimes small towns can be hard to break into, but you can influence that a lot. Mostly people who sit back and wait to be invited, or who insist on stomping around telling everyone how much better it was back in the city are the ones who get left out. Join in with what's going on and you'll be an insider in no time. I say if the house is calling your name, and you can see the good things about the location, then go for it.
Oh the house sounds great. Before you decide though make sure you understand all the implications of it's location. I'm thinking of sewage (septic or regular line), power, cable/satellite, snow removal on the access roads, any hunting near by during the season that could drive you nuts, etc. and so on that could be things you either aren't familiar with or might have their own extra expense or bother.
There are a lot of people here who love to live on acreages and just drive in to Calgary every day. You can get used to the drive but it can also mean higher insurance, a better car replaced more often, higher gas bills, and needing to have an employer who doesn't mind if they are snowed in once and a while.
Also see what you can find out about the neighbours and services in the communities near by. Nothing like having to drive during a storm to get to an emerg or to get a needed prescription filled.
I know someone who lives outside a small town in the mountains and they love it but the rules are quite different out there. They have to really watch their dog because the neighbour has been known to shoot and kill any dog that even sets foot on his property and that includes just walking by on the road if they stray off the pavement. Nothing anyone can do about it as he hasn't threatened any humans but it's a pain to live near someone like that.
we moved 2 years ago this coming August, get this, we are still on the same street but at the other end in the new area WHICH AFTER TWO YEARS WE STILL ARE NOT LIKING IT TOO MUCH AT ALL. If i could move my house back to my other lot in the older area i would be happy. We dislike it enough that if circumstances allowed i would move in a new york minute, even though i love our home. So my answer would be, NO i would have to say location is very important, just as important as the house or you wont be happy.
Good luck on your decision!
smiles
janet
[QUOTE= I don't think the longer drive would deter friends from visiting either (and it would cut down on "pop-ins", which we hate!) :laugh:/QUOTE]
you right the number of pop ins will be non existent - but you should be prepared for fewer visitors altogether. I grew up on a farm a mere 15 minutes away from "town" and I can count on one hand over a twenty five year period, how many times my parents friends were willing to drive out "all that way in the country" for a social visit and remember this was a small town farming community where driving distances were the norm....
however, the property really sounds lovely! and the house sounds fabulous!
A more rural area came to my mind rather than a resort area but you could be right Lessismore. Mykel67 did say the location was near a lakeside village which could be Niagara on the Lake for all we know and that's a lovely area with lots of Sliders for sure.:laugh:
Farmland equates strong smells but only certain times of the year. It's not all the time :laugh: You certainly want to ensure your car is not parked overnight on the driveway when they put down the manure. Or forget to leave the laundry out on the line overnight, not that you could stay out long enough to hang it without your eyes tearing up.
Living near the bush is more of a concern. Black fly and mosquitoes live in the bush but they come out when they need to feed - on YOU. So you have to wear Off every time you leave the house practically. A screened in porch or sunroom might seem quaint but it's a necessity if you want to feel like you are outside and not get eaten alive.
I can't count how many city folks asked "where do you go when you want take out coffee?" as if the thought of making it themselves was a concept totally foreign to them.
Very funny... actually I *would* call us "city slickers", but I don't think we would really feel like residents of the small town-- more like residents of London who just have a longer commute than most. Usually we only need Starbucks during the work day, so not having one near home for evenings or weekends is okay. Also, coming into the "big" city for fine dining in shopping would not really be a big deal either. I don't think the longer drive would deter friends from visiting either (and it would cut down on "pop-ins", which we hate!) :laugh:
We're going to have a second look at the place on Wednesday night after work so we can see how the drive is different from a Sunday afternoon (when we first saw it). I actually hope it's raining too, since when we looked at it yesterday it was a very bright, sunny, cheery day-- which may have had some influence on us...
Okay Arizona, you made my night!! :D I wish I had a greater selection of emoticons! Toooooo funny!
30,000 people can mean a lot of different things remember. 30,000 in a resort community district is quite a large community and could be quite hip with lots of great eating spots and wonderful coffee shops mixed in as well.
Of course that can also mean a fairly transient community with people showing up on weekends etc. I know because I grew up in that situation on Georgian Bay. We used to call all the Torontonians that came up on the weekends....sliders. They slid in to town Friday night and slid out on Sunday night. Please, no offence to all of you from Toronto...that is just the way it was.
A lot has changed since then but my memory of the locals and the sliders is still quite strong and you are right not everyone appreciated their arrival.
Of course something else I thought about....if it is a farming community.....do you like strong smells?
I don't know your circumstances now obviously but 30,000 is a VERY small community. To put it into persective you could fit all that towns inhabitants into a metro hockey arena. What kind of shopping or nightlife is available if that is even relevant to you? Small communities like that often do not take well to outsiders, do you have someone living there already you could depend upon if you had to? Would the distance be a barrier for your existing friends to come visit? Have you had to take care of an acre property before?
Have you lived near farmland before or bush before to know the downsides? It's not for everyone, ESPECIALLY city slickers who can't pull themselves together without a Starbucks or Tims on every corner. Like I stated at the beginning I don't know your circumstances so I don't mean to imply you are a city slicker.
Does the 30-40 minutes include sitting in traffic....is that the problem with the location? I live 20 minutes from the city centre but in a lake/ski community. That is 20 minutes without traffic....with traffic it is a whole different deal. Lots of people would not move here due to the traffic in the morning getting down into the city centre.
Sometimes you are surprised at how quickly the location is not an issue when you love the home you are coming back to every day. Sounds lovely!
Well, the location is about 30-40 minutes from work. I used to commute that far about 6 years ago (and certainly don't miss it). It's 10 minutes from the downtown of a small town (pop. 30,000), and 10 minutes from a charming lakeside village. It sits well back from the road on about an acre of land, backing onto farmland and bush. To buy a comparable property where we are now would cost at least $200K more.
It's the size, layout and overall style of the house we love. It's a classic centre-hall 1955 Georgian revival with generous room dimensions and four floor-to-ceiling bay windows. It's the kind of house that you can imagine having spectacular Christmases in! It's also the kind of house that would make having large parties and overnight guests a breeze.
It needs decorating, and eventually an updated kitchen and baths, but nothing structural. It had that "x-factor"--- you know, when you walk into a house and it just "feels" right? By the time we got to the huge master bedroom with separate dressing room and ensuite, we knew we were in trouble.
Decisions, decisions...
why isn't the location good?
do you want to or can you live there forever? if not, will others see the location as detrimental?
is this house done and all beautified? or is it wow b/c of the spaces, layout, and the potential to carry out your needs for the long haul?
these would be some of the questions I would ask myself.
We just bought and those were the type of questions we asked ourselves when we expanded our search area. We wanted a specific neighborhood and could not find anything. the fortunate thing for us is that we ended up buying in a desirable neighborhood...
Good luck!
I suppose it would depend on what it is about the house that makes it work and what it is about the location that makes it less than ideal. For me I tried going with house over location and although I admit the house was more okay than wow for me and I had a great view of the mountains, I was completely happy to get out 18 mos later. I just couldn't take the location at all. For me it was too far out, too new, too bare and no matter what I tried with my attitude it just wasn't happening. I used to hate driving into that area because it just wasn't my kind of place.
With this house and my first house it was all about location. both houses left a lot to be desired but I love this area and have been willing to deal with the house just to be in the location. I love seeing it every day. I Love walking around in it. I love when people never fail to mention how pretty the street I live on is.
You have to ask yourself how convenient or accessible the new location is for your work and lifestyle gym, grocery stores, etc. If this place is 45 minutes from work some people don't mind that, it's the trade off, others cannot handle it and have to live closer to work so their daily communte isn't as long. How easy will the new location be to sell should you decide you cannot handle it?
These are things only you know the answers to.