Shall we move north to reduce our mortgage?

steveinhants

Hi guys,

I'm not a regular poster here and, if I' honest, I wasn't sure where to drop this one - so if any mods see fit to move it then please do so!

Anyway, as the title suggests there is deep discussion in my household as to whether a move north for a mortgage reduction and (hopefully) an increase in our life happiness would be worth it. I would welcome impartial advice and do feel free to be as harsh as you like.

If you can put up with my ramblings, I'll fill in the history:

We moved as a family (wife, 2 kids now aged 6 & 3 and myself) around 2 years ago. We rented our house instead of selling as it was the time when the world tried committing financial suicide, and moved in with her mother (large house, very nice village BUT on the bankers belt). 6 year old now settled in school and network of friends established.
Our original house is now on the market but selling is dreadfully slow in the area.
Anyway, I would like to live in a village, for my kids to have a good education and to enjoy life to the full, whilst not paying over the odds for it.
My wife, however, would like to stay in the village where we are now. The trouble is the average price is over £400k and we simply cannot afford that amount.
If we moved north we could reduce our mortgage so much that my wife wouldn't have to work apart from perhaps one day a week, just to keep her hand in. She's also just finishing a course and she is about to set up her own business. This won't happen overnight so the option of being able to work flexibly whilst the business builds is also great. This is definitely an option should we move north but to be fair, it's very likely to happen in the south as well.

OK - I hope this all makes sense and that it doesn't break any of your rules by posting it here.

Merry Christmas,

Steve.

diable

You need to consider work, child care, travel, family, putting up with snide comments from Northerners especially if you are from the South, just jesting ;o))))

Cannon_Fodder

Can you be sure of finding equivalent work, at the same salary, up north ?

Houses are cheaper in some areas because the incomes are lower, on average.

Courgette

Do you have anywhere up North in mind? It's a big place you know! I'd also say that being near family is a pretty important one to consider too

steveinhants

Hi,

Some answers to your questions:

I work from home and work all over the UK. It doesn't matter where I live. Wife is a nurse, smae pay all over (minus a little bit for the London allowance).

My family are in the north.

Childcare - my wife would be the main carer although, I am also home most days albeit working. Also, my family would do the odd school run etc and they would gladly help us out on a weekend etc if we wanted to go out for dinner.

Location - I would like to live in the village of Hutton Rudby, near to Stokesley, but I would consider York, Ripon, etc.

Snide comments - I'm originally from the North, but in all honesty I do worry about the kids - I remember the stick we used to give the odd one who made the move when I was at school.

diable

You have answered all your questions so its up to you to decide if you'll be happy happy moving, not sure of the locations but hey throw caution to the wind and go for it.

newgirly

Hi, thats a really difficult one. It sounds like you and your wife are leaning in different directions. Is there no compromise where you could stay in commuting distance of work and schools but out of the village to a cheaper area/smaller house? Best of luck

mummytobe_2

Hi Steve,

It seems to me that all your work-related circumstances suggest that your quality of life in terms of affordability would be better up north. The only glaring problem is that your wife wants to stay where she is by the sounds of things, and if your relationship is anything like mine, ultimately the woman always wins!!

You mentioned that you are living staying with your mother in law, your wife is happy in the village you are in and that your children are settled in school. Would you consider maintaining this arrangement? I have a friend who has recently bought into her parents house for the same reason - the area she grew up in is lovely and idyllic but completely unaffordable, but she has a great relationship with her parents so has bought a percentage of their house, to give them some additional retirement income but then gets the benefits of living in the lovely area / great schools / help with childcare etc. The parents actually love the idea of this also as it maintains their security as they move into growing ill-health - more people to help out and avoid problems of isolation etc. Just a thought - although I know the living with the in-laws thing isn't for everyone!!!

golfiematt

i doubt the mother in law would want you to move. If you did move, would you want to move back down after a few years? the reason i ask is its not too bad while the children are young but in a few years they would have established a network of friends etc.
ps i live in lancashire & while the houses are cheaper most jobs pay a lot less than the national average!

Carafan

Hi there,
Another thing worth mentioning is that the places that you have mentioned are quite desirable and you may find that the gap between North and South house prices not to be that great. There are good bargins to be had in the North but many of the sought after villages can command high property prices.

RosieTiger

The obvious points have been made already - the places you would like to live in the north are not cheap so i would be surprised if this makes as much financial sense as you think.
You clearly have the ability to live anywhere with your work, but moving that far away from your in laws may be a real wrench for your wife.