Practical head or happy heart?

sacha28

So things are getting a bit hairy on our relocation......I start my new job 28th July and, as yet, don't have a home to go to :eek:
We have seen 2 places that we like that are at different ends of the scale and cannot agree on which would be best.

On one hand we have a coach house in the city where my new job is. It's not far from the hospital and not far from the train station either, which my OH intends to use for the commute to work. It has outdoor space (important for my 2 YO) but it's not great outdoor space, a small patio that goes into a rather steep slope. I wouldn't be able to leave my lo out there because of this and there is no access to the outdoor space from the flat, you have to go down the stairs and around the side of the building. My OH thinks this would be the best bet purely based on the fact that it's close to my new job.

The other property is a 2 bed garden flat in a lovely village that we have loved for years but there is a problem with it........the agent has been very upfront and has stated that the owner is likely to place the flat on the market after the 6 month AST has ended. Apparently there are problems with the leasehold and the council (I have no idea about these things) that need to be sorted first but once it's sorted the flat will be put up for sale with vacant possession. Because of this, the rent is £200pcm cheaper than the other place. My OH thinks this isn't really a viable option as there is no train station in this village and he would need to use the car to commute to work. I don't see the problem with that, it takes 1/2 an hour less to use the car, the £200pcm saved on the rent would pay his travel costs and there is no problem if he finishes late (as he has 3 times in the past week) as he wouldn't miss the last train home (he will finish at 9.30pm, the last train back to the city is 9.45pm). He also doesn't like the idea of it being so temporary.

What do you guys think? The city living isn't us, it wasn't part of the 'dream' when we decided to relocate and I'm not happy with the outside space which, to me, is important because of my 2 yo. The village is exactly what we envisaged, the lounge leads straight out to a lovely space, there is a great nursery.........but it could go up for sale 6 months after we move in.

What would YOU do? Head? Or heart?

TBagpuss

I would probably go for the cheaper flat and treat the 6 months as time to spend getting to know the area better and being able to take the time to find somewhere which is good for a long term stay. it will be much easier to house hunt when you are already in the area.

This issues with the outside space at the coach house sound fairly major to me, as you have a small child, and it sounds as though that may affect you much more than your husband if you are the one who is mainly looking after him/her.


You may also find that the landlord is over optimisitic about how long it will take them to sort their deeds out, and/or that they sell to another landlord, so even if the initial lease ifs only 6 months, you may not have to leave at the end of that time if you don't want to.

sacha28

Thanks TBag that is my thoughts. The outside space is a real big deal for me as my son is a lover of being outdoors and if we lived in the city I don't really feel the option is there.

I have spoken to my OH about this as his insistence on going for the coach house has been playing on my mind. When we started talking about living in Cornwall we dreamed of living in a coastal village where we can walk to the beach or jump on a bike track in 2 minutes flat, you can't do either of these things in a city!!! He can see where I'm coming from but he can't seem to shake the whole 'practical' thing, despite that being about as far away from what we dreamed about as possible.

TBagpuss

In that case, I would focus, in duscussing with him, on the factors which make the other flat more practical. I would see the lack of accessible outside space to be a massive, practical problem, for example, and the lower rent to be a big practical advantage. Have you been discussing it with him on a 'head versus heart' basis? Because I think that it is appropriate to think of practicalities when you are looking for a house, and I wonder whether he perhaps perceives your preference as being that the other flat is prettier / closer to the dream, rather than considering the practical benefits which it has to offer.

Has he made any practical suggestions as to how the disadvantage of having no directly accessible outside space can be resolved? What about practical options for dealing with the issue if he has to work late and misses the last train?

I also think hat the issue of whether you can be happy in a place is very important for both of you. Living somewhere you don't like is very draining.

sacha28

I agree wholeheartedly with what you say. We had the head/heart conversation yesterday (before I lay on the line how I really felt about it) and he said his heart was saying the city place. TBH I absolutely didn't believe him, I know him well enough to know when he thinks he's telling me what I want to hear!!!

The village place is actually less pretty. Probably smaller even but there's just something about it that I fell in love with, it had real charm and a brilliant outdoor space for lo to play in.

As for what he would do if he missed the last train back? He would have to wait until the first train at 5am which would really stuff everything up if I'm supposed to start work at 8am that morning!!