A boring house in a great area or a cool house in a not so good area?

lookstraightahead

Definitely location - general environment, neighbours, pleasantness. You soon get used to whatever you've got inside and life is bigger than your four walls.

teachfast

Location all the way. A modest house in an ideal location benefits in ways you can't effect afterwards. A lovely house in an area that causes difficulties of any kind will mean the house isn't lovely to you for long. 

MovingForwards

Location is everything.

I could have got a typical 70s ex-council house, with garden but the walk to anything would have seen me staying in or driving everywhere.
Instead I purchased a fantastic old flat, with private gardens and views which have the wow factor, plus I'm in walking distance for everything I want.

NaughtiusMaximus

Kaz1000 said:

From experience after living in the most gorgeous bungalow in a village which is 20 mins by bus to the town. I can honestly say, having a tiny house in a town is way better than a mansion in the middle of no where. The village has really classy people but as a 40 year old couple with a kid, life does get boring with not much to do.
Hence we are moving to a Victorian mid terraced house in the heart of town. We sacrificed buying a house in the middle of a field which looks likes a Grand Designs property with a wow factor just to be in the town. We both knew exactly what we wanted for the next 20 years.

In terms of location I'm the exact opposite of you, I would love to live in the middle of nowhere, although in my case that means at least a mile from my nearest neighbour rather than in a village. 

Indigo_and_Violet

Only your gut can tell you what you want, but we've just bought a 70s flat on a street of beautiful Victorian houses partly because the area was perfect for us. We agree with others - we feel like our neighbours have lost out because they have to look at our house whereas we get to look at theirs!
If you have a strong sense of style that really needs high ceilings, original fireplaces, lighting roses etc then you're never going to be able to make that look 'natural' in a 70s house, but there are plenty of other ways to add character with decor. 
That said, my parents lived in what everyone (including me) thought was a really lovely house (almost new build, met all their requirements) but my mum never really gelled with it and was desperate to get out. So I wouldn't force yourself to take somewhere you don't like just because it's the logical choice. House buying should be built on a fair amount of logic, but living includes a healthy dose of emotion so you need to balance the two. 

AdrianC

There's three prongs, not two.

Character, location, budget.

I suspect the house you want - character AND location - does exist... it's just out of budget...

Equally, I presume you cannot extend the budget.
You can improve a house.
You cannot improve the location.

GDB2222

What's wrong with me? I like 1970s architecture.

phoebe1989seb

Having owned a series of what many people would term *statement* houses (not necessarily huge, but eye catching historical architecture 😉) that weren't in the best of locations, I can definitely concur that the old adage Location Location Location is important if not key, but there are exceptions imho.

Also the idea that you can improve a bad house in a great location.....as a previous poster said you can do *almost* anything to improve it.

In 2018 we sold what was really our dream home - certainly not the largest we'd had by quite a lot - perfect size wise, my preferred architectural period (Arts & Crafts), gorgeous garden. Although it was in a well heeled area with lots of multi million £££ properties, the nearest city (Wolverhampton) was a dump and with our house before that having been a country cottage, DH wanted to be more rural than the sprawling *village* we were in. Also, it was important for him to have no/few close neighbours.

We found a detached property in a very good location in SW Wales - one close-ish neighbour, two miles from a pretty market town, rolling countryside. It also had the desired period features, although compared to the house we were selling it looked insignificant/uninspiring.

Main downside - its size. Having started out with a way too large 3500 sq ft house which for empty nesters was ridiculous, we'd gradually downsized till we ended up in a 2000 sq ft place (the *dream* house). This cottage was 1400 sq ft including an attached outbuilding that the previous owners had unsuccessfully incorporated into the cottage. The inside layout was awful.

It had potential and wasn't exactly tiny. Plus - being a repossession - it was very cheap! We decided to buy it and look at extending once we knew for certain we'd be here long term.

Three years on there isn't a room that hasn't had its purpose altered/walls removed/repositioned. We haven't even started on the new extension yet. Although we are gradually turning it into a great home, I can't help but feel that it's going to cost more than if we'd just bought a better house to begin with 🙄

Building an extension will be problematic as although the 400 year old cottage isn't listed, the stone construction, pernicketty local planning authority plus we have a neighbour that moans about everything ! Despite the proposed extension being as far from his home as possible I just know he'll object when/if we do submit plans.....

Moreover - and without wishing to come across as snobbish - although it's considered a good area, people locally like new builds (*McMansions*) and look down at those who live in period properties. They seem to assume if you live in an old house it's because you can't afford a new one. Many owners of old houses here pull them down and rebuild bigger and in their opinion, better. Since moving here I've been asked several times if we rent - something in thirty years of home ownership I've never been asked before. I think it's because they imagine no-one in their right mind would actually buy a house like this, lol!

In short, go with your gut.....