I am tortured by this decision. We have three options: Stay where we are, find another house in the city, move to the suburbs.<br><br>
We currently live in a small 2 bd 1 ba house in the city. We love love love our old house - hardwood floors, high ceilings, original trim, very light and bright, etc. But it's still city living - buses going by, not a very family friendly area, dirty-ish streets, not many trees. We have a very cute but small backyard, but you have to walk through the laundry room and down the stairs to get to it, so we don't use it all that often. We bought it 9 years ago so we can actually afford the payments in an area that is really expensive now. But we are outgrowing the house - the kids are in our bedroom, the bathroom is tiny, very little closet space, etc. Plus, I'm getting a little burnt out on city living with kids -dealing with parking issues and busy streets, no trick or treating, concrete playgrounds, etc. We do happen to have a family next door with kids that my kids play with, so that's lucky. But they are moving in two years (staying in the city but to a different neighborhood where their son's catholic school is).<br><br>
We considered finding another place in the city. But a house in the areas we really like are sooooo expensive (at least $1.2million) and I don't see us affording that anytime soon. Plus, you still are right next to everyone else, you still have to fight for parking just to go to the grocery store, you still have buses and all the other stuff. But we really love so much about this city - anytime I am out without the kids I practically cry with how much I love this place. Plus, we have 4 beaches within 5 minutes of us, which we love.<br><br>
Then there are the suburbs, where dh and I grew up. Lovely place, tons of nature and mountains and trees, very expensive, but not as expensive as the city. Couldn't afford our dream house, but could find a nice bland 3bd 2ba. All our family is there. Nicer weather overall (but a tad hot for me in the summer). Quiet streets - kids can ride their bikes around, trick or treat in their neighborhood, play on the culdesac, etc. It's about 20 minutes from the city.<br><br>
But I fear I might go insane if I move to the suburbs. I love how wacky and different all the people in the city are, rather than how white and rich everyone in the burbs is. Also, we hs and the community of hs'ing in the burbs is not nearly as lively as it is here. It's certainly not perfect here, but at least there is a lot to do culturally and we have made some good friends. We of course could still see them, but it's not the same.<br><br>
As much as I love the city, I feel a longing to give my kids safe streets, a family neighborhood, and summer nights in our big backyard. But we'd be giving up our beautiful old house, the gourmet restaurants all over, the multicultural surroundings, the ocean, and just the general advantage of being in the city to access all it has to offer.<br><br>
So, wwyd?
We currently live in a small 2 bd 1 ba house in the city. We love love love our old house - hardwood floors, high ceilings, original trim, very light and bright, etc. But it's still city living - buses going by, not a very family friendly area, dirty-ish streets, not many trees. We have a very cute but small backyard, but you have to walk through the laundry room and down the stairs to get to it, so we don't use it all that often. We bought it 9 years ago so we can actually afford the payments in an area that is really expensive now. But we are outgrowing the house - the kids are in our bedroom, the bathroom is tiny, very little closet space, etc. Plus, I'm getting a little burnt out on city living with kids -dealing with parking issues and busy streets, no trick or treating, concrete playgrounds, etc. We do happen to have a family next door with kids that my kids play with, so that's lucky. But they are moving in two years (staying in the city but to a different neighborhood where their son's catholic school is).<br><br>
We considered finding another place in the city. But a house in the areas we really like are sooooo expensive (at least $1.2million) and I don't see us affording that anytime soon. Plus, you still are right next to everyone else, you still have to fight for parking just to go to the grocery store, you still have buses and all the other stuff. But we really love so much about this city - anytime I am out without the kids I practically cry with how much I love this place. Plus, we have 4 beaches within 5 minutes of us, which we love.<br><br>
Then there are the suburbs, where dh and I grew up. Lovely place, tons of nature and mountains and trees, very expensive, but not as expensive as the city. Couldn't afford our dream house, but could find a nice bland 3bd 2ba. All our family is there. Nicer weather overall (but a tad hot for me in the summer). Quiet streets - kids can ride their bikes around, trick or treat in their neighborhood, play on the culdesac, etc. It's about 20 minutes from the city.<br><br>
But I fear I might go insane if I move to the suburbs. I love how wacky and different all the people in the city are, rather than how white and rich everyone in the burbs is. Also, we hs and the community of hs'ing in the burbs is not nearly as lively as it is here. It's certainly not perfect here, but at least there is a lot to do culturally and we have made some good friends. We of course could still see them, but it's not the same.<br><br>
As much as I love the city, I feel a longing to give my kids safe streets, a family neighborhood, and summer nights in our big backyard. But we'd be giving up our beautiful old house, the gourmet restaurants all over, the multicultural surroundings, the ocean, and just the general advantage of being in the city to access all it has to offer.<br><br>
So, wwyd?
