Bigger home or shorter commute?

[Anonymous]

why not both bigger house and short commute, just stretch for a few years its pays off

[Anonymous]

I care about shorter commute to future jobs too, which is why I bought a smaller house in close-in NoVA suburbs where I (or my spouse) can commute to future jobs anywhere in NoVA, DC, or even suburban Maryland.

My friend bought a house in Aldie while working in Reston. Then when he had to find his next job he couldn’t find one that was a good fit in Reston or Tysons, so now he commutes all the way to Arlington.

[Anonymous]

Short commute. We did the big house and long commute and it’s truly dreadful. I’d give anything to go back to our small space.

[Anonymous]

School is one mile from home and my very part time job is 1 mile past the school. I did consider moving across the street from the school.
Time is limited. Money for family keeps growing after I'm gone.

[Anonymous]

Short commute is everything. Can you expand the current house at all?

[Anonymous]

We actually traded in a small house for a larger house and longer commute and it’s the best thing we ever did. There were a couple of key factors to that working out. Our 2 kids were old enough to no longer need after care so there wasn’t that stress of needing to get to pick up by a certain time. Neither DH nor I go in to the office every day, he goes in 1x a week and I go 3x a week, and we stagger our in office days so someone is generally always home. Both of us have a good tolerance for driving. I throw on a podcast and I’m just in my own little bubble for 60-90 minutes. Both of us have flexible schedules, there is no mandatory you need to be at your desk from 9-5. I go in earlier so I can leave earlier and miss some of the am traffic, and DH tends to go in later to miss the traffic on both ends. We are not true city or city suburb people, we enjoyed it when we were younger but living in an area that is quieter and less dense has made us so much happier.

[Anonymous]

We need more information.

We are a family of 6 as well.

We traded up from our starter home in a close-in neighborhood to a bigger forever home further out in the burbs, but we felt like we had no other option due to schools and the overall neighborhood vibe—not for space.

Had we been in a better school district in a nicer neighborhood, we would have stayed.

The reality is you don’t need more space. As kids age, they’ll have less “stuff” (you won’t need a playroom or storage for big toys). They will want privacy, but that doesn’t mean everyone needs their own room. Plus, your older two will be out of the house for college at some point and then your house will feel empty.

Assuming you have access to good schools, stay put. Make it work. You’ll love being able to pay off your mortgage and not have to maintain a larger home while dealing with a horrible commute.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you've had to make this tradeoff, which did you pick and why?

Context: We have four kids and current home feels incredibly cramped, but is in a great location and our commutes are amazing, which gives us more time with the kids. To get a home that is more appropriate for our family size within our budget would require moving farther out into the suburbs.

Shorter commute for all the reasons you wrote no question.

[Anonymous]

Can't you add in to your existing house? Or have a realtor keep and eye out on larger houses within the same neighborhood?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why not both bigger house and short commute, just stretch for a few years its pays off

That only works if you're getting salary increases much higher than inflation. Anyone forced to make this tradeoff probably can't count on that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you've had to make this tradeoff, which did you pick and why?

Context: We have four kids and current home feels incredibly cramped, but is in a great location and our commutes are amazing, which gives us more time with the kids. To get a home that is more appropriate for our family size within our budget would require moving farther out into the suburbs.

Every decision has pros and cons. You will be fine either way. I would stay and make current home more efficient.

[Anonymous]

If kids are in middle school, they'll be gone to colleges in a blink of an eye and you won't need more space. You can retire in your home without downsizing.

[Anonymous]

You probably just need another bathroom

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you've had to make this tradeoff, which did you pick and why?

Context: We have four kids and current home feels incredibly cramped, but is in a great location and our commutes are amazing, which gives us more time with the kids. To get a home that is more appropriate for our family size within our budget would require moving farther out into the suburbs.

We went with a longer commute, BUT the difference was only 5-10 minutes. And we both still have shorter commutes than most.

What we did tradeoff was proximity to other potential jobs. We're not quite locked into our current jobs, but switching would almost certainly increase the commute to 45-60 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Definitely shorter commute to current and future jobs. Must stress the future jobs with job market unstable (ideally near a metro stop as well, walking distance to metro even better.)

Small comment on someone's post: barring large families (and the person commenting was from one), I'd really aim to give each kid their own room as that may affect their quality of life. So would keep that spacing issue in mind.