Minneapolis/St. Paul Nesties
MirandaHobbes
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
move from tiny city home to bigger 'burb home?
Has anyone made the leap from tiny home in the city to a larger home in the burbs? We are in that spot where we love our yuppy neighborhood but are getting increasingly frustrated with the lack of space and privacy and lack of excess income due to childcare expenses. We definitely couldn't afford a second child any time soon and feel like we need to make some big changes in order to do so. I've been looking at Minnetonka and Eden Prairie. We could get a much bigger home for about $50K less than what we think we could get for our house now, based on neighborhood comps. However, this doesn't factor in all the moving expenses, closing costs, loan fees and other incidentals that I'm probably not thinking about. We don't have any extra money for stuff like that- so the process is pretty intimidating. Has anyone tried to downsize to reduce your mortgage? Or made the move to the 'burbs and been happy? TIA for your opinions!
Re: move from tiny city home to bigger 'burb home?
Personally I'd stay put right now...I know its tough to stay in that "starter" home but if you are uncertain of your income vs. expenses jumping to a bigger "cheaper" house isn't all its cracked up to be.
When you make that move you're looking at a lot of other incidentals, more house is more to take care of. You also have to consider the cost to heating and cooling a much bigger house, what those utility bills will cost. You'll be dealing with all the same stuff you are in your house...so ask yourself this, do you have the money to fix the appliances if they break down, get a new furnace if it goes out in the middle of January, a new roof if it needs it when you buy it, etc. Not to mention the incidentals of having to buy more furniture to fill a house, taxes in that given area (which are probably higher), etc.
I would just suggest starting by running all the numbers to see how much you would really save by making a move. How much lower would your mortgage payments be on a different house? Are property taxes more or less expensive in the burbs you're interested in? How much would you save in day care by moving? Would your commute to work be longer/shorter, changing your budget for gas and car maintenance?
Also, think about how happy you are in your current home vs. how happy you would be in a different place, and factor that into your decision. It's not all about money.
As far as utilities, it doesn't necessarily cost more to heat/cool a bigger home, depending on the age of the home. Our utility bills are a lot less than those of friends/family who have much smaller homes, because our home is newer and more energy efficient. If you find a house you're interested in, you can always ask a realtor to talk to the sellers and get more info on their utility payments.
It's fairly common to ask the seller to pay your closing costs, although it's not a guarantee that they'll agree to it.
We live way out in the burbs (the corn field is one house away!) and I really like it. We got a ton of house for our money. I love our house, our neighborhood is great, the schools are great, etc. We have very friendly neighbors and enjoy the "small town" feel of our community.
Our last home was much smaller than our current one (less than 1/4 the size of our current home). We grew miserable living in a space that was too small for us. You can only purge so much stuff in an effort to feel less crowded ... eventually you start to feel like you're giving up too much stuff that you really like and enjoy.
We're much happier in a home that fits us. I am not one of those people who could live in one of those teeny tiny homes. The idea is nice, just not something I can handle. I am happy when I have adequate space. If this is you, and you're feeling crowded and miserable in your current house, it's worth it to move on. I like yuppy neighborhoods in the city too, but even if you live in the burbs, you can still drive to the yuppy neighborhoods to go out for dinner or go shopping. You live in your house every single day, but you probably don't go out to eat or go shopping every day.
Sorry, that got really long ...
Mr. Sammy Dog
Also think about your commute and the distance to various resources/facilities/places of interest (schools, stores, gym, etc. etc.)... if your driving time/gas expenses will be altered substantially (either positively or negatively) as a result of the move, you'd want to take that into consideration as well, since it affects both finances and quality of life.
i'm in the opposite boat. we're trying to get into the city from the burbs and i'd like to downsize our house in the process!
i definitely think it matters where your DH works if you're planning to be a SAHM in order to make the suburbs/2nd child situation work.
you could end up spending a LOT in transportation time/expense if he works downtown and you move out to the burbs. i live in eagan and work downtown and my commute is a minimum of 35 minutes on the bus and around an hour if i drive. (and if i have to pick my son up in SMpls, it's a minimum of an hour and usually 90 minutes). that's 2 hours out of my day EVERY DAY doing something i loathe, sitting in traffic.
and besides all that, gas is almost $3 a gallon again and i drive an SUV.
so yeah, if you want to make a good decision, do as PP have suggested and take a good, detailed look at what it would do to all your expenses before moving forward.
and if you want a nice big house with a nice big yard in eagan, let me know! ours will be for sale in the spring.
Not any help here, but in the same situation. Except we are looking outside Henn Co because of the taxes.
We love our house and neighborhood in Mpls, but it is small and feels like it just keeps getting smaller.
Good luck!