How to time a house move (schools etc)

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I have money available to buy a more expensive property and it seems like as good an investment as any. I'd like something a bit bigger, perhaps with the facility to charge an EV and a garden that is less overlooked. The question is about when to attempt such a move.

My wife and I have lived in our house since 2008, had two kids since then so whilst our house is 'big enough' a lot of rooms have degenerated into dual purpose due to the size of the family doubling. My eldest has 3 years (including current) left in primary school which is quite conveniently located, my youngest starts school in 2 years. There is no secondary school within walking distance at present.

I am contemplating buying a bigger house back 'home' (around 30 miles away) nearer to family & our closest friends which would e.g. make childcare a bit easier with my dad able to look after the kids on occasion, also make it easier to support him with health problems etc (nothing majorly serious at present but he has a few ailments that have required surgery etc and old-age generally taking its toll).

Currently, I favour summer 2023 which would be just before my youngest starts school but also mean my eldest doing his final year of primary in a new school. My rationale for this was it would avoid the disruption of changing schools for my youngest and give the eldest a chance to make some new friends before moving on to secondary school. However, there might be issue like getting places in schools etc. I guess it can't be that bad because people move all the time but I see horror scenarios locally like parents of primary age kids moving within yards of the school but not being able to get a place.

Job wise it's difficult to say what the future holds. My wife has a profession that means I'm reasonably confident she could find a job in another location. Even commuting to her current place of employment would be possible for a while. I on the other have recently moved into contracting so no idea what I could be doing in a couple of years time, or indeed what the attitude to remote working will be like then. Worst case scenario, our target location would be just about manageable to commute to London again if required.

In reality this is probably just another pipe dream that won't come to fruition (had been looking to move about 5-6 years ago but ran out of time before my son started school) but good to mull things over.
 
If I've learnt anything with house moves, it's the more you try and fit it around your schedule the more likely you are to absolutely definitely not fit it around your schedule.

I'd advise figuring out exactly what you want from this move, doing your research, and then praying to whoever or whatever you pray to that it pans out relatively what you were hoping for :cry:
 
If I've learnt anything with house moves, it's the more you try and fit it around your schedule the more likely you are to absolutely definitely not fit it around your schedule.

I'd advise figuring out exactly what you want from this move, doing your research, and then praying to whoever or whatever you pray to that it pans out relatively what you were hoping for :cry:

Well said.
 
Kids moving from primary to secondary school make lots of new friends anyway, I honestly wouldn't factor that in. You can arrange weekend play dates to keep the firm friendships going and moving from primary to secondary is usually the trigger for a kid getting their own mobile phone, and they all stay in touch that way.

I'd think you're better keeping an eye out for "the one" and then making sure you aren't totally stuffed with changing schools before buying.
 
Yeah I'm coming round to the thinking that it would be best to let my eldest complete primary school where he is, he has developed more friendships over the past year, as you say secondary school is a natural reset and it might be hard for him to break into cliques if he joined a new school in year 6 compared to year 7 when everyone is in the same boat.

Pseudo-bumping this thread as it's been coming back into my mind of late. Definitely a feeling of having missed the boat though, house prices and interest rates both on the rise, kind of a double-whammy because you need say £650k+ to buy a house that was £500k a few years ago, when mortgages were cheaper and stamp duty also less. Feels like procrastination on moving house will have cost us several hundred thousand when/if we get round to it.
 
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