So remember when I told you before that we are looking up and down the Greater Anglia line in search of the perfect abode? This morning, we are going to travel to the picturesque town of Dedham in an Area of Natural Outstanding Beauty (yes the British do declare parts of the Island particularly outstanding) to see a new house for rent. I decided to write down the specs here as well as the list of pros and cons before we go and see the house this morning. Remember this table from my Wandering Professor post? So now I changed the first column to Dedham and lowered the car payment because I got us a better interest rate on our car. Gas costs, however, would also go up.
| Dedham | Ingatestone | London | |
| Rent | £1275 (3 bed) (~85m2) | £1500 (2-3 bed)(~75m2) | £1900 (1-2bed)(~55m2) |
| Train / car costs plus times (one way so total time *2) | £473 *him time 1 hr 15 min by train *her 20 min by car | £300 *him 25 min her 45 min by car | £250 *her 1 hr 15 min by train plus 15 min bus |
| Car | £300 | £300 | don’t need car |
| Insurance | £140 | £140 | don’t need car |
| Council Tax | £124 | £174.52 | £92 |
| Parking / Gas | £100 | £100 | don’t need car |
| Bus Wivenhoe | £13.33 | ||
| Electricity (estimate) | £55 | £55 | £55 |
| Water (estimate) | £30 | £30 | £30 |
| Internet (estimate) | £45 | £45 | £45 |
| Mobile Phones (estimate) | £45 | £45 | £45 |
| Bus London | £131.00 | ||
| £2587 | £2689.52 | £2561.33 |
So it comes out slightly more expensive than where we are living now — (125 pounds on the rent and more milage on the car and gas prices) but it’s the country-mouse version of living in the U.K.. I have fantasies of waking up in the morning and talking the dog for a nice walk around the Stour. Because its a village, there is a pub and a small shop and even a yoga studio.
But then I am reminded of something that my father in law said last week:
“Sometimes there are places where the landscape is just too perfect.” Maybe Dedham, with its outstanding beauty is just too nice? And by nice I also mean too upper class, too wealthy, and too pastoral?
So why am I tell you this? The house seems like a significant upgrade (more space, more money, better scenery) but I feel like I should be downsizing rather than upgrading. On the other hand, I feel like this place may be upgrading on nature as well, which might be more important than the house. It’s an area I would feel comfortable walking alone with the dog and cycling around. I want to move more, so this would be helpful. But it would also mean more time spent driving the car.And then of course there are all the extra moving costs — moving truck, rental fees, etc. We could easily spend 1000 pounds moving. What could I do with those extra 1000 pounds? On the other hand, why wait to move somewhere in the country later when you can move there today? Has anyone managed to both upgrade and downsize at the same time? Am I being insane and should just stay where we are and / or move somewhere smaller?
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As an update, we went to go and see this house, and another one also. Unfortunately, they were both too big and expensive, so we refrained. It’s interesting that the reason that we can refrain is that we probably have an ideal place. But the grass is literally greener in the country. What to do?
