Posted by Claire on 22:10 Jan 11
In Reply to: Housing dilema, what to choose?? posted by Tarheel Heather
We lived in an "older" neighborhood with few children, and our dd was an only child. She would have been much better off in a newer development of younger families with children, as she would have had many more playmates to choose from.
Also, older houses typically have hidden costs, such as poor wall insulation and older windows so heating/cooling bills are higher. Some older houses have mold problems -- maybe from a single leak decades ago. Anything that needs fixing is likely to be non-standard now and require custom work. There may be drafts, making the home less comfortable for living in.
We lived in a house that had a lot of space, but that space was not laid out in a way we could use. We had a lot of wasted space for the way we live, all of which had to be heated, cooled and cleaned. How space is allocated in a house can make a huge difference.
It's not really possible for me to choose between the houses based on the listings, but I would definitely be leaning towards the newer house in a neighborhood with lots of children. Even I was lonely in our old neighborhood because there were so few other mothers who had young children. All the other women had grown children and were out working at jobs all day.
Just my 2 cents.....