My husband and I bought a 1960s house in a town where new construction is pretty much impossible due to inventory constraints. We genuinely love our home—it’s not a mansion like many of the newer builds people bought during/after COVID, but it’s still very spacious for the three of us and we’re close to being mortgage-free, which matters a lot to us.
That said, we’re starting to feel a couple of downsides:
- Not many neighbors with kids around our daughter’s age
- Most of our friends moved into newer developments where there are lots of young families, so their kids have built-in playgroups
Recently our daughter asked, “Why do we have a smaller house when everyone else has big houses and kids to play with?” — which honestly hit me harder than I expected.
For me personally, I don’t care about the “status” of a bigger house. Financial freedom and less stress feel like a big win. But I do worry about the social aspect for her.
Curious to hear from others:
- Have you moved primarily for better kid community / neighborhood setup?
- Did it feel worth it long-term?
- Or did you stay and find other ways to build a social circle for your kids?
Would really appreciate hearing real experiences before we even consider making a big decision.