What would YOU do?

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Annemariels

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You live three houses away from your parents with your husband and two young children and another child is in the plan.

Your relationship with your parents is excellent. They babysit the kids while you work as well as when you come home. You are constantly walking back and forth between the houses and it’s fabulous for everyone! Need a shower? Need 15 min to get the laundry folded? Need to dash to the store for a coulple of things? Kids melting down? Grammie will be there in a second. Or, shoo the kids out the door and watch them run down the sidewalk into Grammie’s waiting arms.

Your dilemma: you hate the floor plan of your home. It is a typical two story home with four bedrooms. The master bathroom isn’t great and the eating area of the kitchen is small. You have always dreamed of an open floor plan and there is an opportunity to build one in a neighborhood that is under a five minute drive away from your parents.

Would you stay in your current home or move?
 
I’d move. 5 minutes away is hardly anything, it’s nice to be right next door to your parents if you like that, but you have to live your life and be a bit independent too.
 
I’d put up with the minor inconvenience of the floor plan for the time being, while the kids are still young enough to want to run to Grammie’s place. Everything you described will soon be a wonderful memory for your children, irreplaceable. 5 minutes away by car means you have to drive them to visit instead of just letting them run down the street. When they get older and start spending more time with their friends is time enough to start looking for a better floor plan. Or you can think about renovating.
 
I’d stay.
Perhaps saving for a remodel-pushing out a wall- could address some of the floor plan issues?
The family memories and relationships sound wonderful.
May God bless you and your family.
Amen.
 
I would remodel if I really wanted to stay. I have watched enough of those shows on tv to know that the right professional can do wonders for a house.

But if I didn’t want all that closeness, 5 minutes away is nothing. But there is something to be said for having relatives within walking distance. 😉
 
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be around my parents 24/7, so I’d move. Five minutes is almost nothing, anyway.
 
I’d stay, at least while the kids are little and you are in more need of those “I just need a half hour to take a shower by myself!” moments. If you said you felt smothered by being so close, it would be different but by all accounts the arrangement seems ideal for all in every other way.

Also, open floor plans are great, sort of… except that there is NOTHING to block the noise of very loud children playing in another room. I often wish we had more of a closed floor plan!
 
Irishmom2 said:
I would remodel if I really wanted to stay. I have watched enough of those shows on tv to know that the right professional can do wonders for a house.

But if I didn’t want all that closeness, 5 minutes away is nothing. But there is something to be said for having relatives within walking distance. 😉
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Agree with Irish and Jeanne…
Open floor plans are messy. REALLY messy. Everybody wants one until you have one.
Want to have a house that is NEVER clean enough for drop in visitors? Get an open floor plan. Privacy? Forget it.
Toys everywhere? Go ahead. As they say, “Be careful what you wish for” 😃

A good remodel will do wonders and increase the value of your home.
 
seagal said:
Everything you described will soon be a wonderful memory for your children, irreplaceable. 5 minutes away by car means you have to drive them to visit instead of just letting them run down the street. When they get older and start spending more time with their friends is time enough to start looking for a better floor plan. Or you can think about renovating.
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This! I grew up in a situation like you described and can’t express how wonderful it was and how grateful I am to have had them so close for so long.
 
Stay and higher a good handyman to remodel your house.

We had a small eat in kitchen. I blew out the wall between the kitchen and dining room and doubled the size of the kitchen. No one uses formal dining rooms anymore.

If the kitchen is in the back of the house blow out the back wall and expand your kitchen into a sun room.

You have 2 kids and one on the way. There is no reason the two older or younger can’t share a room. Turn the bedroom next to yours into a large walk in closet/sitting room that can easily be changed back if you end up with baby number 4.

If you move and build a new house to suit your needs now, it will only be another 15 years when you have a kid friendly house and floor plan that you hate, because the kids are no longer at home.

God Bless
 
I grew up living far from my grandparents because they were in different areas of the State(s). When I did see them on rare occasion they were like strangers to me. Let your kids get to know their grandparents. Move later. You are so blessed that you have them with you, even if your house is “smallish.” Peace.
 
For the children, being near Grandma is worth infinitely more than a floor plan.

They will live in a score of places in the course of life, but will have her embrace to run to, likely only during childhood.

ICXC NIKA
 
GEddie said:
For the children, being near Grandma is worth infinitely more than a floor plan.

They will live in a score of places in the course of life, but will have her embrace to run to, likely only during childhood.

ICXC NIKA
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What a beautiful image! :cool:
 
Annemariels said:
You live three houses away from your parents with your husband and two young children and another child is in the plan.

Your relationship with your parents is excellent. They babysit the kids while you work as well as when you come home. You are constantly walking back and forth between the houses and it’s fabulous for everyone! Need a shower? Need 15 min to get the laundry folded? Need to dash to the store for a coulple of things? Kids melting down? Grammie will be there in a second. Or, shoo the kids out the door and watch them run down the sidewalk into Grammie’s waiting arms.

Your dilemma: you hate the floor plan of your home. It is a typical two story home with four bedrooms. The master bathroom isn’t great and the eating area of the kitchen is small. You have always dreamed of an open floor plan and there is an opportunity to build one in a neighborhood that is under a five minute drive away from your parents.

Would you stay in your current home or move?
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I can’t even fathom that kind of relationship. Really.
So of course I’d move.
 
Open floor plans suck (ask me how I know!).

Hot and cold running grandparents you get along with rock.

I’d stay put.
 
Grandmas and Grampses generate lifelong memories. Not so floor plans.

Stay put!

ICXC NIKA
 
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