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Old 10-16-2014, 11:13 AM
 
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2. That's what we did. However, if you are cool with Private School (they offer more than just an education), I'd look more into Option 1
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Old 10-16-2014, 02:29 PM
 
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Option 2.



We did Option 1 and paid dearly for it, will be continuing to pay monthly for quite some time even after we did finally sell that house. We now are very proud owners of Option 2. Safety was never a concern with either option. I never realized just how much location matters. My Option 2 is an awful, tiny, dated home, and I couldn't be happier here. Like you, our Option 1 was only 10-15 minutes away from where we now live but our life wasn't there. No friends, no schools, nothing. We lived in the car. We were never home to enjoy the large, gorgeous home. It wasn't worth it, not at all.
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Old 10-16-2014, 08:10 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mounty View Post

Although it's not really important, just for the sake of conversation, you can't do much to a regular existing house to make it truly remarkable/dramatic without a complete teardown/rebuild. Yes I can pretty it up with some tile/wallpaper/woodwork, lighting/decor, but it won't be anything close to what a well designed house can be. You can't turn a 7'6" ceiling into a 12' one without pretty much a complete tear down (floors above + the roof). Same with windows shapes/sizes - wall-to-wall glass wall might not be a possibility. Same with already plumbing - where a toilet sits a toilet sits. I mean, hypothetically it's possible to move everything around but we simply can't afford doing that at this point. Our budget is 300k after remodel (so 200-220k house + 80-100k in remodeling+furnishings costs which only covers cosmetic updates and maybe some minor structural, but definitely not anything major).
well, yes and no. I understand that expenses and effort (as well as time) involved in any reno project is quite big, as is a commitment to accomplish it (some people "think of painting that bedroom" for several years, instead of actually painting it...) Still, you can do that. It just won't happen overnight, and you will have to schedule your projects, and do them little by little. I understand that it is hard to change existing structure, but at the same time, you as designer should know more than one trick of the trade. In fact, isn't it a healthy challenge of sorts? It is easy to move into already "done" house, or at least a house with unusual floor plan (even if it still needs work), but other people, not designers, are handling it just fine. Maybe you can come up with several creative ways to change something ordinary into something spectacular, without moving walls, and later on offer such service to other people.
Besides, "cheap furnishings" and all the decor doesn't come with the house, and as a designer, you should be able to see past those?
I am of course in favor of option 2. Perhaps a house will come on the market, that is in your target neighborhood, but needs work, so you won't have to redo too much, rather make it your own from the beginning.
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