I posted here before and I appreciated the great feedback that I received. Last time I wrote, I was considering moving to San Francisco. I changed my mind and decided to move to a small town in Illinois. I need to buy a house ( I already put the numbers in a spreadsheet to compare rent vs buy; buy wins). I My background:
Married, wife in school (online), two kids ( boy 20 months old, and girlf 4 months old)
Income: Low six figure, stable job, good job security
Option A:
Single family, 4 beds, 4 baths, 2500sqft, two cars garage, finished basement, built in 1988
Commute by car: 3.6m
Commute by bike: 3.9m
Price: 187k
Option B:
Townhouse, 3beds, 1.5 baths, 1581 sqft, built in 1979, no garage, small basement
Commute by car: 2.9m
Commute by bike: 2.9m
Price: 89.9k
Both houses are in a good school district.
I calculated that I would save approximately 10k every year by choosing the townhouse instead of the single family. I am leaning toward the single family house. The extra bedroom would be nice so I can have an office/guest room. I think I will be able to work from home sometimes. Also, my parents would have a place to stay with me. They will only visit once a year at most for 30 days; I can book a hotel for them instead (my parents live outside of USA and don’t speak English). I would definitely have more privacy in the single family. My wife stays homes with the kids. Over the winter, we stay inside the house quite a bit and the kids would appreciate the extra space. Moreover, the single family house is very nice and probably a bargain, in my opinion.
On the other hand, option B looks appealing for a fast path to FIRE. 10k extra in my budge would boost my saving rates. It would be easier to clean the place and there is a park just around the corner for the kids. I consider myself frugal (no cable, $10 cellphone plan, cheap car, rarely dining out…) I am willing living few years or more in a low cost of living country, what would make FIRE easier. To be specific, 250k would be enough to live comfortable. I could retire in five years if I choose option B. Also, I am not even counting that my wife will be working in two years.
If I chose option B, I always can buy another house and have the townhouse as a rental property. If I chose option A, I could live there for a long time and don’t worry about moving.