An older house would be also quite a bit smaller in square footage. So not only would we have to put money into an old house, we may need to expand it a bit to fit our family of five. Also older homes are less efficient, right?
Or downsize your
stuff to fit five into 1500-2000sqft instead of 2000-2500sqft?
The difference of 500sqft often amounts to the space of a single large bedroom... (From the perspective of a married woman living in 500sq ft currently, including storage).
Older homes are only less efficient if you don't update them. Blown in insulation and new windows/doors go a
long way in any house, regardless of age, and usually come with tax credits if you do them yourself. Otherwise, search for an older home to buy that's already been through these updates.
It's really worth being closer to work.
How much is DH paid, per hour? If he's commuting 1hr every day he commutes, 5 days each week and ~52 weeks a year, that's
260 hours spent commuting. That's almost
11 straight days spent in the car, driving to/from work, per year. That comes out to
108 days of driving, over ten years of commuting. How is that fair?
Remember, this is where a "day" is 24 hours. 108 days of his life spent
just driving.
2600 hours, driving. How much would DH be paid if he worked those hours instead?