Hi fellow mustachians
since last time, I managed to repay my mortgage and am putting aside more than 50% of my net income as savings. You could say things are therefore ok. I could even consider going FIRE in 10-12 years (still way too long for me).
But.. (here is always one, isn't it?)
I am starting to be worried about my kids' educations. The local secondary school is OK. But that's it, it is just OK, and my kids (still in primary) are currently looking to be highly academic (that could change of course). And I know, through reading lots of statistics from Department of Education, newspapers, blogs and personal experience, that it is difficult to be a very good student in a "OK" school. You can be socially excluded, and teachers may not consider you as a priority. I know MMM considers schools a bit unnecessary, but I don't share that belief, and I do think that a good academic result is always a good back up in case things don't go to plan, and also that not everyone has the self drive and motivation to find what they like, self teach and make it work.
My options seem to be:
1- Selective private school which is currently a no-no: it would cost £20k per year * 7 years * 2 kids. That's more than 11 years of savings!
2- Moving to Oxford to a better secondary catchment area: moving costs (stamp duty, estate agent, removal costs, etc..) would be about £30k+, having to take a mortgage (it's damn expensive) would cost me £20k+ of interest, and moving to a flat would cost me about £27k over 12 year of maintenance costs that I do not have in a flat (share of grounds, elevator, etc..). Let's round that to a total of £80k, which is about 3 years of savings.
3- don't move :p
There are other more complex and niche options which require certain circumstances to align. There is an option 4 also similar to option 2 but without downsizing much but taking a much bigger mortgage and driving total cost to maybe 100-120k
Now, option 2 seems decent at first glance. But it means:
- taking a mortgage. Which means I will have to live again with that constant angst of losing my job and my roof. Which means I will have to return being subservient to my job. For 10-20 years depending on the size of the mortgage!
- It means that I will not be able to steer back my work-life balance in the right direction for another 3 years. And the current 10-12 years was already nearly too much to envision. I currently have about 2 months per year when I am genuinely depressed with very dark thoughts.
- those £80k are not an investment, they just go poof into the void
- I would become even more leveraged to house prices which may go up or down.
- it would mean downsizing significantly, and living in 100sqm all 4 of us. This is more than for many, but would still be a significant downsize and may mean we will no longer have a quiet room for any of us to vent down a bit alone.
- it's not all bad, Oxford would still offer rivers, meadows and forest within a few minutes walk, kids will experience life in a city (and what a beautiful city), we'll have more museum, theatres, restaurants around, friends will likely visit us more often than in our isolated village, schools much better, etc...
- drive to work would be broadly unchanged, faster off-peak, longer during peak.
Therefore looking at the above, I would think that it is the wrong thing to do and a mustachian would not do it. But then, contemplating option 3, I don't want to constantly face the regret that I failed my kids and that they missed their potential because I could not bother to work an extra 3 years.
I feel that whatever choice I make I'll end up feeling miserable...