I mentioned this in the "stupidest thing I'm lusting after" thread, but basically, I want more walkability at our current location. We live on a dead end street that is off of a very busy two lane with no sidewalk or shoulder. To do anything outside of the house, we have to get in the car and drive 15 minutes. I'm a bit frustrated that I didn't really think about this aspect when I bought the house, but we were moving from a different area and we were really time crunched with our house selection process. If I didn't make a decision RIGHT AWAY I wouldn't have been able to take advantage of the ~$7k relocation package being offered by my employer. Nothing like impulse spending $200k, right?
Anyways, in order to move, we'd basically lose $10k of our downpayment, and an identical house (1200sqft, 3/2) in a more walkable neighborhood is about 30-40% more expensive. Taxes go from 1150 to 3000/year too, the schools are worse, and I'd add 10 minutes to my 5 minute, 1.3 mile commute. Overall, its a terrible idea financially to make the move, but I'm still considering it, I think the quality of life increase might be worth it.
So, the question is, how much would you pay to be able to walk places? 30% more? 50% more? Did anyone make a similar move?