House envy

My home is increasingly shabby, but it's the location which is wonderful. I'm in the countryside with fields, trees and birds all around me. Would I move if I could? Yes, I would like to go back to Torquay where I lived for 50 years. I miss being by the sea. But I know I'm lucky to live right on the edge of Dartmoor so I count my blessings.

PS> Do I suffer from house envy? Yes, I do. I would love a beautiful house by the sea.

If our house went on the market it would be described as a “doer upper.”
It’s 100 years old and full of character. The kitchen and bathrooms were redone about 15 years ago. Some would say they need doing again. I have never lived anywhere where everything is completely new. I envy my 2 SILs. One has just moved to a beautiful flat which is only 2 years old and perfect in every way. The other one will shortly be moving to a recently renovated house.
When I say envy I don’t mean jealous. I’m happy for them to have these lovely homes.

A case of 'The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side"?

Very often it isn't.

Margs

A case of 'The Grass Is Greener On The Other Side"?

Very often it isn't.

Yes, a perfect summing up, applies to almost everything in life, including houses.

Our house is lovely but far too big. We don’t want to sell because we are surrounded by beautiful trees, have a lovely view of the mountain and have lots of birds and wild animals visiting daily. It is also very private and we have lived here for 35 years so we are kind of part of the furniture round here. I couldn’t stand the thought of downsizing, wouldn’t have a clue what to keep and what to chuck. The worst thing is the pool - a lot of maintenance. Never envy anyone, never have because I just feel very fortunate to live here , very safe so we don’t even have to lock the doors ( I know, things could change but it has been like that so far ! )

I am reminded of the story of The Old Woman Who Lived In A Vinegar Bottle. She is perfectly happy with her life until she saves a frog, who is really a prince, and he promises to grant her every wish. She goes from being happy and poor to discontented and rich as the fancy homes and all the trappings fail to bring her any joy.
Motto: Be thankful for what you have. So many have absolutely nothing.

Ive never been envious of anyone in my entire life . I'm always intensely grateful for what I have and don't understand this at all. What's the point?

I've never really had house envy, we were very happy in our first small terrace and have been happy in the larger houses that followed.
We've downsized to a flat now and I'm equally content, we have the space and the convenience that we need and there are lovely things such as a balcony facing the river opposite Kew gardens which gives us a lot of pleasure.
Friends have asked if I miss our last "perfect" Georgian house which we spent years renovating, but I can honestly say that I don't as I know it would be a pain to maintain as we're getting older. However I do miss my beautiful garden as it was my hobby.

oh please, give us a break

Yes, sometimes I do have house envy, but that doesn’t mean I don’t love my house. It’s over 100 years old, we’ve lived here for 45 of those years and when we were earning we extended it and did it up. But now money is tighter it’s getting a little shabby and neither of us has a DIY bone in our bodies. When we bought it the road it is on was very quiet, now it’s a busy main road used by big lorries. We are lucky, we have a large rear garden, but soon that will get to be too much for us. As with most areas there are lots of new builds going up, maybe we should downsize to a new, easy care house. When it’s my turn to host book group I do cringe a little, everyone else has a beautiful, large house and I struggle to fit everyone in now, so a smaller house would be difficult, but at least I can say we’re happy together in this house, so I’m not really complaining.

MT62 Hear hear, I live in a teeny tiny house but I adore it and wish everyone could have the opportunity of loving where they live

monami

oh please, give us a break

You can have a break if you want to. Others obviously don’t.

I've moved so many times in my life that any house is home.
If I could move to my dream house it would be a 2 bedroom stone built cottage with lots of parking and a big garden. Most cottages are now bought for holiday homes or airb&b let's in my area

There is never any worth to be envious. At the end of the day your house does exactly the same as what a larger house does.

I used to envy anyone who had a kitchen large enough to eat in! My previous house didn’t have that, but we moved about 10 years ago and now we do have an eat-in kitchen that I love. It’s very much a first world problem, but my house now is much more to my liking. I feel extremely grateful to own a house, with DH, that we’ve worked hard for after 50 years of marriage and have been mortgage-free for quite some time. I do feel for the young of today - some will probably be paying rent for most/all of their lives. I love home and garden magazines and house renovation programmes in TV. They give me a lot of pleasure, but I’d never want to own something huge with vast grounds. I prefer something manageable.

Totally pointless. There’s always going to be someone with a better or bigger house. Think about what really matters. I know a young married couple with a small child who recently moved into a large 5 bed house. He’s one of the most unhappy people I know. His wife has coercive control over him and he hates his high paying job.

my last house the landlord did nothing. it was full of falling apart bits rodents and an abusive marriage so i longed for a nice house and peace.
now i have my one bed bungalow to myself and i love it. when i get rid of his stuff it will be the envy of the neighbourhood!

Don't think I have ever envied anyone I know their house. Admired yes, but envied, no. Seen and been in a lot of high end properties of friends and family, just appreciate what I have.

I love my (ex LA) 1920s semi, it's room proportions are amazing but sadly it is showing its age and needs lots of annoying jobs doing that I simply can't afford.
I fantasize about building an extension to enable me to have a downstairs bedroom and shower facilities for my dotage, but know it's a fantasy.
I have friends with far more fabulous homes than mine but I don't really envy anyone else.
I'm immensely proud to have (almost) paid for this property as a single working parent of 3 children.
(No help from my ex husband who got everything in the divorce, and walked away from his family completely.)
We have the typical 1920s 'council garden' with fruit trees, fruit bushes and recently my lovely son paid for raised beds so I can garden, as my mobility is not great. We're currently inundated with tomatoes and I have chickens so fresh eggs. I love my house

I would love to live in a bungalow.

When my parents passed, they left me their bungalow. But it was down a long country lane, and too far away from my childrens' school and husband's work.

We are happy where we are, but as we are ageing, the thought of having no stairs to climb would be a dream.

I today heard that the best colour bra to wear under white shirts (to be least visible) is a red one! Has anyone tried this as I usually wear a skin coloured one.

I don’t have house envy as such. What I do have is home envy. I am envious of two of my friends who don’t have much money and live in small terraced houses. They have a great sense of style, can take a few second hand bits and pieces, and with colour, throws etc. create interesting and comfortable homes.

“Be thankful for what you have , you can cope with a lot less!”
A great quote from the father of Gordon Brown which I read and admired at the weekend .

I’ve never had house envy, even when I lived in a one bedroom maisonette.
I do have location envy though. I’d love to live in walking distance of a railway station with direct access to London Paddington.