raffle house

You know what sucks? There's a house that's being raffled off about 3 miles from my house for $5 a ticket. The house is valued at over 400,000 dollars. I was just taking a virtual tour of this house and it would be perfect for us. Master on the main with a guest room on the main. Large mudroom. Deck and covered porch. 2 bedroom/bonus rooms upstairs that would be perfect for the girls bedrooms and playroom. Secluded lot. And that's where the problem comes in. As great as that sounds, my girls (and me, for that matter) wouldn't be happy there. Forget about me. They love to go visit their neighbors and play with the other kids in the neighborhood. When it's not cold, we spend alot of time outside and alot of that time is spent visiting with our neighbors. Rena's best friends lives directly across the street. And even though she's only 5, she has a bond with those children. Yes, I know if we were to move away tomorrow, she probably wouldn't even really remember those kids. But now, they are her best friends. My girls ride their bikes in the streets and run up and down the sidewalks blowing bubbles and playing with their friends. What would they do secluded in the woods?

Now, I'm acting like we've won this house. We haven't and chances are pretty slim that we would. But if we did, we would have to make a decision. And a tough one. I don't know why I grow so attached to the places I live, but I do. As much as I hate this house....and I do...it would be hard to move away because I love my neighbors. People say you can't stay because of your neighbors, but I'm not entirely sure that's true. Would you trade a really good 'known' for an unsure 'unknown'?

Either way, I'm stuck here. For better (and there has been some better here) or worse(which seems to be mostly over). It may not be my 'dream' house, but it's where my children will spend their childhood and grow their memories.