Moving?

I found out today that my rental contract ran out on my house at the end of August. I am now on a month-by-month basis for the current address. I am considering moving to Durham. Durham is a much nicer town than Darlington, and only about 30 miles away. Several people I work with live there, and commute to work on the train for £100/month. Our TPL didn’t own a car for 2 years after moving to Durham from the US, because it’s a smaller community and everything is more accessible, and unlike Darlington, the public transportation actually works (Dan and I spent the better part of 30 minutes waiting for a bus outside my house, after about the 4th one failed to show up, we called a cab).

Also, I am going to look for something cheaper. Between the counsel tax and the rent, I am paying almost as much in £’s as I was in $’s for my mortgage in the US. I originally bought a 3 bedroom house with a 2 car garage because I needed the space, but the more I think about it, the less I need most of this stuff except for housing people when they come to visit. And, given the state of the a lot of my furniture, I really don’t plan to ship it back to the US. I think a lot of it is going to be sold either or donated and I will start fresh over there. I don’t use the garage I have because I settled for a much cheaper car (when I was still trying to sell my house in the US) and now that I am considering going back to the US, don’t see the need in trying to buy something better.

So, the plan is to find a cheaper, smaller place in a nicer town. I won’t look to begin moving until after my parents leave. Once there, I am going to further evaluate the situation and decide if it’s even worth keeping the car. From what I have seen of Durham and from what everyone has told me, it isn’t.