To Move or Build on?

....THAT is the question.  It is a subject of conversation heard OFTEN  around Crofton, especially inside the "Triangle", where most of the homes are around 40+ years old and many do not have basements.  There are some exceptions:  Crofton Woods, Crofton Orchard, Crofton Greens, etc. where the homes have basements and extra squaqe footage.

I was at the Crofton Swim and Tennis club this morning, signing my kids up for Swim Team (GO CATS!) and got into this familiar conversation with a friend of mine.  To paraphrase the conversation:

I love my neighborhood!  I love my house, but....I wish it had more space.  I wish it had a basement.  My husband suggested looking in Davidsonville, where we could get a bigger piece of land, but I said 'NO WAY.  I am not leaving Crofton.  I am not leaving The Triangle.   And I am not leaving my swim club.'

I just laughed, because I feel the exact same way and I have had this conversation with my husband, friends and neighbors on countless occasions. 

So, what do you do?  Well, you either keep your eyes peeled for that highly prized 3-level home in The Triangle to pop up---and there are a few on the market right now.  Or, you build on--which, is likely what we are going to do. 

We have lived in our home for 12 years and we have updated just about everything to suit our individual taste, but we are lacking space that we want.  It would be easier to just move into a bigger house.  And, I'm a Realtor for heaven-sake.  Shouldn't I just sell our home and buy?  But, when you have the kitchen you want, with the cabinets, appliances and counters that you paintstakingly picked out, for example, it is hard to move to a place where things may be nice...but its not us.  In other words, we'd have to start all over and I don't Mr. Gayvert and I are up for that.

That said, it is nice to live in such a terrific area that the thought of moving away---even just a few miles down the road---is unthinkable to so many who live here.