Save your calculations—you can go back later and judge how well you modelled your future selves.
My wife and I did something very similar 7 years ago when deciding between 3 flats, and recently came across our backs-of-multiple-envelopes calculations. We only considered the one we actually chose and estimated our current weightings for the different spaces. In our initial judgments we had vastly overrated our future use/value of the outdoor space, substantially underrated the kitchen and lounge rooms, and entirely ignored hall and loft storage space which has turned out to be decidedly non-negligible.
We are very happy in the flat so this is not an exercise in regret, hindsight or possible alternative universes—but made us notice that if we are flat hunting again, outdoor space is likely to cost more than it’s worth to us.
Yup, I’m saving them indeed, and this discussion post will be useful as we revisit our decision. I’ll put a note in my calendar with a link to this post to go back and look at the post again in a year after we move.
Regarding outdoor space, I’m glad that my wife and I figured out in advance that we’ll only use it half the year! Thanks for that feedback :-)
Save your calculations—you can go back later and judge how well you modelled your future selves.
My wife and I did something very similar 7 years ago when deciding between 3 flats, and recently came across our backs-of-multiple-envelopes calculations. We only considered the one we actually chose and estimated our current weightings for the different spaces. In our initial judgments we had vastly overrated our future use/value of the outdoor space, substantially underrated the kitchen and lounge rooms, and entirely ignored hall and loft storage space which has turned out to be decidedly non-negligible.
We are very happy in the flat so this is not an exercise in regret, hindsight or possible alternative universes—but made us notice that if we are flat hunting again, outdoor space is likely to cost more than it’s worth to us.
Yup, I’m saving them indeed, and this discussion post will be useful as we revisit our decision. I’ll put a note in my calendar with a link to this post to go back and look at the post again in a year after we move.
Regarding outdoor space, I’m glad that my wife and I figured out in advance that we’ll only use it half the year! Thanks for that feedback :-)