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Our house isn’t much to look at. It’s a bit small and lacks any real character. But for its situation and view, we’re immensely grateful. We have a very private garden at the back, with ample space for the kids to kick about on, and us to relax in. And a garden at the front, setting us away from the road.

Home, I suppose, is what you make of it. Location is important if you have school-age children. We settled here mindful of a commute back into London. Although I secured a job nearby soon after moving, my wife still had a daily journey into central London. As with all things, you have to decide what you can bear, and what trade offs you need to make.

Many families move to this area for the sake of their children’s education. If the kids are clever, or parents spend sufficient on tuition, there is the promise of a place at grammar school: the next best thing to a private education, they believe. So for these, the inconvenience of a longer commute back into London seems a fair price to pay.

For us, it was a question of what we could afford. But, alas, perhaps those days are long gone, taking in the prices of properties nearby. More reasonable than many massively inflated prices, but still several times what we paid for our dilapidated shell nearly two decades ago.

Earlier, I glanced at a house for sale on the quieter street parallel to ours, down the hill. A nice place, in better repair that ours was. Same large plot, a nice spacious garden, summer house, and similar view. Close to open countryside — a mere walk away — yet still accessible to town amenities and transport routes. That’s what you’re paying for: quality of life more than space.

And that is why we remain, as we shift our furniture back into place after our visitors have left. Yep, we’re a bit cramped indoors. But look out there at that view, and these conveniences.