Run the full monthly number before deciding. Rent or mortgage is only the loud cost; the quiet costs are what wear you down. Nearby cities can offer more space or deeper specific communities, so do not make the Irvine address the only definition of success. Also listen to the person in the family who is least excited. They often see the problem everyone else is trying to ignore. It did get easier, but not because everything became perfect. It got easier because we stopped expecting the move to solve every problem.