Should I rent my dream house now, or save for a house I may never buy?
TL:DR: I have the opportunity to rent my dream home but the increased cost would mean I won't have money to put aside to buy a house in the future. However, my finances and the economy are such that I have little hope of ever buying a home anyway, so should I focus on having a happy life now rather than saving for something that may never happen?
Background: I (F36) am a single mum of 2 children under 10 yrs old. I work full-time for a charity, making less than £30,000 a year. This is my dream job which I've trained for for years, but the pay is not great, and opportunities for progression are limited and I'm still unlikely to earn more than £40k in the next 10 years unless I change career.
I'm not in a position to buy a property, so I'm currently renting a small house for £1100 per month. It is single glazed, has no shower, and I'm sleeping in a single bed in the box room. I live in a expensive part of England.
I've recently found a property which is basically my dream home, offering the opportunity for a much better lifestyle for myself and my children. There is room to host guests, cook proper meals and grow food in the garden, plus lots of space for my children to play and explore the countryside.
In my current lifestyle, I'm able to save £200 a month for buying a house in the future. However, that is such slow progress it barely feels worth doing. Expecially as I end up dipping into that fund for emergency car repairs, etc. I could afford to rent my dream home now, but it wouldn't leave me with much at all to save for the future.
Does anyone have any advice for what I should do? Save for the distant future, or commit to renting forever and have the house I like now?