Being that this question was posted more than 8 years ago, I am very late to the game. Consider my input as a reply from the future. As a member of a large family crammed into a small house, I grew up in the Northeast. We had a kitchen with very little counter space and no island, a large table that seats 8, and a small formal dining room off to the side, which was extremely tight when trying to fit the entire family around the table. It was worse when we had additional guests. Imagine being a small, skinny child having to suck in your stomach in an effort to squeeze between someone's chair and the wall to get to your own chair. That was us. We also had a small deck with a sizable patio table that proved even more challenging to seat everyone. But we managed. We used the dining room for every major holiday that called for something formal (Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year's day, and Easter) and the deck for meals in warmer weather (4th of July, Memorial Day, Labor day, summer birthdays, etc.). The kitchen table was used for everything else (breakfast, lunch, most dinners, birthdays in colder months/on rainy days, homework, "time outs", baking, tea time with company, etc.). That was the norm in my parents' house. Since leaving home, I have lived all over the US (Midwest, West coast, Southwest, Southeast, East coast, Gulf coast), and several places abroad. In every place I've lived before buying a house, I employed a dining room only once. When eating, I would sit at the kitchen table, at the island, or on the couch. When I bought my first house, I felt it was important to have a dining room as well as an eat-in kitchen because it's what I was accustomed to growing up. I imagined utilizing my house in much of the same way my parents used theirs. The only difference is that my house is huge compared to what they had (and for a lot less people to live), so it is far more comfortable. After living in my house for a few years, however, it occurred to me that, even when I'd have guests over, we didn't all sit around any specific table. Instead we would spread ourselves out around the kitchen, the great room, and the patio outside. In 17 years, the dining room was never used for dining. Not even once. I realized I spent a ridiculous amount of money on dining room furniture I never use, on heating and air conditioning a space I never use, and on purchasing square footage I never use. It was just another room that I'd have to dust, vacuum, and occasionally paint. I've come to understand that times have really changed, our culture has changed, and the way we celebrate has changed. Someone previously said, "it's always better to have something you don't need than to need something you don't have." In most cases I would agree, but not in this case. I've wasted thousands of dollars that I can never get back, and for what? The reality is that it's very easy to get creative when in need of dining space; you don't need a whole dedicated room for something that you might only use a few times a year (if at all). With plans to downsize and move, I recently began designing a house more suitable for a family of four, but that can easily accommodate several guests. The first thing I considered is how a house is actually used; not necessarily how I fantasize using it. Kids spend most of their time in their rooms, outside, at school, or with their friends. Visiting guests sit at the island or dinner table, or on the couch in the great room. Dinnertime at the kitchen table is really the only time the entire family is together. So it became apparent to me that I need to design my new house around making these areas more comfortable and inviting, and cut out the places that are simply wasteful and uselessly excessive. As I drew up the plans, I kept asking: why do we all feel the need to have a dining room, a breakfast nook, a kitchen island, a kitchen table, and a patio table? Seriously, how many places to eat a meal does a house need to come with?! Let's face it: with the exception of those families with young children, most of you probably eat your dinner on the couch in front of the t.v.! I can see it now: your little foldable nesting tables, sectional couches and reclining chairs with built-in cup holders, coasters all over the place, and rogue dirty dishes or mugs you forgot to take back to the kitchen. Yeah, yeah, I get it; I've been there, too. With all the places designated for food, it seems to me like we all put way too much time and attention on eating rather than living. I have decided the dining room is out. In fact, so is the breakfast nook! The patio stays because who doesn't enjoy taking advantage of being outdoors on a beautiful day? That leaves me with one final decision: how do I want to design my kitchen? What's most important to me is that I enjoy every piece of square footage in my house. Every room will be fully utilized, and as such they will be liveable, breatheable areas that are a pleasure to be seated in and look around. Symmetrical lines that create balance, clean angles that soothe the mind, elements that inspire the imagination, and lots of warm lighting to keep me from feeling like I'm living in a cold, dank cave. As the design took shape, I kept facing one major dilemma: do I need both an island and a kitchen table? No, I don't. Would both be nice to have? Not if I'm trying to downsize. So I have to choose one. But which one? As I've said previously, the house in which I grew up did not have an island. We used the table for everything. But I love the versatility of an island with a quartz top! After looking at countless styles (thanks pinterest and houzz!), I have discovered I can have an island (with legs) that looks like a kitchen table, except better: I don't have to worry about scratches, water marks, or anything else my parents would freak out about when I was a kid using their kitchen table. A table cloth, a centerpiece, place mats, and a properly set "table" looks no different whether it's on a quartz surface or a wood surface. What is the deal with a need for more? Why are people so gluttonous? And especially in a day and time where income has not kept up with the cost of living? Don't even get me started on the carbon footprint we all leave behind. I want to thoroughly use and appreciate the things I have without paying for things I almost never use. All of this to say, no; a dining room is not necessary. It's excessive to the point of being ridiculous. I would prefer efficiency over gluttony. Appreciate what you have by using it. If you find you need a formal dining space for that rare (or not so rare) occasion, create one out of what you already have. It's not difficult!

Having been through a house hunting phase that lasted, on and off, for 4 years and intensively for 2, I can only say that you need to be very clear about your objectives. It has to be more than just getting away from where you are: it has to be about what what you are moving towards. In our case we were very clear that, as we hit the senior years, we needed to move somewhere that had better health and social services than the beautiful but remote little village we were living in. We also wanted to be close to supermarkets and shops because we knew we wouldn't be driving forever. We looked at housing in 8 or 10 towns, getting a "feel" for each, over about a two year period. We finally made the decision to focus on one particular area, a strip of small towns about an hour from a major city. Add a further two years of househunting in that area until we found a property that ticked all our major boxes - single story, walking distance to everything we would need for daily living, close to doctors, dentists, physios, etc. Perfect? No. There were properties a bit further out that were more attractive, but we never lost sight of the proximity objective. The point here is that you and your spouse need to be on the same page about what you intend to achieve with this move. Better opportunities for your son should be top of the list. Presumably, employment possibilities for yourself and your husband would be right up there as well. If the place can't deliver those (poor schools, no jobs) eliminate it. Don't get distracted by pretty houses or low prices if neither will achieve your primary goals.

Homechef just gave you fabulous advice. I bought a house where the prior deal had fallen through because the potential buyer got spooked when their inspector found active termites. The sellers paid to have the termites treated, and paid to have the wall torn open and repaired. They allowed us to watch all the repairs as they progressed, the contractor took everything back to clean/undamaged wood and did a really nice job on all the repairs. We got second opinions on everything and were satisfied. In fact, I'm actually pretty grateful because I love the house so I'm thrilled the other potential buyers got spooked off. The pest control company does yearly inspections and we know we'll need to retreat in something like 8 years, and we know what to watch for in the meantime. Every house has issues. Get some expert assistance so you can assess how serious this is or isn't, and go from there.

We lived in a fantastic 1931 single bath plus powder room house from the time we married until both kids graduated from university. It was very well built with quality materials and had a double lot in an upscale neighborhood. The couple who bought it from us have 3 kids and it was a move up for them from a 2 bedroom, 1 bath house.  When we went to sell, the house was such a beautiful house that only having one bath wasn't a major issue. It did help that the bathroom was very large with separate tub and shower and a door to the master bedroom.  In an area with higher house values, adding a bathroom might have been a reasonable upgrade but our house values were moderate. Adding a bathroom would probably only add a max of 20% of cost to the market value and we were used to the single bathroom so it wasn't an issue for us.