Sounds like you have a few years to find a good affordable upgrade. Or just hope the civil war drives down housing prices I guess. I've seen a six bedroom Victorian style three floors and a basement for less than $200,000, in the last year. The town it was in wasn't near major cities and had lost its biggest industrial sponsor (a paper mill iirc). Stuff like this exists. Man, I'm not asking you to move mountains. All I'm asking is that you *try for more* instead of *settling for less*.