House Buying Yard Drama

Today I am feeling the swirling whirlpool of despair following another bout of house hunting. Last night we drove up to Slatington (!) in order to see a house we found on the MLS that looked awesome. Normally I refuse to set foot in Slatington because the name of the town freaks me out, but I could not ignore how perfect this house was. It was BIG. Really big. It had 4 great big bedrooms, two bathrooms, high ceilings, hardwood floors, a den, a laundry room, the world's biggest living room of all time, a gorgeous staircase, great kitchen, and a nice dry spacious basement. There were french doors and tons of windows, and a brand new roof. All the closets were cedar lined. There was a fabulous side porch off the kitchen and a small deck off the den. The windows had adorable functional black shutters with crescent moons carved on them. All the house needed was a little cosmetic updating. Some wallpaper needed to go, the upstairs bathroom had to be redone, and some painting needed to be done and that was it. I walked around inside lost in a state of love. Upstairs near the bathroom was a built in linen cabinet with three drawers underneath. When I saw it I almost swooned. Did I mention the working fireplace in the living room with ornamental brick and a gorgeous wood mantelpiece? I didn't? Well, the house had one, with a BUILT IN brass curtain screen that swept away to the sides when you pushed this little lever. The house was so happy, so full of light and warmth that I wanted to pack my bags immediately and move in.
Yet...today I am in the swirling whirlpool of despair. "How did this happen?", you wonder in a perplexed inner head voice.
Ah, well you see the house was situated on the deadly and horrifying Slatington cliff of doom. Truly. The backyard sloped off into an abyss that could only be called absolutely terrible and completely undo-able. There was a tiny side yard which was very cute, but the edge of the side yard spilled over said cliff of doom. T.G. and I could picture losing children and dogs over the side never to be seen again. Sigh.
Needless to say, we passed on the house. Thus, today is a blue day. Will we ever find what we need in our price range? We aren't rich. I'm a SAHM and T.G. works at a metal shop. We're upstanding, hardworking people who just want a nice, safe, decent-sized place to raise our children in. Apparently that is too much to ask. Bleh.