So how do you buy a house?

Do you buy it because you like it, your spouse likes it, your family likes it. Or do you look at floor plan, resale and location. Maybe a little of everything? What if you love the house but the location stinks? Maybe the other way around. We tend to think a lot about resale based on our past history! But what if we are planning to stay for the long haul this time? Is resale as important? I wish I knew.
We've made offers on two houses. One isn't going to happen which is ok. The other we don't know, the realtor won't return our realtor's calls - that's not looking good. So on a whim yesterday we went by one we had briefly looked at before. It is an older house with a lot of charm. I love older houses especially the fact that their floor plans aren't cookie cutter like modern houses. This one has been pretty well updated but does still need all new windows and since it has been empty for a long time it needs a LOT of yard work. It also has 200 feet of creek frontage and almost an acre and a half. Sounds wonderful? It is located on a really busy road. And just over the border for the schools we want. Ok, schools could probably be worked out, maybe even busing. But the busy road? If it were even a mile further down the road I probably wouldn't be concerned.
so how important is location if you like the house and don't plan to move for many years? It isn't like we're talking freeway busy or even city street. But a pretty busy country road that leads to the entrance of the local four year university almost across the street. Opinions? I'm interested in them.