Moving to hilly area with small children = nightmare?

[cluelessnewmum]

Hi, can I draw on your wealth of experience please?

Currently have one baby, but plan to have, hopefully, 2 more. We're currently looking into relocating from London (flat area) to the home counties to a much hillier area.

We want to buy a house a 20ish min walk of all the shops / train station / amenities as having lived in London for many years I'm used to walking and whilst I do drive I don't enjoy it and would really struggle to be somewhere where I had to get in the car every time I want to go anywhere.

So my question is, would it be really difficult to get around a hilly area with 3 small children? Just thinking about the weight of the pram and toddlers having tantrums because they don't want to walk anywhere, no possibility of giving the older kids one of those scooters etc.

Will I end up driving everywhere or would I end up doing that anyway even if we lived somewhere flat? Thanks for any experiences you can share of this.

[SummerSazz]

We live in a hilly area and I had a double mountain buggy. It was bombproof and went everywhere. We used to do big dipper rides in it across the quarry golf course. Fab fun. Now the dc run to school using small hills as pony jumps and slide down the hills on their school bags.
Go for it

[dangermouseisace]

we moved from the city to a very hilly rural area on the side of a hill. I'm properly physically fit and I can't ride my bike up it, or down it either (I'd fall off) its that steep.

I wouldn't live on our particular hill if I had a buggy. But in our general very hilly area I would. My kids complained about walking to start with now they actually ask to walk to school (mile and a half) down one hill and up to the top of another massive one. They can now actually run up the hill, whereas before they grumbled and groaned and it took forever!

I'd do it. I'd get a phil and teds (I had one- great for hills) or as previous poster said a mountain buggy. Something kind of all terrain definitely with a good brake and a wrist strap.

[Spandexpants007]

Once they can use scooters safely it makes life easier

[cluelessnewmum]

Thanks all for your replies,i think where my head is at is to stick with the hilly area but not go for the house we were thinking of buying which also has a steep hill for the driveway and a steep garden with lots of potential hazards.

I've currently got a bugaboo buffalo which is a good all terrain buggy but I'll probably need a double buggy if we have another one soon so will look into Phil and Ted, thanks.

Reassuring dangermouse and summersazz that kids that grow up in hilly areas don't complain about walking etc.

Spandex, that was my concern about scooters, where I live now they're prolific but I don't see any in being used the new place and I can see they would make life easier in terms of how long you can walk with them for.

[amarmai]

not sure i'd feel safe with scooters going down steep hills, but all of you are going to get fit walking up and down. You wont need a gym IMO !