Being able to walk to the high street vs having a garden

Being able to walk to amenities is nice but with kids that age I'd take the garden every time.

We live somewhere where nothing useful is walkable but we have a lovely house, big garden etc. DD is 5 and she and her friends love running around the garden, bouncing on the trampoline, paddling pools in summer etc. Also, I'm a big BBQ fan so want some outside space for that. I wouldn't trade our setup for anything!

You can't control how the high street will change over the years, it may not be as nice as it is now in 5/10/15 years - but you can make your home and garden nice! We chose garden over amenities and it does mean I'm driving more but it's worth it to us.

Garden and drive 100%
They are the two filters I put on right move all the time when looking.
I don't think it's a hard decision at all. It's lovely to be sat in your garden in the summer evenings and building snowmen when it snows. I like having my own outdoor space
However I have a car -cenrtic ( and bicycle) lifestyle as I am an essential car user for work. When the boys were small we used the car to take them to scouts which was 5 miles away, football tournaments and kick boxing competitions etc .We went away most weekends to Scotland and used the car or van for that.
I lived in a terraced with no parking or garden when I was single decades ago and hated the no parking then. I imagine it would be 100x worse now.

High Street, we are city dwellers and couldn't deal with the hassle of driving to shops. We live 3 mins walk to our high street which I really love - not just for practical things but also activities, events and fun trips out. We are in London zone 2 and we never have to drive anywhere Every weekend is like being on a city break because it's so easy to go to interesting attractions and events. We have a garden but it doesn't get used much, especially from September onwards. In summer and school holidays we'd rather have a trip out to a big park or adventure playground. In term time it's wet and dark a lot of the time. We have a big playroom and the dcs have a large bedroom so there is plenty of space for them to burn off energy when we're at home.

I would take the one further out with driveway and garden and walk to town/park

It's not a question of being unreasonable, it's just down to personal preference. Mine would be to opt for the garden. Having an outside space is a breath of fresh air. Literally 😀

Definitely!

It matters a bit less at the moment, because a 2 year old needs so much supervision whatever they do, but OPs DC are about to hit the time period when they can play outside by themselves for lengthy periods while she gets on with stuff. People can and do manage fine in homes with no outside space. But it's so helpful to have the option of kids being outside without having to be taken somewhere and actively supervised. Makes life easier to have the option.

100% house with garden and driveway.

I live in a terrace and oh lord the parking wars that go on are mental and stressful. I would also really miss not having a garden, I would spend way more time in a garden than on the high street.

Also bear in mind that at the moment your lifestyle involves walking to the park and shops daily but in a couple of years time the kids will both be at school all day and won't be around for that sort of thing. Then you'll probably be glad of being able to throw them in the back garden after school while you make the dinner!

Def garden.
There are some days when it is inconvenient to walk to the park.aybe it's the weather or you just can't be arsed to dress then kids and yourself.
Or you have to cook dinner, but the kids could benefit from some outdoor time.
If you have a garden they can play outside even in little increments. Ie 10 minutes.
They can play whilst you cook, do the laundry, write an email or when you are in your pj's. They can't go to the park when you need to do those things!

We live in an amazing, beautiful area that is rubbish for parking due to the age of the properties - think narrow lanes that you can’t drive down, or too narrow for parked cars. We would never move, but the 10 minute walk to/from the car is a pain with small children and daily luggage. We don’t have a high street, nearest is 20 minute drive away, but we have a village shop which does us well. I’ve also lived in a house with a ‘remote’ garden, and we barely used it and was so grateful when we got this house with a garden just outside the front door. I would choose parking and garden over the ‘convenience’ of being able to walk to shops that I would only use occasionally, if at all.

I need and have both. They were none negotiable.

Garden.
I live a five minute walk from a "trendy" high street (regular plus independent shops, bars, restaurants, community hub etc).
I moved here 17 years ago - I barely go up to the high street these days.
The novelty wears off pretty quickly and all you really want is a giant Tesco for everything.

How long to walk to town? A ten minute drive isn’t far to walk with older kids if there’s good pavements.

We moved from a small house with a small garden but we could walk to the city centre.

Before covid hit we moved to a much bigger house, bigger garden and it’s a drive the city centre.

I would go for the bigger house hands down. The rubbish weather for days allows us not to get on top of each other in the house. I can do chores in the summer and let the kids play in the back garden safety while I potter around.

However our bigger house still has good connections to the city so this doesn’t limit us when they are teenagers.

If you’re used to it, and you are walkable to most things, it ceases to matter.

We very rarely use the car.

Walk to nursery, walk to train station, walk to supermarket. The car is only for big trips, every month or so.

I have a garden and a high street and park within walking distance. What I don't have is parking, which was fine when we moved here almost thirty years ago, but has become a right pain in the arse over the years as two thirds of the houses that have been bought since have been converted into flats.

It also doesn't help that my next door neighbour and the neighbour to her have white lines painted in front of their 'garages', which are actual rooms in their houses that they converted but aren't actually useable as garages. I also have a disabled parking bay in front of my house which I asked for back in 2014 when my husband needed it. Haven't needed it since 2018, but the council refuses to remove it, even though nobody ever parks in it, or the three further up the road.

So yeah, I'd go for the house with the driveway.

With two children myself I'd never consider a house without a garden no matter the budget if it was an option.
I have a friend with 2 kids in a flat with no garden, she hates it and is looking to move to somewhere with a garden even if it means sacrificing other things

We didn't have the same childhood! I lived in a flat in a big city and now live with my children in a flat in London with no outside space, but a great park 2mn by foot away. We actually traded a small house with garden outside London for a flat with no garden in London. We're much happier here.

I am also in the liking to be able to walk places camp.

We have had a similar discussion re: living further away and having to drive whenever we leave the house.

I like being in the centre of the action, getting in the car every time I leave the house has no appeal at all. I would feel very trapped.

We are very good at going out and enjoying the local parks etc though - our life in that respect hasn’t changed much since having kids.

Feel slightly guilty re: large garden, but it’s better for me and I think when they’re teens this will feel like the better option vs me having to drive them around (or refusing to!).

Radiator / washer/dryer

as much as I’d love a nice high street to walk to.

Where are you going to dry your washing?

Bigger house, garden and easy parking for me. I would really miss my garden, though there's a park 1-2 minutes away from my house. It's easier for, say, leaving the kids' toys in the garden or having fun water slides when it's sunny and all sorts.

Definitely garden (and I live in a modest terrace without parking!)