Country, or beach or city for best quality of life with kids?

[Cheeryblossom1]

Discussing this with DH last night.. We live in a big town on the edge of a city... We enjoy country life & the seaside which we can access for walks at the weekend... Love the country side & all it offers & would love to make a move with dc aged 8 & 10...dh thinks it would be crazy as we can access nice country walks at the weekend as well as good coastal walks... As well as not having to pay uni accommodation fees if they decide to access one close to home..

Opinions please

Shamelessly bumping!

I grew up in a small city on the coast. We had all the advantages of a city (good public transport, two shopping centres, lots of entertainment and eating out options), but also the beach 5 min drive away, and quick access to mountains and woods. It was a 25 min drive into the big city and had excellent transport links, which were essential once we hit teenage years. Relying on our parents for socialising wasn’t an option from 13/14, so having a choice of bus or train, and several places to go with our friends all within half an hour, was great. Are there public transport connections to universities? I wouldn’t have been happy with a longer than 30 min commute, but I also went to uni thousands of miles away so I can’t imagine living at home past high school.