To buy a house with a tiny garden?

[Holly147]

OH and I are renting a 1-bed cottage at the moment, but currently having IVF which is going well so far, so we're looking to buy somewhere more suitable for children, in the hope that we will have one soon!

We recently viewed a 3-bed period house in the centre of a lovely village with a great primary school, that ticks all the boxes and is (just about) affordable for us. However the garden is maybe 2 x 3 metres and would just about have room for a table and chairs and a few flowers! It's an overlooked front garden (there is no back garden) so a young child couldn't play out there unsupervised. The village itself is in a rural location with lots of fields, open space, a park and easy access to the canal for bike rides, etc.

There are similarly-priced houses in a nearby small town in a 70s estate with gardens two or three times the size, that would have room for swings/climbing frame etc. and a little bit more room to run around in. The town also has a good primary school, but obviously isn't quite as rural/picturesque.

OH is more practical than me and thinks we need a good-sized garden, but I love the house we viewed and think the village would be a great place to bring up children. I can't really get excited about the 70s estate houses... Aibu? Should we be going for the bigger garden in a not-quite-as-nice house/street? I realise we're lucky to be in this position and if we lived in a city or more expensive area we probably wouldn't be able to afford a garden at all. We're likely to stop at one child if that's relevant.

Personally I wouldn’t buy a house with a tiny garden, especially with kids. My two love being outside in the summer, as do I, and going to a park (no matter how close) is just not the same.

Bigger gardens are much much easier for kids. I mean no question about it.

You won't always be in the mood for a country walk. On those days throwing them out the back garden is a godsend.

Also barbecues and just sitting outside in the summer with the video monitor after the kids have gone to sleep with a glass of wine in hand, listening to the birds.

And I tell you what, you'll get sick of being so overlooked quite quickly.

Speaking as someone who grew up in "a rural location with lots of fields, open space, a park" - my house had a back garden that, while small by many people's standards, was significantly bigger than the one you're considering. However, as children, we hardly ever used it. We played out in the fields / open space / park.

Now, that was some time ago, and parents these days seem a lot less willing to let children play unsupervised in public places than when I was growing up. If you're going to be quite lax about it, I don't think a garden is important in a rural setting. However, if you're going to want to supervise the kids at all times, having basically no garden is going to suck.

Sorry OP, but I'd go for the bigger garden as well - very useful for those after-school playdates as well!

I’d keep looking. Don’t settle for the estate. You have time.

I would, and did, go for a decent garden. It gets a lot of use.

I live in a 70s house and I love my parquet flooring and mahogany coloured doors!

The garden is a bit too big tbh and so quite hard work but worth it - having outdoor space is great and the DCs even as teenagers still like going outside, sunbathing, trampoline etc.

I have a big garden at the back of the house and a small bit to the front (slightly smaller than you describe) which we only fenced in last year. I have a toddler and we spend most of our time in the garden in the front one. It gets the sun in the afternoon but has plenty of space for her to have bubbles, push her dolls buggy, sand pit, etc.

Actually struggle for time to maintain the large bit of garden - kids take up alot of time so less free time for gardening! I'd go for the house you love, especially if schools, mums groups, etc, are better in the village.

OP I agree with the others.

Practicality- with kids - beats "rural/picturesque" hands down.

Having a safe enclosed back garden when my kids were young was a godsend. Kids need to play outside, have their friends over, and a safe ( ish) space.
Being able to cook or tidy the kitchen while my little ones were outside within earshot/ no chance of escape saved my sanity.

I wouldn't - not with kids. You'll end up moving again. So many times like when you're trying to get dinner on or do jobs and they will potter in the garden.

When looking at houses pre-children I wouldn't consider a house with a small garden.

Now we have a three year old that would live in the garden if he could.

I have a tiny, but not as small as your potential house back garden and it's a nightmare when the whirlygig with washing on takes over half the garden and there just isn't the space for my 2 to run or kick a ball around in it. I'd love to be able to put a decent size paddling pool or have a mini climbing frame with slide in there, but there is no space.

I'm dreading if mine ever get chicken pox as we'd probably kill each other being cooped up in such a tiny space for a week.

We did pre children. Our first house had a big garden and after a few months there we hated to spend so much time/money keeping it presentable. When we moved from there not having a big garden seen like a massive advantage.

To be honest we only missed the bigger garden between 5-8 years old, when DS WAS old enough to be in a back garden on his own with his friends but before he felt the need to spend more time playing outside at the park with his friends. We had a park and playing fields nearby and having a fantastic school a 5 minutes walk away made life much easier. We also had good links to secondary schools.

I refused to move to a place with bigger houses (and gardens) because having a bigger house/garden didn’t make up for the standard of living provided by the current location and required me to drive DS wherever he needed to go, which I though would make him more dependent on me and would isolate him from other kids his age as a teen as he would be fully reliant on me to take him everywhere. Where we are he has been organising his own outings, takes the bus to meet with who live further away and has people dropping by all the time.

I'd go for the bigger garden; as someone said up thread, once you've got the washing out there's no room to play.

I’m not sure having space to hang up the washing should be a problem in a village. We had the space in the garden but preferred to use a dryer as otherwise everything smelled of coal smoke.

I had my first 2 in a flat. It's perfectly manageable, but a lot more time consuming to have to take them to the park and do nothing when other people can just open the door to the garden and get on with their chores.

It sounds like I would chose the village and the house that excites me, but be realistic about your day to day life and what you need to do at home.

Even with chicken pox, once the child is well enough to be in the sun, you can go for walk in the middle of nowhere and not bother anyone.

I wouldn't put my washing in the front garden, so that's a bit more of a pain.

I'm also curious as to what's at the back of you, if not a garden? I'd be worried about privacy.

I’m not sure having space to hang up the washing should be a problem in a village. We had the space in the garden but preferred to use a dryer as otherwise everything smelled of coal smoke.

Think OP is only planning on moving to a village, not the 1800s.

Thanks everyone, looks like iabu - thought that was probably going to be the case!

Yes, think we might keep looking for now @Pipandmum and hopefully get some sort of compromise. I think it would be a good standard of living in either the town or the village, so think I just need to be sensible...

The house backs onto a graveyard @Jaxhog.

Believe it or not, many villages s love an open fire and in cold days it smells of coal, in hot days... of farm animals’ shit.

Totally unknown scenarios for the 2020s city dweller.

Village dwellers

I think it's fine if there are lots of other outside places to play.

We have a tiny garden, but the kids hardly ever play in it because they play out on the street - it’s wonderful, they have a real sense of independence but they are still very close to home.

What is the immediate area around the house like? Quiet lane? Or main road?

Great to have a garden with a toddler, but toddlers grow! Village beats 70s estate for me x

I think it depends on whether or not this is a house you are thinking of living in for decades? Because if you are living there for decades, the time period in which a larger garden would be nice is not all that long, and if loving living in the house for all the years preceding and after will make up for those years, then it might not be such a big deal.

I think it also depends on the facilities near by. Is it far to the park? Is there a play area? Is it near a main road or could a child potentially go there with friends without you supervising?

We had a house with a very tiny amount of outside space - really didn’t like it once dc got to toddler age. Also think about selling it - took us a lot longer to sell because many families were put off by the lack of garden