to ask what’s more important, spaciousness of house or area?

[Toomuchtooyoung01]

Just that really!
What would you say is more important when buying a house (hopefully a forever home) -
more spacious house with better potential to extend in an ok area
OR
Slightly less living space but situated an absolutely beautiful area/sleepy little village in the countryside but only about 20mins away from retail park etc?

Area for me but different people have different priorities.

Er, it depends. “Sleepy village” sounds grim to me - would much rather be within walking distance of somewhere livelier. 20 minutes (in a car?) to a retail park sounds hellish, but your view may vary.

Area

Area plays a big part for me, but I have to like the house too.

Always area for me but being near a retail park would not be a selling point!

@N4ish

Always area for me but being near a retail park would not be a selling point!

20 minutes drive from a retail park is hardly close!

The neighbours are important. We lived in an amazing house with a "good address" and all our neighbours were snobby, rude and made our lives a misery. We moved to a less posh area and everyone is lovely. It's a great community. It means a lot to be happy in your home.

Our first house was a 2 bed mid terraced in a rough area. But it was a perfect starter home and we loved living there.

Once we decided we wanted kids we moved as we didn't want to bring kids up there. Area (schools primarily) was now most important to us.

Once we're older and the kids have moved out who knows if we'll move and what we'll value most.

But overall so long as you have enough room for the short/long term then I'd value area most. You can always look into moving again in the future if you need more space.

You need to find a balance, how much smaller is the village house and have you lived in a village before?

When I was looking to buy being within walking distance of shops and pharmacies due to health limitations was a priority for me, have you figured out what's important for you to have in an area?

How old are you? Do you have kids? if so, what are the schools like? I have preschool children and so area is the most important thing to me as I want them to be near good schools. At the moment I would sacrifice space for that. As they get older and leave home I would go for the bigger house but not up in the sticks as I like to be near decent public transport and prefer a busier way of life.

I've gone for area being more important
We're definitely compromising on size

Depends on your age, lifestyle, and who's going to live in it

Area every time.

Well, I'd hate to live in a sleepy little village personally so I'd pick house.

@2bazookas

Depends on your age, lifestyle, and who's going to live in it

Yeah this. While I love going to sleepy little villages on holiday, they would be hopeless for my family as I'd end up driving children here there and everywhere. I wouldn't retire to one either. Older people need amenities and good public transport

Area as long as we can all squeeze in.

For me I need both!

I wouldn't sacrifice area for a bigger or nicer house.

I might if it was the only way to afford enough space for everyone (bedroom for each DC, garden for small DC to play in etc).

Area, definitely. But obviously, whatever kind of area you actually like. There is no universal ideal area. Some want sleepy village, some want vibrant city centre.

It’s hard and really, there’s pros and cons to everything (not very helpful of me I know!)

From my perspective, we bought a town house in quite a nice area but I do hanker for a bit more space (esp garden as ours is tiny and we have a keen footballing DS). However, no matter how much I check rightmove I keep coming back to the pros-

We walk to school and are very much part of that community.
Yes our garden is tiny but we live with a10 min walk of two great parks
All our kids sporting activities are close by and, again, they are part of a community.
We can walk to a range of nice independent coffee shops and town itself is 15 mins walk.

I’ve come to really value those things so vouch for area! We bought a fixer upper house and have spent a lot of time and money making it ours, which also helps.

Good luck!

Generally speaking, area, but what defines an area as good is subjective. Personally, I'd hate a sleepy village.

It depends on where in your life journey you are. Sleepy village would be horrible for teens, and a nightmare once you can't drive any more! There's no such thing as a forever home because needs vary throughout life. Space and transport are important in the teen years

Location location location for us! We live in a tiny little village and it's in gorgeous countryside. Our house isn't huge but I'm not arsed.

Always location. Always.

I wouldn’t countenance living in a village, sleepy or otherwise. We live within walking distance of a retail park and I like that.

Space and location (as in, walkable to school etc.) are equally important to me tbh, decor, curb appeal, and to a certain extent area are not as important at all.