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

[tangobravo]

Which is more important to you? Budget means either a terrace without parking or garden, but walkable to a gorgeous park and the high street (good mix of amenities) OR a bigger house with a lovely garden, driveway etc but would need to drive (around 10 mins) to high street/amenities. Good schools in both areas, access to work similar in both areas. 2 kids age 2 and 4.

YANBU driving to places when needed is worth having more space and a garden
YABU driving to places when needed is a PITA and not worth having a garden for

At your age and with small children, garden and parking.

When you get older I think it's more important to have lots of amenities within walking distance, to keep you fit and help you stay connected.

That's quite a hard decision really but with children that age I'd go for the house with garden and parking. It's nice for the children to be able to run outside straight into their own garden rather than having to walk to the park. Also the parking could be a right pain at the terraced house and difficult with the children if you end up having to park a distance away and then get them out of the car, unload anything in the boot and walk to your house.

Where are the local schools in relation to the terrace house and the larger house? Will you need to drive to school for either or both of these options?

How often would you be going to the high street anyway? Will you be doing food shopping there or would you need to drive to a larger supermarket or do you do your shopping online?

Lots of things to think about but I do think that maybe the high street idea sounds good in principle but you might not even use it that much if you do live there. Whereas you would you use your garden and drive every single day.

Gosh that's tricky. I totally disagree with pp who said no garden is cruel and unusual - depends entirely on where you live and can be very normal indeed. That said, I'm in a flat with a two year old and a garden is now a non negotiable for us when we move as I can really see the benefits of outside space now. However the area we are looking in also has parks and amenities within walking distance (c.20 mins) so I'm not having to choose like you are. In your position, I suppose it depends on your lifestyle and how long you'd envisage staying there. Also how easy it is to get parked - if it was going to be a nightmare finding a space each day that would probably sway me even more than the garden!

With kids that age, the garden. It's just sooooo nice, once they're old enough to entertain themselves a bit without your input which will happen in a year or two for you, to be able to get them some fresh air and exercise without having to schlep to a park.

Anecdotally I've heard this too. I think some of it is the collective cultural impact of lockdown. The value of outside space that you control and can't be prevented from accessing has soared. A park, however lovely, is something that can be taken away.

So - I think driving to school will probably be the case either way, around 5-10 each way. Secondary schools will probably be roughly the same, public transport (buses) in our city isn't brilliant. We would be moving out of catchment of the local popular comp so that might be an issue, but there are other schools we could consider. We currently drive to swimming and to a large supermarket at the weekends so we aren't 100% walking everywhere at all. If we moved away from our (preferred) high street, we'd be about a 25 minute walk from another ok park and a library, and a 30 min walk (so bikes a possibility) from our old high street (which we love). Lots of great points thank you all! I think we're swayed by the garden and more space at this age!

The house with the garden. I wouldn't like to have to make an outing of it to a public place everytime I wanted a bit of fresh air and sunshine, and no parking is a pain. A ten minute drive to amenities wouldn't put me off. That's still walking distance if needs be.

Have you seen the posts on here about terrace houses and the neighbour noise. I owned one once, never again.

100% the garden and own driveway!
Especially since you already have a car/will need to drive to school - it’s so stressful living somewhere you need to try and find parking when you get home, so much easier having a driveway or allocated parking.

I've got both, front and back gardens and walkable to town. Front garden is "decorative" it looks lovely, but we don't use it (or leave anything removable there) we also have a drive, we considered renting the space ( parking is bloody expensive here) but my partner changed jobs so cars usually on the drive (yes we need a car) back garden could be more usable but the child next door is quite inquisitive so you never feel "alone"
Having lived in a terrace I would not buy another, the noise from the neighbours was rage inducing "Mia, stop doing that" from any room the child wasn't, music blaring from the front room to the "yarden" with all the doors open the house

Garden, a million times over.

Bigger house with parking and garden every single time. I live in my home not in the high street.

Yep it's bd enough sharing one wall and hearing neighbours, can't imagine having to hear it on both sides.

A 10 minute drive is probably less than a 3 mile walk - and there’s no faffing to find a parking space. You’d be a fool to go for the smaller house with no garden or parking. It’ll be no disadvantage for the kids to walk into the high street when they’re at that age.

I would find somewhere within walking distance of school. Surely there's a primary school within walking distance of any high street.

If you have a car the no parking space would annoy me

High street over garden every time

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

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.

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

Where are you going to dry your washing?

Radiator / washer/dryer

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!).

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.

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

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.