AIBU to focus our house search on a cul-de-sac?

[Odellio]

We are looking to move and I'm being quite stubborn about wanting a cul-de-sac location. I was a kid in 90/00s and grew up on a cul-de-sac, it was very normal for us and the neighbours kids to be out the front playing and it was safe to do so. I want this for my kids, but does it still happen? I worried I'm limiting our house search to recreate a childhood that might not exist anymore.

YABU - kids don't tend to do this anymore, so widen your house search prioritising other things.
YANBU - kids still play out the front in cul-de-sacs, the dream is possible!

I live in a cul de sac, there are too many parked cars for the kids to play out, people drive into the road too quickly and there are many parking issues (especially with older residents who think they own the space outside their house).

I live in a cul de sac. The children who live here are very different ages and never play together in the street. Two of them do sometimes play together but they go into the house or garden of one of them.

Could it be, OP, that when you were a child none of the houses in your cul de sac had gardens or enough indoor space for playing together?

I was just going to say the new build estate I’ve just moved into is like this. It reminds me of the council estate I grew up on. In good ways and bad ways (travellers arrived yesterday on the green area surrounding it) but kids playing out on their bikes is really nice.

I live in a cul de sac. It is quiet and safer for both pets and children as cars are few and the speed is reduced. I see children with their parents out playing in the evenings. It is a better quality of life than being in a major road but it comes with a higher price tag.

We moved from a cul-de-sac a decade or so ago. When my son grew up it was as you have described; children playing out sitting on kerbs, with no through traffic. We'd sit out in deckchairs and chat/watch them play. By the time we left you couldn't see the kerb for the wall to wall parking and it actually made it more dangerous for them to play in the loop, because of poor visibility.

We live in a cul de sac. The majority of residents are older people whose children are long grown up. The few house with children are all different ages. The older residents tend to be fussy about parking and bins as they have nothing else to do all day but stare out of the window turning their anxiety to rage. So even riding bikes around the road is fraught with hassle. We have a small playground on a small playing field nearby and this is ideal. Big enough for fun, but small enough that it’s not a destination for non-locals. Which makes it good for playing out with other local kids.

I live on a cul de sac only 9 houses lived here for 15 years bought as a new build never had kids playing on the close thankfully one of the things I love about living here is how quiet it is mixture of families one with younger kids four with teenagers rest of us coming up to retirement age or retired over the years been afew of the houses changed hands but we mostly get older couples 40+

Beware of the neighbour with 3 cars and a van who wouldn't park them on his drive 🤣

I live in a cul de sac and the kids don't ever play out in the street, but the age profile of my road is all wrong for that. It is mainly bungalows so there are a lot of older people here, many of whom have lived here for years having brought their families up here years ago. There are a few other teenagers in the road but no younger children other than my 9 year old.

It is lovely and quiet though which is a big positive for me. No problems with parking here the majority of the time, probably because most in the street are older and only seem to have one car per house which is on the driveway. I'm near a secondary school though so we do have problems with parked cars blocking driveways at school pick up/drop off times.

I personally would have a cul de sac location as a nice to have rather than a necessity, otherwise it will narrow down your search location significantly.

I don't live in a cul de sac - just a quiet road and kids play out here. I don't think you need to live on a cul de sac for kids to play out.

Lots of old people (like me) living in the old cul de sacs now. What about a small newish build development with its own communal playground?

you only need one person who drives like a lunatic and your fantasy is dangerous

We prioritised being close to parks and having a big garden for the kids to plan in.

Cul de sac house for ten years, just moved. DD played out loads and the neighbours kids do all the time. It’s lovely.

We lived on a small cul de sac when my DC were younger. Two other houses with children of a similar age. None of them played out, and the few times my DC played out in the street with friends a couple of the neighbours told them off in case they went too close to their expensive cars.

I preferred them to play in our back garden so encouraged them to invite friends round to do that instead.

It's a nice idea, but I might broaden it out to looking at places very close where kids might gather. Doesn't have to be the end of the cul-de-sac. And are there actually local kids to play with? Plus you can't guarantee who yours will make friends with. But I do think it's worth trying to enable this sort of thing.

I live on a cul de sac off another cul de sac and it's so busy and packed with cars there's no room to play even if kids wanted to! There are cars and vans coming and going all day every day it's no quieter or safer than a normal street.

I would never have a house on a cul de sac nowadays. Having lived in the corner of one, the parking got exponentially worse and worse and we were constantly blocked in.

I live in a cul de sac. It’s lovely and quiet, but there are no children. There are plenty of children in the new estate behind us, where they have a playground and green space, and they do play out together safely there. I think this is the more likely situation for what you are seeking.

I live on a new build estate, it's on a sort of 'grid' plan so the central roads get little no traffic apart from the residents of that street and the delivery drivers. The kids here play on the street occasionally, and it's quiet enough for them to walk round to each others houses to play in gardens (which I think is more common that playing in the street).

Cul de sac we lived in had parking issues and a drug raid (and very few children playing out)

We live in a cul de sac of 4 houses (but attached to a housing estate). It’s lovely, our kids are older now so play further afield, the neighbours younger kids still do though.

I would say look for a house with a park or green space within a short walk, this is great when the kids are a little older.

We also had a cannabis raid!

I live on a cul de sac and the kids don’t play out because there’s not the right mix of ages. When we lived on a newbuild estate, there were tons of kids the same age as mine to play with but even then it was more play dates in gardens rather than on the street.

The downside of a cul de sac is that delivery drivers tear around the corner into the cul de sac and then just reverse very fast when leaving. I can’t imagine they’re looking properly at all, so I wouldn’t let my son play outside here.

What I would do if this is really important to you is ask around on local WhatsApp or Facebook groups about what streets/estates in your area have this sort of culture. It may not be very obvious from the outside.

The street behind us has an alley running behind the houses originally for access which the families have turned into a little play strip which is lovely and their kids are all very close and play together in a very wholesome way. But you can't see that from the front at all.