Happy Street

[MaShappo]

I'm trying to decide where to move? I can't decide whether to move to the countryside or the town and wondered if there was a formula for the happiest place to live. If you could design your house, garden and environment, what would it be? House size, garden size, traffic, local amenities, views etc.

Should I be looking for the perfect country cottage with 5 acres and no neighbours or be looking for a smaller garden, local pub, restaurant, cinema stylie town. I suppose I'd have to consider the practicalities of the move for my family, so what's ideal for 2 boys (4&3) and 1 husband who likes biking. It may be our long-term move so I'd have to think about whether to give the boys the space and freedom now or plan for bus/train routes to give them some freedom when they're older. Where would you live? (I'm after your utopia not town or village location).

Done the village thing...pub, church, school and nothing else and I personally hated it. Everyone knows your business and sooo much gossip. No shop so you had to drive to get anything....and saw my neighbours constantly being a taxi for their teenager daughter. The roads out of the village were 60 mph and windy with no pavement so if DH had a couple I would be terrified of him walking the 4 miles back from the station. No way I would let DCs walk/cycle that way for years.

Now live in a small town. Love it. Stuff going on, library, coffee shops, gym etc. Safe walk to the station for DH and DCs when they get older. We can walk to the shops/library pool. People are friendly without being in your face. There will be things to do/Saturday jobs/friends houses in walking distance for DCs when they are older. DH and I
can go for a meal without one of having to drive or get a cab. Is perfect now and long term.

Firstly, is this your fantasy or are you discussing this with your DH too? Depending on what your job/s are, then factor in buying the worst house on the best street not the best house on the worst street . Good luck

Of course we're discussing it but my husband is so indecisive that I need to make a bit of ahead start and make some decisions before we actually start looking. I don't want to be looking in the sleepy rural village and the town as I don't think we'll get anywhere comparing apples with pears, but if I can sell the location to him first, then we can focus on the town/village/street. Just wondered what lifestyle suits the family.

I agree with you FishfingersAreOK. I'm leaning towards the town rather than the rural village.

We are in a market town - so everything is in walking distance including the secondary school with countryside on the doorstep. The kids can also easily catch a bus into Milton Keynes to go to the shopping centre, ice skating, cinema etc.

And we too have done the village thing and it was a pain in the ass!!

And now have more options for lovely dog walks in a town...in the village it was limited because of the roads and the miserable local gamekeeper constantly telling you to put the dog on the lead.

Sorry Mashappo for thinking that you were'nt discussing this with your DH but sometimes an original post leaves out vital information. You mention I throughout yours

So come on then, ClareMarriott, after all that, can I have a summary of your idea of the best area in which to live? Would you consider the ideal house and location to be countryside or town, bus route and restaurants or veggie patch and acres?

We live in a village on the outskirts of a city. Definitely could have had a larger house with more grounds if we'd have bought in the country, but didn't want that. So the house itself was not a priority, it was the location.

Had 5yr old twins and a 9mth old baby when we bought this house and so the choice was based on being within walking distance of school / after school activities and the village centre - with lots of baby classes / toddler groups, library, shops, cafes, restaurants, bars etc. Big enough for there to be things going on, to have good, reliable transport links etc but small enough to bump into the same people if we went into the village, make friends, for there to be a sense of community. We have things on the doorstep. And its given us a great lifestyle, very social, children busier than we are with activities but eventually they'll be able to walk to everything by themselves.

Town by far with a young family. I could see myself when the dc leave home living rurally but not for a long time. Schools are a massive factor as it can dominate daily life for many years. Having amenities on the door step is so easy.

City. Good public transport. - 30/40 minutes max to main centre but preferably less! Less than 5 minutes walk to milk and papers shop. 10minutes walk or less to park. Local shopping area /supermarket within 20 minutes walk.

House with modest garden - big enough for kids to have space but not a chore to look after. Sunny in garden most of day.

Acres of housing without any amenities would be my worst nightmare!