1.5 miles/ 35 min walk away from town centre

[deraila]

The DH and I have been to view a house today. Its ticks all the boxes (detached/double garage/ room to park 3 cars on the drive/smaller more manageable garden/utility room/close to a parade of local shops including an express tesco type thing) except that it is 1.5 miles away from the town centre and we would have to drive DCs to school.

We currently live about 0.7 miles away from the town centre which takes us 20 mins on foot. We love taking the DCs to the local park beside the town centre which has a coffee place. We are able to walk to school too. In the better weather we are able to walk to a pub which has a fenced beer garden.

I love walking to the shops/park with the DCs and DH loves walking to the pub (not all the time!! ).

Its not the right house, is it?

I think I am over thinking it. Spoke to my parents who are nearly 70 and they think 1.5 miles is fine and they would do it easily if they came to stay. They think its would be a home that would suit our needs for life.

A lot of my friends do just drive everywhere and wouldn't even walk under a mile from their homes to the town centre.

Its also about convenience. If we have friends with their small but not in pushchair kids staying and wanted to go for a pub meal in the town that would be quite a lot of walking and time. We have visitors stay about 8- 10 times a year. I suppose it would be a concession to make for having everything else we wanted.

For me a 35min walk into town is fine, it's about what we have, although we do cycle as well so don't always walk it. It's a very easy cycle, no need to even get changed for that kind of distance.

But, you said in the OP about driving to school? Why's that? Is it further? I wouldn't want to drive my ds to school if I could at all avoid it. That's more important to me.

You don't say how old your children are but in a 30mph zone then either they'll be small enough to be on a tag-along bike attached to an adult up to age 9/10 if the road is particularly scary or they should be able to ride with you on their own bike.

I think that 1.5 miles is fine. Good for the kids to walk that distance and will burn off energy before they get home too

You do have the option of driving if the weather is really bad.

School is 1 mile and town centre is 1.5 miles.

I think you will go in to town less often. Twenty minutes is a distance where you can just pop in for half an hour. You won't bother doing that from this new house, even though it's not a distance that is a problem to walk. So if that bothers you, don't buy the house. Is there a bus?

I am moving from 0.4m from the train station, 0.1m from the high street and 0.5m from the primary school, to 1.2m to the station, 1.5m to the town high street and 2.3m to the primary school. It is not going to be easy, but I hope it will harden the kids and myself up. We will resort to combination of walking, scooters, bikes and car. I used to worry about it, but then saw a TV programme about Alaska, and how people used dog sleds for miles and days.... honestly 1.5m is a first world issue.

1.5 miles is really nothing, especially if you're on a bus route. We don't own a car, DS aged 4 has not learned to cycle yet, and we get everywhere by walking, scooter if the walk is longer than 20 mins, bus if it's raining or a really long way, a combination of these, and taxis whenever we need them (much much cheaper than running a car).

It's a 6 minute cycle, even for slow old me on my Dutch bike, and once your DCs are confident and safe cyclists they won't need you to drive or walk them anywhere.

All this talk of your friends who have little kids may affect your decision to buy a house? Really?

How long do you think them little kids are going to be little for?
I think you like the idea of nice little park trips and lunches out with other mums. Your post is 'if we have friends over and we wanted to go to a pub'.

Honestly, some fantasy scenario is making you question a house that sounds great.

Remember once your kids are in school ( a mile away!!) it won't be a major concern.

Blimey wait until they go to high school and they are walking 3.5 miles home!

flip, not sure what you mean about fantasy. the reality is that we do have our friends stay 8 or so times a year and they all tell us they love staying as its so easy to pootle into town for a pub lunch or to a cafe and entertain the kids in the town centre.

i wondered how the dynamic, not just when we have friends staying, but for us day to day would change if we were to move further out of town. that is why i have posted, to have outsiders discuss with me.

If it is just you or your husband walking then 1.5 miles won't take you 35 minutes. A mile is 15 mins (fast-ish).

It was the way you worded it deraila that made it sound like you were planning your life like something of a tv advert.
Anyway I wouldn't be NOT buying a house that I really liked because it was too far to go to with the mates and kids.

Can you imagine friends saying 'oh this house is no good for us, we like having derails coming round and she loves it because we can all pootle to town'
Would they shite!

Further investigating to day has revealed that the property is not in catchment for the school 1 mile away but is for the one 1.5 miles away where there are some difficult right turns across the direction of traffic on busy A roads. Could walk but that would be an hour of walking before I do the drive to work.

Of course I wouldn't not buy a house just because it was less easy to take friends out to a pub in town. My op was what would our life be like that bit further away from all the conveniences we have know as a family for the last few years.

If you like to walk places then 1.5 miles to shopping centre is a right royal faff; It means 1 hour roundtrip instead of just over 1/2 hour just to run the smallest errand. No brainer, I couldn't face it, especially coaxing children (of any age!) to walk, too. You'l find that nobody else in those suburban neighbourhoods walks anywhere (except the dog).

Are you not able to drop the kids off on the way to school? A hours walk would be a faff before a drive to work.
With regard to all the conviennces do you really need them that much.

It would wa shame to miss out on a really nice house ifyou could adapt.

We hardly ever go into town. There's no need. I'mnot a big shopper.
The boys were too old for parks by the time they were about 6 or soandhad friends over instead.

Same with adult friends. We would have them over or we went to them ( or gigs or cinema whatever)

Shopping is done weekly with extras if needed picked up on the way home.

Honestly the distance is hardly anything (IMO)

Can I ask what sorts area are you talking about. City? Suburban? Countryside?

Yes sure. Its a small market town. Behind the house is agricultural land and in front of the house is the town direction. There is a bus route but it only does x3 runs per day 6 days a week, I think. If I was in a city and 1.5 miles out of the city centre , there'd be bus routes every 400 yds (ish!).

Dont know what point i was trying to make about bus stops every 400 yards!

Honestly if the house is lovely and it's what you want I would go for it!

You soon adapt.

Thanks Flip. Useful snapshot of your lifestyle too.

It has great square footage, most rooms are sensible in size and only a couple of them need an update!