Planning where to buy - advice

[sniffle12]

We are saving up for a house deposit and are wavering between two locations.

We currently rent in a suburb of a major city. Great transport links - I can get drive or get tram or bus to work and into the city so have lots of flexibility. I have a thirty min commute to work by car. City vibe but not really important to us as we're nature lovers anyway.

However we are both from a beautiful valley about 15 miles away (15 mins down motorway). Our family are still there and we love walking there so I'd say we currently go there about 4-5 days per week anyway. As it's post-industrial and a little run down, the houses are also £30-£50k cheaper. There's also no train connection.

We're leaning towards the latter, however I'm a bit worried about the commute and being at the mercy of needing a car. Currently I work in a suburb location with parking, but if I ever get a job in the city centre itself, I might find myself having to drive into the centre (nightmare) and pay city centre parking costs, or drive to the outskirts and then somehow switch to public transport. Not to mention the increased possibility of traffic jams from adding another 15 miles of motorway to my commute.

Has anyone had this dilemma - convenience of city living versus lower price/pleasantness of rural living?

Yes we've lived in both, where we are now is a happy medium with good bus and motorway links but countryside not too far either.
There are pros and cons of each.
In our previous home which was rural, it was great to wake up to seeing lovely hills and horses in the field. The evenings were practically silent outside and it was very peaceful. However the commute to work and back and the school run was a nightmare, as soon as I left the motorway I knew I had another 15-20mins of country lanes to travel and our nearest supermarket was 25 minutes away if you drove quick, when it snowed we were stranded.
Living in the city can be relaxing in itself, just to know that you can walk to a shop, to a restaurant etc without the bother of a car.

I do miss the countryside but as long as you can drive there at the weekend within reasonable time, living in the city can be far more convenient and you do appreciate the countryside more when you don't live directly amongst it.

However in your case where you have family there, I would probably opt for the valley to live in, especially as it's cheaper.
It's a hard decision and I honestly don't think there's a right or wrong answer. You just have to go with your heart and know that both decisions will have pros and cons.