Big garden vs. large public green space (woods + playing field) on doorstep

[FiveSecondsMore]

If you had a choice between a house with a generously-sized private garden but 15+ minutes' walk from the nearest nice public green space, or a house with a very small garden, but two minutes' walk from a lovely, decently-sized wood with an adjoining large grassy field for playing games/sitting in the sun etc., which would you choose?

A

Public green space .... I loathe gardening .

Definitely a bigger garden

Also, I'd be interested to know specific reasons for either choice, if you have them!

A

Private garden.

I’m no gardener but having my own space that I can waft around without getting dressed is great.

Depends what b was offering that a was not. All other things equal A but only if the garden wasn't massive. I CBA spending all my weekends weeding and mowing!

We have a small garden but live in a village where the park is always full of my children's friends. This makes for a lovely time after school. However, if I didnt live in a small village, I'd go for bigger garden.

A

Chose A as I would always surround myself with as much private space as I can afford. I normally end up loathing public green areas as there are always people using it who can’t/won’t keep their dogs or children (or both) under control and abuse the space, ruining it for other people in the process. Even if I wasn’t into gardening, I would rather pay someone to do the gardening than get a smaller garden.

It really depends on what you like to do? Do you like mowing or gardening? Do you sit in the garden, enjoy walks in the park? For me its A.

I've recently moved from a flat with a roof terrace, but 10mins to a large park. I'm now in a house with a massive garden. I'm loving having the larger garden, feeding and watching the birds and hedgehogs. I have space to grow veggies, but also enjoy the plants and peace without having to walk 15mins to sit in a public park.

Assuming everything else is equal i'd go for the decent sized private garden.

Bigger garden. I live next to public green space and am lucky that it only very rarely attracts anti social behaviour. However when it does, it’s really annoying. It can be things that are totally normal and not anti social that get a bit tedious too, kids bouncing their ball for hours, shouting, local sensible teenagers rocking up with a drinks and a (low volume!) speaker when you’re trying to get the baby to bed. As a disclaimer I know these are normal things and would never complain however I do get fed up of it. And because this is firmly my problem I wouldn’t live next to public space again.

Is the small garden big enough for a garden bench, a bbq, a washing line and space for a slide? If so the small garden - as children get bigger they use the space less and less - teens seem to only use it for sunbathing!

Garden, easy. It’s like another room for 5 months of the year - wandering in and out as you please for drinks/toilet trips etc. Doesn’t matter how nice the nearby green space is, it’s never going to be as convenient as your own space.

How private is the garden? If totally private I would go for that. I currently have a large exposed garden and a large playing field type space at my disposal and for picnic and kids playing football, riding bike etc the playing field/grassy area is our go to rather than the garden.

And what would the alternative garden be if you choose the house with large green space near? Is it extremely small? Or big enough to have a table and chairs and catch a bit of sun?

Bigger garden. Because you can put a swing and a slide and a trampoline and whatever else you need in a garden, open the back door, and children can play quite happily whilst you potter in the garden or inside, you can kick them out into the garden to burn off energy, and you can host people outside more easily and use it as an extension to the indoor living space

Whereas the park you have to share with others, you can’t take one child to the park whilst the other is in bed poorly, you can’t cook dinner and be at the park at the same time, and if your garden is too small you can’t have bbqs or children’s parties out there.

And because my back garden is too small and I want a bigger one!

Bigger garden , I made the mistake the very close park would compensate for the smaller garden of the house we bought . Miss my old large garden every day !

B, more variety and less maintenance.

Depends what you mean by very small garden?

60ft or 40ft?

We have 60 ft and it isn't quite big enough but certainly not a pocket handkerchief and big enough for trampoline, climbing frame patio and washing line. I wish we were nearer a big park though.

When the dc were little - A
Now it is just dh and I, and neither of us like gardening - B

Age of DC would be a big factor. Mine are older and not interested in swing/trampoline etc.

We have a small garden which is designed for adult enjoyment, and throw the kids out to the playground on the corner three houses away where we can't hear the shrieks so much or see the garish colours. They get much better play kit and a big space for football that way. Win-win!