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?

Big garden, no queuing for the slide or swing or climbing frame, no children shoving yours, no dogs, no litter, no anti-social behaviour, no graffiti and no drug paraphernalia. A possible paddling pool all to yourself and sand table that hasn't had anyone else's hands in.

The main bit is the children being outside and you being inside with the windows open meaning you can actually be getting on with stuff. My children lived outside so hours would have been lost. They had a TP slide and climbing frame, monkey bars, games such as hop scotch, ring toss and a tent to play in.

As for not keen on gardening, hire a gardener if you can. There are low maintenance gardens to be had.

Big garden, every time. 15 minutes to a park isn’t that bad. And some days you don’t want to go out-out – or need to stay in for a delivery/visitor/whatever – but to be able to wander in and out of the garden in nice weather, pop back inside for an ice lolly, the loo, whatever.

But I love gardening and dream of Monty Don acres.

A - garden.

Your space to do what you want with. It’s it not suitable for entertaining now, you can always put in a patio area or decking for the barbecue. When the kids are older, you can Chuck them in the garden without supervision.

What do you mean by ‘very small garden’?

What is the size?

This is crucial in order to answer meaningfully.

@UpTheJunktion

What do you mean by ‘very small garden’?

What is the size?

This is crucial in order to answer meaningfully.

She said 90m2 - def too small - just worked out that’s slightly bigger than my kitchen (which is admittedly big but doesn’t feel huge with all 6 of us in it together with table / chairs, sofa etc)

Don’t forget that however lovely a public space is, it’s still public – with all the potential litter and dog poo and dogs off lead and other people and annoyances that that entails.

The house would play a bigger factor to me tbh, if the houses are identical then I'd probably go for nearer public space. I go for more walks than I do any type of garden activity, I only need a comfortable seating space in a garden. Kids are older now so only chill in the garden rather than play.

Depends if you love the house. We’re buying a house with a small but private garden because we love the house and the location right in the centre of a lovely village. Few minutes from lovely woodland walks and lots to do in the village. 5 min walk from station. Before that, we were looking at houses with much bigger gardens, backing onto countryside but more remote. So sure, just looking at the garden, it would have been a no, but overall , we love it.

My garden isnt massive, and we have 3 kids. We have a park behind the house and that suits the kids.

The garden has still been great for the kids to play it, for us to entertain in etc. Kids dont need their own climbing frames etc, bit if swing ball and job done!

It will be a long time before your children are old enough to go and play in the field on their own though. You need somewhere you can chuck them out when they are climbing the walls and doing your head in. Also, if you don't own the field you cannot guarantee access in the future - or that it won't be built on.

What aspect do the gardens have ?
That would be very important for me.
I'd want a sunny garden.
If both were south or south west facing I would go for A.

The garden without question if small children are on the agenda. I've spent so much time in ours that I wouldn't have enjoyed so much in public:
Lazing about while pregnant
Being able to sit out with small baby, relax and recover
Able to play outside with bigger baby and now toddler without having to pack up a bag
I expect this to carry on being useful til she's primary aged at least.

I say this as someone who has a little bit of my own land in the village and even taking DD to that requires some thinking about. We use the village park too but again still requires a bit of planning and effort. The garden is there whenever you want it, on a whim.

90sqm isn't small round here! (London) many 3-bed terraces are 80-90sqm, so the garden isn't just an extra room, it's an extra house. Where we used to live in zone 2 London, million pound 5-bed bankers houses would have yards.
We've a 'big' garden not much bigger than your small one. It's so I can garden. A more regular terrace garden would be enough for dining and for the kids. Because we live on the same road as the playground, I can't justify our own swings etc. They don't frolic on the grass, just the patio area (primary age). Not saying if it would or wouldn't affect your resale, or but the context of what the other houses are like is key!

I think that is bigger than my garden and mine feels plenty big enough. I have a small patio with seating and a bbq and some grass. Space for a small trampoline, slide and water tray. We live opposite a green and my older kids are out there playing with their friends (football, hide and seek, catch, etc...) all of the time. I am out every day with the dogs and my little one. I love living opposite the green so would choose B.

When the kids were younger I’d have said A now they are teens I’d go for B

There is a large house on my road which is for sale for months on end. It's a house that would otherwise be snapped up (renovation job) but is stuck because the garden is so small.
I think having a small garden affects resale for sure.

It depends what stage of life you're at. Children who need supervision, definitely the larger garden, but as they get older even big gardens aren't really suitable for football etc and they can go off on their own.

Now DC are grown up I'd go for small but big enough to be actually called a garden (ie decent terrace for socialising and some borders but not necessarily space for a lawn) plus the open spaces by preference.

Garden. Risk of antisocial behaviour in a park over the fence. Plus the garden is flexible space for you in the future.

@FiveSecondsMore

Also, I should've mentioned, it's a five bedroom house, so I worry that the garden may be disproportionately small. We both like lots of space, so thought we might as well move somewhere family-sized now if we can afford it, rather than wait until we absolutely need to. But I don't know what twists and turns our lives will take once we have children, so it's possible we won't end up wanting to stay for many years (impossible to predict right now), and that makes me worry about the resale value. I don't want the garden to put a ceiling on the price.

I think in some traditionally rural areas gardens were small because there was access to public green space / allotments etc. That’s the case where I live. So many large 4/5 bed houses rarely have bigger back gardens than 50 sqm. They all have massive front gardens though which can be more useful to kids in nice areas because we have a lot of street parties / impromptu street games / bbqs etc

I would avoid a house that actually backs onto a park though. Nowhere near as pleasant and peaceful as it sounds....

A. And I bloody hate gardening!

That’s just a normal garden I would think. 30ft by 30ft if I’ve worked it out right?

I’d keep looking though for a medium garden a bit nearer woods.

Bigger garden. Our kids use the garden so much. Smaller kids aren't going to be able to go to a park without you, even if it is close to the house. Whereas with a bigger garden, you can put a trampoline, wendy house, etc and they can play in the garden safely even if you're not watching them 100% of the time.

If you're worried about the maintenance, just buy a robot lawn mower. Changed our lives, and meant DH doesn't need to spend free time on his weekends mowing our 300m2 garden....

You're asking MNers who all believe that "hell is other people". With DCs I'd choose the big green space.

@drspouse

You're asking MNers who all believe that "hell is other people". With DCs I'd choose the big green space.

Same.