Shorter commute vs more amenities?

[housemove123]

If you had to choose, which would you go for? Trying to decide between two locations. The general situation would be 1 parent working from home part time/with young DC the other days. 1 parent working full time in a workplace in location 1.

Location 1:
Close to the work location (could walk/cycle/very short drive depending on actual street chosen). Has a very sparse high street and small children's park. Would probably need to get in the car and drive to other towns for anything else. Otherwise seems a decent and safe area. Houses are a bit more affordable.

Location 2:
Within walking distance or very short drive to several large, beautiful parks and several other "day out" type places. 30 min walk or 10 min drive from a town centre with lots of shops, etc. Very pretty surrounding area. Have identified some decent, not too expensive areas to live in, though it's less affordable than location 1. The downside is one parent needing to do a 30-35 min motorway commute each way, which although not a lot, is a lot more than location 1 and still adds up over the week, plus inevitable accidents sometimes pushing that time up. This is a slight downside for the parent at home too (less help with school/nursery pick up/starting dinner, etc).

Is it better to have more to do on the doorstep (for the parent doing childcare during the week/for the weekend/potentially for the teenage years) or to have no commute to save time during the week (and possibly a slightly lower mortgage)?

Location 2 in a heartbeat. 30 minute commute is nothing and don't underestimate the value of having lots of amenities on your doorstep. I have teens and living within walking distance of our town is invaluable.

Thank you! I've never had either of these situations so it's hard to know which I'd be more grateful for, but I'm leaning towards 2 and DH towards 1.

Option 2- Life is about more than a job which may change at some point

Where are the better schools?
Would the type/size of house you could get in either be better?

Those being equal though, I'd go location 2

'Nobody ever died saying "I wish I had spent more time in the office"'.

Location 2.

Thanks. The schools are much of a muchness on paper though I like those in location 2 better judging by their websites, etc. We could potentially get a bigger house in location 1, or same size house we want but lower mortgage.

The benefit of location 1 was not about spending more time in the office, but getting home from the office sooner due to the shorter commute.

I don't think either location is ideal. A 35 minute motorway commute could easily turn into 60 minutes. Is it 35 minutes as per google maps or have you actually tested it out? It can become quite stressful if you have to do this day in day out.
Have you researched any alternative locations? Ie closer to work but with more stuff to do?

I've just double checked Google Maps and actually it's not quite as bad, maybe I was mixing it up with another slightly further out area I'd been looking at originally. We've never done it (we're hundreds of miles away so can't at the moment), but Google Maps says 19 minutes if we did it right now but if I set the depart times to the actual start and finish times of work then it's "typically 22-26 minutes" on the way there and "typically 22-30 minutes" on the way home.

Oh and yes, these are the locations I've narrowed down to that we could afford but also have reasonable schools. The other affordable areas have terrible schools and high crime rates and the nearest town centre is widely described as "dire" anyway.

Option 2 every day of the week!!

Can I ask why? And why not 1? I need a strong sales pitch for location 2.

Having done both in location 2, I would rather be the commuting parent than the one working more locally... I am more of a location 1 sort of person, especially if there's a good community, but I can see the attraction of location 2; it really depends what works for you.

The shorter commute won't be that noticeable, with the main benefit for that parent, plus jobs can change. Living in an area with more amenities benefits all the family, especially as your children grow up and become more independent.

Option 2 every day. That commute is shorter than most people I know! Jobs can change, location doesn't. Small kids become bigger and them having the ability to get about to activities without being solely dependent on parent taxis is invaluable.

I lean the other way, and vote for #1. Kids and partner can walk/bike to school and work. Small community = more sense of neighbourhood and ability to make friends. All the conveniences of location 2 can be reached within 20 minutes; how often do you go to parks compared to work? The partner staying home has time during the day to drive to shops.

It also depends on extracurricular activities of children. If the smaller location has them available then there is your answer. If you are having to drive constantly to the larger center then location 2 would be better.

I would say 2. When the kids get older they will be able to be independent and you won't have to drive them everywhere if it's easy to get places.

If you chose 1, chances are you'll be mum/dad's taxi for much longer than if you go for 2.

@housemove123

I've just double checked Google Maps and actually it's not quite as bad, maybe I was mixing it up with another slightly further out area I'd been looking at originally. We've never done it (we're hundreds of miles away so can't at the moment), but Google Maps says 19 minutes if we did it right now but if I set the depart times to the actual start and finish times of work then it's "typically 22-26 minutes" on the way there and "typically 22-30 minutes" on the way home.

If that's the case then definitely 2, 30 mins max but usually less is the same as my current commute, it's absolutely fine ( though I was doing and hour each way before we moved)

I grew up in a lovely place with not a lot to do, when we were looking access to amenities when the kids are older was high on the list as it was such a pain growing up far from stuff/friends